Floyd wrote a journal on the 2006 trip as follows:
- June 23, 2006, Friday
We left about 6:30 in the morning from Mufreesboro, Tennessee. We were in four
vans, with two pulling trailers loaded with luggage, equipment and supplies for
the mission trip. We drove through the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois,
Missouri, a small corner of Iowa, and into the state of Nebraska for a total of
680 miles (about 1094 Km). We stayed overnight in the town of Nebraska City,
Nebraska. There were only four people in the van I was in, so we could lie down
in the seats during the long trip. Two people took turns driving, and I acted
as navigator to make sure we stayed on the right road. Dave Hart had a
Satellite Positioning Device (SPD) to keep track of our progress, but I
preferred my FPS (Floyd Positioning System) which consisted of a map in my lap
and watching for road signs. We arrived in Nebraska City, Nebraska in time for
supper. We all went to bed very tired from our long trip.
- June 24, 2006, Saturday
We left Nebraska City at 6:15 in the morning and drove through the state of
Nebraska and into the state of South Dakota for a distance of 569 miles (about
915 Km) and arrived in Manderson about 4:30 in the evening. We passed through a
time zone about half way through Nebraska. Nebraska is a large, mostly empty
state with miles and miles of sand hills and very few people. After we unloaded
our luggage and supplies from the trailers, we ate supper which was prepared by
three Lakota ladies. We met the group from a church in Kentucky who were mostly
young people with their adult counselors. They numbered about 24, with 24 from
the churches from Tennessee, to form the mission team. After supper we went to
a Native American Pow Wow. A Pow Wow is a gathering of Native American
musicians, singers, and dancers. The only instruments are drums, and the
singers sing chants, which we could not understand, in time to the drums. The
dancers were all dressed in native costumes which included a lot of feathers,
beads and bells which rang with each dance step. My group left at 9:30, but the
Pow Wow lasted most of the night, with dance competitions starting about 10:30.
A teenage boy, Wilber Red-Elk went with us. He is a good friend of the church
group and stays with the group every year. He didn't say much on the way to the
Pow Wow, but did talk a little on the way home.
- June 25, 2006, Sunday
We met at the church hall building at 6:00 for breakfast. We finished breakfast
and cleaned up by 8:00. We had to be finished by 8:30 because another group was
scheduled to use the hall at that time. After breakfast, we went to the old
Episcopal church for worship services. The Episcopal church is only used rarely
now, so we had the building to ourselves. After worship service, we went
through the town of Manderson and handed out information sheets giving the
times and places of all the activities we planned to hold that week. We met
many Lakota men who are friends to Dave, and they promised to come to the men's
breakfast each morning. We met Loren and Orlin Shoulders, who are the brothers
of Snake Shoulders who died a few months ago. Loren asked each group of
missionaries to pray with him with the circle getting larger with each group he
met. Dave gave him a picture of Snake that had been made the year before, and
Loren lovingly held the picture and cried openly. I had always heard that
native Americans were very stoic, showing little emotion, but they love their
family members as any of us and mourn a death in their family as any of us
would. We had a hot dog supper for the town that night. After supper, the team
went to the badlands, accompanied by Wilber and his sister, as always. The
badlands is a large formation of dirt hills and gullies which stretch for
miles. The sun setting over the badlands is one of God's wonders of beauty. We
held a sundown worship service and divided into prayer partners and prayed for
the coming week that we would be used to spread the Gospel to Manderson and
show the love of Christ in all of our dealings with the Lakota.
I will continue with the rest of the week in my next letter.
- June 26, 2006, Monday
Today is a holiday in Manderson because it is the anniversary of the victory at
the battle of the Little Big Horn river by an alliance of Indian tribes over
the 7th Calvary. The public buildings are closed.
We had our first men's breakfast starting at 9:00. I have been appointed as a
cook for the breakfast. I am not a cook so I have to rely on the providence of
God, and the advice of several women who were cooking for the mission team, to
get through this. We made egg and sausage burritos for breakfast, but we had no
idea how many men would show up. In past years Dave has had as few as 3 and as
many as 20 for breakfast. We had at least 32. After eating, all of the men
stayed to hear our devotion about God. After feeding the men, I gave a short
devotion about Experiencing God, and Dave discussed The Purity of God. The
women's group had 24 with 3 children, the Bible School had 9 toddlers, 8
babies, 41 children, and 12 youth. After cleaning up, Dave and I visited with
people in the community. Dave presented the Shoulders family with cards and
pictures made by the Sunday School children in Murfreesboro expressing sympathy
for the death of Snake. The family expressed thanks for the prayers of sympathy
by the children.
In the afternoon, the mission team, accompanied by Wilber Red-Elk, visited
Mount Rushmore, the mountain on which is carved the faces of four famous
American presidents. We then went to the mountain where the memorial to Crazy
Horse, the famous War Chief of the Sioux nation, is being carved. We witnessed
a light show and then a blast removing part of the mountain, which is part of
the carving process. I was told that in the museum at the base of the Crazy
Horse mountain, there is a picture of Pat Red-Elk with his grandfather who was
a chief of the Lakota, taken when Pat Red-Elk was a toddler. Wilber Red-Elk,
our ever-present friend, is the grandson of Pat Red-Elk. Pat Red-Elk was
present at each Men's breakfast held during the week. We drove home and I got
to bed at 1:30 in the morning.
- June 27, Tuesday
I got up at 5:30. I had breakfast at 6:15 and then we started to cook for the
men. We prepared egg, cheese and bacon burritos. We had 25 men present. After
breakfast I gave a devotion about the coming judgment and the forgiveness of
sin through Christ.
After breakfast, I talked a long time to Duane Fire-Thunder. He took us out on
the prairie to an old church which was built in 1861, but has not been used in
over 50 years. His family cemetery is on a hill overlooking the old church. We
found an old Gideon Bible in the dirt on the floor of the church and several
pages from a song book and an old book of prayer. The women's group had 32
women and the youth had 17 at the Bible School. The mission team had devotions
at 9:00 that night.
- June 28, Wednesday
We cooked eggs and pancakes for the men's breakfast. We had 29 men come for
breakfast. I gave a devotion about how we are new creatures in Christ and that
it is the struggle that gives us strength. The women's group had 28 women with
3 children, there were 45 children and 19 youth in the Bible School. It is very
hot today. We planned to have a horseshoe tournament for the men in the
afternoon and a carnival with games for the children. There was no shade, so
the men waited for it to cool down before starting the horseshoe tournament.
The carnival started with the children playing various games for small prizes.
The children ignored the heat. Suddenly it started to rain, and it cooled down.
Wesley Pawnee-Leggins planned the horseshoe tournament which was played right
through the rain storm. After the tournament, the four top winners were given
prizes. By this time, the rain had stopped and it was a cool evening. The
mission team served a taco dinner. Several Lakota ladies had come to the
kitchen in the morning to make Indian fry bread. It took all morning and into
the afternoon to make enough fry bread for the dinner. Beans with meat,
lettuce, and tomatoes was spread on the fry bread, and the fry bread was folded
- June 29, Thursday
I walked to the church hall for breakfast at 6:00. I noticed that the
playground had may teenaged boys playing basketball, and it was before 6:00. I
was told that they play basketball early in the morning and late in the evening
because it is too hot to play during the day. We made eggs and sausage gravy
over toast. If it were not for the ladies giving us advice, the sausage gravy
would have really been strange because we had no idea how to make it. We had 32
men come for breakfast. This was decision day, so I handed out slips of paper
with questions to check off. We handed out Gideon pocket testaments and read
the plan of salvation. We then asked the men to check off the decisions they
had made during the week. 10 checked that they were Christians, 13 checked that
they had accepted Christ as their savior this week, 5 checked that they were
thinking about their relationship to God, one slip was turned in blank, and 3
were not turned in. I know that the slips that were turned in may not truly
reflect the decisions that were made, but they served to make the men think
about the decisions they need to make in light of the gospel that they had
heard this week. Only they and God know the decisions they made. There were 28
women in the women's group, 30 children and 20 youth in the Bible School. !7 of
the youth went swimming at a nearby park. There was a senior lunch and Bingo
game for the seniors. Dave and his family visited a nursing home.
- June 30, Friday
This morning we had 35 men for breakfast, the most ever. We thought we might
have a small turnout because this is payday and to get paid, the men have to go
personally to the Indian Affairs office in another town. However, we had steak
and eggs which was a good attraction. I gave a devotion about how to know that
the Bible we share is the truth. As he had all week, Dave followed with a
devotion of his own. So this was truly a joint effort. We said that we wanted
to do more than just do good deeds. If we only wanted to do good deeds, we
could do that closer to home. We wanted to share the gospel and show Christ's
love. There were 27 women in the women's group. One of the counselors shared
with two young ladies at Bible School, and they accepted Christ as Savior. That
night was an Ice Cream dinner with drawings for children, youth and adult
prizes. Each time a child or youth attended Bible School, each time a man
attended the men's breakfast, and each time a woman attended the women's group
they got a ticket. The tickets were placed in a box, and the tickets were drawn
to win a prize. The grand prize for the adults was an air conditioner and a
washer and drier. It is very hot today. As we finished up with the drawings,
there was a lighting storm, but little rain.
- July 1, Saturday, July 2, Sunday
We traveled home by the same route we came. We had our last devotion time
together on Saturday night.
Family names among he Lakota is fairly recent, and many of the family names
sound strange to us. Some of the names are Red-Elk, American-Horse,
Fire-Thunder, Ghost, Jumping-Eagle, Looks-Twice, Respects-Nothing, Kills-Enemy,
Spotted-Eagle, and Weasle. Remember that these are people just like us who need
Christ as their savior. Pray that we never forget to share the gospel with
them.
Please continue to pray for the Lakota people in Manderson. Many in the team
felt that we had made more progress this year than in previous years. Please
pray for Cecil Ghost who was hurt in a car crash just before we arrived and who
is in the hospital. Also pray for Jonathan Hart, Dave's father. Mr. Hart
received Chemo-therapy on Friday, June 23 and immediately left for Maderson
because he did not want to miss the mission trip to his friends. Mr. Hart is
now in the hospital with an infection and is continuing with the treatments.
Also please pray for our desire to have a more permanent presence in Manderson
as God directs.
I hope you have found these letters interesting
In Christ's love,
Floyd Gonzalez