Mission Trips

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Evangelism & Ministry Efforts

My children and I had been asked to come back to the Cass Lake Christian Missionary Alliance, on the Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota, and present a Worship Service.

This was a very difficult request for us. The only other time we had been at the Cass Lake CMA was for my husband, Roland’s, funeral. We also weren’t sure what to expect. Even Jesus said t it is difficult to minister in ones hometown. Not only was this Roland’s hometown, but it is a town heavily troubled with alcoholism, drug abuse, and violence. It wasn’t going to be an easy ministry.

But both our Canadian and our Montana Pastor agreed; it was an open door, an opportunity, and it was time. So we prayed for God’s help, protection, and complete direction in everything we were to do there.

And we prayed. And we prayed.

And we asked others to pray for us and with us.

And so, on August 14, 2005, we went. We first stopped in Minneapolis, where we were greeted by one set of relatives, who then boarded our RV and traveled with us to Cass Lake. On the way, we picked up another relative. I felt like a Greyhound bus, picking up passengers as we went. When we arrived in Cass Lake, more relatives warmly greeted us. Some were there just to say, “Hi”. Others, never having been to the Cass Lake CMA before, or, like us, having been there once before for Roland’s funeral, had come to see the worship service.

Many of these relatives, whom we had picked up or who had met us at the church, led very difficult lives. Some of the children that traveled with us had lost their mother the year before from a drug overdose. One of the girls had then tried to commit suicide this last spring. We, with our CAICW prayer friends and others, had prayed heavily for her during that time.

We began by letting the congregation know that we aren’t professionals and this wasn’t a show. We just like to sing and praise God, and want to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ anywhere we find them. And so we sang and worshipped God. The Pastor also asked us to share a little about our organization, and so I did. This was another thing that felt uncomfortable though. First, I had never done it before. But even greater, this was Cass Lake, Minnesota: my husband’s hometown. Through the years, we had never really told his relatives exactly what we had been doing politically, or why. Roland wasn’t sure how they would feel about it. But here I was, in the middle of Cass Lake, telling his relatives, friends and neighbors just what we had been doing, and how we felt about current federal Indian policy and the many tribal governments that are hurting tribal members more than helping them. It turned into a testimony of how Roland came to Christ, how he led our children and me to Christ, and why he began to think and do the things he was doing spiritually and politically.

As I spoke, I couldn’t see any reaction from the congregation and had no way of knowing how my words – our words and thoughts – were being received. I told them that once Roland had met Jesus Christ and saw how the Lord answered prayer and took care of us, his heart changed and he saw the world in a totally different way. Most of all, he saw how his family was hurting, and he wanted to do what ever he could to help them.

Following the testimony and a little more worship, Pastor George Collins gave an altar call. Seven of Roland’s relatives stood up and gave their hearts to the Lord, including the children who had lost their mother the year before. It was awesome. I was blown away. I had no idea anything like this would happen. After the service, congregants and others approached us and were very appreciative and understanding of the work we have been and are doing. They asked for our newsletters and encouraged our ministry.

My husband and I, having been vilified for our work on many occasions from many non-Indians, including the Montana Human Rights Network, had never expected anything like this. Hearing these words was tremendously comforting. They were ministering to us, as we ministered to them.

Many of our relatives then spent the night with us at a congregant’s house. We had a bonfire, talked about things of the Lord, and then slept squished together in the RV and in a tent. The next day, we had a baptism in the lake. The seven, plus one more. Eight relatives in all were baptized that day. Praise God for all this. It was an awesome time.

It was scary to go to Cass Lake and witness, but I wonder if it isn’t the scary things, when we persevere through them with prayer, that have some of the most awesome fruit.

During this trip;

– I was also given the opportunity to meet an Appellate Court judge – one very knowledgeable about Federal Indian policy and ICWA in particular. It was an in interesting and informative dinner.

– Roland’s sister also brought us to lunch at the Mpls. soup kitchen, Sharing and Caring, which also was exciting. I met and spoke briefly with the founder, MaryJoe Copeland, who apparently knew of my husband through Roland’s sister.

– And we met the Hofer family – Shannon and Bonnie – whom many of us have been praying for and who after a very emotional six month media and court circus, received permission from the tribe to adopt their 4-year-old foster son. We spent the night at their farm and had a wonderful time of fellowship. Unfortunately, I missed an opportunity to meet their lawyer. I hope to have another opportunity the next time I visit Minneapolis.

– Finally, we had a beautiful worship time with the church in Belt, Montana on Aug. 21st, and have been asked to return there when we can.

LOUIS BULL RESERVE, ALBERTA CANADA

We were invited in late July 2005 to help the Louis Bull Church with their Vacation Bible School on the Louis Bull Reserve, in Alberta, Canada. Our first morning, our host family asked us to share in their family devotions. She began by playing a tape of Heidi Baker praying (Heidi and Roland Baker have had an amazingly fulfilling ministry in Mozambique over the last ten years) and it was wonderful. It set our hearts right where they needed to be.

On Monday there were 25 children attending the VBS. On Tuesday, there were 47. And many needy children. One little girl told me that her parents had left her alone for 7 days and she was very afraid. She slept on the floor without blankets. She feared they would never come back.

An 8-year-old girl had been packing her baby sister around for months. The baby was her charge. When I suggested she allow my Sarah to take the baby for an hour, the 8-year-old became angry, and then cried. I asked her what was wrong. She said that she has to watch the baby. I asked her if we could help her, so that she, the 8-year-old, could relax and have fun. She stopped crying and looked straight ahead, as if thinking. Then she finally nodded her head, and allowed Sarah to take the baby into another room while she stayed and made a craft.

An angry ten-year-old was not only unable to look at my eyes or face while I spoke to him (about some bullying he had been doing) but was even unable to turn his body toward me, or come within three feet. But finally he told me, while looking away and at the ground, that he didn’t like the kids he was bullying because they had tried to stab him two days earlier.

Now – whether or not these other kids had actually done that, I don’t know. What I do know, is that this is little boy in a tremendous amount of pain.

We also visited a home and prayed for a 6-year-old girl that needs eye surgery. The home much like homes in Cass Lake: needed repair and paint. Lots of children ran to and fro, including one little boy whose mother “just wasn’t around” and he needed a place to stay. But they were so glad we had come, and smiled as we prayed for the little girl.

The children all danced around and then stood on the porch and waved and waved as we pulled out.

On the last day of the VBS, several children asked Jesus into their hearts. The family that organized and carried the burden for these children and the VBS, along with their church, are determined to continue the outreach and minister to these children at their homes. In the weeks since the VBS, the Abt family has visited many of the children. Mrs. Abt has learned that the little 8-year-old in charge of her baby sister lives with their grandmother, who is in a wheelchair. There is no other adult in the home. Please continue to pray for this reserve, these families, and these children. Please also pray for the Abt family as they minister according to God’s direction.

We have so much to learn. I pray God continues to teach us and use us. I praise and thank him for what he has already taught us and will continue to teach us. I praise and thank him for what He is doing through the church on this Reserve. I praise and thank Him for these children and for having given us this opportunity to be with them and meet them and hug them and talk to them. I pray that He continues to give us opportunities to serve, and that we have the strength, wisdom and faith to follow where ever He leads and do what ever He asks. In the words of Heidi Baker, “love the one in front of you.” Whomever that is.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

A woman struggling with an addiction to pain medication. She has been sober of alcohol for quite a few years and has been caring for some of her grandchildren. She said she had wanted to confess this to me for quite some time, but didn’t know how. Please help her with prayer – that God would lead her in overcoming this addiction.

Answered Prayer:

A little girl with Native American heritage: The courts had ruled that since she couldn’t be registered as part of the Lummi tribe, this was not an ICWA issue and thus the pre-adoptive parents that had had her for two years could continue with the adoption. However, the LICWAC (Local Indian Child Welfare Act Committee) recommended that she be provided to her Grandparents within 9 months.

Answer: “God is really amazing. We have been praying and having everyone pray for us and then a couple weeks ago, the Grandparents decided that they didn’t have the energy to take care of another little girl (even though they had been adamant for so long). The tribe agreed that she should remain with us. It is looking really good that our adoption will be finalized within the next 2 or 3 months.”

OTHERS ON OUR HEARTS:

A thirty-two year-old Native American woman, mother of two, was found in an abandoned building in Minneapolis, beaten and left for dead. The woman had been addicted to heroin for quite awhile, so chances are the attempted murder was drug related. After she was discharged from the hospital a couple of days later, she was arrested on outstanding warrants. Maybe the warrants were for theft, maybe for child-abuse: she had been arrested on both those charges in the past. But her problems are not unusual among her friends and relatives. In fact, they are distressingly common.

A 29 yr-old woman gave birth to her fourth crack baby. Despite various attempts by family and social services to help her, she has returned time and again to the streets. She no longer has custody of her five other children. This child, too, has been placed in a foster home.

A young man, the only member of his family to have graduated from high school, was found stabbed on the street. Initially, it was thought that he was assaulted. Later, it was learned he had stabbed himself in grief over his sister’s suicide.

His sister, a beautiful 16 yr-old, had hanged herself in a closet only days earlier.

These and other realities are going on in Indian Country every day.

Heb. 13:1-3 “Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”

Will Bringing the Gospel to these Families Make a Difference?

– Romans 5:15, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, (Adam) and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”

– Romans 5:18-19, “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness (Jesus) was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

– John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

– Romans 6:11-12, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.”

The First Five Statements of Purpose of the Children Alliance for Indian
Child Welfare are:

1. To encourage preaching, teaching and fostering of the growth of the Christian Faith in all places, near and far; and to encourage the work of evangelism;

2. To provide for and participate in God’s ministry to the Churches and the Christian community by all means of communication, whether verbal, written, musical, visual, or drama.

3. To support and assist missionary work in all places, including, but not limited to, food or clothing relief, crisis and home shelters, and nursing care ministries.

4. To support and encourage individuals in their Christian walk and assist them in finding a Christian Church among those in the community to which they can join and find fellowship and growth.

5. To support and encourage prayerful volunteerism in local church ministries.

In Doing So, We Also…

1. Pray for all the Reservations in the United States and the Reserves in Canada.

2. Pray for the spiritual leaders, (Christian and non-Christian), and political leaders on the reservations.

3. Assist local churches in direct spiritual ministry, communicating the Good News through mime, music, communication, Bible study, devotions and prayer with residents in various areas.

4. Help others in the Church learn through Scripture that they have a responsibility to be World Christians, and that there are people right next that need help.

5. Pray for organizations on both sides of the fence that are working to change Federal Indian Policy, including, CERA, CERF, NCAI, NARF, the Native Christian Coalition and Aboriginal Accountability Coalition in Canada, and AIM.

6. Pray for members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the U.S. Congressional Native American Caucus, the U.S. Secretary of Interior, the Canadian Minister of Indian Affairs, officials in the U.S. BIA, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and others who are directly involved in Federal Indian Policy.

7. And ask you, in the name of Jesus and under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit, to please pray with us.

In 2003, Still in Our Infancy, we:

– Ministered at Juventud con Vision, a Christian home for boys
and girls in Juarez, Mexico. taught light upholstery skills, assisted in teaching English class, witnessed to students and fellowship (May, 2003)

– Helped minister with drum, song, and piano in various church
worship services. (Fall, 2003)

– Lead worship and Children’s Sunday school at a Christian Church on the Louis Bull Reserve in Alberta, Canada. (October, 2003)

In 2004,

– Helped minister with guitar, drum, song, and piano in various church worship services. (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, 2004)

– Lead worship at a prayer breakfast in Washington DC. (May 2004)

– Lead worship and Children’s Sunday school at a Christian Church on the Louis Bull Reserve in Alberta, Canada. (November, 2004)

– Ministered at Juventud con Vision, a Christian home for boys and girls in Juarez, Mexico., (December, 2004)

In 2005,

– Helped minister with guitar, drum, song, and piano in various church worship services. (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, 2005)

– Lead worship and Children’s Sunday school at a Christian Church on the Louis Bull Reserve in Alberta, Canada. (February and April, 2005)

– Published first CAICW newspaper for Congress, State legislatures, legal profession and media. (March, 2005)

– First annual board meeting, Caroline, Alberta, July 2005

– Children’s VBS, Christian Church on the Louis Bull Reserve in Alberta, Canada. (July, 2005)

– Worship Service at the CMA church in Cass Lake, Minnesota, participated in the Baptism of eight enrolled members of the Leech Lake Reserve the next day. Aug. 2005

– Worship Service in Belt, Montana

– Advocacy and prayer for specific parents and families, as well as reservations and reserves in general.

In 2006,

– Helped minister with guitar, drum, song, and piano in various church worship services.

– Lead worship at a Christian Church on the Louis Bull Reserve in Alberta, Canada. (March, 2006)

– Advocacy and prayer for specific parents and families, as well as reservations and reserves in general.

In 2007,

– Helped minister with guitar, drum, song, and piano in various church worship services.

– Advocacy and prayer for specific parents and families, as well as reservations and reserves in general.

– Organized meetings between families and officials in Washington DC to discuss specific difficulties the Indian Child Welfare Act had been causing their families. (September 2007)

As We Grow, We Would Like To Develop Ministries in:

1. Christian Education Drama

2. Music and Mime

3. Apostolic/Missions Programs

4. Evangelism/Outreach Programs

5. Crisis Nurseries and/or Women’s Shelters

Please Join Us

We would be very grateful for:

A. Your prayer for the reservations, those involved with helping the reservations, and our efforts.

“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Ephesians 6: 19, 20 (NIV)

B. Your participation. Please Join us in our ministry. We’d love to grow with your help in:

1. Ministry, Missions, and evangelism efforts to share the Good News of Jesus Christ

2. Outreach to families in need.

3. Resource Library care and website service

4. Facilities and Vehicle operation and care

5. Fundraising activities

6. Public Relations, Education, Writing and publication of articles

7. Legal Services

Whether you have a passion for helping through prayer,
missions, legal assistance, or simply want to be a voice of support,
we need your help. Please Click “Join” for our printable enrollment form.

“JOIN“

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – At home, in a near community, or across cultures

This organization is Fundamentally Christian and purposes to obey the laws of God as revealed in His Word (the Holy Scripture), and to further His plan through the sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ. In this we will not waiver.

That said, membership in the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare (CAICW) is open to people of all nations, religions, ages, political persuasions, origin, heritage, and color.

For the protection of families and their children, our membership roster is anonymous.

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Prayer Effort

For
the purposes of prayer, please click Prayer
Effort to go
to a list of all the Reservations in the United States and Canada.

Philippians 1:5 “because of your partnership
in the Gospel from the first day until now…”

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Will You Consider a Contribution?

Please donate to our Mission Fund. Funds collected through the
Missions Fund are separate and apart from other organizational funds and
are to be used exclusively for charitable reasons related to relief
of the poor, the distressed, or the underprivileged and the advancement
of Christianity.

Click below and make a secure contribution through PayPal, a trusted online payment provider.

CAICW is a U.S. 501c(3) Public Charity

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Thank you.