Summer of Hope 2025 Frontline Report #2

July 17, 2025

Topics: Native American Ministry Tags: OEW News

"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.

Apparently, the amazing warriors of 2025 didn't get that message. In spite of the challenges, they were all over the gym, inside and out, doing what they do. Paired up with local young people, seizing opportunities to tell how His Story changed their story forever.

When Landon (Crow) shared his story, the man quoted above poured out a story of lifelong addiction he had never shared with anyone. He finally felt there was someone he could share it with. He said he felt "less alone." For sure, because He left with Jesus.

Dylan (Ojibwe) comes from a community that's been described as "the suicide capital of the world." He's a big guy with a heart to match. The man Dylan connected with was deeply touched by the Hope Stories he heard - especially about Jesus delivering from drugs and suicidal thoughts. He said, "I wish that was me. That I would stop doing drugs." He has that hope now. Dylan led him to Christ.

The lady overseeing the facility prayed to receive Jesus as well, along with the guy who ran to center court at invitation time. The power of the Hope Stories was clear in the response of a tribal leader's relative after hearing Curtis' (Dakota Sioux) story of abuse and rejection. "How can he smile after all that?" The door was open to tell about the difference Jesus has made in his life.