Choctaw Indian Fair | 365 Days of Me

The title to this post is a bit misleading. Perhaps it would be said better if I just said, “WE ARE HOME!!!” That is a victory in itself, but that doesn’t mean that a huge part of me is not still in Bogue Chitto, Mississippi with my friends, both Choctaw and the mission team for the week.

I thought this might be a good post to give everyone an overview of the entire week. Some of the things we did included:

A four-day VBS program orchestrated by our new friend, Rachel.

A five-day adult Bible study mostly led by our friend Jeanne, from Wellington, New Zealand (yes, our team is international!)
A evening at the Choctaw Fair, where we watched the first half of the stickball game where Bok Cito (Bogue Chitto) won against Pearl River. Go Bok Cito!

A local Choctaw taught many on our team how to weave stickballs. Totally cool!

Lots of impromptu stickball games in the front of the church where we stayed between locals and some kids on the mission team.
A gigantic slip and slide – what fun!

Several visits to a local retirement home from which lots of great stories were told.
We helped a local pastor and his wife move.
Eyeball Pictures. 😀

Prayer walks, where we pray for communities, services, leadership, etc. This was a great experience.
Covering prayer, where we covered the rest of our group in prayer as they went about their tasks.
An obstacle course.

We spend most of a day cleaning a local church.
Fantastic Indian Tacos

Old friends and new friendships

And much, much more.

When we left this morning, and even last night before bed, hugs were exchanged, laughter happened, tears fell, and hearts were bonded. I love the folks in Bogue Chitto, and honestly, I miss them already. I would name names, but there are so many that touched me, so many relationships that were built, so many that I feel bonded to, I worry I would miss one. Each and every one is important to me.

Have you ever been on a mission trip? Have you ever devoted a significant amount of time making the difference in the life of another? If not, you really shouldn’t put it off any more. Consider partnering with a mission group, perhaps even a Native American mission group, and use what you have been blessed with to make the difference in the lives of others.

Have you ever heard of Stickball? No, I don’t mean baseball, and I don’t mean lacrosse. The Choctaw Indians, as well as some other tribes, play a game called Stickball. Though I am probably off a little on the specifics, it is roughly 100 people on a football sized field, each with two stick with a tiny basket on the end. The players are attempting to get a ball about the size of a golfball from one end of the field to the other without using their hands: throwing, scooping, and carrying, though you wouldn’t want to carry the ball far. You see, if you are carrying the ball, you are fair game for something like a tackle in football, though much more rough.

By the time this post goes live, my family, my home-based church, and several other folks will be watching the final game of the World Series of Stickball. They don’t play the final game until late in the evening, so we may not stay to watch it all, though my plans are to do so.

Last year it was amazing to watch the teams come on the field. There were so many players, and the teams were generally led by drummers who pounded on their war drums. The players hit their sticks together in a most menacing way, letting out war cries as they took the field. This is, to these young men, no game. They are here to win.

This is a picture of a player from the winning team last year, which was Beaver Dam:

A player from Beaver Dam prior to the game.

And last year’s runners up prior to the final game:

Koni Hata before the game

And finally, some action from the final game:

Beaver Dam vs. Koni Hata

This year the final game is Saturday, July 12th, and will start sometime after this post goes live. With any luck Bok Cito (Bogue Chitto) will be in the final match. Lot’s of love to that team, which is the town where our mission trip is based. UPDATE: Bok Cito won in the semi-finals against last year’s champion, Beaver Dam. They will face Pearl River tonight in the finals.

If you would like to donate to help pay for our trip, it’s not too late. Just head over to GoFundMe and see our page on Choctaw Mission 2014.

Tag: Choctaw Indian Fair

Mission Complete

Choctaw Stickball