Houston, The Eagle Has Landed!

After traveling from all points on the globe MOST of the group has arrived safely in Mission, SD.  We are still waiting for Gary and Lisa whom we expect around dinner time.  Yesterday included much sightseeing for all the groups but was not without it's challenges.  Our living quarters are perhaps a little more cramped than we would like, and the normal house-sized kitchen is nothing compared to the industrial kitchen we enjoyed in West Virginia.  Nonetheless, everyone is safe and healthy and we are air-conditioned, which is most definitely needed here!

I'm alone in the house right now as the groups have gone off to work, John and Jed are shopping, and Emmett is peacefully napping.  The internet connection is spotty, at least for me.  Some folks have no problem connecting with their phones, but I can't seem to.  For right now, here are some pics of the sightseeing that Dave and I did on our way here yesterday.

One of South Dakota's top 5 money crops is sunflowers.  This is a small portion of one field that we passed.  Several miles down the road were about 40 bee hives.

This is just one pic of about 1000 I took in the Badlands.  See the striations in the rock?  This photo doesn't do the colors justice.  Tans, browns, reds, pinks, yellows, and greens at various points in the park.  Pretty darn cool!

This is a bull bison in the Badlands.  He is facing the road, guarding a herd of about 15 cows and their calves.  He was really awesome

And these were my favorite little prairie denizens, the prairie dogs!  There was an a
enormous field with what seemed like thousands of mounds.  They are super cute and curious.

We also saw a bighorn sheep, but went by him too fast to get a photo.

It's now after noon and the closest work group has come back for lunch.  They are very hot and tired as they are digging ditches to correct a sewage problem.  There is a report from another group that they have encountered black widow spiders and are requesting raid.  The excitement never ends!

I'm going to sign off for now.  Please pray for our work, our people, and the SD Lakota.

Cindy