Meet Wendell Gehman
Wendell Gehamn has spent nearly three decades as an educator on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is passionate about providing students with opportunities through holistic, individualized, faith-based education.
He is now the head of Oyate Hope Academy, a nonprofit, private, Christian school providing a comprehensive education for children in grades Kindergarten through 8.
I was able to chat with Wendell last month to learn more about his work and current needs and one theme that stands out is: It’s not about himself.
Wendell has faced a number of obstacles this year including:
Spending 8 months looking for a kindergarten teacher to start in time before the school year began
Waiting on building plans before grant money runs out (so that the school can build an extension instead of encroaching in on the church space they are currently using)
Completing grant applications that provide much needed K12 educational support for Indian Reservations.
In all these challenges, timing has always been the most difficult piece.
Yet Wendell’s faith in God’s timing and provision remains. And it is has not been without confirmation and reminders of the Lord’s past faithfulness!
Just before the school year started, Wendell approached a local Lakota woman who had been attending Wendell’s church and grew up in Pine Ridge her whole life. He asked her if she would consider serving as a long-term substitute teacher. She agreed to join the team. And when they found that their incoming long term teacher would not be able to make it anymore, Alice agreed to stay on as a full time teacher for the remainder of the year.
That’s not even the best part.
It turns out that Alice was Wendell’s former student from 20 years ago. And had also been a former student of two other Oyate Hope Academy teachers as well!
It was clear how much joy Wendell felt at seeing the way that God had answered his prayer. Not only did students now have a Kindergarten teacher that would be there for them for the entirety of the whole year, but Alice was also a reminder of Wendell’s desire from years ago that the next generation would one day step up and serve as a light in their community. It was clear to Wendell that God had orchestrated all of this well before any of them could have seen it coming.
As we closed out our conversation, Wendell expressed another deep desire that has been on his heart.
“I'm not here for me, I'm here for the good of the community. [Alice] is that generation below us. We're not getting any younger. I keep telling my board president - I need to start working on someone who can take my job. I don't want to be a ministry that is driven by one motivated person and if they step away, nothing happens. I want to be able to create something long lasting.”
Would you pray for Wendell, for Alice, for Oyate Hope Academy’s teachers and it's students?
Would you pray for sustained faith in those that have dedicated their lives to be in service for the people of Pine Ridge?
Would you pray for relationships that students are forming with their teachers that can result in the next generation stepping up for their community 20 years from now?
Would you pray for their current needs that are yet to be answered?
I invite you to meet Wendell in person at our Celebration Banquet on Nov 9. Who knows, maybe you might be a part of an answered prayer Wendell has been looking for all along.
