Addiction and poverty often run in tandem.
Unfortunately, that is the case with the Lakota reservation near Kyle, South Dakota. And for the past seven years, students and volunteers from the Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Barrington have been trying to make a tangible difference in the lives of residents there.
The church has been busy preparing for its next trip on June 16, organizing volunteers and collecting household items and monetary donations. The church’s project largely involves sustainable food, sustainable gardening and sustainable methods of saving food, Brain Frank, a lead organizer at the Lutheran Church of the Atonement, explained recently.
“The people of Kyle consider themselves farmers,” Frank said. “They want to grow and use their own food … They are an agrarian culture.”
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Frank has been volunteering with the church’s mission trips for the past nine years. Previous projects have included work to build greenhouses, canning stations, root cellars, drip irrigation and garden fencing.
Frank cheerfully replied when asked what drove him to give up his time for these mission trips.
“Absolutely, my faith,” he said. “I believe it is God’s will for us to do his work and spread his good news.”
“Every year, we bring one or two semi-trucks of household items, furniture and appliances (in working order),” Frank added. “We plan pickups because a lot involve heavy lifting and trucks that most homeowners don’t have access to. There are logistics involved with organizing students and volunteers to make those pickups. … We even perform minor repairs in order to give our friends in Kyle something that is usable.”
Dates for pickup and drop-off at the church, 909 E. Main St., Barrington, are May 20, June 3 and June 10. Early pickups can be arranged by contacting the church at 847-381-0243, Frank said.
These early pickups may be especially useful for those with remodeling projects and haul-away deadlines. Frank’s company, Milieu Landscaping, has the capability to pick up these large, heavy items.
“Our friends out there (in Kyle) just don’t get a shot at appliances and furniture,” Frank said. “That is big, big, big to them. The larger appliances are a real gift.”
Other items include toiletries, bedding, beds, prom dresses, and towels.
And what about volunteers?
Frank said, “What we are looking for is any student that is in eighth grade through their senior year in high school who is looking for a faith-based volunteer opportunity.”
“Our invitation is open to all students who want to come on this trip to serve and grow in their Christian faith,” he added.
Ian Crandall, a high school junior, who has served in Kyle three times before, said in his March worship service presentation that the trip helped him learn about injustice and poverty.
It is one of his favorite weeks of the summer, he said.
“It really makes you feel like you are doing something for others … making a difference for the community,” Ian said.
For Frank, his most vivid memory is the friendships that are made in Kyle, including the ones with students and adult leaders.
“That’s the really striking part for me,” he said.
“We’ve made many trips there, not just with our students,” Frank added. “We are really blessed to have lifelong friends in Kyle. It’s not about skin color and ethnicity and who’s helping whom. We are just friends.”
Kimberly Albrecht is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.