On Eagles Wings - Ron Hutchcraft Ministries

Our fourth and final community in this region, which is situated close to the 60th Parallel (near the Arctic Circle), is a community called Shrub River. It is situated about one kilometer from the larger "hub" community of High Prairie, which is home to several thousand non-Native people working in the forest and oil industries that permeate the area. The Native people of this community have had the best opportunities to hear the Gospel, as the nearby hub community has several strong evangelical churches. But hardly any of the members of this First Nations group call any of these churches their home, and it seemed to me that two worlds living so close to each other had very little interaction and commonality.

Our hearts were broken for the many First Nations street people who are very visible in High Prairie. Many of them have homes on the Reserves, but according to some folks who minister to them, they said that it's safer for them to live on the streets than it is for them to go back to their homes. So much pain, so much hurt, so little hope.

As we worked with the Chief, we identified the best location for our events, which was an abandoned halfway house for children that had an outdoor paved hockey rink, playground, and a lot of green area to run our multi-sport outreach events. The only problem was it has been abandoned for over three years, overgrown with weeds, debris, and in need of a lot of work if we were to make this location home for our OEW outreaches.

It was remarkable to see the Chief mobilize some of the local leaders and youth and they tackled the heavy duty clean up in the days leading up to our arrival. By the start of our night one events, the place looked completely different. It was symbolic to see the transformation of an abandoned, unused venue turn into a beautiful location that could be used for God's purposes. We were asking in our hearts, "Would God do the same in the lives of the youth, children and adults who would be drawn to this location in the days to come?" That was our prayer for Shrub River.

We started strong and in the crowd were youth from several of the communities we had just come from, some of whom had come to Christ through our events. They were so excited to be back with the team again, renewing the friendships that were started only days prior.

Lina (Yupik/Eskimo) from Alaska shared her hope story. This was the first year for her on our team, and the first time she had opportunity to share her hope story, and all I can say is it was powerful. It never ceases to amaze me at how miraculous God's work is in the lives of our team members. Many of them can truly and honestly say that if it wasn't for Jesus, they wouldn't be alive today. That reality hit home in this community, and many were truly moved by her story.

Our night two outreach was in jeopardy as the storm clouds began to build and it looked like rain was imminent. Those of us "behind the scenes" went to prayer, and our team members prayed big time as the clouds drew closer and closer. The rain held off, thankfully, until the hope stories and Gospel were presented, and then the rain started to fall. Our team went into high gear, covering the sound system speakers, but sticking it out with the local folks who just didn't want to leave. And as soon as the rain started, it stopped again, and God blessed us with a beautiful double rainbow over the outreach site. It was such a beautiful site to see, and it gave us all chills to see the power of God at work.

What gave me even more chills was just yesterday when I read Ron's report from Team U.S., and the same double rainbow appeared over their outreach site as well. As awesome as the team was that night, it was nothing compared to the show our great God put on in the skies above us!

On our final night, Tammy (Kiowa/Apache) gave a public invitation to accept Jesus Christ. Throughout the events there had been a number of people coming to Christ one on one with our team, but this night was when we were asking for a public declaration of faith in Christ. Not many moved until someone from the outer fringes came forward, and then another, and then another. I went to prayer, and as I looked up from my prayer, there was an encouraging number of people who had responded to the Gospel.

And then I saw the Chief move forward, leading by example, and making a public profession of his faith in Jesus Christ. I had the privilege of joining him and together we affirmed our mutual faith in Jesus Christ, and prayed together for the people he leads, that many more would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

We started our Summer of Hope in Fort Victory, then moved on to Winding River and Ascension, and completed our outreaches in this remote and isolated region in the community of Shrub River. Four Native communities impacted like never before with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As our caravan turned south, leaving the land of the midnight sun behind, over one hundred and eighty lives had been eternally changed by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for praying for our Team Canada. These momentous decisions for Christ are happening because of our partnership with you in the Gospel. Thank you for praying, thank you for giving, thank you for standing with us as we serve the Risen Christ! And don't stop praying.

We leave this region and are heading for the second largest First Nations Reserve in all of Canada as our next stop!

Can't wait to share with you what God does there!

OEW Team Canada