On Eagles Wings - Ron Hutchcraft Ministries

Wow, you should have seen the relief on the faces of our team as we disembarked off the bus in the parking lot of the high school in the first community in our Summer of Hope Canada 2007. We had been traveling six long days just to get here, crossing interstate highways, back roads, and even a ferry boat ride over the swift currents of a mighty river. All the way, God protected us as we traveled almost 2,500 miles from where we launched from our incredibly successful Warrior Leadership Summit. By the time we landed here, our rookies were now true veterans, and a sense of great anticipation filled the team.

A grueling travel schedule was not the only challenge our team faced as we made our way to northern Canada. En route, we received word of a suicide that had happened in one of the communities we're scheduled to visit. The hearts of our team members broke, and we grieved for the loss of yet another Native youth who didn't know there's hope, and that hope was on its way.

We've landed in a community that is surrounded by a number of First Nations reserves, and home to some wonderful ministry partners who are on the cutting edge of technology in helping to spread the Gospel through radio and other media in this region.

With their help, and the help of other partnering churches in the area, word has spread throughout the region about the On Eagles' Wings (OEW) team's coming. On Monday night, the first night of outreach kicked off as more than 150 people came and filled the outdoor venue in this very strategic community. The young and the old came from throughout this community, and many more came by buses that were organized from the surrounding Reserves.

It never ceases to amaze me at how quickly our OEW team members begin connecting with the local youth. There doesn't seem to be a lot of awkwardness as our team introduces themselves one on one. An immediate "connectedness" happens, and the relationships that bridge to help us share the hope we have is established with amazing swiftness. We heard many comments from the local ministry leaders that they've never seen the local youth open up like they do to the team, and that speaks to the powerful dynamic of Native youth reaching Native youth.

What often takes cross-cultural missionaries years to build - trust, confidence and respect of the local people accelerates at warped speed when our Native team members connect at the heart level with youth who have often been described as "unreachable." It always brings chills to me to think about the Great Commission possibilities as we Native Americans and Canadian First Nations people rise from being on the 500 year old "receiving end" of missionary work, to becoming the sent ones into the far reaches of the globe. If the On Eagles' Wings strategy works so well here, among our indigenous people of North America, think of the potential it has to impact indigenous people worldwide!

Pray for us, for as I'm writing this report, our team has just begun night two in this community so far north that daylight doesn't seem to end. We're trusting God that tonight, the light of the Gospel will shine bright in the hearts and lives of many of these First Nations youth. Until next time, may God bless you and thank you for your prayerful support.

Canada OEW Team