On Eagles Wings - Ron Hutchcraft Ministries

There is probably no other tribe in America like this.

They have no hymns in their language. No Bible in their language. Because there have apparently never been enough Christians or mission work to make them necessary. And if things continue the way they have been, there never will be. No pastor or missionary is allowed to live on their land, no Christian meeting can be held outside the little churches on their reservation.

They're in a country and an area where they're surrounded by the Gospel. But many, if not most, of them have never heard it. Their children are told that Jesus is not for them. And yet their young people struggle with all the life-destroying issues of every reservation - but with little hope of ever hearing about the Life-giver, Jesus Christ. To be born "Andarka" is, in many cases, to have little or no chance of ever hearing about the Man who is your only hope.

As the team bus and support vehicles left Winding River, I was much in prayer as our next stop was one of those communities that could prove to be a real challenge for the On Eagles' Wings team. It was a community that some of the ministry leaders who know the area said was a very tough place, and very resistant to outside influence. It is known for a history of violence and was a place where we had heard that some missionaries trying to come into the community had been chased away at gunpoint less than a decade ago.

Violence and tough communities are no stranger to most of the On Eagles' Wings team. Some live right in the middle of tough inner-city environments. Some live in communities that are prone to the more painful lifestyles that leave their mark on the heart and soul of its residents. It's also in communities like this where hope is needed the most. As the OEW bus rolled down those northern roads and the community of Ascension came into view, I asked the Lord one more time for His power, protection and strength for a team that spent six long days driving to get to this region, and had just completed six strenuous days of outreach in the two communities we'd already visited.

Weary. Wounded. Winning.

That's how On Eagles' Wings Team U. S. arrived at Reservation Four in this amazing Summer of Hope. The weary wasn't just about a grueling schedule with limited sleep. It was about running into hard hearts and stronghold walls night after night since they arrived in this area. Every time you battle for a soul here, you're going up against entrenched centuries-old strongholds that see Jesus as their Number One enemy ... and it's soul-exhausting!

We came to this reservation wounded, too - with more physical injuries and infections than we can ever remember a team having. At the last reservation, two team members were whisked away in ambulances because of medical crises after a victorious outreach. They're both back with us, but weakened. No sooner did we arrive at Reservation Four than another team member had to be ambulanced to the hospital with a serious infection. Praise God, she is being released today, days before we thought possible.

The little girl really wanted to hear about Jesus – until a friend came, covered the girl’s eyes and said, “You can’t do this. You’re Indian.”

Whole generations, largely shut out from hearing the Gospel. Children raised to avoid Jesus. Right here in the U.S.A. Right here on the reservation where On Eagles’ Wings has come to proclaim that Jesus is our only hope. This third reservation of the U.S. Summer of Hope is of the same strong centuries-old religion that has kept so many from Jesus for so long.

It was exciting to see attendances each night that represented nearly half of this reservation. Bringing them together was the easy part. Bringing them to Jesus felt almost like “Mission Impossible.” While our crowd was large on night one, there was not one commitment to Christ. That almost never happens with On Eagles’ Wings.