What the Mission Trip Meant to Me
From June 19-26, I had the honor to serve alongside eleven other Immanuel congregants at the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Mission, South Dakota. I asked our mission trip participants what the mission trip meant to them and gave them each a minute to formulate their answers. Every response came from the heart and the common denominators among them were the variation of service and helping our brothers and sisters in Christ. Please watch Rosebud Memories
here.
I had posed the question, but didn’t really take the time to think of my own answer until the night before we came home. For me, the mission trip meant seeing God at work on a continual basis. It sounds simplistic and obvious, but I believe that is at the heart of all of it. Meeting the residents who we were helping, building relationships among the other churches who attended, and seeing the growth in our youth who participated was all God’s work.
Nearly 80 percent of the residents of Rosebud live at or below the poverty line. It is a far cry from Batavia and I truly believe what we saw helped put much of our daily stresses into perspective.
There is much need everywhere, even in our own backyard; but there was something very special about serving in Mission, South Dakota. Maybe it’s the history and how the Lakota Sioux ended up in South Dakota, or the role of family in their culture. They are very proud of their heritage and were grateful for our help.
I personally was grateful for the opportunity to serve, and am very excited for my next trip up there.
Matt Cassidy
Director of Student Ministry
