USA (MNN) — After a change in plans, a group of Native American teens with Ron Hutchcraft Ministries ended up in a violent area. Gunfire could be heard during their first night at Buffalo Creek reservation.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries sent out its On Eagles' Wings Warriors ministry team weeks ago. The team of teens has been traveling to various reservations throughout the United States and Canada to evangelize to fellow Native Americans. Teens share testimonies of the way the Lord reached them and brought them out of the violence, anger and suffering that countless Native Americans struggle against.
Buffalo Creek Reservation in New York has a reputation for violence, as do many other reservations. At least one person was arrested during each night of the ministry's outreach events, and gang members were often close by. The team witnessed death threats to policeman and faced persecution head on from people who blasphemed the name of Christ while students tried to explain how He changed them.
The group was originally scheduled to be at a different reservation, but plans fell through. Due to the last-minute change in location, the group couldn't get in touch with their contacts and had no time to get permission to evangelize at Buffalo Creek. But God clearly wanted them there. He proved it by bringing to them a woman (Melinda) who had been with On Eagles Wings 14 years ago. Melinda helped to organize last minute ministry opportunities.
Initially as teens began to share their stories with passersby, the response was grim. Students were broken up by the hostile reactions to the message of Christ.
On the second night of ministry, however, 27 people came to faith in Jesus Christ. One teen shared her story with a girl at Buffalo Creek about being raped when she was 16, only to find that the girl to whom she was ministering had also suffered this sexual cruelty. The girl accepted Jesus as her Savior that night.
Many similar encounters and divinely-inspired conversations took place throughout the days of ministry, and on the third night, over one-third of the audience came to the Lord after hearing the teens' stories and talking one-on-one with team members.
The Summer of Hope is not over yet, and On Eagles' Wings still has souls reach. Pray that the Lord would continue to work through these powerfully-placed teens. Pray that the team members would trust in the Lord as they continue their ministry. Thank God for every new believer that has come as a result of this ministry, and pray that each one of them would grow to become strong warriors for Christ.
