The girls and their new buddies
White men can't jump! 
Emma and her new friend that stuck to her like glue!
Emma and Xandria
These girls loved when Rachel and Madi put their faces together...they kept saying "again, again"
Rachel and her new friend playing dress up.
Madison with some fancy glasses
Jordan with her new friend "Precious"
Aaron on dish duty
We had an amazing first day with the kids. Exciting but very exhausting! We endured a pretty intense storm with lots of thunder and lightening. Olivia was very concerned that there was no basement. :) We are staying at the Cheyenne River Youth Project where children ages 4 thru teenage can come and hang out. The program originally was developed only for the younger kids ages 4 thru 12 but one summer 17 teenagers committed suicide so they decided that the older kids needed somewhere safe and fun to come as well. The younger children come to the youth center from 1pm until 7pm. They start in the library, we do a craft, and then we feed them dinner. It dawned on me last night that none of these children ever eat dinner with their families. Definitely a cultural difference than we are used to. The children were noticeably hungry and ate quite a bit. At one point I ran over to the other building because we ran out of fruit and on the way back was "mobbed" by a cluster of little girls who quickly grabbed the fruit off of my platter.
We had an unfortunate incident yesterday that was very eye opening. Madison had a mom come in and accuse her of making her daughter cry. Madison had been playing with several of this women's children throughout the day with no problems so this came to her as a complete shock. The mom was very aggressive and mean to say the least. We aren't sure why the little girl lied to her mom but it is very clear that ALL of these kids are starving for attention. Madison was very upset and had a ton of tears but everyone on the team really rallied behind her which made her feel very loved. We are praying for a better day tomorrow.
Another highlight of the day was our guys playing the kids on the reservation in a rousing game of basketball. Needless to say the boys manhandled our men which was quite humorous at times. They all had a blast and it was a great way to interact with the teens.
All of the kids are very reserved at first but then when they feel comfortable they latch on to you...literally! At one point I looked over and Rachel had about 5 kids on her. They kids here are fascinated by Rachel and Madison being twins. I talked with the director here and she doesn't remember ever having identical twins on the reservation. So they have caused quite a spectacle :)
We are all doing well. The team is great. The girls all have friends to play with. We feel like we are making a difference...if only for a week. Life is good.
3 comments:
Looks like an awesome start to the week! Praying for you guys. Tell Aaron thanks for marketing the Benefit for the Kids by wearing last year's tournament shirt as you all drive across the country! :)
It looks like the kids are having a great time. I could of done without the Madison story (like I haven't worried enough) I hope nothing but good happens today. Miss all of you. Give the girls a hug. Love Grammy
Sounds like yall are having a blast.. Me the same as your Momma could have done without the Madison story.. so glad I am not with you I might have had to show that ole Indian woman another side of this white southern girl!!!Give everybody hugs and I will talk to you soon!:0 Love you Bunches!! Oh by the way are we on the same time?? MY NEW WATCH SAYS IT IS 7:15... THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!! I LOVE MY WATCH.... YOU ARE JUST THE BEST!! AND I LOVE THE BATH AND BODY SOAP TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOU ARE JUST THE SWEETEST THING!! XOXOXOXO LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!
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