By Tiffany Flohr (2019)
Traveling to the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation with Pastor Wendy and five other teenage girls was definitely something to remember. After the 7 ½ hour car ride, we finally arrived at the church. It was obvious people had little money. We learned about the culture each day, which really helped me understand the differences that I saw.
During the first two days, we helped an organization called The Mustard Seed; this group was made up of many tiny homes for people in the community that had drug or alcohol issues. Instead of letting these people struggle on their own, this organization gave them a place to live. In these tiny homes we put in shelves and flooring, and did some painting and staining. At first we were a little nervous, being a group of all girls not knowing anything about construction. We eventually got the job done and it looked great. Seeing God work through the people that created The Mustard Seed was so cool; they loved and cared for these people no matter what their story.
Next, we helped with a kids club. Kids could come for a couple hours to play. It was eye opening to see these kids, how they acted so differently than what someone might see here at our church. These kids got attached so fast and just wanted attention and love. On the second day of the kids club, I was able to go with one of the leaders to pick kids up, along with anyone else who wanted to come. During this experience, I got to see how people lived in this community. The houses were very run down, some had boards covering all of the windows, and were pretty dirty. Even though I was only with these kids for two days, the connection we built was amazing. Besides the service we did in this community, we also got to go on a scavenger hunt around the city, have a cookout with the community, and go on an art walk. Going on this trip, I learned so much about the culture and about how people lived at the Cheyenne River Reservation.
“My faith was greatly impacted by this trip. I saw God in so many different places. Seeing God work through the people at the Mustard Seed and the little kids who were struggling, but kept pushing through. Over the week we talked about how God loves everyone, no matter their story. Learning to love others the way God loves them is just one way my faith grew deeper.”
Tiffany Flohr
