Thanks so much for your prayers and support for the Crow Reservation mission trip. Your prayers were very much needed (and felt) the entire trip. Our mission trip started out very different than a typical trip because the group
from Bedford that was part of our team had been blessed with the funds to take a boat tour of the Yellow Tail reservoir (Big Horn Canyon). The pontoon boat could not hold all of us so our hosts, Sharone and Latona Old Elk, asked a relative to bring their boat so the rest of us could follow along. Ed and I were blessed to meet and ride with Ray and Melva Iron. The lake was beautiful and the Irons gave us a little insight from a Native perspective. They also showed us a fresh water spring that had special meaning to them; it flowed out of a crack in a wall of rock, a cliff. The water was sweet and the water coming from a crack in the rock reminded me of a Bible story… Later in the trip we would find out why God had set up this divine appointment with the Irons. |
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Fresh Water Spring |
The following day things began to unravel a little bit. Our host Sharone became very ill. It escalated to the point that he was admitted to the hospital. After a day filled with test they decided to transfer him to a hospital in Billings (the closet big city about an hour away), Latona of course went and stayed with him. Several days after we returned we got news from Latona that the doctors’ reports are not good. But we have a mighty God so please keep praying for Sharone.
As you might imagine with our hosts and trip “Reservation side organizers” incapacitated we were set adrift but only temporarily, because God always has a plan. Praise God Ed has been going to Crow for 19 years and with Latona’s help over the phone he was able to put some things together. Ed was able to get us permission to set up in the local city park where we ministered to children and youth as originally planned (just a different location). |
We played basketball, kickball, and football. The Penn State women’s basketball team donated basketballs, t-shirts, and towels that we gave away to the kids. The Bedford team supplied the know how for several crafts, face painting, and various games including a water balloon toss. We spent three days in the park, what a blast for everyone! You can watch a short video/slide show of our time in the park by fllowing this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAwO0P6MEYs
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Another project was building a set of steps for an elderly widow. After her husband passed away her home was falling into disrepair and the front steps (concrete) literally disintegrated. The Bedford team did a great job building her a new set. Meanwhile me, Frank, and Frankie drove to Billings so I could do a Legacy Video Interview with Colleen Caplett.
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The day after the boat ride Ray and Melva Iron invited the whole team to come to their house later in the week for dinner and a prayer meeting to follow. After a wonderful dinner they shared what was on their heart and asked for prayer.
Melva has a degree and has worked with Tribal Child Welfare for some time. There is a huge shortage of qualified Native foster parents on the reservation and surrounding communities. At the same time there is a huge need for foster parents. Because the Tribe has confidence in Melva they have given her a 20 year lease on a practically new building with 26,000 square feet of space. The building was originally constructed to look like a fort and was intended to be a trading post. Plumbing, heating and air conditioning, and some interior finish work were never completed. Melva wants to turn this building into a “Foster Child Reception Center.” She plans to call it “The Crow’s Nest.”
The center will house children and provide a safe, nurturing Christian environment for them in a Crow cultural setting. They will provide schooling complete with a library and computer lab. They want to have a training center for foster parents. And a secure area where they can have supervised visits, provide counseling, and help to reconcile families in an effort to reunite them.
The Tribe has given them the building but it is up to Melva to apply for grants and find the funds to complete the building, furnish the building, hire the staff, and open the Center. I believe this is why God ordained our meeting. I was immediately intrigued and when I asked if it would be helpful if I made video promotions that could be used on the Internet or some other form of broadcast the answer was a resounding “Yes!”
The following day Ray and Melva met us at the building to give us a tour and describe their plans for transforming the place into the “Crow’s Nest.” I also asked Melva to share her vision on video. She did, and also shared stories of a couple of the children that were her inspiration.
Way back in 1992 it was a heart for children and desire to help foster children that drew us to the Rosebud Reservation (our initial full time mission assignment), I feel like maybe this is why God introduced us to Ray and Melva. A chance to continue sharing the love of God with these precious children and youth, only this time from behind the scenes supporting Native Americans as the ministers.
We may have had our own preconceived ideas of what we were going to do and why we were going to the Crow Reservation, but God had His own plans, and His purpose prevailed. Proverbs 19:21
Thank you for sending us; and thank you for your prayers.
How2BeReal (Our You Tube Channel)
This Summer we began to focus attention to the idea God gave me years ago, that idea is a You Tube channel to reach out into the communities, the USA, and the world. Our goal is to reach a diverse audience of all ages, cultures, and walks of life with an introduction to Jesus or an encouragement in their Christian walk. We plan to do that by having a variety of programming.
You can view it at
You can view it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFqvD7hHfg0
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For various reasons, such as retirement, moved to Heaven, employment changes, and many more, some of our ministry partners have had to reduce or stop their financial giving. Over several years this has become a crucial situation for the ministry. We ask that you would pray and ask God if He is calling you to be a financial team member. You could give monthly, quarterly, yearly, or just a one-time gift. You can give on-line using the secure link on our website: http://agapelane.org/online_donate.html
Or you can send your donation to us at Agape Lane Ministry, 367 Beaver Run RD., Apollo, PA. 15613. We are a 501-C3 and all your gifts are tax deductible.
You could also give to our ministry without it costing you a penny by using Amazon Smile for your on-line purchases. The exact same offers available to you through Amazon are available through Amazon Smile, even if you’re an Amazon Prime member. The only difference is that Amazon Smile will donate ½% of your purchase price to our ministry and it costs you nothing extra. ½% may not seem like much but if enough people do it, it adds up. Just follow the link below to register us as the ministry you want to support.
http://smile.amazon.com/ch/43-1957219
You can also just go to the Amazon Smile website at http://smile.amazon.com then in the search box under the "Select a Charity" area type "Agape Lane Ministry" (minus the quotes) into the search box and click the search button, then choose our ministry in Apollo, Pennsylvania as your charity. That's all there is to it. As long as your computer is set up to accept cookies every time you go to Amazon Smile it will automatically apply the donation to our account. If your computer doesn't except cookies then you will need to enter the information each time you shop.
We have a new way for you to help support our ministry every day just by searching and shopping online or dining out at your favorite restaurants. We’ve registered Agape Lane Ministry with GoodSearch.com, a company that helps non-profits like ours raise funds through the everyday actions of our supporters. Every time you use a Good Search service, they donate to the non-profit you’ve designated.
You can start using it now. Just go to www.goodsearch.com and click on the link in small letters under the search text bar that says “Choose your cause” That will open a small search window where you will type in “Agape Lane Ministry” You will be transported to another window where you can register as a supporter of our ministry/cause. Then anytime you use Good Search they will donate to our ministry.
We’d like to begin building our presence on GoodSearch.com. Please join our community on GoodSearch.com and help us raise money for our mission. Get started by clicking the
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Please join us and invite a friend.
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Colleen is an elder in the community and related both to Sharone Old Elk and Ray Iron. She shared a grandfather with both Ray and Sharone. This grandfather was a strong committed Christian leader on the reservation. He was responsible for bringing many in his family and in the community into a relationship with the Lord. Colleen shared memories of many prayer meetings at various locations including the church and their grandparent’s home, some lasting for days.
For several years I have been doing interviews with Native American and non-Native Christian leaders on the subject of “Contextual Ministry.” I have also interviewed many people from different cultures and asked if and how contextual ministry has affected their relationship with Jesus Christ. We will be adding excerpts from some of these interviews to the Messages from the Room Upstairs segments. The first of these is there now with Pastor Ellson and Callie Bennett.