When I first came to Spirit Lake three years ago, John 8:32 kept coming to mind and the value, power, and need of Truth became very real to me. Taking the youth to Missouri for Warrior Leadership Summit, the Native Discipleship conference (click here to watch a video highlight of one of our days at WLS!), this past month was kind of my last "official" ministry event, so it seemed quite fitting that this year's theme was "Who Am I? Leave the Lies, Live the Truth". As usual, the week was full of fun: smoothies by the lake, crazy water activities, conversations with old friends, incredible worship, and powerful messages. Our group came together from different places this year, since several have moved on, but it was great to be together again in Missouri: Suzy, Skye, Travis, and me from Tokio (plus our friend, Tyrone, from SD), Fred and Jamie from Bismarck, Joy and Duke from Iowa, and Christina who is going to school at the International House of Prayers in Kansas City (we picked her up on our way!). Not only was the conference itself an encouragement, but the Lord allowed me to see a glimpse of how He's been working in the lives of some of these dear friends...and that was incredible. Just in our little group, we had two On Eagles Wings team members (the group of Native youth that travels to reservations across the country to share the Gospel) and five people who are interested in being youth leaders back home...talk about being filled with hope and encouragement! Please pray that the Lord would continue the work that He's doing in their hearts and that He would continue to strengthen and encourage these leaders! All of this was a good reminder for me, too, that this work doesn't depend on me or my presence on the reservation. It's the Lord Who is working. He is fully able. And He is raising up Native leaders who are leading the way and living the Truth! Praise Him for that!
June was my last official month on staff with AIM (although the ministry never ends)! I started a new job at North Dakota Teen Challenge (a faith-based residential drug and alcohol rehab program...click here for more info) on July 6 and I'm now living in Bismarck. On my first day of work, I met a man who is the pastor of a Native church (All Nations Assembly of God)here in Bismarck...isn't it amazing how the Lord works?! I also have a few friends from Spirit Lake and WLS who live here, so I'm looking forward to seeing them more often and hopefully checking out All Nations Church with them! Please pray for me during this transition time and ask the Lord to continue to guide me and use me for His glory. Pray that the Lord would continue to use me to encourage and speak truth to my dear friends back at Spirit Lake. And please ask the Lord to continue to bring hope and freedom to the Native people through the power and truth of Jesus Christ! I appreciate each of you and am so thankful for your support, prayers, and encouragement over the years...you have been a blessing and I am trusting God to bless you abundantly!
Ever since I was young, May has been a transition time...usually because my schedule revolves around the school year and summer break officially begins in May! :) May is also graduation month around here, which was extra special this year because Joy (one of my very faithful youth group girls) graduated from high school! Neither of her parents are living and she lives with her grandpa (middle picture below), so several of us got together to throw her an open house, complete with balloons, potato salad, and a cake! ;) I am incredibly proud of Joy and incredibly thankful for how the Lord has taken care of her. It was pretty amazing to watch her walk across the stage and receive her diploma (Pastor Larry is the President of the school board, so he got to hand it to her)! Joy is hoping to go to Bible college (!!) this fall, so please be praying about that. Ask the Lord to work out the details and give Joy the wisdom and courage to step forward with her plans. Also ask the Lord to give her and her family peace as she makes plans for the future.
Joy and her Grandpa
May has been a transition time for me, too, and I would appreciate your prayers as I make plans for the future. For awhile now, I've been feeling like the time to move on is coming soon. I don't know exactly where the Lord will have me next, but there are several options and I'm waiting to see what will work out. Right now, moving to Bismarck is a strong possibility, which is especially exciting to me because of the connections I have there with people who I came to know and love during my time here at Spirit Lake! It's amazing to me how the Lord has our past and present experiences tied to His future plans. Like I said, the details are not clear yet, but I know that the transition is approaching quickly. Please ask the Lord to give me wisdom and peace as I seek and make plans. Pray that the Lord would help me to stay focused while I am still here and to make the most of each day. Please pray that this transition would be smooth, not only for me, but for my dear friends here at Spirit Lake. Ask the Lord to strengthen our faith during this transition time. Pray that HE would be our confidence and our hope! Thank you so very much, dear friends, for your continued prayers and support. I will keep you posted and send out more detailed information as plans unfold!
A few years ago, someone asked me, "Naomi, what does Easter mean to you?" After thinking for a few minutes about how to answer honestly and how to sum up the answer to such a big question, I answered with two words: "Hope and freedom." This year-and almost every year when Easter comes around-I remembered that question and my answer, and I asked the Lord to make those two things very real to me again. I don't ever want to grow calloused towards or take for granted what Jesus did for me by shedding His blood, suffering on the cross, and offering His life as the final sacrifice for me and for anyone else who would put their trust in Him. What a beautiful mystery! Over the past couple of years, I have learned about some of the traditional Dacotah ways and have seen some incredible connection points between the Dacotah culture and the Gospel of Jesus. One of those connection points is in the Sun Dance. Part of the Sun Dance ceremony involves the idea of suffering for the people. During the Sun Dance, the dancers literally pierce themselves and shed their blood as a sacrifice for their family members and other loved ones. Can you see the beautiful connection point coming?! One of the "regular" Wednesday-night guys takes part in the Sun Dance each year and this connection point came up one evening this past month as we talked about Easter and what Jesus did for us . . . He was pierced, He shed His blood, He sacrificed His life for each of us, His loved ones. "And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10) Our discussion that evening centered around this incredible truth. Please ask the Lord to give deep understanding and clarity, especially to those who still feel a pull to be involved with the Sun Dance. Pray that they would see Jesus as the final Sacrifice and that they would find true hope and freedom as they put their faith in Him and the work that He did on the cross!
This year, my birthday happened to fall on a Wednesday and some of my dear Tokio friends took it upon themselves to throw a party for me, complete with Indian tacos and a DQ ice cream cake! ;) I was touched by their thoughtfulness and generosity in making my birthday so special. It was also a great reminder of the joy that these friendships bring to life and of how thankful I am for true love that we share for each other! Thank the Lord with me and ask Him to continue to use us to love, challenge, and encourage each other!
March is spring-break month for most college students, even those way down in Missouri! :) Our dear Christina (in the picture with me to the left) is finishing her first year as a student at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO. She made a "guest appearance" at youth group one Wednesday evening while she was home for spring break and shared about what God is doing in her life. There were just a couple of girls there that evening and it was a great time to laugh, eat, talk, and share a bit of our hearts. Christina has a passion for the Lord and a passion to share Him with others. She shared with us that she is part of a small group of Native students that prays regularly for revival on the reservations across the country. Her testimony and life choices have been a powerful example to those around her . . . especially to these girls who, like Christina, grew up on this reservation and face some of the same difficulties.
Keep Christina in your prayers as she finishes up the school year and makes summer plans! Pray that the Lord would continue to use Christina to draw others to Him as they see His power and presence in her life. Please continue to pray, too, for the youth group girls (one of them will graduate from high school in May!). Pray that they would understand and experience more and more of the Lord's love and freedom in their lives.
School life has become such a "normal" part of life that I sometimes forget to mention it! It's hard to believe that three years have gone so quickly and I don't realize how much time has gone by until I start thinking about how young the kids were when I first started. There is something very special about being a part of these kids' daily lives and seeing them grow in so many ways. Every once in awhile, one of the kids asks a question about why I "talk on the radio." :) And almost daily, one or more of the kids is anxious to tell a story-good or bad-about something that happened at home the night before. From my view, these moments are not incredibly significant. But I am so thankful that "significance" does not dependent on my view! Even in these small and simple moments, I ask the Lord to somehow impact these precious young lives. I pray that the kids would see Him in me and sense His Spirit. I am so thankful, too, for several other school staff members who share a personal faith in Christ and have a heart to create a safe and loving environment for these kids. As you can imagine, the school can be a quite a spiritual battleground and the enemy works hard to steal and destroy. Please keep us in your prayers! Pray that the Lord would protect the work that He is doing in the lives of the kids. Pray that the Lord would protect and encourage the staff members and help each of us to keep our focus on Him, trusting Him for each step.
Last night it was just me, Shawnee, and Shelby at Bible study. I've known both of these girls for several years and we've gotten quite close since I've been on the reservation. Since it was just us there, we decided to do our own little devotional time instead of our Bible study DVD series. As I sat with these girls, I couldn't help think about the love that I have for them and about the storms that they have both faced, this past year especially. With that in mind, we read Psalm 46 and talked about how the Lord is our safe place, even in the darkest and most frightening times in life. What a blessing to sit with those dear girls and remember that truth. I am truly honored to walk with them during those storms and remind them that they have a God who created them, knows them, loves them, and promises to be their "refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble".
Keep Shawnee in your prayers especially. Her brother committed suicide a couple of weeks ago and she and her family are hurting. Please ask the Lord to protect and comfort Shawnee. Pray that she would turn to Him and find peace and hope in Him.
Our 1st year of Bible study--Shawnee (on my left) and Shelby (on my right)
I think it was sometime last summer when I first heard Shelby counting down to her 18th birthday. February seemed like a million years away and she could hardly wait. Over Christmas break, Shelby and a few of the girls came home with me and we decided that that would be a great way to celebrate Shelby's upcoming birthday, too. So a couple of weeks ago, on the weekend of Shelby's 18th birthday, we headed up to my parent's house for a birthday celebration. The other girls weren't able to come with us, but we had a great weekend in spite of missing them!
Please remember Shelby in your prayers, especially now as she transitions into "adult" life. Pray that she would have the wisdom and strength to make good choices. Pray that she would learn to seek the Lord and trust Him in every area of her life. And pray that she would grow closer to the Lord through every step of her journey.
Last night at youth group, a few of us were sitting around the table, talking and eating pizza, and I was thinking about how long it had been since I had written a blog update (my apologies!). Sitting there, wishing that each of you could experience a Wednesday-night Bible study with us, this thought came to me: Wouldn't it be great if one of the kids wrote about what we do on Wednesdays?!
I pitched the idea to the kids and got a taker, so after the Bible study lesson, Brittney sat down at my computer and wrote an update. And here you have it.
Naomi, Shelby, Joy, Skye and I are sitting at the boys and girls club where we meet every Wednesday for youth night. Tonight we read and studied II Thessalonians. We talked about final judgment. Final judgment to me means when God comes back one last time to judge and decide who's forgiven and who isn't. A question we were asked after the chapter of final judgment is "Why do Christians have no reason to fear the final judgment?" This question really stuck out to me and caught my attention because I've heard so many answers to that question as I was growing up. My two favorite were "If you know where you're going then you have no reason to be afraid of the rapture." and "Judgment day should be something to look forward to." I think both answers are right and I totally agree with them. I use to fear that I wouldn't be forgiven and that I would never get a chance to meet God. Until I was introduced to a new way of life and that was living for the lord and getting to know him. I realized it was something better to have and I wanted it. I am working on my relationship with him and I have to be honest. Life has certainly been a whole lot better. This leads me to the next chapter we talked about; standing firm. It is easy to lose faith in the lord and get distracted. Your peers might give you the wrong ideas and temptation might urge you to do the wrong thing. Standing firm means to not be swayed and stand strong for what you believe in. The example used in this study was a boxing match. You're losing and you're tired out but you just have to keep fighting and not give up. Win or lose you still made it through the fight. The last chapter we talked about was Idleness. Which means even though you're a christian you've been saved, basically you're good to go. But you're not doing anything to further your relationship with the lord, you're being lazy. When we feel that we are being lazy we should read our bibles, discuss the lord's word with others, spread the lord's word, tell others about him, pray and talk to God. Knowing that you're saved and whatnot but not doing anything to help others isn't good. Stranger or not, would you help someone if they were hanging off a cliff or would you watch them fall to their death?
-Brittney Pretty Weasel 18
Brittney writing this update last night
Thanks so much for your prayers, dear friends. Please continue to ask the Lord to reveal His truth to each of us so that we can stand firm (2 Thessalonians 2:15)!
Just wanted to post a few pictures from the Christmas program at the school last week. The kids did a great job of making decorations, singing songs, and sharing the true meaning of Christmas. Please pray that the truth of Christ's birth brings hope to the people of Spirit Lake Nation! Praying, too, that your Christmas is filled with His perfect peace and hope. Merry Christmas!
This past weekend, I attended a memorial service for Jami Jetty, the 14-year old young lady who ended her life one year ago. At her funeral last year, I sang Nothing But the Blood of Jesus (click here to read about that) and Pastor Larry asked me to sing that song again at the memorial this past Sunday. Several things stand out to me when I think about being there that afternoon . . . realizing how my relationship with Jami's family has grown over the year, having visits with girls from school, getting hugs from youth group kids . . . it really is an honor to be a part of this community.
It's been so interesting to watch how the Lord has been working through all of this during the past year. Shortly after Jami's death, Jami's mother and sister joined us on Wednesday night when we happened to be studying Ephesians 6 (click here to read the full story). During this past year, Jami's mom has made numerous presentations about suicide prevention and she includes the Ephesians 6 message in her presentation. At Jami's memorial this past weekend, it was pointed out that there have been NO SUCCESSFUL suicides on the reservation this past year (Native youth have the highest rate of suicide of any group in the nation). Jami was the last one to successfully end her own life. While that loss still brings sadness, we rejoice in the victory that the Lord has given this past year!
Please thank the Lord with us and continue to pray that HE would receive all the glory and honor for this victory. Pray that His Word would continue to take root in the hearts of the precious people here and would continue to bring victory and freedom as they acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life!
A couple of years ago when I first came to Spirit Lake, I wrote about a little boy who brought a Bible to school and spent most of his recess reading it (click here to read the whole story). That same little boy has been going to Awana almost every Wednesday for the past year or so (thanks to my good friend, Paula...click here to read THAT story). And now, this same little boy comes to school and is often excited to tell about a lesson or recite a verse that he's learned at Awana. Last Monday, his first words to me were, "I wish we could skip tomorrow so it would be Wednesday so I can go to Awana." It's pretty amazing to think about what's taking root in this little guy's heart! Please keep him and the rest of the kids in your prayers. Pray, too, for Jay and Paula as they continue to make it possible for these kids to get to Awana each week!
One of the lessons that this little guy was so excited to tell me about was laminin. Check out this video and you'll see what he was so thrilled about...
