Hope Continues to Be Found by First Nations Young People, as On Eagles' Wings brings Jesus' Light into Dark Places

Aimee Herd/OEW : Jul 24, 2015
On Eagles Wings

We kept seeing spontaneous prayer huddles popping up around the court—before we'd even had the first Hope Story! So many warriors with a hand on a local's shoulder, praying intently.

Each summer, Ron Hutchcraft Ministries brings young Native American Christians, armed with a desire to reach those suffering from poverty, substance abuse and a huge lack of hope, to reservations across North America. (Photo via On Eagles' Wings)

The mission known as "Summer of Hope" by On Eagles' Wings, involves youth reaching youth on a level only they can understand.

Having experienced much of the heartbreak in their own lives, the "warriors" take time to have real, honest conversations with the youth there, and often end up leading them right to the Lord.

The following is a report by On Eagles' Wings from the fourth reservation they visited this summer:

Reservation #4

"This is holy ground."

I don't know why I said that as we drove up to that concrete slab in the tall grass and trees on the Round Mountain Reservation. It didn't look like holy ground. (Photo via On Eagles' Wings)

But, oh, how it turned out to be. Coming back together after our first team split of the summer, the warriors would tackle the town of Arrowhead as one team—in a place where On Eagles' Wings has never been before.

While we had our concerns about the limited space and invisibility of the location, we had no idea what a God-place it was about to become.

Half the people on Round Mountain live under the poverty level. It's not uncommon to see people eating out of trash cans. Or to lose another young life to suicide. One man from this reservation said, "Many who kill themselves don't want to die. But they don't see any hope."

Our concerns about folks showing up that first night vanished as more and more found us there. And hearts seemed ready and open.

There are times when the Holy Spirit of God shows up in above and beyond ways. When you seem to keep running into Him wherever you turn. This was one of those times.

We kept seeing spontaneous prayer huddles popping up around the court—before we'd even had the first Hope Story! So many warriors with a hand on a local's shoulder, praying intently. Warriors sticking like Velcro to one guy or girl, no matter where their person went, no matter how hard they might seem. Report after report of the Spirit strongly leading a warrior to a ready person. (Photo via On Eagles' Wings)

The Hope Stories just blew me away. Marissa (Navajo) poured out her awful past of sexual abuse by one male family member after another—and being "soaked in all the evilness that happened to me and that I've done to myself." By the time she got to what Jesus has done for her, I thought she was giving the Gospel wrap-up! She took command of that court.

On our final night, Maria's (Choctaw) story touched every heart across the court. "I was a mistake. My mother was a prostitute. I'll never know my father." She poured out the agony of her mother's murder, the shattered dream of a real family, the drugs and promiscuity that never delivered the peace she was desperate for. Then the day she heard about the cross of Jesus. "That was all I needed to hear. I found in Jesus the love and affection I'd wanted since I was a child."

That night, the Holy Spirit absolutely took over Matt (Creek) as he gave the Gospel. After sharing his Hope Story of gang violence and doing and dealing drugs, he described his move from Jesus, "the white man's God," to Jesus, his only hope. "They taught me that God is on top of a mountain and all roads lead there. But Jesus is different from all other roads—He is the God who came down from that mountain to die for us!" (Photo via On Eagles' Wings)

The response to the invitation was instantaneous—those the warriors had fought for streamed forward to join Matt at center court. Then, as on every reservation, warriors had extended one-on-one conversations where they reviewed the Gospel and made sure each one truly did business with Jesus.

But the call to Christ didn't end with the public invitation. The bus was loaded—except for Megan (Navajo). In the lights of the bus, we could see an empty court—and Megan with her arm around the last girl left. Praying with her as that girl gave her heart to Christ. Megan could not leave one lost.

Chris (Ojibwe) later told the team, "You all are seeing and doing something the vast majority of Christians will never see or do. It's like the Book of Acts—He is 'adding to the Church daily those who are being saved.'"

I know one powerful reason why. One Christian woman from this tribe came to me tearfully to say, "I have prayed for 30 years for a night like this among my people. And He did it here tonight."

This slab in the woods was indeed holy ground.

* Names and locations changed for privacy.

Click here to find out more about On Eagles' Wings, and the work they do among our First Nations brothers and sisters.