Dancers perform for UMVIM teams at Cultural Night at Spirit Lake Ministry Center.

“We had wonderful teams and larger teams. One team had 50-60 volunteers in one week. The teams had a lot of energy. Even though the work was important, the volunteers who came were impacted by the relationships that they built when they were here,” said Paulette Paulson, co-director at Spirit Lake Ministry Center.

Paulette serves as co-director with her husband, Kim, at Spirit Lake Ministry Center. The ministry supports the people of the Spirit Lake Nation and is an approved United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) destination. Spirit Lake Ministry Center sits on a beautiful 80 acres in the Wood Lake District of Spirit Lake Nation, just three miles from Tokio, North Dakota. The Ministry Center has four dormitories, an up-to-date restroom and shower facility, a workshop, a kitchen and dining facility, a warehouse, and a Christian Life Center.

United Methodist Volunteers in Mission Teams

Ten Volunteers in Mission (VIM) teams came to Spirit Lake Ministry Center this summer to volunteer, learn, and connect. One project the teams completed was fencing for a pasture. In that pasture, the ministry hopes to feed out cattle in the summer and offer hamburger to people at Spirit Lake Nation.

Teams stayed at the ministry center and enjoyed the new shower house. The facility has four shower stalls and five toilet stalls for women on one side, and the same number for men on the other.

“It is operational, and it is beautiful. It is handicap accessible. We also have space for washer and dryer hookups. When we can afford one, we will put a washer and dryer there. There is still some siding that is needed on one part of the building,” describes Paulette.

One of the VIM teams tore down the old shower house. Paulette explains, “The tearing down of the shower house was a big week.  We are planning to build a new cabin where the old shower house was located.”
 

VIM teams fencing the pasture.

When temperatures reached 100, the schedule shifted. Teams worked inside during the hottest part of the day, and when temperatures dropped, work moved outdoors. During the heat of the summer, teams shingled three homes, built three decks and ramps, and helped clean out a building for a partner church.

A greenhouse was started this summer. The hope is to start garden plants earlier in the spring in the greenhouse. Health is a focus. The Ministry Center started growing and harvesting chokeberries for juice. Chokeberries have an exceptionally high antioxidant capacity. Regular intake may help lower blood pressure, reduce LDL cholesterol, and improve overall vascular function.

“We hope it can help some of the elders with their ailments. We are freezing and canning the juice to give out as needed,” said Paulette.

The Journey congregation at Spirit Lake

A team preserved garden produce including corn, tomatoes, green beans, and onions. They made and froze apple crisp. Potatoes and squash are still in the ground. The team distributed the preserved produce to members of The Journey congregation. The Journey partners with the community college to use the kitchen for food preservation. The college received a small grant to buy jars and other supplies needed for food preservation.
 

Making salsa at the community college.

The Journey at Spirit Lake is based on the Dakota name “Wanagi Canku,” which means Spirit Road. The congregation worships every Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Worship includes music, a time to learn more about God, fun and laughter, communion, and a meal at least once per month.

“We recently had a baptism of a new baby. We have more baptisms coming up. Pastor Dayne Zachrison, Devils Lake UMC, officiated. There was smudging and gifting,” said Paulette.

Reaching children across Spirit Lake Nation is part of the ministry's summer routine.

“One night at the beginning of the summer, we had children and youth come to the ministry center to play games and interact with the volunteers,” described Paulette.  “Everyone loved it. The interaction and the joy were awesome!”

Vacation Bible School happened throughout the summer at the places where children live. The VIM teams got to see the homes of the children they were serving. The day before, VBS teams went to the housing area where VBS was happening to clean up and make sure the environment was safe.

Preparing for Vacation Bible School at a housing area.

“Kids came to VBS and so did the parents,” shared Paulette. “The teams got to see where the kids live and what they go home to. That was so impactful. That glimpse saddened them.”

VBS happened once a week throughout the summer. However, the team of 50 volunteers came one week, held VBS at three different housing units, and shingled two roofs.

Paulette said, “The more love you can give to the kids and tell them about Jesus, the better!”

The United Methodist Church in Arthur, North Dakota, collected and delivered backpacks and school supplies to children at Spirit Lake.

“Kim [Paulson, co-director at Spirit Lake Ministry Center] took the people from Arthur to the schools to deliver the backpacks,” shared Paulette. “We find that kids often are in one school and then move to another school. Delivering directly to schools best meets the kids' needs. The kids at the schools look forward to that.”

Shoebox Christmas

Shoebox Christmas is just around the corner. Shoebox Christmas is an opportunity to ensure no child feels forgotten on Christmas morning. Each year, Spirit Lake Ministry Center gives away more than 5,000 boxes across the Dakotas and Minnesota.  Download a flier for 2026 Shoebox Christmas.

“We are getting calls already for Shoebox Christmas. We set November 1 as a deadline to receive the gifts at Spirit Lake. Our goal is 5,000 to 6,000 gifts,” said Paulette.

Two interns at Spirit Lake Ministry Center manage Shoebox Christmas. Eliza Paulson and Hunter Azure receive all the gifts, gather teams to go through each shoebox, sort the gifts by delivery location, and coordinate delivery.

“They are so hardworking. They help us throughout the year. They do everything: mow, clean, take teams around. They each have full-time jobs besides interning at the ministry; Eliza works full-time on the ambulance crew, and Hunter is a firefighter,” explained Paulette. “They definitely are supportive of the community.”

Start planning your UMVIM for 2027

“We had some new teams. The Northern Illinois Conference has adopted us. We had several new teams from Illinois. We had some teams that came again from Illinois as well as Kansas, Ohio and Colorado,” said Paulson. “We got a call from an Alabama team for next year. We love to have teams come from North and South Dakota.”

In the future, the hope is to expand the cultural experiences and connection for VIM teams.

“The teams seem to be hungry for understanding the culture and making connections. We hope to add more cultural experiences next summer," shared Paulette.  “Next year we hope to add cows and expand the garden.”