We got news this past week of a
14-year old girl from the reservation who committed suicide (the second teenage suicide in the past couple of months). This young lady had come to camp at FaHoCha a few years ago and it was there that I developed a soft spot in my heart for her. Pastor Larry was asked to officiate for her wake and funeral and he asked Paula and me to do music. As I thought about what to sing, my mind kept going to the old hymn,
Nothing But the Blood Of Jesus. When Paula and I got to "the Rec" where the funeral was being held, Pastor Larry told us that he wanted us to sing
Nothing But the Blood of Jesus, so I knew without any doubt that it was the Lord directing. Before we sang, Pastor Larry shared with the congregation that this young lady had been at church in Tokio the night before she committed suicide. He wanted us to sing
Nothing But the Blood because that was the last song they sang that night. After Paula and I finished singing, a Catholic priest from St. Michael (a district of the Spirit Lake Nation) shared a
powerful message of truth and hope. He read from John 10 about how the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but Christ comes to give
life. He spoke about how the enemy whispers lies that do
not offer hope, but when Jesus Christ speaks, He
always speaks hope. He shared about how to battle against those lies of the enemy, using the powerful name of Jesus. Paula and I sat there with tears in our eyes, overwhelmed with thankfulness for the message of truth and hope that was being spoken in the midst of such tragedy and heartache.
The priest also shared that he believes that the Lord is getting ready to do a renewal at Spirit Lake Nation. This is a message that has been confirmed over and over and over . . . continue to pray, dear Warriors!
