2023 High School Trip Journal Tuesday, August 8 – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
From Berit Enstad:
Day 3
Today started off with extremely sore muscles and very happy (mostly rested) souls. After a lovely night around the fire and a long day of walking from the day before, we were able to get some well needed rest. We started off with some breakfast sandwiches before we listened to some history and stories of this sacred land from our friend Mark. After we listened to him, we piled into some cars and drove down the backroads of Custer State Park. We got to see God’s creation up close and listen to the beautiful stories of this land we are enjoying so deeply together. We drove along and into Wind Cave National Park. We were able to see some Antelope, Buffalo, many Prairie dogs, a Peacock, and even the very rare Burrowing owl!
We continued the day with some pizza for lunch. After some conversations together and life lessons with Sarah, we headed into an afternoon of refreshing free time. While some settled into a game of euchre, others headed up a hike to the top of a rock that overlooks the camp and this wonderful creation.
We then settled into some alone time, while it is something that can be uncomfortable for some, it was a time of rest and reflection we all needed. People were journaling, reading, sleeping, and admiring the view from porches, grass, chapels, walks, and even some hammocking. I was able to sit in the chapel with my journal for a while and then got outside to watch the animals enjoying themselves in the nature and hangout with the goats. We all met back up and headed off to Crazy Horse again but this time for dinner… where we were able to really practice our patience and grace. Although we had a reservation, it seemed as if they were not prepared. We got greeted with a great amount of stress and impatience. After we were seated Sarah was able to quickly remind us that they happened to be short staffed and that just by us being gracious and having a smile on our faces, we could turn their days around. Our waitress quickly started smiling and joking with us just after the little bit of kindness we were able to show. It was a very special moment to be apart of. The stress and the business hadn’t changed but our kindness and patience was able to turn their day around even a little.
As the people here have grown closer, this space has become more sacred, and our time together has become something precious. I’ve been able to witness the layers of life and stress be peeled off of my peers as they bring out a true and lighter version of themselves each day. As we were wrapping up this night we watched a Ted Talk video of a man showing and describing life on the Pine Ridge Reservation. We were able to tie together the stories we had heard today while seeing these images and hearing his perspective. While it was hard to watch, it was needed. These Lakota tribes have been offered money for this land we have stolen, yet they have chosen not to use that and instead continue living their lives as they truly want to, even though it is so terribly devastating.
We ended off with a campfire and a talent show! Featuring some amazing talents and roars of laughter around the warm fire, it was the evening we all needed. The holy spirit was truly blowing through our circle around the fire as we sang the doxology, prayed, and watched the beautiful lightning roll in from the mountains.
I don’t think I could explain the feeling we all have when we are able to be together like this, but it is something we are all longing for whether we realize it or not. God truly knew this was exactly what we needed right now as our summer wraps up and the stresses of life are quickly approaching. There is truly something so special about these moments we get to share together and I, along with many others hold on to it tightly as we continue on with our days.
One of our youth spent her quiet time today writing a poem for us all to cherish, and I would like to finish this blog with her beautiful poem that has expressed our time here in a way we all loved.
South Dakota
You are a mystery
A whispering voice
Of tell-tale history
Secrets held within
Within the land and stone
A place for all the creatures
As they call it home
The mountains reach high
They touch the sky above
Reaching for their Savior
For the God we love
Thunder, lightning, rain
For all of us they sing
While a boy dances
With his sacred ring
Spirit held within us
Now vast and open
Sitting around a campfire
Foreign voices spoken
Culture flows free
Free within the clouds
Watching over all the souls
In which we have found
No one knows truly
Whatever lies within
Praying to the stars
Who wash away our sins
This is a place of rest
of beauty and hope
this is a place with spirit
a feeling so unknown
we pray with our journals
held tight to our chest
all hoping one day
we can be the best
we are not the all-knowing
not even close
yet we can’t help but wonder
where that feeling inside us goes.
So I thank you South Dakota
For this journey away from home
And I thank you God
For all that I love and know
