Update from Craig Smith with Team Canada

Hard to get to...Even harder to leave!

There couldn't be a greater contrast from the last urban community to where the caravan was now heading.  It would take us two whole days of travel to reach one of the most isolated, but most beautiful Reserves in all of Canada.  It's so isolated, that only 50 years ago were they able to bring in a road that could connect them with the rest of Canada.  By the way, the "they" we're talking about was the local people.  They couldn't get the government to build the road so they took it on themselves to blast away at the face of mountains to build a road they appropriately named Freedom Road.  It was a narrow, often one lane dirt switchback road, about twenty kilometers long, but with an 18% grade!  We were warned ahead of time about The Hill, and for months this short stretch of road was always on my mind as I prayerfully prepared for Team Canada's journey.  If we were going to bring the message of freedom to this community, we'd have to make it down Freedom Road.

We weren't disappointed by The Hill and it lived up to our expectations of both challenge and beauty.  Our local hosts met us at the summit of The Hill with welcome signs and big smiles.  From there, he led us down the hill in first gear all the way!  I was amazed at our bus driver who handled the hill wonderfully, even though he had a solid wall of mountain on one side and a steep drop off just off the other side with no guardrails to stop a wayward vehicle.  Sighs and maybe even a few shouts of relief hit us all as we tried to pry our hands off the steering wheels when we finally reached sea level.

Upon our arrival, the community had prepared an incredible traditional baked spring salmon feast and hundreds of people came out to welcome the team.  This would be an unusual Night One outreach for us, but liberty was given to allow our team to introduce themselves, share hope stories and present the Gospel as a part of the community feast.

From there, we had two additional nights of sports, music, food, and hope from a team that was rejuvenated and had the power of the Holy Spirit on them.  The indifference to the Gospel that was so strong in the city gave way to a warm welcome by this tribe who had lived so long in isolation from the rest of the world.  They were grateful to have us visit, and open to hearing about our message of hope.

In many ways, the seeds of the Gospel have been firmly planted in this community.  There are several Gospel-preaching churches here, and a tribal council that has given one of the local believers liberty to even do Bible studies as a part of his role as director for youth programs for the tribe.  This planting of seeds of hope sprang up into an incredible three nights of a harvest among a grateful people.

Days of rain kept us indoors, but the community hall was packed each night as the crowd eagerly anticipated everything we pulled out of our OEW outreach toolkit.  The hope stories were unusually poignant, clear, and compelling.  And when the Gospel was given and a public invitation to come to Christ was made, many in that packed gym came to center court and trusted Christ as their Savior.  Out team counseled and prayed with fifty-five people whose lives will be eternally changed by this encounter with God.

It was a tearful late night goodbye as we thanked the community leaders for the way they extended so much kindness and courtesy to us, and then the mad scramble through the remainder of the night to pack, clean, and get ready for a 5:00 a.m. departure to the nearby pier where we would board a ferry boat larger than a football field that would be our home for the next twenty-four hours.  We would be leaving the mainland to travel through some of the most incredible scenery we've ever seen, while enroute to one last stop in this amazing Summer of Hope.  Excitement was in the air as our team anticipated meeting up with our U.S. team members and join together, ready to bring our stories of hope to an incredibly unique and exciting environment.

We'd be going to a gathering of close to 5,000 indigenous athletes from all over North America.  In partnership with both event organizers and local believers in this part of Canada, On Eagles' Wings once again has the opportunity to present four outreach and performance events during these days.  In fact, as I'm writing this report, I see our team is just wrapping up our first outreach event for the many Native athletes who, in between their competitions, can come and check out what's going on at the OEW venue.

We'd ask you to pray that these next few days will open the door to many searching hearts.  Just as Jesus fed 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes, He can also spiritually feed 5,000 athletes with just a few Native warriors who have brought with them the Bread of Life.  We're willing to be broken and spilt out for the sake of Christ.  From what I can see, that's happening right before my eyes!

Craig Smith