Chris George, pastor of First Baptist Church, Mobile, led a team of 19 people to Mission, S.D., May 29–June 5. This was the third trip to minister to the Lakota (Sioux) on the Rosebud Reservation. The missions team not only wanted to share the gospel, but they also “wanted to learn more about this neglected and forgotten group of people in our own country,” George said.
There they worked with Methodist representatives Russell and Donna Masertis of Tree of Life Ministry and partnered with a small Methodist church from Kansas and two larger Catholic groups from California and Nebraska.
The members of their group installed a tin roof on a large warehouse facility, completed many construction projects, visited with the elderly at a local nursing home and cooked and served meals to nearly 200 people each day. They also worked in a thrift shop sorting clothing and stocking shelves, all while building relationships with the Lakota people. Each night, they had an opportunity to meet with a member of the Lakota tribe and learn about life on the reservation and share with them the gospel.
“The trip was a wonderful success,” George said. “Even as we sought to touch others, we realized that we were being touched by this experience. We discovered that God is at work in the South Dakota plains, remembering these forgotten people and loving them.”
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