There are very few members attending the Branch in Ft. Yates. The Branch President, President Laundreax (He is Indian, but I am not positive he comes from the local tribe) lives 20 minutes from the church in a small community called Cannon Ball.
The Tribe community of Cannon Ball derives its name from large stones, (actually big boulders) that are found there naturally,that are perfectly round. They look like cannon balls. It is an interesting phenomenen to see. They are a good 24 inches to 36 inches in width sometimes.
President Laundreax's name is French in nature. This is a reflection of the
French explorers who settled and explored the area during the time of the "Lewis and Clark" expeditions through the Northwestern part of the United States. Some of the explorers became involved with the native North Dakota Indian women.
Pres. Laudreax and his wife are the only active temple endowed couple in the branch that I am aware of. I understand he has been the Branch President for nearly eight years. The first Sunday I attended the Branch I was shocked that the Pres. called on me to bare my testimony. I was already in culture shock that day. I was not prepared for the small number of members in attendance when I arrived to church. Roger tried to explain this to me before we arrived to church, but seeing is believing.
Sis. Rosalyn Sandland is the Relief Society President in the Ft. Yates Branch. She and the Elders say they "Prayed us to Ft.Yates". She works as a fulltime Secretary for the Tribe lawyers in a very nice building here in Ft.Yates. Her husband is a Rancher and they have crops for feed that they have been harvesting recently. She works all day and then goes home to help her husband cut the alfalfa in the evening until it gets dark.
We have been visiting the less active in the branch ever since the first week I arrived here. So far we have been to around 20 sisters homes. I love visiting with her, she has a wonderful spirit about her and is so loving towards the sisters in the Branch.
The visits are paying off, as we have seen an increase in Sacrament Meeting attendance. The first week I attended the Branch, there were 15 in attendance. Four weeks later.... we had 35 in attendance this past Sunday. For some reason they do not have Sunday School class here, which is greatly needed to teach the members the basic doctrines of the church. No one knows why they stopped or when.
Sacrament meeting is first, and half of the women show up in pants. After Sacrament meeting there is Relief Society, Primary, Priesthood, and sometimes YW if any teenage girls show up. They are not quick to extend callings in the Branch. I have been leading the singing in Sacrament Meeting and teaching the Relief Society lesson ever since the first week I attended. This past week I did both of those activities and Roger and I also spoke in Sacrament Meeting. A case of overexposure for sure! (I can't call them "callings" because I have not been called to them, just appointed for now.)
Usually we have three or four sisters stay for Relief Society, and the others leave after Sacrament Meeting. This past Sunday there were seven in attendance in Relief Society. It is such a blessing to have more sisters coming out. You have never heard a prayer until you have heard the native american women pray. I am always amazed with their deep devotion and expression. There is so much activation work to do, and it is a very big challenge to know where to begin. We have no idea what has happened to the members or why they stopped coming.
A few years ago there was a senior missionary couple the "Ellisons" from an area near Lehi, Utah, who served their mission here in Ft. Yates. I wish we could have two sets of Senior Missionaries couples here right now to help train and build up the branch. Senior Missionaries couples make a huge difference in branches like this. The people love the Ellison's so much and talk about them with such high regard. Unfortunately, once they left from their mission, the branch did not sustain itself for long.
Many of the members living in Ft.Yates were once involved in the Indian Placement program when Pres. Kimball was the Prophet. It was a requirement of the participants to be members of the church in order to participate in the program. Many have fond memories of their foster families and the experiences they had living with LDS families. It is debatable whether they were ever truly converted and had Testimonies of the Gospel though. Often, they comment how well they did personally while living with these families. They struggled returning to the tribe and the peer pressure back on the reservation when they completed their stays. Sometimes those who did not participate in these programs were not very welcoming back of the ones who went away to participate in the program.
The alcohol,drug addiction, and diabetes is a problem here on the "Resv". (This is what the local indians call the reservation) That is a subject for another blog day! Also one day I will share Rogers experience at the dental clinic here. Lets just say, there is a lot of tooth pulling going on!
