Helping Those In Need

by Don & Melanie Bosdell
(White River, SD)

One of The Porches and Wheelchair Ramps We Built

Helping Those In Need. My husband and I have always given our heart unselflessly, to help those in need. First let me explain: My husband and I have been homeless ourselves, for 5 yrs, we lived in a 10X20 Tent in the Bush of Alaska.

We hauled our own water, we had a generator for lighting & tv, we had a wood stove that we cooked on, and read by candle light.

Before we left Alaska, my Mother bought us a Portable Sawmill, she said now you can Help those in need on the reservations. (My husband and I chose not to be a burden to my folks, we chose to live off the land and still help the people) We Might Not Be Rich, But We Are Rich In Our Hearts.

My husband and I had the same dream, to travel to the Rosebud & Pine Ridge Indian Reservations, the poorest reservations in the U.S. And so our journey began. From Alaska to Rosebud & Pine Ridge. We opened up the doors on both reservations.

We were the very First Non-Tribal Members to be issued a logging permit. We were still living in a tent. From Rosebud to Pine Ridge, we brought our sawmill with us, logged our own logs, and provided, Free Services to those in need.

We cut our own wood for Wheel Chair Ramps and Porches, on site. We also took note of other needs needed, such as: food & clothing, firewood and household repairs.

The conditions that we saw them living in, would make anyone start crying, for what we saw. For an Example: We recieved a call from a family, who had just finished burning the last of their clothes to keep warm. We asked them what did they need, they needed Firewood. We loaded up our truck with firewood and drove out there. They lived in an oil shack, the door had a 4" gap on the top and a 4" gap on the bottom, the wind howled through there, and it was hard for them to keep warm. They were on the last of their food, and had run out of propane. The little boys were playing with the last pair of shoes for cars. These shoes had not yet been put into the fire.

We returned back to get food supplies our propane tank and headed back to their place. We exchanged propane tanks, gave them food. They had blankets on all the windows and the back door, they had no back door. So, we went immediately to where we knew they had some doors, collected them, and even found them some door knobs, instead of a rope to tie the door down.

While they were gone, their brother was there, he saw that we had doors for the house. He said his sister would be tickled pink when they came back. We put up the doors, we are not nosey, but we took note of what they really needed. The children had no toys period, this is not a joke, none. Their toilet had fallen below floor level and what was keeping it up was the piping. The next day we brought over some clothes for them, the little boys were so tickled pink, they were trying the clothes on, and modeling for us. It made tears come to our eyes. We were happy to make someone happier.

Since the children had no toys, we arranged with friends of ours, who repaired broken bikes. The boys cousins were there, they also did not have any toys. There was enough bikes for all of them. The cousins rode back to their place and told their cousins we were bringing them bikes also.

When we pulled into their long drive way those children were ready for us, they were jumping up and down, with smiles, from cheek to cheek. When we took the bikes off the truck and presented them, the bikes, oh our eyes filled with tears, as well as the parents, we also had brought gifts for them too.

They were so overwhelmed that people like us were so kind to them. This is what we see all over across the reservations here. We try our best to reach everyone that we can, with the Lord's help we can. We worked 7 days a week, from sunup to sundown, we met alot of people, who are now our ex-tended family. Our only source of income was selling our crafts that we made, by sitting on the side of the road. It was always just enough to help us out.

We prayed, and our prayers were answered. We had been looking for land to continue helping those in need. This year 2008, our truck broke down, we had been walking everywhere, it was rough, and we were still living in a tent. We went to a friend's house and asked if we could get online.

We did, we found a place that was just right here on the Rosebud Indian Reservation and in easy driving distance to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. We didn't have two dimes to rub together, nor did we have a truck to drive. We sent our first offer to the owner of an old hotel in White River, SD. We said $1500.00 down & $200.00 a month, he came back with $5,000.00 down and $500.00 a month, (The Lord said try again, we did) We came back with another proposal $1500.00 down and $250.00 a month. He said Sold! We got the place, but we had to stall him for awhile till we got the money to send him, we worked real hard to do this. But the Lord said, Stand Firm, Be Strong, Things Will Work Out, and They Did!

Don's brother came through for us, they helped us buy our rig. We went to VA, remodeled his brothers house & rebuilt a wheelchair ramp for an Elderly woman. We had another job in SC, we remodeled a kitchen and made it bigger, plus built a wheel chair ramp too. We headed back to Rosebud, we drove for 2 days straight, arrived at the hotel early in the morning. We unboarded the door and went in, we knew it needed work but, to us it looked like walking into a Stephen King Movie. I told Don, let's go to Pokey's and sleep on this and pray. We did, we called the owner told him what we found, and made arrangements, to not pay monthly payments till 2009 July. My husband and I cleaned the place, one room at a time, the roof leaked real bad, we had buckets everywhere. It was Our Big Tent that Still Leaked, lol. Anyways, even though we aren't set-up yet, we have been feeding the homeless here in White River, SD. They have never had a Homeless Shelter on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, we are the very first.

Before we came, several of the vetrans and some children passed to exposure to the elements. Alot of the people that we are helping weren't eating as often as they should, including the families. They'd try to at least eat some on their plates. They keep on coming now, we serve 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. Since we have opened the very first Homeless Shelter on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, word has spread across the Reservations, on what my husband and I have been doing to help the people. We have them hitch hiking just to come and meet us, and eat as well. We serve anyone and everyone who comes to our door. No One Is Refused, Not Even The Animals.

My husband just started getting his SS check this year, although that hasn't been enough, just enough to pay a few bill's. We rely on Donations, for food, clothing etc. Right Now, We are in dire need of bunkbeds & mattrasses, we make pallets on the floor, and have been sleeping up to 15 people so far. If there are any companies that could help us, that would greatly be appreciated. We are also looking to do Wind & Solar Power, Building Materials for the roof, Sprayed in insulation, Etc.

If any Company that would like to help us, or individuals too. Please contact us at:
SunDog Warrior's
Don & Melanie Bosdell
223 E. 5th Street
P.O. Box 264
White River, SD 57579

SunDogWarriors@hotmail.com
1-605-454-9111