On Eagles Wings - Ron Hutchcraft Ministries

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1500 suicide attempts in eight months!

It's unimaginable that there could be that much despair among any community of just 10,000 people. But according to the reservation hospital, that's the awful reality of life on the "Elk Valley" Reservation - On Eagles' Wings' (OEW) second reservation of this Summer of Hope. What's more unimaginable is that we've never heard about this recent suicide epidemic. Sadly, it shows how totally invisible Native Americans are in this country. The first Americans bleed – and die - out of sight and out of mind.

But they're not invisible to God. And He has sent to these people a team of Native young people who have lived this despair – and been rescued from it by Jesus. But no one thought it would be easy. Elk Valley is a fortress of one of the strongest traditional religions in all of Indian country. Plus, there is a violent gang culture. A proud people, once known as some of the greatest Indian warriors, are now killing themselves or killing each other.

The first night, we faced a challenge that's unusual for On Eagles' Wings – keeping the locals there for the event. The crowd was constantly coming and going – some to a nearby powwow, some because a gang leader or a traditional leader came and summoned them away, others just young women leaving because they follow whatever the guys do. My son Brad (Director of RHM's Native Ministry) and I sat in our vehicle, fighting in prayer for these young people.

One highlight from Night One was Travis' (Sioux) Gospel presentation. He's given his Hope Story before, but never been a Gospel presenter. He winsomely delivered the love and power of Jesus to this restless crowd – in an environment where few preachers (including the guy writing this!) could get or hold the attention of Native young people. What's most exciting is that Travis was far from Jesus two years ago. But then there was the night at Warrior Leadership Summit when he was the first one to the cross to surrender to Christ – and the last one to leave.

Today, the front page of the local newspaper is filled with accounts of the "storm of the decade" that left a path of damage across the reservation during our Night Two. But it never came near where we were. God was doing rescue business on the courts that night! About one third of the Elk Valley young people there that night gave their hearts to Christ!

One of them was a young man who said three of his friends had hung themselves in just the past month. He could have been the next one. But that night by the court, he gave his life to Jesus. On Night One, Jenny (Navajo) had told her Hope Story of Christ's rescue from the damage and pain of an alcoholic background. What we didn't know was that a young woman had been listening from her apartment in the housing complex across the street. She showed up on Night Two and met Jenny. She identified with Jenny's story – even though Jenny lives a thousand miles away. She came that night without a Savior. She left with Jenny's Savior in her heart.

With so many young people wandering each night – and some staying at a distance in "check it out" mode – it was time to "seek and save those who are lost" (Luke 19:10). There were gang guys who were interested enough to stand across the street and watch, but too cool to come over to our events. So "Buck" (Apache) took a little spiritual posse of our guys over there to connect with them.

Buck is uniquely credentialed for missions like these. Until Jesus radically saved him recently, Buck was a leader in a major gang on his reservation. He's still got the "gangsta" look and style, but he's all about Jesus now. For three nights, he took OEW guys to those guys across the street. In our Night Two debriefing time when as a team we talk about what God did during that night's outreach, he broke down pouring out his heart for these very lost boys, who are what he was not long ago. Buck was impacted by guys from our team last summer when On Eagles' Wings came to his reservation . A few months later he surrendered to Christ, came to Warrior Leadership Summit, and applied for the team. He's going to be an impact player on reservations this summer.

Night Three at Elk Valley was full of drama. While the Night Two harvest had been encouraging, our Native team felt they were still facing a lot of hearts and faces hardened by years of tradition and tragedy.

And Night Three really started slow. There were gang fights drawing guys away. The nearby powwow was heating up. We literally prayed each one to the outreach. The drama intensified as a foreboding storm system with fierce lightning started moving toward the courts. Brad and I prayed fervently that God would send the rain to the north. And for a while the storm system moved to the north. As Jarrod (Sioux) was hammering home the Gospel and starting into the invitation, the drums from the nearby powwow suddenly got much louder. And the storm was bearing down on the court.

The lightning and heavy rain left us no choice but to announce for everyone to go to an adjacent building – right on the verge of extending an invitation to choose Christ. That never happened – at least publicly. But God, as always, had a better plan.

OEW warriors and locals were running together for cover, only to be crowded together in an available room next door. Jarrod finished his Gospel presentation and urged the young people there to talk with one of our team. The storm didn't just break up our program. It broke down walls! Our team members were able to have open spiritual conversations where there had been coldness and resistance before. In some cases, it meant commitments to Jesus. In others, it meant opportunities to fully sow the seed of the Gospel in otherwise closed hearts.

Across the street, one of the "gangsta" guys Buck had worked on for three nights finally yielded to Jesus. Others said with tears, "I want to change. I don't want this life. I know you're right about Jesus." But they just couldn't cross the line yet. But they've moved closer to Jesus than anyone could have imagined – and they're committed to reading the Bible and Gospel literature they were given. Some of the very committed traditional guys who'd come to play basketball moved closer, too. Jarrod confronted them directly in that little room and got them to the point where they had to admit that Jesus is what they need. No commitment yet, but hard hearts finally opening.

In our final moments there, a young mom – an admitted alcoholic – that one of our team members had talked with all three nights, finally surrendered to Jesus. When one of our team felt led to pray against certain spirits in this young woman's home, she was amazed. How could this stranger know that she was being tormented at night by those spirits? That supernatural prayer was the final evidence that caused her to conclude that Jesus was real. I can't forget the scene of Jenny, this mom, and her little daughter locked in a tearful hug that seemed like it would never end. The rescuer and the rescued.

Life has come to Elk Valley. Hope has come to Elk Valley. And in a fiercely fought battle on a battlefield for lives, Jesus has won.

* All names changed for privacy.