JUNE 2012

ISSUE 36

Hello there, Neighbor!

It’s been a while since I last wrote to you, but we’ve been busy. This newsletter is big because we want to show you some of what we’ve been doing. The first trip was to Northwest Indian Bible School with food and mattresses, and then on to a new partner in ministry. Mariah Myton, of Love and Light Ministries in Hot Springs, Montana, called and asked if we could help her out. Dan Russau made that trip alone. Bob King and Leon Hansen have each made trips to Fort Mc Dermitt, Nevada, we’ve gone to Celilo Village a couple of times, and we had Sylvester Knows His Gun come out to visit, speak at our weekly prayer breakfast, and to pick up the van a teammate provided for him. Then, of course, we had our big rally in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Les Phipps and Pastor Larry Mc Kinney made a trip to the Colville Reservation in Washington along with other trips to the southwest United States and again to South Dakota.

The Lord is blessing us richly through YOU, Neighbor! Let me say it again that we could NOT do this without the faithful support of our Teammates. YOU are financing these trips and the Lord is keeping the record. Every penny you send in is becoming your “treasure in Heaven”, where moth and rust cannot destroy, praise His name!

Now let me share our needs. Cecelia Spotted Bear and Alex Bad Bear are afoot and need vehicles. They have repaired and repaired until their cars cannot be repaired anymore. FNM has outgrown the church basement and we need a warehouse. We also need a 26’ moving van to make our trips in. The Big Rig is just too expensive to use now and we feel we would be better stewards of the money you send in to switch to a van. Will you pray with us about these needs? Pray, too, that God will continue to open doors for us to reach further into the darkness of the reservations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We believe the time is short and the fields are white with harvest.

Deuteronomy 1:21 says, “Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.” The world lies before us to be conquered for the Lord Jesus. Let’s summon the courage to win dark homes and hard hearts for Jesus. No one is beyond the power of His grace!

Your old missionary brother, Don Cline

Do you have our new email address? mail@firstnationministries.org

HOT SPRINGS, MONTANA

Our Harvest Logistics partner, Dan Russau, drove the big rig to Montana to deliver food and mattresses to Northwest Indian Bible School in Alberton and also to a new partner in Hot Springs named Love and Light Ministries. Mariah Myton, of Love and Light, called and said she had heard about us and wondered if we could help her ministry. We were happy to say that we could. Delivering valuable food and mattresses to these two worthy causes made us realize anew why we do what we do. What a blessing to US to be able to help these ministries and what a blessing to YOU, Teammates, because you have made it all possible.

CELILO VILLAGE, OREGON

Jeff Phipps and Bob King went to Celilo to deliver food, clothing, boats, and encouragement to Karen and Fred Whitford, our “point people”. It’s always nice to deliver the food and clothes, but this time we had two small boats to give that had been donated to us. Fred assured us they would put them to use. We are so thankful for Fred and Karen, who serve their community with whatever they have, and stay true to the Savior no matter how hard the going gets. Pray that God will continue to strengthen them and increase their ministry in the village.

PINE RIDGE, SOUTH DAKOTA

By Deborah Cline

After picking me up from the airport in Rapid City, Les and Shirley Phipps drove me to their daughter, Sheryl’s house. On that 50 mile trip we saw a pair of Canada geese, elk, antelope, deer, a bald eagle, prairie dogs and buffalo that were so close we could have touched them. One actually came over and sniffed in the car window. What a treat to be so close to God’s creation! The next day Les and I met with Bob and Cindy Boucek, from Feed The Hungry, at Leon Matthew’s coffee house. Leon pastors the old Mennonite church, which is now a community church, and he owns a popular little coffee house in Pine Ridge. Leon is a talented, sharp witted,

young (to me, anyway) Lakota man who has a lot of “irons in the fire”. He has been a pastor for 20 years and runs a wonderful coffee shop that sells “Rattle Snake Brew” coffee and wonderful muffins made by his wife, Belle. He also has a web site that hopes to promote discussion, respect, and understanding between cultures. The Native and White cultures are so different that it is easy for us to offend each other. If you want to “tune in”, you can at rezramblings.com. Bob and Cindy Boucek work for Feed The Hungry and a nicer couple you’ll never find. It was a first-time operation for all of us and so we were a little nerved-up over how to best make the donation day go smoothly. We had a nice time getting to know each other and sharing information about reservation life and world-wide ministry. Donation day dawned sunny and hot. Thank the Lord for the breeze or some of us would have melted! We gathered at the native

center in Pine Ridge with our pastors and point people for a time of getting acquainted and worship before handing out the food. What a joy for me to meet face to face some of these workers I’ve heard about for years from Dad and talked to on the phone! Then it was decided we needed to move to the pow-wow grounds to unload so we’d have more room. Townspeople followed us wherever we went, wanting to know what was going on. We told them we had brought food for our workers to take back to their communities to use in ministering and that we would distribute what was left to the townsfolk. What a lesson in sin and poverty! The people from town started sneaking food out and, even after being asked to wait, continued to steal. Now before anyone gets too judgmental, let’s remember that “there, but for the grace of God, go I”.

It broke my heart to see such desperation. But, we serve a mighty God! We gave the workers all

they could take and, even though some food had already been taken, there was enough. It was nice to meet pastors like Bruce Stevens, the pastor of St. Francis Holiness Chapel in Rosebud, and “townies” like James Red Cloud. James is an ancestor of the great Chief Red Cloud we’ve read about in history books. When he saw that I was upset about food being stolen, he said, ‘’Please don’t feel bad. Even though they’re doing wrong, you are helping so many of our people. I can’t thank you enough.” He thanked me several times and then the Lord spoke to me, telling me if He hadn’t put me in the family He did, I could be one of the desperate people stealing food. I had to ask Him for forgiveness. Another wonderful meeting was with Keith Lavery. He and his wife and two small children work with the Society of Indian Missions in South Dakota and had a warehouse we could use to store household items for distribution at another time.

Les and Shirley’s son-in-law, Wes, worked SO hard in that hot sun; loading and unloading the flatbed and helping load cars. I can’t thank him enough for his labor and for the use of his Big Rig, which just happens to be our old “#1” truck. The first one Dad ever bought new, it’s a blessing to know it’s still being used in Indian work. Thank you, Wes and Sheryl, for your hard work and wonderful hospitality to me! Now a little about the rez: government housing is small, but nice, and always the same except for color (I’m told you get one if you know the right people); wooden crosses in the cemetery are cheaper than headstones; and the dogs that are everywhere belong to everyone. They run loose and look well cared for. A lot of churches are closed and even those left open need paint and repair. Pine Ridge, a town of 3308 people, has its own dialysis center; diabetes is epidemic. Please pray for this needy area.

COLVILLE RESERVATION

Les Phipps and Pastor Larry McKinney went to the Colville Reservation to deliver help that was requested by Pastor Bob Phillips. We were delighted to reconnect with Bob after many years. He and his wife have faithfully pastured the church for twenty some years and the result is a lot of kids who can recite scripture from memory that would put many of us to shame. Les was able to make some radio broadcasts with Bob and Pastor Larry had a new experience. He

told me it was a new experience to be a missionary as opposed to being a pastor. He said the view looks different when you’re handing out the necessities of life to needy people and hearing stories that break your heart. One little girl was looking sad and Larry asked what was the matter. She said her daddy was in prison. When Larry asked, “Why?”, she said it was because he had hurt her and she was sad about it. Pastor Larry had to swallow the lump in his throat.

According to statistics, rape, physical abuse, and sexual abuse is rampant on the reservations of America; the result of lives lived without Jesus. Pray that we can get the message of hope to these forgotten people right here in our own country. Pray for Larry and Regina Mc Kinney who are ministering to Native people in the Portland area.

SOUTH DAKOTA AND NEW MEXICO

When Les and Shirley went to South Dakota they saw Larry and Dale Salway. Larry is opening up seven chapels that have been sitting empty on the reservation. These are chapels that were built under the supervision of Les’ dad, Neil Phipps, so they have a special place in Les’ heart. Unfortunately, Larry is just one man and can only be at a chapel every 8 weeks (he also has a church in Rapid City). There’s a terrific need for pastors for these chapels; please join us in prayer about this urgent matter. Pray for NIBS and Wildcat Bible College who are training young men and women for the ministry. There’s always a financial need for the students and the schools. Jim (Jimmy) Bowling started the Wildcat Academy for grades K – 12 and now has added the Bible school. Let’s pray for these men of God and their wives who are laboring in the “fields white with harvest”. Pray that FNM will have the finances to supply food and other needs to these outreaches.

ODDS AND ENDS

Here’s the promised picture of the rutted roads on the reservations. Unfortunately, this one is so muddy Les didn’t want to push his luck by driving on it, so all you can see is the beginning – the best part. The road gets steadily worse the further you travel on it. What a mess! What a joy to renew kinship with Sylvester Knows His Gun from Crow Agency, Mt. We were privileged to give him a van he needed that was given to us by a teammate. Another trip to Fort Mc Dermitt was made by Leon Hansen. Leon has a real burden on his heart for these Paiute people. Thank you, Leon, for your time, effort, and financial aid to this small band of believers.

GOD WON’T ASK:

*What kind of car you drove, but He’ll ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation.

*The square footage of your house, but He’ll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

*What your highest salary was, but He’ll ask if your compromised your character to obtain it.

*About the clothes you had in your closet, but He’ll ask how many you helped to clothe.

*What your job title was, but He’ll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.

*How many friends you had, but He’ll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

*In what neighborhood you lived, but He’ll ask how you treated your neighbors.

*About the color of your skin, but He’ll ask about the content of your character.

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THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THIS MINISTRY

Advanced Hearing Aids – Vancouver, WA Mitchell’s Oil Field Service – Glendive, MT

Hansen Metal Works – Silverton, OR Rick & Jan Lewis – Battle Ground, WA

Christian Book Shop – Oregon City, OR Hawaiian Coffee Co. – Damascus, OR

Coast Trucking – Troutdale, OR Smith Chiropractic – Oregon City, OR

Bedco, Inc. – Newberg, OR Tony’s Smokehouse & Cannery – Oregon City, OR

His Bakery – Oregon City, OR Landscape Supply Co. – Oregon City, OR

H2O – Dalles, OR Woodpecker Trucking – Pendleton, OR

Minuteman Press – N.E. Halsey St., Portland, OR Allied Products, LLC – Sherwood, OR

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To love someone is to see him as God intended him.

Somewhere someone is looking for exactly what you have to offer.

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She will be battle-scarred and pure! Her members will have faced the battle, made the sacrifice, paid the price suffered the loss, persevered and emerged triumphant. The Bride will be a stately lady, uncompromising, undiluted, unapologetic, unadulterated, unpopular, and unadorned. She will have stood her ground, passed the test, survived the scrape, endured the flack, followed the Word and have been obedient. She will be ready when the Groom appears…she will be ready in the morning, at noon or in the evening…she will be ready, regardless… she will be devoid of the phony, half-hearted, the shirker, the miser, the griper, the compromiser, the complainer, the sight-walker, the spectator, the quitter, the deceiver and the appeaser. She’ll be ready and waiting…God’s people…the humble, the consistent, the worker, the giver, the go-ers, the pray-ers, the stay-ers, the say-ers, the faith-walkers. These are the reborn, the regenerate, the revived, the restored, the resurrected, the repentant, the re-dedicated and the redeemed.

What a wedding day! What a wedding party! What a reception!

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RADIO BROADCAST TIMES KPDQ 93.9 FM Mon-Fri at 6:15 PM KPDQ 800 AM Mon-Fri at 6:00 PM KGLE AM Sun at 2:06 PM in Montana