Counseling-Prayer-Ministry

Spiritual Hunger

Since Carmi, Ed and I have arrived on the LCO Reservation in Couderay, WI almost all of our interaction has been with Christian Native Americans and Caucasians, most of them attendees to LCO Assembly of God Church.  That was not our goal but there is an extreme spiritual hunger. We notice it not just with those who attend the church but the people overall that we have interacted with in the area. The atmosphere is much different than we are used to. We talk about it all the time, every day.

It seems like all the time we hear about some AA/Celebrate Recovery/Sober meeting taking place somewhere. We have attended a couple of meetings and the atmosphere was much different. The people attending actually want to be there and they want to learn more about the Bible.

Counseling & Prayer
Everyday Carmi and I are counseling and praying with several individuals. What is interesting is most of them are very open and vulnerable. Many have the same issues, come from abusive homes, very low self-esteem, feel they need to be much closer to God, what to learn how to change their life. Again, a much different atmosphere than we have experienced in Arkansas or Seattle.

We have seen because of the spiritual hunger, that there are some that are ‘meeting, touch by God seekers’. We do our best to redirect them to be Jesus Seekers.

We keep getting names of those who want counsel and prayer.

Move of God
Talking to a couple of pastors and based upon what we sense, this area is prime for a move of God. It feels as if you are in a realm where all of sudden something could break loose. This morning as Carmi and I were praying we felt we have missed it some in the busyness of doing ministry. We believe we should have had worship and prayer every single night while here. We will start doing that Sunday night.

Evangelism Meetings
There is a Native American Evangelist that will be doing meetings Saturday and Sunday. We do not believe these type of meetings are very effective in regards to reaching the Traditional Native, but he is a well known and respected evangelist, plus he is considering being the pastor of LCO Assembly of God Church.

Stress of Other Responsibilities
There has been much stress on myself. Just before we left on this missions trip I took on the role of being the web designer for the Greers Ferry Walleye Club. I tried to get as much of it as possible done ahead of time. BUT I have had to do some of the most important work while here in Couderay with little or low performance Internet, having to get up at 4am. Extremely frustrating, especially when volunteering all my time. It is robbing me from ministry time. In the past it would affect my mindset, attitude, etc. I know there for sure individuals praying for us. (There are those within the fishing club that are praying for us.) You do what you must do and trust the Lord He will be in the midst of it all. (Sure Apostle Paul was frustrated with having to make tents instead of share the Gospel, but gave his all to be the best tent maker.)

Transformation of Ed
We are seeing before our eyes the transformation of Ed. He is interacting with people throughout the reservation. His mindset and attitude towards challenging situations is much different. Being here is certainly healing to his soul. He knows that he needs to move from Seattle. Interestingly, where he lives he just found out he must move out by 12/31/2023. What is God doing?????

Summary
There is plenty of ministry to do here in Couderay, WI. There is more need than workers. That is what jumps out at us the most, the need of workers. We may not be winning souls to Christ but we are helping to equip individuals to be workers for the Kingdom. We teaching how to share the Gospel. One thing we know we are doing and was our main goal-to bring HOPE. We see HOPE rising up around us. The Lord can do some amazing things in an atmosphere of Hope and Faith. We believe that is the next responsibility, to build faith among the people. The truth is, it is the converted, sold out Native followers or are going to make the difference among the Traditional Native people, not us or others.

PS If not for the extreme winter coming up and needing to obtain employment, I, not as much Carmi, would consider spending a few months doing ministry on LCO Reservation.