From Dream to Fruition

We're about to move into our first building and it's like watching the sun climb above the prairie to the East of us after a night of dense fog. The brilliant orange orb sends its heat and burns off the mist that prevented us from seeing clearly. We've been formulating and refining the main ideas of Life Initiatives, but it's been kind of in that foggy state. But it's about to cross the threshold into the world of the Tangible. It's exciting.

The core of Life Initiatives is bringing people and resources together in a way that produces a better life. So we're about to move into "the Barn" in the Sioux Addition (a housing subdivision), just north of Lakota Homes in North Rapid. I'd show you a picture, except that my camera disappeared from "the Barn" while I was repairing the plumbing. A professional photographer who is volunteering his talents took pictures and I'll share them soon. He'll be coming back after we paint over the graffiti so you can have a "before" and "after" perspective!

Anyway, we have a meal every Sunday around 12:30 pm with anywhere from 40 to 100 in attendance. In conjunction with that meal, we will be setting up a resource center to help people establish an account with SD Jobs, do job searches online, find medical information, housing information, counseling information... you name it! We already have the computers, all we need is room in the budget for internet service in the building! (see our website for more info!!!) On some Sundays, right after the meal, we'll have a mini-seminar on how to get the most out of a job interview, or how to tap into resources for buying a modest home, or info on medical issues like dealing with diabetes and heart disease, or even learning more about Lakota Culture! This is the venue where we bring together folks who want help with those who are able to provide expertise (whether these "mentors" are Native or Non-Native people).

If you're looking to improve your life, or you want to help someone improve their life, stop by and join us for a meal and see the Resource Center. (or call for more info - (605) 430-0794)

The building we're in is being rented by He Sapa New Life (pronounced "hay SAW pah", meaning "Black Hills"), the Native American church we're partnered with. Much of what we're doing in Life Initiatives is just providing services and networking to Native people. Some of the services are offered really well by He Sapa New Life - things like addiction support groups, or family and personal counseling. So we've naturally blended a lot of what we're doing. Larry (He Sapa's Pastor) is also co-President of Life Initiatives, so we're connected in a few ways. So when He Sapa found a new 7-day-a-week site (aka "the Barn"), Larry invited Life Initiatives to share an office.

Now that brings me back to the plumbing. The Barn has been empty for over 2 years, and when it was vacated, they turned the water off, but didn't drain the pipes. Did you know that 40 linear feet of copper pipe, when filled with ice can actually fracture in more than 18 places? That's just the cold water line! The hot water heater didn't fare real well either.

So we've had a crew of people helping with cleaning, repairing, and getting ready for the move. This whole process has been awesome. I forgot to give the address where "the Barn" is. Here's a map:


View Larger Map

I'll be back tomorrow with more stories about the move to... "the Barn"....