What if?

Mike, St. Joseph's President
Mike, St. Joseph’s President

It was one of those moments that you are fortunate to experience… like so many others over the past 30 years. I am frequently reminded that the mission at the heart of our work at St. Joseph’s Indian School is truly a blessing for all who are open to it!

It started with our yearly Christmas Store, held on December 12 this year.  Like many other caring staff, I volunteered to assist as our students select Christmas gifts for their family members.  The Christmas Store comes about because of the generosity of so many.  Students are able to select gifts for their siblings and family members.  It is an opportunity to give someone a present that they might not otherwise have.

Throughout the day, some staff help students pick out gifts. Others, like me, volunteer to help wrap presents. There’s music playing and Santa Claus is here. St. Joseph’s high school students even assist the younger students.  It is a lot of fun!

After assisting a couple of students in wrapping their presents, there was a short break between groups… And there it sat on a table full of wrapping paper.

It was a letter to Santa Claus.

I was not sure where it came from, but it had all the magic that a letter to Santa should have. It had a few misspellings and imperfect penmanship, just as a child’s letter should.  But it was magic nonetheless. It asked for gifts for her siblings, and she had drawn a few pictures.

But mostly, I was struck by the spirit of the letter! Simply stated, this child was given the opportunity to ‘Believe’ in the magic of Christmas.

With this being the Christmas Season, I find there are a number of Christmas movies that give one perspective. In the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Baily sees a world without himself in it!  This led me to the question, what would the world be like without St. Joseph’s Indian School? What if we did not have so many generous supporters? What kind of Christmas would our students and their families have?

How would their lives be impacted? 

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Student letter to Santa.

Thirty years ago, my wife and I were fortunate to come to St. Joseph’s Indian School. Back then, the plan was to take a year and see if we could make a difference.  And what we have 30 years later is a lifetime full of memories and many instances where the Mission impacted us far more than we impacted the Mission.  So what George Baily realized, I too realized.  How truly lucky I am to be part of this wonderful Mission that is St. Joseph’s Indian School. 

That student letter was a simple reminder of the magic that is in the hearts of our students, their families, the staff and our supporters. It is you, our supporters, and your generosity that allows the Spirit of the Mission to thrive each and every day on our campus.  And it is during this important Christmas Season that your generosity is most apparent in the eyes of the children we serve!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The Spirit is alive!  God Bless!

Mike, St. Joseph’s President

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.

5 thoughts on “What if?”

  1. Hi Mike.. What a blessing! Thank you so much for sharing the magic. Have a wonderful Christmas and many more blessings in the New Year

  2. My Name Is Mary. I Am Garland Richards Wife And I Want To Tell You Something Great That Happened To Our Dear Garland. You Probably Do Not Know This, But Garland’s Health Has Been Quite Poor Over The Last Three- Four Years. I Needed To Find Him Better Alternatives To Cure Him Than What An Ordinary M.D. Could Provide. In My Search, I Came Upon “Frequency Healing” On YouTube. I Was Working With DNA Healing And Others Over The Last Four-Six Months. Just Recently, I Came Upon “Planet Healers From India” And Spoke To Garland Who Was Ready To Do Anything. Well, I Want To Tell You, IT WORKED!!!!! Doctor Mahesh hukmani, Records 30 Seconds Of Your Voice, Then He Looks To See If You Have Any Out-Of-Sync Notes, Which Are Frequencies…Garland’s Missing Notes Were,( I CAN Say WERE!!) The Notes, C, C#, G, G# And The Note, D. The Good Healer (Doctor) Then, After The Voice Recording, Makes The “PRESCRIPTIONS”, Which Are HEALING, I MEAN HEALING, Sounds (FREQUENCIES) Which He Then Sends To Your Email In A MP3 Format Which You Then Record To A Hard Copy. You Listen To These Frequencies For 10 Days In A Row, One For A. M., One For P. M. So Twice A Day, For About 16-20 Minutes Daily This Is What You Do. Garland Did As He WAs Told. Yesterday, He Recorded Again, This Time The Good Doctor Said That He Was Completely Balanced Except For One Resentment That He Had Not Let Go Of, FORGIVEN. We Had An Angel Reader Over On Monday And His Speaking Angel Told Our Karen That He Needs To Address Something That He Was Holding Onto. That Was Monday, December 13th With Karen, Our Angel Reader And Yesterday Was Friday December 15th Which Was With The Good Doctor, Dr. Mahesh. Out Of Respect For Garland, I Will Not Disclose The Item. Well, The Homework For This, And The Homework Comes From His Speaking Angel, Is For Garland To Take A Ribbon And A Piece Of Paper And Write The Resentment On The Paper And Tie It To A Helium Balloon And Send It To The Universal One, THE SOURCE Of Us ALL. I Called Karen Yesterday To Tell Her The Great News Of Garland’s Recovery And She Said That The Angel’s Are Telling Me To Tell You To Snap Pictures As They Ascend And You Will See An ORB, AURA. I Will Send You, Lakota Children, A Picture Of The Balloons In The Sky. This Is Going To Be A POWERFUL YEAR OF ENLIGHTENMENT…PRAISE BE TO THE ALL Of Our SOURCE And To ALL Of US!!! p. s. Garland Was Given Another “PRESCRIPTION And May Have One More After That…The Average Is Three But Not Always, THE COST??? Oh, A Mere $100.00 Per Voice Recording W/ Scripts AND The Good Doctor Also Does A Negative Scan; It Is A Preface To The Healing. Garland Had His Done In The ICU At The Local Hospital On December 14th or 15th, 2015. I Called The Good Doctor On The Phone And Helped Arrange For It By Giving Him My Consent By Voice At 1:00 a.m. The Next Morning, When I Came In At 8:00a. m. He Was Just Waking Up And Said Something Weird Had Happened To Him In His Sleep; He Said He Felt Very Tired From It….The Doctor Told Me On The Phone That We Have To Get Him Out Of ICU. He Asked Me To Take a Picture Of Garland, Oh Yes, He Left The ICU In A Matter Of 30 Some Hours Or Less…A Wonderful Christmas Present INDEED!!! HEAR ME OUT…WHEN I LOOK AT THE PRICE WE ALL PAY FOR HEALTH AND I FIND OUT THAT IT IS OUR GOD GIVEN RIGHT (WE CAN!! HEAL OURSELVES, IT IS FREELY GIVEN, AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE SPECIAL, EVERYONE OF US, GIVEN) YOU GO TO AN M.D. AND YOU GET POISON TO PATCH, GO IN AND OUT OF THEIR DOORS AND JUST STAY A WELL/SICK, IT IS VERY, VERY DARK, OUR GOVERNMENT, RELIGIONS, MILITARY, OUR WORLD IS RULED BY 13+ FAMILIES, THE VATICAN, THE U.S. AND BRITAIN…ENLIGHTENMENT IS HERE AND WILL BECOME VERY POWERFUL TO ALL LIVING THINGS…THIS YEAR, 2016 & 2017 NOT SCARY LIKE WITH THE THINGS WE KNOW OF ON THIS MOTHER/FATHER EARTH BUT PEACEFUL AND LOVING LIKE WE KNOW OF WHEN WE PRAY AND MEDITATE. YOU MUST THANK THE SOURCE FOR YOUR LIFE, LIFE IS, IS A PRECIOUS THING>>>AMEN

  3. It is as much a blessing for me to be a part of St. Joseph’s as it for me to b a part of them! Thank you to the students, staff & family members of all for being my family!!! So,so very proud of the children! Many prayers, much love & May God continue to Bless you!!

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