"She was only four. She was explaining the things that happened to her... like it was normal. It broke my heart."
There were lots of broken warrior hearts on this next reservation - Brighton.
In the next to the last month of their training at our Leadership Center, our students go for a 3-4 week internship with some reservation partners we trust. Brighton Rez is one of them.
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.
"How can he be smiling after he's been through so much?"
No two reservations are alike in this Summer of Hope. Each confronts the Hope Team warriors with challenges. The Canagua Reservation certainly did.
There's a story to this reservation that explains both the opposition and opportunity before the team. Our host pastor - a Canagua man - said the story goes back 200 years when part of the tribe moved across the country, leaving their homes and their tribe's strong centuries-old beliefs. Having decided to follow Jesus, they established this reservation.
"He said he was planning to go back to his addict ways tonight. But he stopped to hear our group instead. And ended up telling me the story he had hidden all his life."
Landon (Crow)
OEW teams thrive on outdoor reservation basketball courts. Inside a gym? Not so much. Our hosts at Fort Sanders couldn't secure the outdoor option. So gymnasium it was!
Outside, locals can just come and hang out. Feels safer. Much easier for the warriors to connect. A gym is much more difficult.
"At the invitation, they ran to come to Jesus!"
"Our nation is in crisis." The desperate words of the tribal Chairman on Eagle Rock (Nation) Reservation - OEW's first mission of this Summer of Hope.
"We've been under a state of emergency since March of 2020. And it's not enough."
Because of our "partnership in the Gospel" (Phil. 1:5), something extraordinary...something holy happened. You didn't just sponsor a trip. You made it possible for Native young people to encounter Jesus in a life-changing way. At Warrior Leadership Summit, they came with questions, hurts, and brokenness - but many left as bold warriors for Christ.
Warrior Leadership Summit 2025 is underway, and God is most definitely on the move! We have our largest group from across North America in the room since 2020, and you helped pray them here.
You will hear from a special friend in this video! Caitlyn is Navajo, an 8-year OEW veteran, and the female Resident Assistant this year at the LC. She has a full heart about all she is seeing the Lord do here this year.
With seeing the impact of the OEW LC on the first two years of students, there is a full-circle model that takes these Jesus-loving warriors from their days at WLS... to serving with the OEW Hope Team... to the Leadership Center... and then to the next exciting chapter the Lord calls them to!
Wildfire Nearby and The Final Battle
"It's just too dangerous. I'm not sure we're going to be able to do our closing night here."
Wildfire Nearby
The sun was orange, and the air heavy with acrid smoke from nearby wildfires. The air quality monitor had been in the highest-danger red zone since noon. We had waited as long as we could to make a decision.