This summer, I visited the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with my family. Pine Ridge is filled with breathtaking vistas and a beautiful culture. Pine Ridge also suffers from some of the highest rates of fetal alcohol syndrome, infant mortality, and teen suicide in the world. What makes Pine Ridge somewhat unique is that alcoholic beverages have not been allowed on the reservation for over 120 years. Most of the alcoholic beverages, at least the beer, is purchased and smuggled in from Whiteclay, Nebraska, an unincorporated town of 14 residents and four beer stores located 200 yards from Pine Ridge. Every year, these four beer stores sell over 3.5 million cans of beer, primarily to tribal residents who reside on the dry reservation.
While in South Dakota, I met Nora Boesem. Unable to have children of their own, Nora and her husband have fostered over 160 children in the past 15 years. Every one of her children was born in Pine Ridge. Every one of their birth mothers likely obtained beer from Whiteclay during their pregnancy, and every one of them have fetal alcohol syndrome. Nora and her husband have adopted nine of these foster children, each with extreme physical and emotional disabilities. During our visit, Nora quietly acknowledged that she will probably bury each of her children due to the low life-expectancy rates of those who have this condition.
Nora is a woman of profound faith in God. She readily admits that He is the primary source of her strength and perseverance. While visiting the farmhouse where Nora lives, I observed Nora’s older adopted children completing their outdoor chores. I was reminded of Christ’s humble beginnings, not in a comfortable hotel, but in a manger. I was reminded of Christ’s suffering on the cross. I was reminded of Christ’s commitment to all of us, but especially to children when He said, “let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 19:14.
As the shepherds were called to see the Christ child, we are called to seek out opportunities to serve others, often those who are the youngest and most vulnerable among us. This Advent season, I plan to say a special prayer for those suffering from addiction in Pine Ridge, for those children inflicted with fetal alcohol syndrome as a result of Whiteclay beer sales, and for those caregivers, like Nora, who work hard every day to give those children a less painful life.
Julia Maisch, Executive Assistant to the Senior Pastor
