Onondaga Reservation..

1986.. Bill and I were attending Lyncourt Wesleyan Church in Syracuse, NY and teaching a new converts Sunday School class. My Mom, who had been widowed, was an ordained minister and was pastoring the Onondaga Indian Reservation Wesleyan Church in her retirement. My Dad had pastored there prior to becoming ill. I loved the people and having grown up with Native Americans in South America, I felt very much at home with them. One day I began to feel very compelled to help my Mom with the work. Bill had never shown any interest in that ministry so I wasn't sure how he would respond, but when I told him it is what I believed we should be doing he immediately agreed. I was totally surprised but thrilled. I also did not know that it was the beginning of an amazing journey God had orchestrated. My next dilemma was to find someone to teach our Sunday School class. We agreed not to tell anyone what we were planning but to pray. If God provided a replacement for us we would know it truly was what God was calling us to do. So we put out our "fleece". Two weeks later we had just finished our Sunday School class and were walking to the sanctuary for morning worship when a man met us and said, "I hope you guys aren't offended but I truly believe God wants me to teach your Sunday School class." What an amazing God we serve! We joyfully gave our class over to him and began attending Onondaga. My heart was for the children and I took over the ministry to them. The first thing I discovered is that the Native kids were very different than city kids in their response to Sunday School and Children's Church. They were thrilled to be there and they listened with rapt attention and participated. It was obvious they had been taught to respect their elders and did not have the attitude of entitlement that so many children have. I was "tickled" one day while teaching my Sunday School class of 9, 10 and 11 year olds, when one of the kids asked me what my clan was. They were totally surprised to find out that I was not Native American. Truth be told I do have Native American blood in me (I think 1/32) and found out a couple of years ago that it is Onondaga. How cool is that! Because it is a Matriarchal society, my Mom was highly respected and it sure didn't hurt me either. I was concerned that we didn't have more children coming so I made it a focused matter of prayer. The very next Sunday to my absolute shock and joy 12 new kids came walking through the door. I was also very pleased that others stepped up to the plate to help with this ministry. We were there for two years and unbeknownst to any of us my Mom was exhibiting signs of dementia as she started to lose her place more and more while preaching and told the D.S. that she was ready to officially retire. There was no one to take over the work and the D.S told us that the district was talking about closing it. What happened next would change our lives forever after. Without hesitation Bill said, "I'll do it until you can find someone else." What a shocker that was! He had never preached nor had any inclination to but was soon to be the new Pastor at Onondaga while still working a full time job at G.M. As this was also the calling on my life I jumped into the ministry with everything I had, doing the midweek Bible study, children's program and visitation. Some of the visits were extremely interesting. Especially the ones where I was called at 2 in the morning because someone was in the hospital due to an overdose. On one of those calls the young man told me that nobody cared anything about him. My response back to him was, "Don't you dare say no one cares about you! It is 2:00 in the morning and I should be sound asleep. Instead I am here because I DO care about you!" I fit in perfectly with my outspokenness as that is how they communicate, and I had been raised in a Native American culture in South America that was the same way. One of the things that was extremely challenging was the huge spiritual warfare that was waging all the time. I know it is everywhere but it was tangible out there. Thankfully, I found some wonderful and not off the wall books on the subject and used them frequently. I don't want to become too graphic on here by going into any details but I was so happy that "Greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world." One thing I will share is that I was hit wit extreme depression. I do suffer from seasonal affected disorder but this was beyond that. Another church in our district called me on a Friday and asked how they could pray for us. I shared with the person what I had been going through and they told me they would pray all weekend. On Sunday morning I got up and felt overwhelmed with depression and did not have any desire to go to church. I wasn't awake very long when suddenly I was hit with unspeakable joy. In the middle of the living room I began to sing and dance in rapturous praise. That kind of depression never hit me again. A beautiful little girl came walking up the sidewalk holding the hand of an old man one Sunday. I didn't know then that she would become an integral part of our lives. She started attending Sunday School and church regularly. One day she took me home to meet her mother. Her mother was around 42 and had been an alcoholic since she was 11 years old. She didn't know what it was to live life sober. We became good friends and I would often visit her. One day she asked Bill to dedicate her daughter and asked us if we would be her godparents. We were very honored and said yes. I spent a lot of time with her and she lived with us for a summer. It put a crimp in her style as she had been totally on her own for so many years and now she had a "Mom" and a "Dad" putting parameters on her. After we were there for two years Bill had a month vacation through GM and we decided to take it as we both needed the break. I had distanced myself from this lady as I was pouring so much time into her and she had no heart for what I was offering, and others were being neglected. Just before we left, the lady called me and told me she was scared as her eyes and skin were yellow. I told her to go to detox and we'd see her when we got back. When we got home I got the news that she was in the hospital. I went to see her and found her in a coma and her body was twice it's side from fluid. She was dying from liver failure. I felt intense anger at Satan for using the weapon of alcohol to take out one more precious person made in God's image. I suddenly heard that still small voice of the Holy Spirit telling me to pray for her healing. My response was, "Why should I God? You know she will never serve you!" And in a totally clear response He answered, "Because I love her!" Her boyfriend and cousin were in the room and I told them that I was going to pray for her. As they looked at me with skepticism in their eyes, I said, "The same God who created her is able to recreate and heal her!" I left there with no faith but total faith in the One who was leading me. So I began to pray, and pray I did morning noon and night asking God to heal her. The more I prayed the more faith I had. About 10 days later while kneeling in my living room I heard that still small voice again that said, "Stop praying and rejoice!" I still was skeptical, but I took some anointing oil and went up to the hospital to see her. When I walked into the room I couldn't believe my eyes. She was lying there with her eyes open looking at me. She had a breathing tube so could not talk. I called her by name and she nodded her head. I asked her if she knew she had just experienced a miracle and she again nodded her head. The next morning they removed the tube and in 3 days she was in her own room. He best friend had gone into the hospital the same time with the same problem and had died. But here she was alive and well and I was ecstatic with joy! I read I John to her and suddenly a light came on as she responded with "So it's saying that if we say we don't sin that we are a liar?" I said yes. She still didn't surrender her life to the Lord but she was on the mend. She went home but that next Fall she was in the hospital again with something else. Some Native singers from Oklahoma were at our church and after I told them of the situation they went to see her and one more time shared the good news of the gospel with her and she prayed and surrendered her life to the Lord. There was a young man who had hurt his brain badly on drugs. We dearly loved him and prayed for him and most importantly that he would surrender his life to the Lord. It seemed he couldn't focus enough to do it or didn't see the necessity. One day at church we were talking and praying with him with that huge wall still in place. I felt led to verbally come against the powers of darkness that were preventing him from doing what he knew he needed to do, so that is what I did and the very next moment he was able to focus and pray. What a mighty God we serve! Psalm 107:31 "Oh that men (and women) would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works for the children of men (mankind)."