On Eagles' Wings® Update

On Eagles' Wings Team Canada Prayer Update #6

About fourteen hours away from our last stop lies the community of Sagina. According to the local leaders, it's the second largest Reserve in Canada, and home to about 6,500 tribal members. It would be the next location for our Summer of Hope 2007.

We were excited that this Reserve had several Native churches functioning together in partnership, and a very encouraging group of young adults who have been connected with OEW over the past few years. This year we saw an excited group from this Reserve at our Warrior Leadership Summit (WLS).

The excitement was evident in both our team and the local believers as the bus and caravan pulled into town and relationships were renewed from our days at WLS. It seemed to us that the soil was ready through the prayers of many for the seed of the Gospel to be planted in this community.

Many of the communities we go to are very hurting places. This Reserve happened to be blessed with natural resources that provided over the years a stronger financial base for economic development. In fact, the week before our arrival they had just opened a 25 million dollar interpretive center. But dollars alone cannot bring internal peace and restoration with God, and the spiritual need we saw in Sagina was equal to many of the other communities OEW has visited over the years.

We had an incredible venue to do our outreaches in. We set up in a huge paved outdoor sports area situated between a beautiful new high school and an equally impressive and new hockey sports complex. Then we prayed that the youth would come. And come they did.

Night after night the hope stories of our team rang out through the vast open prairies, bringing even more community members out to see what all the noise was about!

Along with our basketball events, we utilized volleyball, skateboarding, floor hockey, plus some special events for the younger children. All events were running simultaneously, all for a single purpose - to bring the events to a critical point where one of our team members can share about Jesus and the difference He makes in a life. Every one of the hope stories connected at the heart level with the hurting youth who were there.

As we came to the final night, and the final Gospel presentation was made, a public invitation to accept Christ was given. At first, only a few came forward, and I was wondering if our response was going to be small in this large place. Then we saw and heard the lights and sirens of the EMS and police as they rushed to an area just a few blocks down the road from our outreach site. We later found out that a horrific tragedy had occurred as a wheelchair-bound local man was hit and killed by a train as he tried to cross the railroad tracks. It sent shock waves through the community.

In the midst of all that chaos, as our young warrior once again challenged the crowd to come to Christ, suddenly one of the older, influential basketball players came forward and many more of the athletes we'd been praying for - to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. These are some of the young people who have the ability to influence many others in their community.

Later on in our debriefing, one of the local youth leaders said to the other locals in the room, "Did you see who came forward? I'd never have thought he would come to Christ!" But come he did, and along with almost sixty others, this young man has now found the secret to why he was put on earth, to be in a relationship with the One who created him!

What a thrill it was for us to give to these local young Christian leaders the contact information for these new babes in Christ as they enthusiastically begin the important follow-up process. Please pray for them that this "God moment" will turn into a "God movement" that will continue to grow and build.

Praise God for His faithfulness and the faithfulness of God's people through prayer, giving and going!

Craig Smith for OEW Team Canada