The Warm Hospitality of the Natives

"We should tell her about Baha'u'llah!" Frankie said with wide eyes as he introduced me to Jay, his friend that had been taking him to church, "Since he was in pampers."

We were standing out side the school basketball courts after shooting some hoops when Jay drove into the parking lot. Frankie told her about the children's classes we had been having to "learn how to improve the world by lighting the candles of our hearts through the teachings of Baha'u'llah."

We continued to stand in the parking lot and talk about how to work together to improve the world as her kids played on the playground with kid's from the children's class that had been playing basketball with Frankie and me. She told me how she had given her life to Jesus Christ and turned her whole life around. She is now married with four kids and lives in a nice house right out side of town. Her story was very inspirational, and the enthusiasm with which she told of the confirmations she has received through the power of prayer gave me hope and energy.

It was beginning to get dark, so we said our goodbyes and promised to meet again.

The next day she stopped by my house and invited me to come over for dinner. She introduced me to her family and laid out a tasty and satisfying meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn.

"It's not Indian, but it tastes good," she said with a laugh.

"It will be as soon as you eat it," I thought.

I secretly wanted to turn my food Indian too when I ate it. I decided that I must have Indian blood in me since we are all humans, and continued eating my food while listening to her family talk about home-schooling, sports, and the tests of living a spiritual life while raising a family to look to God for hope and answers.

________

Frankie took the Hidden Words with him when he left to go to bording school in Pierre. I've never seen anyone so happy to own a copy of the Hidden Words. He didn't want to take it at first because he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to take care of such a precious book.

"A smashed cake tastes just as good," I told him. "You can't go on a journey without taking food with you, and where you're going everyone is hungry. They need you there with this cake to feed them, smashed or not."

Frankie has the sweetest most genuine smile. I really hope I can show you a picture of him soon.

________

Yesterday Earl was out working on the yard again. I asked him if he needed any help.

He said, "No, but you can help me eat these pickles I made last night. I drove all the way to Bizmark to get the spices." Earl really is a generous man. We sat in the shade eating pickles and chatting about his grandkids. After awhile he said he needed to go inside again, but this time I stopped him and told him about the study circle we were going to have the next day at Rick's house. He looked interested in the material, but he said he wasn't much for talking to people he didn't know. I was surprised he said that because he was such an easy person to talk to. I suppose sitting and studying doesn't sound too appealing with people one has never met. I hope that as he learns more about the faith and meets more of the Baha'is he will change his mind.

I'm going to look over Anna's presentation again from book 6 and try a new approach. I haven't gone into much detail about the Faith with Earl yet. Hopefully my prayers will be sincere, and my heart will be open enough to let Baha'u'llah give me the right words to say next time. Earl said himself that he is waiting for God to fix the world. I wonder where he sees himself in that plan.

The Time Has Come...

I'm sorry I do not have any pictures for you yet as it seems I left my card reader in Iowa. Pictures are being taken, though, and I will post them as soon as I get access to a card reader.

Yesterday my landlord, Earl, was watering the grass, so I walked over to talk to him. Earl has lived for many years, and with his kind heart and generous nature, he is always looking for someone to talk to. I asked him why he chose to live on the Rez.

Walking back and forth across the thirsty lawn, he told me of his travels across the country in the 70's, "Back when people would offer you a piece of pie if you stopped to ask for directions and gas was cheep."

He had lived in almost every state, yet he chose to live out the rest of his life on the Rez. Fishing and hunting as a part of the culture and the small number of people here were two reasons he chose to stay.

At that point he turned the water off, turned to me and said, "Where else would I go? The same problems that exist here occur everywhere else in the world. Many parents leave their kids for somebody else to look after and leave them without any guidance. Those children grow up to create the world we now live in. At any rate, I know God is going to fix up the world any time now."

He then indicated that he needed to be heading inside. As he closed the door to his house, he left me with the aching need to let him know. Baha'u'llah had come to give us the guidance we need! The time he was waiting for has arrived!

Children of God

Yesterday I went to the elementery school to see if I could get a job there. They said I could be a substitute teacher on the days I didn't have class or I could be a tutor. I don't know how consistent of a job this will be, but at least it is a start.

When I was walking home from the school I pasted a boy sitting by himslef in the park. His warm smile was very welcoming, so I went over to talk to him. He told me his name was Frankie and that he was nine years old. While we were talking we looked over to see Mary, a Baha'i from Nicaragua that came to Mclaughlin for two weeks to serve the community, walk into the park, sit down with 4 children, and begin to play a game. Frankie and I decided to go join them. The seven of us played a game to learn each others names and a virtue we saw in each other. Then we sang songs, learned a quote, and played more games.

Later that night around 11:30 Frankie came over to my house because his mother was not home. He told me about how he wished he knew a little man who would give him a wish. His wish was to create a whole new world where people were kind to each other, didn't steal, used nice words, and didn't fight. He also sang me a song that helped him when he missed his friends who had died because of fighting. He picked up my prayer book and asked me what it was. I showed him some prayers for the departed, and we said some together. After we prayed for awhile I showed him The Hidden Words and told him that in that book Baha'u'llah had granted his wish. He smiled and looked ito my eyes with excitement waiting to find out how his wish had been granted. "If we follow the guidence of Baha'u'llah our hearts will be filled with his love," I said. "With his love we can build a world of peace."He opened the book and read one of the Hidden Words. As he read the words tears came to his eyes. He pointed to them, smiling, and said, "These are tears of joy, and this is a book of God."

Children's Class

I started classes at Sitting Bull today so I should have regular access to the internet from now on.

Every Sunday the Baha'i community of McLaughlin hosts regular children's classes with three age levels of some 18 kids. I got to be with the 5-6 year olds this time and learn about truthfullness.

This week I will begin to visit the children, and with permission from their parents, conduct smaller chilrens classes in or around their homes. Having a children's class in the home of the children gives me a chance to work with each child one on one to learn about their specific needs while at the same time meeting their parents and giving their parnets a chance to get involved with the classes. The class will consist of a simple 15- min art project with a lesson about a virtue. If at any time the children loose intrest I will not push them to finish, but continue to spend time with them, playing and talking.

I've Found My Home

My heart is so happy.

I'm finaly here, but I cannot write much because I am using up the phoneline of a friend. We found the perfect place to live, so that part is all worked out. I've met many new wonderful friends that I can't wait to tell you more about as I learn about them.

This place posseses such kindness and purity. My heart feels free like it has never felt before. I looked over the missouri river as I was driving here and watched the birds soar over the water. I feel just like those birds.