For the past two years I’ve had the opportunity to go on two mission trips to Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, home of The Lakota people. My home church has a heart for the Lakota, who face many challenges including poverty, alcoholism, and a lack of good housing and jobs.
We’ve spent the last decade developing relationships with residents of the Reservation, sharing the Gospel with them and helping out in any small way we can. In June, 2014 I spent a week on the Rez as a leader with our Youth Group, and one of my jobs was to capture photos and create a video documenting the trip. You can watch the video below.
Shooting on the Reservation is tricky. It’s very hot and dusty and with so much to see and do, lugging a ton of equipment around is pretty much impossible. That’s why I chose to simply use my Canon DSLR and an 18-55mm kit lens, with no tripod and just a spare SD card and battery in a small camera bag. I’m amazed at the versatility of this simple set-up. 18mm is great for shooting hand-held video and zooming to 55 was perfect for most of my photo needs. This year I took the same set-up to Pine Ridge, and here’s a slideshow of some of the photos I captured.
Serving Christ on the Reservation is humbling. When I realize the weight of the issues there it makes me realize how small I am and how little I can do. Thankfully I have a God who is mighty and who loves both myself and the Lakota far more than I can understand. He has a beautiful plan for us and it’s a joy to be even a tiny part of it.