Hi, everyone!
We've made it to Nebraska City, Nebraska. We traveled through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri (for nigh unto forever, it seemed!), Iowa (for only about ten minutes), and then into Nebraska. Tomorrow, we will spend most of the day driving through Nebraska and looking at all the, ummmm. . . corn. Lots of it.
Micah has done really well being in the van all day. He listened to my Zune, did some word searches, read about Lewis & Clark's expedition (while we were traveling in some of the same spots they did. . . go, homeschooling!), and tried to join in on all the adult conversations. He even took a nap for about an hour and a half. We saw the St. Louis Arch, which wowed me once again and wowed Micah to no end. He's talked about it all day.
Tonight when he & I were sitting at Subway, I asked him what the best part of his day was. He said, "The Arch!" When I asked him what the worst part of his day was, he responded, "Well, nothing. The whole day has been fun!" I thought that being in the van for so long might bore him, but it didn't. What a great kid!
Pray for us as we travel to Manderson tomorrow. We've heard that many of the Lakota men have been more friendly than in years past, but that some of the children have been nearly unhandlable. We've also heard that, due to the Fourth coming up this week, many of the kids are shooting off bottle rockets all over the place. It is not uncommon for children as young as four to know how to shoot fireworks. So please pray for our safety and the safety of everyone we're working with.
We should be in Manderson by about five o'clock tomorrow afternoon. If I can get an Internet signal from there, I will post, but if I can't, you'll hear from me again either in the morning before we leave or next Friday on our way back home.
Much love to everyone. Thank you for your many prayers and amazing support.
Blessings,
Sarah & Micah
P.S. It was storming here just before we arrived, but it cleared up as we pulled in. Also, we saw the effects of the flooding in Iowa and surrounding areas. The water was pretty high. . . keep all those affected by that in your prayers.
Who I Am!
27 June, 2008
19 June, 2008
Our Upcoming Mission Trip to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
I'd to tell you about an upcoming mission trip that Micah & I are taking in just over a week. We will be leaving next Friday, 28 June, and returning Saturday, 5 July. Many of you have heard about the trip that I took with our church to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota last year. I had the opportunity to minister, with my church and another local church, to the Lakota Indian people of the town of Manderson. Manderson is a small, poverty-riddled community located close to Wounded Knee, the site of two horrific massacres. Manderson has one business (which is a small general store), a post office, and a school. Two churches are in Manderson; one has pretty much been abandoned by its denomination, and the other is open on Sundays.
I am so proud that our oldest son, Micah, who just turned nine, will be going this year. We will be holding a VBS for the local children for four days. I am the VBS director, and Micah will be serving by helping with recreation! He took a couple weeks to think about and pray about this opportunity, and he is very excited to be going.
After VBS each day, we have several projects planned to help the community. We will be renovating a small park; last year we built the only park benches in this park, and this year we will be expanding upon that. We will have the opportunity to visit a nursing home in nearby Pine Ridge; last year I had the great honor of meeting one of the last windtalkers of World War II there. The one area of service that I am most excited about is feeding the entire community (probably about 400 people!) four nights in a row. Unfortunately, many people in Manderson, especially the children, go to bed hungry every night. We shared one meal with them last year, which opened up many avenues of communication. That communication led to many people not just hearing the Gospel, but understanding it for what may have been the first time. We are honored to literally be the hands and feet of the body of Christ.
I’d like to ask you to pray for us in the following ways:
~TRAVEL: to Manderson is a 22 hour trip. Pray that my van and all the other vehicles will be carried there and back with the protection of God.
~MINISTRY: pray that we will continue to open doors that have been shut for many years due to the way our government has treated the Native Americans, even within the past century. Pray that many will see that what they’ve been searching for is Christ, not alcohol or mysticism or animalism or drugs or desperation, which are all things many people have immersed themselves in.
~PHYSICAL PROTECTION: we are going into what seems to be a different world than where we live. Kids (young children) are permitted to play with fireworks, broken bottles cover the ground, and many Indians may still harbor anger against “the white man”. Not to mention, it can become incredibly hot there (it rose as high as 117 one day while we were there last year!). Please pray that we will be physically protected from the many dangers there. Especially pray for the children who are going; we have about six kids (most are Micah’s age or older) who will go with their parents this year.
Some of you have expressed an interest in participating in our trip financially. If you would like to contribute a gift of any amount, please contact me. Micah & I have been very busy working to meet our goal of $1100, which covers the cost of transportation, food, lodging, and most importantly, the supplies we need to minister to the Lakota people. We have already had a HUGE yard sale, the biggest one I’ve ever had. We had many friends donate items for us to sell, and Micah set up a “Coke Stand” instead of a lemonade stand. The yard sale garnered $400 toward our trip, and Micah’s endeavor netted him just over $100. He has also been working hard cleaning out flower beds for several people, picking up garbage-can-fuls of sticks at my mom’s house, and saving all his birthday money. He has been responsible for raising his own support, and I am proud of the job he’s done so far.
I think that I may have internet access while we are there; it is a small possibility. If I do, I will be uploading pictures and updates to this blog.
You can find out more information about our trip, including pictures from previous trips as well as the names of Manderson men and women to pray for at: http://nbcmissions.info
Another site that explains the more about the spiritual needs of the Laokta people is: http://www.lakotamissions.com/
THANK YOU for your prayers, your support, and your encouragement. Micah & I are so excited about this opportunity, and we hope you are, too!
Many blessings,
Sarah & Micah Basham
I am so proud that our oldest son, Micah, who just turned nine, will be going this year. We will be holding a VBS for the local children for four days. I am the VBS director, and Micah will be serving by helping with recreation! He took a couple weeks to think about and pray about this opportunity, and he is very excited to be going.
After VBS each day, we have several projects planned to help the community. We will be renovating a small park; last year we built the only park benches in this park, and this year we will be expanding upon that. We will have the opportunity to visit a nursing home in nearby Pine Ridge; last year I had the great honor of meeting one of the last windtalkers of World War II there. The one area of service that I am most excited about is feeding the entire community (probably about 400 people!) four nights in a row. Unfortunately, many people in Manderson, especially the children, go to bed hungry every night. We shared one meal with them last year, which opened up many avenues of communication. That communication led to many people not just hearing the Gospel, but understanding it for what may have been the first time. We are honored to literally be the hands and feet of the body of Christ.
I’d like to ask you to pray for us in the following ways:
~TRAVEL: to Manderson is a 22 hour trip. Pray that my van and all the other vehicles will be carried there and back with the protection of God.
~MINISTRY: pray that we will continue to open doors that have been shut for many years due to the way our government has treated the Native Americans, even within the past century. Pray that many will see that what they’ve been searching for is Christ, not alcohol or mysticism or animalism or drugs or desperation, which are all things many people have immersed themselves in.
~PHYSICAL PROTECTION: we are going into what seems to be a different world than where we live. Kids (young children) are permitted to play with fireworks, broken bottles cover the ground, and many Indians may still harbor anger against “the white man”. Not to mention, it can become incredibly hot there (it rose as high as 117 one day while we were there last year!). Please pray that we will be physically protected from the many dangers there. Especially pray for the children who are going; we have about six kids (most are Micah’s age or older) who will go with their parents this year.
Some of you have expressed an interest in participating in our trip financially. If you would like to contribute a gift of any amount, please contact me. Micah & I have been very busy working to meet our goal of $1100, which covers the cost of transportation, food, lodging, and most importantly, the supplies we need to minister to the Lakota people. We have already had a HUGE yard sale, the biggest one I’ve ever had. We had many friends donate items for us to sell, and Micah set up a “Coke Stand” instead of a lemonade stand. The yard sale garnered $400 toward our trip, and Micah’s endeavor netted him just over $100. He has also been working hard cleaning out flower beds for several people, picking up garbage-can-fuls of sticks at my mom’s house, and saving all his birthday money. He has been responsible for raising his own support, and I am proud of the job he’s done so far.
I think that I may have internet access while we are there; it is a small possibility. If I do, I will be uploading pictures and updates to this blog.
You can find out more information about our trip, including pictures from previous trips as well as the names of Manderson men and women to pray for at: http://nbcmissions.info
Another site that explains the more about the spiritual needs of the Laokta people is: http://www.lakotamissions.com/
THANK YOU for your prayers, your support, and your encouragement. Micah & I are so excited about this opportunity, and we hope you are, too!
Many blessings,
Sarah & Micah Basham
10 June, 2008
Help Our Friends Win a New Van!!!
Hey, guys! Our friends, Micah & Poem Atkinson, have entered a contest to win a new van from KidzBop. They made their own video, submitted it, and have become finalists in the contest! They will win if they receive the most votes, so here's the site:
http://www.kidzbop.com/contest/minisite
The name of their video is The First Time_Micah
You can vote daily after you've registered, and every kid in your house can register and vote.
http://www.kidzbop.com/contest/minisite
The name of their video is The First Time_Micah
You can vote daily after you've registered, and every kid in your house can register and vote.
04 June, 2008
Scott really is my father's grandson. . .
Today we were leaving the childcare area the YMCA, when Scott Casimer squatted down to smile through the glass at one of the babies still inside. I was talking to a friend when he did this. . . suddenly I heard all the ladies at the front desk giggling. When I turned to look at Scott, I beheld the source of their amusement. . . Scott's "bootie crack" (as we call it) was shining for all to see. I had to put him in a larger (than what he's been wearing) size of pants today because he's recently outgrown most of his smaller pants. . . evidently he's not quite filling out the larger pants yet. Yes, he is Cas K.'s grandson! Plumber pants and all. . .
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