Aboriginal teens share stories
of hope with their people
Article courtesy of ChristianWeek (www.christianweek.org)
Written by Josiah Neufeld, ChristianWeek Staff
WINNIPEG, MB – It wasn't until Mikey
finished talking and noticed his listener was crying that he realized
his own painful story had the power to heal.
That was two years ago on a reserve in Wisconsin.
This summer 19-year-old Mikey headed south on a Greyhound bus
for his fourth summer with On Eagles' Wings, a ministry that takes
young First Nations youth to reserves and communities across North
America to share their own stories of how God has brought them
hope.
Three other Winnipeggers joined On Eagles' Wings
for the summer–Janine, 17, her 22-year-old brother Josh
and Derek, 17. For security reasons team members with On Eagles'
Wings (OEW) prefer to only have their first names published.
"There were some pretty run-down reservations,"
says Derek. "Broken homes, the aftermath of violence–people
tell us about drug abuse."
Every summer OEW invites youth between the ages
of 16 and 35 from Ojibwa, Cree, Navajo, Nez Perce, Seminole and
other First Nations to the "Warrior Leadership Summit,"
a giant conference put on by OEW where youth are trained for summer
outreach trips.
After the summit two teams of youth travel to
First Nations communities where they camp out in a schools or
community centres, shoot some hoops, make friends and share the
message of Jesus.
This summer the Canadian team of 32 traveled
to eight communities in Alberta while a similar sized U.S. team
visited reserves in New York state. Events are focused around
"hope stories," personal testimonies told by team members
about their encounters with God. The three-day visits usually
close with altar calls.
"It's about Native youth reaching Native
youth," says Tiffany, one of OEW's staff. "Native youth
will listen to Native youth because they come from the same background."
"We're there to let people know they're
not the only ones going through it," says Mikey. "That's
why we have people on the team telling stories."
Mikey's own story began in a home full of alcohol-fueled
violence where he learned to act on his anger and earn acceptance
by fighting, drinking and dealing drugs. On an OEW trip two years
ago Mikey started talking with a young man angry at his mother
for giving him up to foster care.
"I told him about my life, how my mom used
to drink," says Mikey. "I remember she gave me up when
I was 10 or 11." Mikey went on to tell his listener about
his own realization that he needed to forgive.
"I told him how I used to hate my mom too
and how I forgave her," says Mikey. "I told him, ‘You
don't have to be perfect to come to Jesus.'"
By then Mikey's listener was crying and asked
Mikey to come with him. He wanted to offer his forgiveness to
his own mother. OEW director Craig Smith, an Ojibwe from Minnesota,
says he's convinced this generation of Native youth is positioned
to act as a significant voice for the Church.
Although Native teens across North America are
experiencing hopelessness and pain with suicide rates five to
seven times the national average, and struggling to find an identity
between vanishing traditions and urban "gangsta" culture,
Smith says his people are "ahead of the curve."
"Native people were positioned here by
God for a redemptive purpose," says Smith.
Despite terrible things done to Native people
by the Church during the past centuries, including the horrors
of residential schools, Smith says this is the first generation
where "our issues aren't with the white man anymore. We're
now self-destructing." But Smith says his people will emerge
from this suffering with a unique voice.
"We're in the midst of disfunctionality
and pain, but as the rest of society takes its plunge we could
well become the spokespeople for God."
"We're not here about a religion,"
says Mikey. "We're here to tell you about a relationship
with Jesus…that blows away stereotypes of a white man's
God. You can't say it's about white people because I'm pretty
dark for a white person."
_____
Inner City Youth Alive is always looking for volunteers
to assist with the program by serving as role models. For more
information, click to contact
ICYA.
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