Trauma and Triumph
It was a huddle under the basket... the boy who started a flood... the Bible under the pillow... the ambulance that became a Gospel platform.
So many holy moments on the Blackhawk Mountain Reservation. It started as a battle. It ended as a breakthrough victory.
Our venue is a busy basketball court during the school year. But its distance from town meant folks couldn't hear our music or discover us as they passed by.
But this is Team "Can Do." They prayed. They intercepted guys on bikes and the occasional passerby. And slowly but surely, they built a small crowd from nothing.
The folks who invited us and committed to immediate follow-up wanted this badly. It's hard to find a Christian young person on this reservation. So the team represents hope of changing that. Each night, the crowd grew.
Serena (Navajo) connected with a girl who asked if they could talk somewhere where "no one can see me cry." She told a story of bullying that had left her feeling worthless. That night she prayed to receive Jesus. Serena gave her a Bible - which, by the next night, she had "read to page 32." She slept with the Bible under her pillow. She said she didn't want us to leave "because you're nice."
As always, the warriors fully deployed for rescue. Our final night had some unforgettable moments. Beginning with a crowd that doubled from the night before.
Andy's (Ojibwe) Hope Story of a missing dad and an addicted mother explained his descent into drugs and suicide attempts. "I was a lost boy." But then he told about his Rescuer, Jesus, who "has given me peace no drug could give me. And a lot of love that no father could give me."
That helped set the stage for a powerful Gospel wrap-up and invitation to begin a relationship with Jesus.
Sometimes there's an immediate surge when our speaker says, "If you're going to come, come now." Other nights it's a gradual response - like this night, when for a few hushed moments across the court, no one came after Craig led in a salvation prayer. Then one young boy courageously stepped to center court. And that started the flood. Some stood with the OEW warrior who had been with them all three nights.
Our hosts had prayed for many of these young people - so they were thrilled. This was their harvest!
Five guys who had come for basketball stood against the fence with arms around each other's backs, trying to make sure no one went forward. Though it looked like a couple had quietly prayed with our speaker.
Afterwards, Andy got them in a circle under the basket, asking if he could pray for them. They agreed. The sight of that holy huddle under the basket will stay with me for awhile. It was how Andy found Christ. Several years ago Andy and his friends had been doing drugs in a local park, when a Native believer gathered them together and prayed for them. Now it was Andy's turn.
Meanwhile, Mike (Cherokee) was shooting around with some of the local guys - until that excruciating moment when he landed on someone's foot, rolled his ankle and hit the court in agony. Mike is a respected team leader and Gospel presenter. The damage was clearly evident, the impact traumatic on his fellow warriors.
In the ambulance, Mike said he remembered what we have often taught - "your situation is your assignment." He shared his Hope Story on the way to the hospital! God answered the fervent prayers of his teammates with the surprising news that it was a dislocation, not a fracture, and a rare kind of dislocation that required no rods or pins. So, since he was consciously sedated for the procedure, he shared the Hope of his team with the surgeon!
That is a dramatic example of the spirit of this team - it's all about sharing the Good News of Jesus! That night, your prayers reached into a faraway emergency room and operating room. And across that reservation basketball court as many Blackhawk Mountain young people chose Jesus. Our host said, radiating joy, "We love your Hope Stories - but soon we will have Hope Stories of our own!"
The flame of hope for this tribe's young people is lit!
* Names and locations changed for privacy.