We want to thank you for standing with us as we believe for transformational revival in Pine Ridge. We are contending for God’s Kingdom to come, for His glory to be revealed, and His great Gospel to be known, here among the Lakota.
The Church in Kyle
The congregation in Kyle is slowly learning what it means to be a spiritual community. Katie and I are blessed by the way our Native parishioners are “chipping in” with food and their time. A real sense of family is emerging.
From the elders to the children, they are a people of faith. Sunshine, one of our Native kids, brought her kitten to me and asked if I would pray a blessing over it. Precious.
Little Wound High School
I have been called in for more days of substitute teaching (one of those classes believe it or not was Lakota culture!) I have now met well over a hundred high schoolers, and they are becoming more receptive. Word spreads fast, and some of the students are telling me they found out I’m a pastor (or as some say, a priest, because they don’t know anything else).
The favor I’ve received here at Little Wound High School is truly an answer to prayer. I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to pray in the classrooms and hallways, and I can really sense the atmosphere changing.
God’s Power
I was greatly encouraged this last Sunday. After the service, a young lady named Keeva came up to me with her mom just wanting to give me a hug. I can’t express what a miracle this was.
I first got to know Keeva and her mom, Eva, at their home in Evergreen Village, several miles north of Wounded Knee. At the time, Jackson and I were driving over there every Thursday evening (a 45-minute trek) to minister door to door.
I have rarely met someone has oppressed as Keeva. During our initial encounter, she cursed and yelled at us to get out of her home. But we kept coming back. Each visit she would sit there angrily as her mom welcomed us in. There was a constant sorrow because Eva’s son had hanged himself in their basement. We prayed over the house, but the heaviness was real. It didn’t help that every time we came over Keeva was watching the darkest, most wicked horror films. She was involved in other things I won’t mention… the enemy had such a grip.
One day, Keeva began to open up, albeit through much anger. She admitted that she was testing us to see if we were for real. We returned as often as we could, but eventually we lost contact as their house was condemned (such hard living conditions).
Now, months later, she showed up at the church service in Kyle. She was beaming, absolutely beaming! Her grades were up, and she was proudly wearing a Jesus Shirt, given to her by some colleagues. God is awesome!
Eva is also being changed. How true is the promise of 1 Corinthians 15:58! One plants, another waters, another reaps… but God gives the increase.
Police Outreach
We have felt led of the Lord to create Christmas packages for the police on Pine Ridge. They will include a necklace inscribed Joshua 1:9, a DVD with a Gospel presentation, and coffee. Please pray this will be used for the glory of God, and to bring the police in Pine Ridge and Kyle to Jesus. We want to establish a strong relationship with them.
Men’s Outing
This Friday and Saturday we are taking a group of Lakota men to climb a 11,500 ft. mountain in Colorado. All are believers in Jesus and desiring to grow. In talking to Ata, a Lakota believer, this time of bonding is ground breaking. He has never witnessed anything like this on Pine Ridge, and is so encouraged. Please pray for this time. We believe it is going to be very significant.
Reaching Out to the Needy
We are planning a major feeding before Christmas in Kyle and Pine Ridge to demonstrate the love of Christ — not just in word, but in deed and action.
I walked into one of the worst homes I have ever seen last week. Broken furniture, stained walls, broken doors, messed up floors, mice that didn't care to even hide.
Part of the house had fallen down, the windows were broken, and there was no running water. One small 10-inch heater was used to heat the home. Yet even in this place of great need, the owner asked if I could go with him to another family because “they need help.” Serious domestic abuse. I marveled that someone in such poverty would be thinking about the needs of others.
Divisive People Exposed
God is also doing something else that believers who have lived on Pine Ridge for decades say they’ve never seen. He is exposing individuals (generally outsiders) that come onto Pine Ridge with divisive spirits and wreak havoc.
We had a situation recently where a woman from Wisconsin was really operating in a spirit of witchcraft, manipulating and moving demonically. We marveled as she was exposed and finally sent out by the collective Christian community, led by the Lakota. We prayed for her repentance, but she refused to turn and only got more hostile.
The Rez unfortunately seems to attract so many of these “fringe” people, but with the growing presence of God, these spirits are being exposed in a matter of days. (It used to take months, or even longer, to deal with these things.)
Learning from Angola
Next week, several of us will head down to Louisiana for three days to learn and be encouraged by God’s transformational work at the Angola State Penitentiary. We are believing these lessons can be brought back and applied here on Pine Ridge— in the jail and across the reservation. May that revival fire spread!
If you are not familiar with what God is doing at Angola, check out this 12-minute video. You’ll hear similarities between their situation and what the Lakota are facing…
Praying with Understanding
When you have a few minutes, I would encourage you to watch the following video to get another perspective of the history of Pine Ridge. This will help you pray with compassion for the Sioux as they struggle to find their identity in Jesus…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIkETozZqTk&list=LLsBe9S3NPOs7udwFKuSWZVQ&index=4
Credit: Wade Kate