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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2007)
Spilygy Tymoo, W^rm Springs, Oregon Page 9 J a n u a r y 4-, 2 0 0 7 Parents and children gather with Faith Trails organization you can get to know. You just need to have a place to meet them.” In the long run, Buller ex plained, he hopes that the expe rience of participating in these events will help people develop a relationship with God. Buller emphasized that noth ing is required of parents who bring their children to the Faith Trails activities. He explained, “If you can spend an hour with your kids and be kind to other kids, or maybe help out younger parents who are going through things that yo u ’ve alread y gone through—that’s it, that’s all. You don’t have to feel like you’re going to get ambushed.” B y L e s lie M itts Spilyay Tymoo Families have the chance to get a little closer, both with their relatives and their religio n, through family activities with Faith Trails. Faith Trails, a local organization, conducts a weekly family session at 1 p.m. on Sun days. Chris Buller, the director of Faith Trails, said families can come to the event and learn how to ride horses, or just par ticipate in any of their family- oriented activities. They’ve had riders ranging in age from infants to teenagers, Buller said, and often the adults ride as well. In Buller’s opinion, “Either you love it or you don’t, and it’s no big deal. It’s just a place to get together.” The events are set to continue through the w in ter as w ell, Buller said. “The colder it is, the bigger the bonfire,” he added. People often bring food to share and food to cook on the fire, but Buller said that isn’t required. According to Buller, the most important aspect of the weekly gathering is the opportunity for families to spend time together. Fam ilies are also given the chance to participate in an ac tivity that doesn’t cost anything and is within driving distance of the reservation. “Most of the kids are just so excited,” Buller said. “I love it when they yell ‘Hey Daddy, look at me!”’ For the parents, he added, it’s especially important to be rec ognized for spending time with their families. “We try to make a point of telling them this is great—tak ing time out on a Sunday after noon,” he explained. It’s also a chance for children Buller said another focus of the program is to build a net work of parents who are able to help each other out and watch out for each other’s chil dren. Buller also delivers a ten- minute message on a radio show on KWSO. “For some people it’s a safe place to kind of hear me be fore they engage,” he said. The show features Buller’s message and an hour of Chris tian music on Sunday at 9 a.m., Tuesday at 10 p.m. and Wednes day at 4 a.m. For more information about any of the Faith Trails activities, Buller can be reached at 475- 3315 or cb@faithtrails.org. Hope to replace stolen tack Young people gather for horse riding with Faith Trails. to learn something about their parents. According to Buller, “A lot of the moms and dads grew up riding and the kids never knew.” Father and son teams are often recruited to help break horses too, Buller said. Later on those horses are sold to help support the organization, and Buller said the process is a great way for fathers to bond with their sons. “T radition ally my under standing is that’s a place where a lot of things were passed on,” Buller said. “A lot of teaching happened— not about horses but about life.” Family activities are espe cially important, Buller said, be cause many parents don’t get the chance to spend a lot of time with their children. For instance, he explained, parents drive their children to and from activities, and support them in athletics, but the chance to bond is often lost. “You watch them but you don’t really interact with them,” Buller said. He added, “We’re trying to offer a place where you can do this together.” While the organization ulti m ately aims to help people through religion, he said, the adoption of religious beliefs isn’t necessarily a focus or require ment of the organization. According to Buller, “More it’s just an attitude of this is a place where we care about each other, and we treat each other well and we learn about each other kids.” Buller also conducts a study hall after school on Tuesdays. Students are picked up at school and taken to the fairgrounds, where they are given something to eat and spend two hours working on schoohvork. Subm itted photo After that, the students are taken to the high school where they are able to take the bus back to the reservation. Neither activity has a cost, Buller said, but donations are always welcome in the form of food or money. Especially when it comes to the Sunday activities, Buller said, “Whatever people give is amaz ing. It just helps pay for the horses and the gas and all that kind of stuff.” Ideally the program aims to develop the idea of home be ing a place of light, Buller ex plained. “So many young people on the reservation see their home as a place of darkness. And it’s not,” Buller said. “There are incredible things that you can do here,” he added. “There are amazing people that Theft interrupted Christ mas Eve plans for the Faith Trails organization. Chris Buller, director of Faith Trails, said they had planned a Christmas Eve cel ebration w ith horseback riding and a Christmas cel ebration. But on Dec. 23 Buller found that their tack room in Madras had been emptied of saddles, bridles, lead ropes and halters. “I called each of the fami lies that have been coming and told them that we wouldn’t be able to ride, not because of the weather, but because of the theft,” Buller said. T hose in v o lv ed w ith Faith Trials are asking com m unity m em bers to help replace or recover the miss ing tack. Buller expressed concern that thieves targeted those in volved with the non-profit organization. “These families live in one of the toughest places to par ent, and they are standing and delivering,” he said. Buller em phasized that the organization has never had a problem with theft in the Warm Springs Commu nity. “I have had saddles and horses in trailers all over the reservation and have never had a problem,” he said. In Buller’s opinion, “The community on the reserva tion has been great.” Anyone who wishes to donate tack or has informa tion regarding the theft can reach Buller at (541) 460- 0177. Madras iDeôigti ß e n tm 71 7 S.W . 5 th St. M a d ra s Or. NEW DESIGNS- PLUSH BLANKETS Y vi •Shaw Flooring • Manufactured Stone • Windows • Flooring • Cabinets • Tile/Vinyl C o unter Tops • Area Rugs • Fire Places Special Builder • Siding • Vinyl Fencing Orders Discounts Welcome! • Molding • Light Fixtures X a ns lake, cave cfo a l l tfcnv design needs! \SSO R T FD STYLES * Y O U R C J IQ IC E * S 2,9.00 W l IIL E T H E Y L A S T New Shipment of Embroidered Caps Hours: Monday - Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday by appointment only. 1825 S.W. 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