When Bill Quijas returned to pastor the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation from a church in nearby Rapid City, South Dakota, he inherited a barn-like structure in the small town of Porcupine. He hoped to transform this building into a prayer house and community center to draw in fellow Lakota believers and to reach out to those who were far from God.
Pine Ridge, home to the Lakota tribe, is like many reservations. It is a community with strong family ties where everyone seems to know everyone else. But it is also a place of poverty, alcoholism, a high suicide rate, and a general distrust of outsiders.
When a group from Willow Creek’s C.A.R.S. ministry in Illinois offered to help rehab the building, little did they realize that the restoration would go beyond the building and begin to touch upon spiritual restoration and racial reconciliation.
It Started with an Idea
In January, several men Willow Creek’s C.A.R.S. ministry began discussing ideas for a missions trip. Lionel Belezikian shared Bill Quijas’ need to restore a building and establish a fledging congregation.
The following month, the team trekked to Porcupine to assess the situation. Among the many needs, it became clear that lighting was the greatest priority. Not only was it insufficient to support the ministry, but code violations threatened to shut down the facility.
Team members within the C.A.R.S ministry began sharing their vision, launching fundraising efforts that included doing side jobs repairing cars, and collecting donations of both money and materials. They raised over $5000 and began scheduling time to perform the repairs in South Dakota.
Seven men (Lionel Belezikian, Greg Schebjal, Bob Weiner, Bob’s son Robert, Jeff Lowe, Gary Melavic, and Steve Nuneman) traveled to Porcupine in June. Working long days under hotter-than-normal conditions, they rehabbed the electrical system and installed new overhead lighting in the prayer house. And they met and interacted with the Lakota people.
A time to celebrate and look ahead
On the last night, approximately 50 locals welcomed the Willow Creek men for a time of celebration and worship. The Willow team hopes to return Lakota to continue the good work that has just begun.
I am Lakota from the Pine Ridge Reservation and am living here in Peru Il with my daughter. I had the honor of meeting the crew that went and worked on our prayer house and was very blessed by their works. Though I went home to lay my brother to rest it was uplifting to see them at the prayer house working so hard. There is not many people who come to the reservation with the right heart they are on a agenda but this was not the case so Pilamayaye niye Tiwahe, (thank you, you are family).
Posted by: Debi | 08/20/2010 at 08:17 AM