Local Woman Leads Youth Group Mission Trip To South Dakota

Virginia Lugge and Sydney Smallwood at the mission project work site.

By Debby Stricker
Virginia Lugge an Okawville resident and youth co-minister, had several objectives for the mission trip she led to the Native American Cheyenne Eagle Butte Reservation in South Dakota.
Sydney Smallwood, an incoming OHS sophomore, was excited for the trip with St. Paul’s United Church of Christ youth group of Freeburg, but unsure of what to expect. Together they sought God and came out close to each other, and closer to Him, said Lugge
Attending these mission trips on a reservation is like a trip back in time, said Lugge. “While we may only be a few hours away, we are a world away in culture,” she said of the Native Americans…

Read more in the August 2 issue.