Worship

Follow up from this months busy events:

The ANNA Call, Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

You have undoubtedly heard, at some point in your life, about the Trail of Tears. This was the time in 1839, when the Cherokee nation, and several other tribes in the southern United States, were forcibly removed from their own homelands, to what was then called “Indian Territory” in the area of Oklahoma. Many thousands died along the way, with the hardships they suffered. The area called Tahlequah, was pretty much ‘ground zero’, for where the tribes ended up.

The ANNA Call, was a huge worship and prayer event, gathering tribal people, and many others, to fast, pray and worship the Lord, on the land at the end of the Trail of Tears. Many hundreds gathered together for the day long prayer portion on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 8am to 8pm. Our part was to support our friend, Joseph, in leading traditional First Nations worship, as well as lead in worship & reading the Bible over then land and people.

You can watch a few live recorded videos we have from the event at these links: 1)Repentance 2) Abba Drum Dance 3) The Elders 4) 120 Drums and the Round Dance 5) Revolution – Prayers of the generations

In addition to that, I (Carol) had the chance to pray a Moravian blessing over the proceedings. I’ve been doing quite a bit of research on my family ‘roots’, and have discovered a plethora of Moravian people in my lineage. I found out that I am a descendant of the same family line of one of the missionaries who served the Cherokee in Georgia, as well as in Oklahoma, when they were removed from the east. It was truly my honor to stand and pray for the Moravian heritage of prayer, worship, and missions, to come forth once again, among the First Nations people of North America. WOW! I feel so blessed! You can hear this small piece of Moravian history and prayer of blessing by watching the video recorded live from the ANNA Call – HERE: Rekindling the fire of worship!

Arise Youth Camp: Soboba reservation.

Leading worship at the Arise youth camp (see YouTube videos below), on Soboba reservation, was wonderfully inspirational. Seeing the enthusiasm the youth had for Jesus was kind of mind blowing, really. The kids were SO in love with Jesus & really on fire for Him. They worshiped with real abandon, and shared a few stories about prior youth camps, where they were really touched by the Lord, to be an instrument for His glory in the earth. We had a great time leading worship, and so appreciated the joy and energy the kids brought. At the end of the camp, Wayne and I sat down to eat dinner with some of the elders. We listened intently, as the elders shared stories of how the Lord is moving among First Nations tribes in the U.S. We heard about trips some of them have taken to North Dakota, to support all the tribes assembled there, who are standing for their rights on the Dakota pipeline issue. The love and care these elders were bringing to their own people, in the Name of Jesus, was truly amazing. They realized the issue was less about the actual pipeline, than it was about just loving people in the Name of the Lord. Afterwards, Wayne and I made the 2 hour drive back home to San Diego. As we sat in the car, driving off the reservation, we both just marveled that we had had this opportunity to sit with Native American elders, and listen to their stories. “How did we get there” we asked ourselves. Only through the grace of GOD. We are privileged to be able to minister and share worship, prayer, food and friendship with our friends. What a joyous and meaningful time. YouTube videos below are from the ARISE Camp Meeting.

Thank you so much for standing in the gap for us, as we participated in these beautiful gatherings. Next month we will report from Washington DC, where another large First Nations gathering on the mall in DC is taking place Oct. 21. This Alltribes DC event promises to be historic, as the Native American people come together to walk in forgiveness toward our US government, in spite of the many broken treaties over the decades. And for sure, our nation needs lots and lots of prayer at this critical election time!! GOD bless YOU!!

This month I wanted to highlight my friend Vicente. We call him Tocayo which means twin (a reference in Tijuana if someone has your same name) because our other Tijuana ministry partner is also named Vicente. This Vicente is the one whose home we frequent (about 6 days a week), as he and his wife Lupe, provide a place for us to drop off and pick up food, as well as store it for brief periods. They (including their children who we have watched grow up these past 9 years) help us sort, load the trucks, and distribute food to the people.

“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.” II Corinthians 5:17

My partner, Greg, met Vicente over 10 years ago, when his wife started coming to one of our food distributions, not far from their home. She, a faithful hard worker, very soon began helping sort and distribute the food. Vicente started showing up, but kept his distance, perhaps being a little skeptical at first. Eventually, Greg won him over, as he too started helping. Greg’s consistency with showing up ,but also accepting Vicente in the place that he was, also led to winning him over for the Lord. Vicente’s transformation was quick and beautiful. He, himself, will tell you that he was a very stern man who did his job, provided for his family, but rewarded himself with partying and hanging out with his friends. After coming to Christ he became a family man, and equally was proud to be a part of the ministry. He opened up his home to us. Let me tell you it is not without sacrifice! We are often there at all hours of the day, and occupying a great amount of space in their limited home. But the Lord has met their faithfulness. Vicente will tell you that the business that both he and his wife run, of clothes alterations, furniture and auto upholstery, and custom made accessories, has grown and been a blessing to his growing family. We have been honored to bring him work from our friends in San Diego, but also, word of mouth has brought him much business from around his neighborhood. Vicente and Lupe are so generous to us, as they often insist on doing a lot of our personal alterations at no charge. I usually have to argue with him that it is his work and does not need to be a gift. But I also recognize that I can not rob them of their desire to give back and be blessed in doing so! So it becomes a good battle of who can bless the other more! I can tell you, we often feel the most blessed!

You may also remember it was their daughter Angelica (photo to the right with her dad), who had cancer 6 years ago, at 11 years old. Glory to God, she is still healthy and thriving! She is in private school, where we are honored to sponsor her, after she was cut from public school due to the lottery system (used to combat the over crowdedness of schools). We were also able to sponsor their youngest son in school for a season.

Vicente and I are the same age, though I love to kid him about being a few months older. But as I look at the photo (below) with both our moms, I think about how God knew that these 2 little boys growing up on opposite sides of a continent, would one day be good friends, and work side by side in His Kingdom for His glory!

image1-2 Please pray for Vicente as he does have diabetes. We make sure he has all the materials needed to check his blood every day, as well as syringes for his insulin shots. Thank you for helping us take care of this faithful family, our friends, whom often tell us “mi casa es su casa”.