Prayers and Missouri River flooding

Fr. Anthony and I sat down with calendars and began to map out our schedule of liturgical responsibilities for the semester. We have many times and types of prayer throughout the year and we want to make sure to be able not just to cover them, but have some time to prepare. As chaplain, Fr. Anthony oversees the majority of home prayer and when my duties don’t take me away from St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus, we try to split up most of the rest.

But afterward, I was on the road again. Today my travels took me through Pierre and Fort Pierre, South Dakota. Those towns have suffered much from the flooding along the Missouri River, far more than Chamberlain has. (Watch this video of aerial footage of flooding along the Missouri River in Pierre and Ft. Pierre, South Dakota.) Several hundred people have been evacuated from their homes and the flood waters are still quite high and not expected to go down any time soon. Crews worked feverishly to construct earthen levees between the river and town, and sandbags and standing water are everywhere. Much of the country suffers from drought, and here we have the opposite problem.

Author: St. Joseph's Indian School

At St. Joseph's Indian School, our privately-funded programs for Lakota (Sioux) children in need have evolved over 90 years of family partnership, experience and education. Because of generous friends who share tax-deductible donations, Native American youth receive a safe, stable home life; individual counseling and guidance; carefully planned curriculum based on Lakota culture and individual student needs and tools to help build confidence, boost self-esteem and improve cultural awareness. All of this helps children to live a bright, productive, possibility-filled future. View all posts by St. Joseph's Indian School