New Friends from Friends University!!
Earlier this month we had the great pleasure of hosting 9 students from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. These student were apart of a campus ministries group that spent the last year planning this week long trip to come up to Wolf Point and experience our schools and community. We were beyond blessed by this group and wanted to share some of the exciting things that happened that week.
The trip started off in the early morning of Saturday May 11th and then over the next 18 hours their 12 passenger cargo van covered over 1,000 miles. Since many of the student hadn’t been through this part of the country before they took their time through the scenic badlands and rolled into the Sherman Inn late Sunday night.
Monday morning came early and the crew of eager college students made their way to Southside Elementary school to be teamed up with their classes. Each Friends’ student was paired with a different teacher for the week giving them all a different group of kids and age group to work with. This made everyone’s trip unique, each one coming back to the hotel at night with funny and heartwarming stories to share about their kiddos!
Matty heading off to class!
Have fun Bailee!
Later John..
Not sure who is more nervous, Jacob or the kids?
The first full day at school was wearing on everyone so it was nice to have a relaxed evening in the hotel. After dinner, TO board members Morgan Elliott and Mary Lou Miller (long time Wolf Point resident) came by the hotel to meet all the students and chat with them about life on the Rez, the goals of the ministry, and how everything got started. It was great to lay the groundwork for the week and start building relationships between the students and ministry staff.
Board member Morgan Elliott talking about how the ministry got started
Friends students and recent graduate soaking it all in
Discussions at the hotel were followed up with a quick drive through to town to give everyone a real feel for Wolf Point. Mary Lou took the large passenger van by just about every street and side corner, giving our friends from Kansas a complete picture of our our community.
Rounding up the troops!
Bailee, Emma, and Jacob enjoying the van ride.
Tuesday everyone made their way back to the classrooms and really enjoyed learning more about the teachers and kids they were paired with. It didn’t take long at all for the kids to really start winning over the hearts of these out of towners and the joy and laughter they brought was contagious! Tuesday night the group was split up and a dinner/salad combo was served at the two seperate Tikkun Olam houses. This gave the students a chance to meet the rest of the ministry staff as well as tour the homes that TO provides. It was fun to get to know each other even more and was insightful to hear their thoughts on the kids, school, and community so far.
Wednesday was another fun filled day at school! We wanted to introduce the students to our Northside kids (4th-6th grade) so we planned an impromptu kick ball game at the northside playground after school. With assembly line tactics the Friends’ group made quick work making ninety or so PB&J sandwiches and then hustled outside to play with the growing amount of kids. The below photos barely do the afternoon justice but let’s just say it was a beautiful afternoon filled with giggles and smiling kids!
The evening spent playing with kids outside was a highlight for many and what’s better than putting a smile on a kids face!!
Thursday was the last day in the classroom and for everyone in the group it was hard to say goodbye at the end of the day. All the teachers and staff at Southside were blown away by the compassion and love this group of students were able to give in a short week. It was a huge help to have an extra set of hands in the classroom and the teachers were sad to see their helpers have to leave as well.
To end the week and celebrate all the hard work our new friends did the TO family hosted a BBQ at one of the new Tikkun Olam houses. It was a great evening filled with hot dogs, hamburgers, s’mores, campfire songs, basketball games, and encouraging conversation. The friendships and bonds that started to grow between the Friends University students and Tikkun Olam staff really came full circle. It was such an encouragement to hear how touched everyone was by our community and this mission and we know that many of them will be back!!
From left to right: Taylor, Nathaniel, Jacob, Bailee, Emma, Sarah, Matty, Anna, and John
Thank you so much for making the long drive up, spending every possible moment loving on the kids God put across your path, and uplifting those around you. We were so blessed by your visit and can’t wait to have you out again next year!!!