Over the course of the time since Amy and I left Connecticut to start our mission trip, a number of people that we have run across have said the same thing to us... "Why are you bothering to do this? The two of you aren't going to even begin to change anything..." I think these thoughts were part of what made our previous week kind of rough because we started to buy into them a little bit and we started to get discouraged when we became more aware of the extent of the need here on the Reservation. Before we ever started our trip, we heard a story about a couple of people who were walking on an ocean beach. A big storm ha
d just passed and thousands of starfish had washed ashore as a result of the rough surf. As they walked, one of the people would occasionally reach down, pick up a starfish and toss it back into the water. After this had gone on for a while, the other person said, "Why are you bothering to do that? There are thousands of starfish washed in? What difference do you think you are going to make"? The other person reached down, picked up another one, tossed it back into the water and said, "It made a difference to that one". God is so good, because Amy and I were reminded of this story as Mary was thanking us for the work we had done to her home... It made a difference to that one...
d just passed and thousands of starfish had washed ashore as a result of the rough surf. As they walked, one of the people would occasionally reach down, pick up a starfish and toss it back into the water. After this had gone on for a while, the other person said, "Why are you bothering to do that? There are thousands of starfish washed in? What difference do you think you are going to make"? The other person reached down, picked up another one, tossed it back into the water and said, "It made a difference to that one". God is so good, because Amy and I were reminded of this story as Mary was thanking us for the work we had done to her home... It made a difference to that one... So Amy and I were able to finish up Mary's home and start on the home of an 89 year old Lakota woman named Marcella who needed to have her windows replaced because the ones that she had couldn't 
be opened any more and they were leaking so much cold air in the winter that she needed to cover them with plastic. Marcella is an amazing woman who served in World War 2 as a combat nurse in Normandy on D-Day and the period of time that followed. She was decorated for her valor and service by
both the US Government and the French Government. When she returned to the States, she went on to serve as the head of the nursing program on the Reservation. As we started talking with Marcella, we soon discovered that she is also an amazing quilter! Many of her quilts are on display in museums around the country. We were blessed enough to watch her creating the quilt above which is a part of a quilt that she was making for the Quilting Hall of Fame! We were also really excited because Brenda, (in the picture above) one of the volunteers that we met down in New Orleans is attending college in Nebraska and came to volunteer with us for a few days on the Reservation before she went to school! It was really great to see her and catch up with her again.
be opened any more and they were leaking so much cold air in the winter that she needed to cover them with plastic. Marcella is an amazing woman who served in World War 2 as a combat nurse in Normandy on D-Day and the period of time that followed. She was decorated for her valor and service by
both the US Government and the French Government. When she returned to the States, she went on to serve as the head of the nursing program on the Reservation. As we started talking with Marcella, we soon discovered that she is also an amazing quilter! Many of her quilts are on display in museums around the country. We were blessed enough to watch her creating the quilt above which is a part of a quilt that she was making for the Quilting Hall of Fame! We were also really excited because Brenda, (in the picture above) one of the volunteers that we met down in New Orleans is attending college in Nebraska and came to volunteer with us for a few days on the Reservation before she went to school! It was really great to see her and catch up with her again.In our first entry after we made it to Eagle Butte, we mentioned that our RV is parked next to the Habitat volunteer house and at the entrance to the neighborhood that Jimmy
Carter helped to build back in 1993. Living next door to us is a family with 5 children that we have sort of "adopted". These kids (and all of their puppies) have become a big part of our life out here and we have been able to spend a lot of time with them after our work day is done. Coloring is one of their favorite things to do, so we have been doing that with them quite a bit.
Carter helped to build back in 1993. Living next door to us is a family with 5 children that we have sort of "adopted". These kids (and all of their puppies) have become a big part of our life out here and we have been able to spend a lot of time with them after our work day is done. Coloring is one of their favorite things to do, so we have been doing that with them quite a bit. So Amy and I sincerely wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers over the past few weeks. We could really feel them and can't express how much we appreciate them. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Love to you all!
~Dave and Amy
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