UmoHo, "People Against the Current"

I've now been back in Lincoln for a week since spending seven days in Walthill, NE. I've had a little time to process my week with the people of the Omaha tribe, but overall I know there is much debriefing to be done before we get a sense of what Grace Chapel's involvement will look like in Walthill. Let me begin by describing much of the week:

The drive to Walthill took about 2.5 hours. We drove in on Hwy 77- basically Walthill is straight north of Lincoln. Walthill is a town of about 900 people, predominantly American Indians of the Omaha tribe. Not too long ago, the town was inhabited by predominantly Anglo people, but when the Omaha people began to migrate out of Macy, Walthill became the place of destination. So imagine a small town in Lincoln with houses (not teepees), now inhabited by predominantly Native peoples. As mentioned in my last blogpost, poverty among Native Americans across Nebraska is around 46%. However, it would not surprise me if in Walthill poverty levels are twice that (above 90%). There is hardly an economy in Walthill and children roam the streets at all hours. Gangs are present as well. Our team leader Dave Krueger described Walthill, while in small-town Nebraska, as being similar to an "inner-city" situation. Many of the houses are boarded up, others burned out by bored kids who find ways to entertain themselves by destroying things. Alcoholism has killed/impacted much of the population through liver disease and diabetes. Some of my wife's relatives who live a few miles away in another town simply refer to the people of Walthill as "troublemakers."

What did we do? We ran Vacation Bible School (VBS) and told Native children about how much Jesus loves them. On MWF we had over twenty kids. For some reason on TTh we had around eight. On most days, a local law enforcement vehicle parked outside our VBS because some of the boys participating were suspected of stealing. This was never established, but it was quite the site (or sight), a group of people running VBS with the local sheriff "supervising." In some of the older boys who came, ate cheese and crackers, did crafts, sat (for the most part) hearing Bible stories, I was captured with how tough they were on the one hand with their street-smarts, knowledge of the ways (curse) of the world, broad range and knowledge of profane words and profane acts that no child should know . . . yet at the same time how they were simply scared kids needing to be loved and know about the love of God for them. To be frank, after the first day of VBS I suggested perhaps kicking out some of the older boys because of how distracting they were to the other kids who seemed very sincere and wanting to learn and listen, . . . yet was humbled to see many of those same older boys as some of the few returning on Tuesday when only eight kids showed up! and even saying when I saw them out and about that "VBS was fun and not boring like we thought it would be."

In addition to VBS, we participated in six different restoration projects including painting two houses owned by native women and doing yard work for another native woman. It felt good to beautify some houses that were in some pretty serious need of paint- the women were so grateful. Some significant highlights of the week: 1) Mary and Orville who came to Christ last year, spent almost the entire week with us on our work sites, with their kids in VBS and sharing meals together (their son Callen is pictured at the top); 2) ministering with the men on our trip to a native man Duane who was broken due to the cancer that had turned his wife into a shell of the woman she used to be and 3) spending the week with Ben Loos, Kelly Russell, Jake Meador and seeing Greg Baker, Linn Erickson, my family as well as the Guthrie family come up for a day during the week.

Practical implications: 1) the trip is quite cost effective ($350 for seven days- compare to $1350 for Haiti for seven days). I think our partnership with Haiti will always remain strong, but what Walthill provides us is the opportunity for others who might have a heart for ministry with more nearby peoples; 2) people who are good with working with children and have skills in painting, construction and housing projects are great on this trip, though admittedly myself being somewhat weak in these areas had a great week too; 3) if some are unable to take a week off or are simply uncomfortable living on air-mattresses, in close quarters and showering in the local high school, the option remains to come down for the afternoon or for just a couple two-three days; 4) the Native peoples who spoke to us were very receptive to our intentions to be there, which to me was a bit surprising given the uneven history between "Christian missionaries" and Native Americans. Duane remembers thinking during his childhood that if he was going to set foot in a Christian church that he would need to cut his sacred hair to do so, so he found other ways to learn about God (outside the church). I am a Christian. In the annuls of church history, Eusebius records of the teenage slave girl Blandina who was put to death for her faith. Upon being asked one last time if she wanted to save her life by recanting her faith, Blandina responded, "I am a Christian. We do nothing of which to be ashamed." I am a Christian. I speak for my own- shame on us for dishonoring the memory of our sister Blandina by keeping the Native peoples from seeing the Gospel clearly and knowing the love of Jesus. Short hair as an essential of the faith? Gimme a break.

All that to say, I was excited and pleased that the Omaha people we came across were very receptive to Christian people coming to their town, if only we might come in love with the only agenda being to serve. Given the rocky history between Christians and Native peoples, before going to Walthill my primary goal for our team was that for Jesus' sake we would leave the week having done more good than harm. For the most part, I think we accomplished our goal- would that goal multiply into the future as we pray about loving these dear, beautiful and Beloved people who have always lived "against the current."