Day 1

It was a warm and muggy morning as team members from across the diocese began to prepare for their journey along The Road to Rosebud. With parish blessings and a few hugs from parents, youth piled into vans and headed to Valentine for our annual pilgrimage to serve the children of the Rosebud Reservation. At about 5:00 pm, team members converged on St. John's Episcopal Church in Valentine, NE and were warmly welcomed by the parish's warden, Karl Busch.

The trailer was quickly unpacked and everyone quickly set up their bunks, some with air mattresses, others with cots. After a quick team leader meeting, it was off to pick up our traditional first dinner of the trip, pizza from Pizza Hut. Over dinner, team members from the different parishes began to get to know one another and the noise was almost deafening as everyone was as busy talking as eating.

With dinner behind us, we got to know each other even better; and then it was time to begin another traditional part of the trip, our safeguarding God's children class and a general introduction to the VBS program being offered and the service projects we are anticipating working. With the help of those who have been on the trip before, new team members quickly got a grasp of how the teams work together. Next we began to prepare for tomorrow's VBS. You could sense the excitement in the air. There were youth preparing crafts, another worship, and a third music. Afterwards, we had our first group bible study and then took a break to make sure we had our bunks in order and that we were ready for tomorrow.

As the evening came to an end, our team made their way into the sanctuary where one of our teams led us in Compline. With our prayers said, our first evening together came to an end and when the lights went out, it was amazing how quickly silence fell over the space.

Thank you Jesus for our safe travel and we ask that you bless the work we do, the people we meet, and us your servants as we share the love of God with those you send us.