and I want to live with wider eyes...there's far too much to see

(A couple weeks ago)

I have been doing a lot of traveling back and forth lately and I have been involved in a lot of different things with so many new people. So far, one of my favorites is this night:

I got to Lame Deer (Northern Cheyenne Reservation) around dinnertime and hung out with the four staff who are living here. We finished up work for the night then headed on over to Lonnie’s dad’s house in Ashland, MT. to help prepare for the sweat that night.

Native Americans are very spiritual people and they place high value on prayer. Many times, they gather to pray for a specific purpose. When this happens, they call people together to the sweat lodge- a dome shaped/adobe structure made out of intertwined wood and covered in blankets. When they call people together, they make sure it is a group of people who will pray with them and for them. There are many different types of sweats within each culture and tribe. We were invited to what the Northern Cheyenne people refer to as a Young man’s sweat. The Young Man’s sweat is a very relaxed sweat with few strict traditional rules. Many times, men and women are not permitted to sweat together, you are not allowed to have water, you have to sit up perfectly straight, etc. This sweat was a little more relaxed as far as guidelines go but it was very intense in the heat factor.

We were brought together to pray for Lonnie’s dad and the healing of his sickness as well as Lonnie’s sister and her relatives. When you go into a sweat there are traditional guidelines that must be followed upon entering the sweat, staying in the sweat, and exiting the sweat. The leader of the sweat enters the lodge first and sits to the left of the door. After this, each person goes in counter-clockwise and sits in the next available spot. The sweat is only about 5 feet off of the ground so you have to crawl all the way around it. Once everyone is seated, the hot rocks are brought in and placed in a pit in the middle of the lodge. After this, the doorman (the person in charge of rocks, water, and opening/closing the doors) comes in, closes the flap, and sits down. Then, the sweat begins. Everyone “smudges”-a symbolic cleansing. After this, the sweat begins. The host will either give a prayer or call on someone to share what is on their heart. After this, the rocks are sprinkled with sage, and the water is poured on the rocks. It gets very steamy and very hot really quickly. Many times, rattles are used, songs are sung, and everyone prays out loud for the given requests, other people, and themselves.

There are four official rounds to a sweat as well as a “cowboy” round (where ALL of the remaining water is dumped onto the hottest rocks-it gets to 160-180 degrees in the lodge). Each round lasts from 15 minutes to an hour-depending on the host. Our rounds lasted around 15 minutes each. I made it through all four rounds and the cowboy round. Each round is different because each person shares different thoughts. Lonnie made me stay-he was proud of me for making it through…I may or may not have almost died. It is hot beyond belief in there. After the sweat, we prepared a meal together (it was around midnight at this point) and ate with all 20 people who were gathered from all over the United States.

I was honored to participate in the sweat that night. I love the idea that each person has an opportunity to share their hearts and thoughts with everyone else. Then, everyone in the lodge commits to praying for that request throughout the round. I got to speak one round and I shared on staff, communities, and thankfulness for being accepted into such a sacred and valued place that night. The sweat is spiritually and physically cleansing and it brought me close to Christ that night. Not only did I get to spend 3 hours in prayer-I got to grow closer to my Cheyenne brothers and sisters and experience a piece of what they value. I am thankful for these friendships.