What a building!

For my post today, I kind of just wanted to talk about how support of people and churches can really impact others, and how support can help any mission field. Nett Lake Baptist Church was first built in the 1950s, and was still standing until March 2003. Needless to say, it was falling apart. When we first started going to Nett Lake, we used to sleep in the church, so we saw everything. The kitchen was in the basement, and it could only get so clean, not the most comfortable looking place. The entire place smelled like mold. When I first walked in, my dad told me that I would be grossed out, but the next time I saw it, I would breath in and I would love it. He was right, and even though there is a wonderful new building, I still find myself missing the old one.

The church bought the land for the new building for $1 from the tribe, and the church members began saving money to build a new church. They managed to collect $150,000 by donations from other churches and money they had gathered themselves. In June 2001, the first hole was dug for the basement. My team was up there, and a few guys stayed behind to help dig it. Through the next two years, members of many teams came up to help build, and many more donated materials. There were over 15 different groups that helped make this dream possible for the Nett Lake church. In March 2003, the new building was dedicated, and at the ceremony there were over 100 people, anxious to see it finished and ready to see what God was going to do through it. When I first went to Nett in June 2001, there were usually 5 to 10 people at church every Sunday. Today, there are an average of around 60 people, a huge blessing.

The entire building process was started by Mark Salmela, who was the Pastor at the time, and was finished with Wally and Shirley Olson, who have worked with Native Americans for over 40 years. Kevin Lasley is now the Pastor, and is doing amazing things with the new building. If the same building were to be built down here, it would cost over $750,000, praise God for everyone who helped build it up there! This was only completed through the power of prayer, and the people God brought into the picture.

The importance of love

This weeked, there is a retreat at Bethel for the spring break mission trips. I love hearing about these, because even though they are only for a week, a few are longer but most aren't, they are so powerful for the people involved. A team of students going down to New Orleans helping rebuild homes is a huge thing, and will affect a lot of people. I think that sometimes people view short-term mission trips as a high school thing that only youth groups go on. Some view them as something that the kids go on to gain experience at witnessing to others, but they don't really mean anything. At least that's what I've gathered from my own experience, at my home curch, and various other people I have talked to.

That is not true by any means, however. Nett Lake is an example of this, as it is such a relational ministry, and one that affects the children of the reservation as well as our team. I could name over 100 kids that I know an that reservation, and I could tell you which ones have accepted Christ. That doens't happen by not caring about the ministry and investing in it, even if we only go there for one week at a time. The point is that we keep going, every other month and every summer, and we let those kids know we love them. If that's not a long term investment, then I don't know what is.

There is a girl named Tiffany, and she is a handful, to say the least. She is fetal alcohol, and also has other behavioral issues. The first time I met her she was 7 years old, and now she's 14. She's very active, and is hard to control, and sometimes it's hard to deal with her. But we love her anyway, and let her come back every time. There is a guy on my team named Aric who has a really special relationship with Tiffany. This past summer, we divided up into groups and prayed for each other. Tiffany prayed for Aric, and this was the first time any of us had ever heard her pray out loud before. When I think about things like that, that's what makes me love short-term missions, and realize the value that it does have, on everyone.

Paying attention

There are many mission fields out there, and all of them are doing wonderful things. It's weird to think about all the people in the world that don't know anything about Jesus, but it's there everyday. Ukraine is a big field, one that's talked about a lot. My dad has gone there 3 times, and he wouldn't trade his experiences there for anything. I just wonder why there are so many other ministries that are given the back burner, and do not have the same interest. At the Minnesota Baptist Conference website, the only thing it says about Native American Ministries in Minnesota is, "MBC has career missionaries who have served on a number of Minnesota Indian reservations for many years.We are interested in reaching out to all Native Americans in Minnesota and are anxious to find those who feel called to this ministry."

This information is under the short-term mission icon, with a note to call Kevin Lasley, the Pastor at Nett Lake Baptist church. This seems a bit off to me, seeing as how the conference wants to be behind the mission, yet they don't have anyone there who we can call to find out about it?

Nett Lake Baptist Church was started in 1952, and became affiliated with the BGC in 1965. Since then, a number of Pastors have worked there, including Wally and Shirley Olson as well as Mark and Kris Salmela, all of whom I know personally. They have all done wonderful things at this reservation, including building a brand-new church building for less than $150,000 because of people who donated time and materials. If the same chuilding were to be built down here, it would have cost over $750,000. Now they have a wonderful Pastor Kevin Lasley, and his wife Kathy.

I could go on and on about how this place is changed because of the work God has done there through these people, but I think I'll save something for my next post! (haha) Just something to think about, maybe we should all pay more attention?

Short-term mission

All over the world, missionaries are sent out to live among people as missionaries, and share with them the news about Jesus Christ. My grandpa, Marv Lindstedt, was one of those people for almost 40 years, in the Philippines. He did amazing things, and many people continue to do it while he is away. But that is not the only way one can serve. We are not all called to become full-time missionaries, which is why short-term missionaries are important.

The Baptist General Conference says this about short-term mission trips, " BGC International Ministries has career missionaries serving on 18 world fields. Exciting things are happening! God has opened many doors, and the opportunities before us are numerous. Our career staff, together with national Christians, cannot possibly do it all. Short-termers can make a valuable contribution to the work. In recent years the ministry on a number of our fields has been propelled forward thanks to the good work of short-term missionaries."

Nett Lake is a short-term mission trip, however, we keep returning, so in a way it is a long-term one as well. I got a call a yesterday from two of the girls at the reservation, asking when we would be coming up again. It was so nice to hear from them, and so encouraging to know that they really truly love us and want us to come back.

My favorite place

One of my favorite places is an Indian Reservation I have gone to with my church for almost 7 years, called Nett Lake. It's in northern Minnesota, 15 minutes away from the town of Orr. The reservation covers over 105,000 acres and it located on Nett Lake, one of the best ricing lakes in the country.

Since going there, I have become good friends with many of the people, and have grown to love them, especially the kids! We do vacation Bible school every summer, and do a variety of different things throughout the year to keep our relationships with them going. These people are very important to me, and this place has changed my life. I have never been anywhere else where I feel I am being so used by God. I'll keep writing and updating about the reservation, my experiences, and the people there.