Caroline Nordt

As soon as I got back from South Dakota last year, I knew I wanted to come back. Little did I know it would be so different. Over the past year, I got closer to God after this trip. Last year coming back wasn't certain. The church wanted the youth to go someplace else. But to us South Dakota is the only place for us. This year we had more than ever before and still had a waiting list. So after we all packed onto the vehicles we set off on an amazing journey. We listen to awesome, wild, zany music and shared stories and laughs. Hotels were full of late nights and more laughs only to leave us more exhausted in the morning. Once we got to South Dakota we somehow managed to get all of our stuff off the bus. We stayed at Crazy Horse School the first two nights then later moved to the TNT center. We ate dinner and mainly stayed with our church instead of eating with the Minnesotans as I called them. That was one thing different from this year and last. This year I didn't get very close with the other church as last. We mainly kept to ourselves and talked when necessary. I was in the group named Rez Dogs. We had building clean up the first day which meant I had to clean the bathroom. After we had rientation for Kids Club. Kids Club has always been a favorite of mine. Seeing that thes kids only need simple thiings to be happy showed me that all these kids wanted was love and I gave it. After Kids Club we had free time. That afternoon we couldn't get to the showers due to a wake going on. After dinner we went to Club. After, we had church group time where we started doing the rose, bud, and thorn of our day. After we finally got to shower we walked over to the TNT Center for the coldest showers ever. Well, it wasn't that bad. But from others there were lots of screams. I calmly washed my hair and got out. Then we went to bed. The next day started by moving all of our stuff to the TNT Center. After that the day went on like the day before. Except instead of orientation we got to clean the boys and girls bathrooms. And the girls did both while the boys "mopped" the gym. The next day we went to paint houses. My group got Stan and Sandra's house. The best is the fact that we painted it pink! Stan wanted to paint his house pink for breast cancer. We didn't get the chance to really talk with either of them but it was still a lot of fun. We finished up and the day continued like normal. The next day was the last day of work. Oddly enough Stan thought we had finished and threw out the paint. We still had a good hour of work left. We found the paint and finished the house. We then went to Willard's with all of the other groups. Willard had the cutest puppies in the whole world. I put one in a somewhat of a sling at the bottom of my shirt and painted at the same time. Willard took us out to his sweat lodge and talked about the culture and traditions of the Lakota people.He talked about how sacred women were to them. I found it to be very interesting. After we rushed back to the TNT for dinner prep, because it was the night of the community picnic. We all ate then ran around acting crazy. That night in club was the footwashing. Ths night is one that last year and this year made me cry so hard. The only words to describe it is that it felt like you could almost se God. After we all went to bed. Then the next morning we packed, cleaned up, and left. I am writing this as we are in the van on the way home. This trip has bonded me with these people. Many people question the long drive and whether it is worth it. To me, that is what makes this trip so special. We bond with the others around us. We love each other and that's amazing. There is talk of this trip ending after this year. This is a mistake. This trip shows us how to love. Before this trip I felt self-conscious about talking with people about religion, but after God is my life. When you go out to the middle of nowhere you can see God in the fullest. You make friends with those you wouldn't have thought of before.