August 3, 2015 My first Pow-wow and my comp gets attacked by a banana

To answer some questions, Elder Wilde and I are getting along great.  We have a ton of fun, and I'm gonna miss him when he goes home on Wednesday.  But, on a happier note, I get to train!  I'll meet him on Thursday (I think)!

Something I think is interesting.  When I first arrived in the area, I was pretty worried about racism on the Rez.  Now, I'm not worried one bit about the Rez.  It's those darn white folks!!  They scare me to death!  I don't mind walking around the Rez one bit, but once I start walking around Gordon, I get a little nervous.  It's backwards, I know. 

This week has been fun!  First off, this weekend was the big Pow-wow in Pine Ridge!  People came from all over the country to be here!  I got to see real Native dancing and hear real Native singing and drumming, and see the real costumes and had real Indian Tacos, and got a "Strippling Warrior" shirt from a member selling custom T's there!  I'll have to take a picture and send it next week!  We only got to spend around 3 hours at the Pow-wow...  We were going to dedicate all of Saturday to walking around the grounds, but my companion had an allergic reaction to a banana and we spent the rest of the day in the apartment.  He broke out in hives and his whole body itched and he puked a few times.   But don't worry, he is fine now!

While walking around the Pow-wow grounds, we had a bunch of people come up to us and start talking to us!  Most of them would say "Hey, I'm a Mormon!  I don't go to church anymore even though I should.  Maybe I should start coming again."  We met a bunch of members from out of town too!  They are sweet!  So far, my favorite native names are either "Iron Lightening", "Not Help Him" or "Jealous of Him".  Yep, that is their real last name.  Pretty sweet!  Love the people here.  Can't say that enough.  Friday night we were walking back to our apartment and this kid was walking in front of us, he looks back and starts talking to us like we were old school mates!  Than, he popped the question, one that I never thought I would be asked, definitely not in the open, nor while wearing a tag that says "Jesus Christ" on it.  He asked me "Hey, you wanna buy some weed?"  Needless to say, we said no.  As we walked away, his friend started to rebuke him, but he responded "you can't be shy about selling weed man!  You just gotta do it!"  

And that is about all there is to update.  Since everyone was busy with the Pow-wow, we didn't get to visit anyone, and Saturday was spent cleaning the apartment since we don't have a P-day in Pine Ridge and my comp was out of commission.  

I love you all loads.  I'm loving it here, and I can feel your prayers and your love. 

Elder Carter V