11/29/21 Rapid City motorcycle Chain Gang

Hello! Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

We had a great week!

Monday - District Pday! We toured Ft Mead and then had a great ole Hot Dog Roast. The weather here is so bipolar. We were so lucky because it was BEAUTIFUL all day! We met this guy named Scott. We gave him a book of Mormon and he offered to say a prayer for us on our missionary journeys! He brought out his peace pipe and we all passed it around. He sang a Lakotan prayer and MAN the spirit was so strong! I love South Dakota

Tuesday - After district council we drove down to Chadron NE to do an exchange with the sisters there. I stayed with Sister McLane (Sister Sunshine I call her) but I can't even express how much I love small towns! We had dinner with a convert family at Pizza Hut. Did anyone else know Pizza Hut was a sit down restaurant? cuz I didn't. But everyone we talked to in that small restaurant was ridiculously kind! I mean it! All from other faiths, but they wished us well on our journey. That is one thing I love about small towns is that everyone knows each other (don't get me wrong that is also a downside) But to all the people we met that day. They were good, kind people. The next day we decided to do our studies on Chadron State Campus. We, being silly gooses, forget that it's thanksgiving week, so the campus was basically empty. But we stayed anyway. We got hit by a big blizzard, which by miracle, brought so many people inside! We met a few of the student workers and we gave them stickers and AH these people are so kind! None of these workers were of our faith, but they brought us hot chocolate and wanted to get to know us. We are random strangers, yet, they made us feel loved and in turn we were able to share a bit of the gospel with them. After our campus day we went to the only restaurant in town other than McDonalds... A Chinese Buffet... Let me tell you.. yum. It was the best thing ever. I could eat spring rolls and wontons for days! But our friend Val invited us! She is a professor at Chadron State and we had the most uplifting conversation about school and Christ! She was so involved and interested! The Restaurant is super small but it was packed and we got to meet a few other curious folks. I love Chadron.

Thanksgiving was a blast! We spent the meal with some members and tried to keep ourselves busy the rest of the day.

We filmed a music video up at Falling Rock Thursday morning and pictures are down below!

We passed off Shon to the Chicago missionaries :( we miss him. But he gave us the nickname of Rapid City Motorcycle Chain Gang!

Sunday night! We had the COOLEST devotional! Brother Not Help Him from Pine Ridge did a devotional for all us missionaries on the Lakota Culture! I am still in awe to what I learned. Here's a few tidbits

Brother Not Help Him comes from both Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull (if you don't who that is, they are CRAZY IMPORTANT in native culture) he is the Branch president of the Pine Ridge Reservation and he is a powerful leader for all os us.

Words in Lakota'n

- Tiwane (family)

- Tunkasila (Heavenly Father)

- Wanikiya (Jesus Christ)

- Woniya Wakan (Holy Ghost)

- Winyan (Eve)

- Wilasa (Adam)

The whole culture is full of symbolism

- star symbol is representative of the morning start (jesus Christ)

- Tipi is a woman, foundation of the home, the covering is the man (protector)

- Eagle has two wings representative of the Aaronic priesthood and Melchizedek Priesthood

- Red is a sacred color representing the blood of Christ

- Apron: Garden of Eden hiding their nakedness

- Breastplate: 12 tribes of Israel

- Waziliya sacred herbs used from prayer like incense of temples of old.

If you have heard of the White Buffalo. That is Jesus Christ. Buffalos are a spiritual sign and white means pure and in the tale they believe that a person in white came and gave them their religion! (reference 3 Nephi 11)

The Levit's in the scriptures have medicine men (med able to heal), the Lakota's tribe also had medicine men! "

The Aaronic Priesthood will never be taken again until the sons of Levi offer again an offering to the Lord in righteousness, D&C 13."

The Sun Dance ( or the Son Dance) represents Christ atonement for us. Since he has already performed the atonement, they rarely perform it due to sacredness

Look up the prophecy of Crazy Horse. He prophesied that the generations will gather under the tree of life and bury their weapons of war (Anti-Nephi-Lehi's) so cool!

Brother Not Help Him shared that something went wrong when they turned from a Christ centered worship to an earth centered worship. Which is what most natives believe.

I learned so so much from this devotional. More than anything I felt the spirit confirm that Christ did appear to the Lakota'n people and he did organize his church. They worship Christ in such a spiritual way.

I love being a missionary!

Sister Barlow

1823 Moon Meadows

Apt #723 Rapid City

57702

pictures

- we built this tipi just the two of us!

- FIRE

- the elders locked us in the trailer...

- Rapid City District with Scott, our traveler!

- Chadron Skies

- Sister McLane!