Well it’s been a while since our last update. We have been busier than ever. Along with all of our ministry assignments Jerry has been driving truck 10 – 12 hours a day 5 days a week. It’s been crazy but the Lord continues to give strength. Our prayer is still for the day when ministry support and the drum building supply enough that Jerry will once and for all be able to hang those truck keys up.
First of all we have some dates coming up that we would like to invite you to as well ask for your covering in prayer.
September 11: Bellingham WA on the Lummi Reservation at Wexliem Community Center 2100 Lummi View Dr. Bellingham WA. We will be joining Randy and Cheryl Barnetson with classes during the day and then a concert with both worship teams that evening. For more information contact Lauri Paiz at: (johnny_lauri@verizon.net)
September 17 & 18: Auburn WA, Native Women of Destiny Conference, for information go to the events page at www.gatewayim.org
We will be bringing our full worship team for both of these dates. We are praying that the Lord will meet our First Nations brothers and sisters with the power and love that only He can bring through an encounter with Holy Spirit. We also ask that you would pray for our team as Holy Spirit leads.
September 25, Jerry will emcee the Cowlitz Pow Wow in Toledo WA.
Okay so the last up date was the end of May. So here’s where we’ve been this summer.
Kenny & Louise Blacksmith
June 10-14, Jerry and Leslie were in Ottawa For the “I Forgive” Gathering. Jerry was asked to come and intercede on the “native drum kit”. He had the honor of being able to play with each worship team. What a blessing. There were literally thousands of people in attendance to witness First Nations people’s acceptance of apologies made by the prime minister of Canada two years ago. If was the culmination gathering after Kenny Blacksmith and his team traveled across Canada over the past year, to bring this apology to the attention of the Aboriginal people of Canada and ask them to forgive the government and church for all the atrocities done to the them for generations. The only way to describe the final gathering is powerful. There was repentance and reconciliation between all people groups of Canada that weekend. There was worship, prayer and dance, represented by so many people groups in very culturally relevant ways. We count it an honor and a privilege to have been asked to be a part of such a God ordained, historic event.
June 18, We were honored to be invited to the Chinook First Salmon ceremony at Fort Columbia. It was a great day, we were so happy to be witnesses as the Chinook people reconnect with their roots through tribal celebrations that are hundreds of years old.
June 24-29, Our entire worship team traveled to Lawton Oklahoma, for the Sing to the Mountains first annual music festival. A true adventure! Only one person on our team of 8 had ever even been to Oklahoma. We met up with several old friends and had the opportunity to meet many new people as well.
July 17, Our team gathered with some of the Chinook people in Raymond WA. Joining us were Cheryl Bear and family for a day of worship in the park. Thank you to Pastor Tony & Lisa at Liberation Church for all their hard work in putting this event together. Also we want to thank all our friends and dancers who came out to support us.
Picture above: Sean Britt captain of Cowlitz canoe. Sean has spent many volunteer hours working on our barn and in our drum shop
July 18-20, Paddle to Makah, Neah Bay WA. This was our first time to get in on the canoe journey. Wow! How exciting to be a part of such a huge gathering of First Nations people once again reconnecting with their roots through cultural traditions and celebrations. Over 70 thousand people in attendance. We want to give a big thank you to Jeff and Jan Walters for loaning us their new camper for the trip. It was awesome. We could really get used to traveling like that!
July 30-Aug 1, Wiconi Family Camp, the funny thing that kept being said this year was “This is the best camp ever! Wait didn’t we say that last year? Ah but it’s true it just gets better every year.” We obviously were just 3 of many that had a great time at family camp. It was so much fun to have our 5 year old granddaughter Ava along with us. Our talking circle was on culturally relevant worship. There was a group of about 30 people and basically the time turned into Spirit led worship and intercession. The hour seemed like just a few minutes no one wanted to leave. The Pow Wow was over the top and Jerry and Ava had a great time dancing their prayers together.
Cowlitz Family
August 11, We hosted some of our Cowlitz friends in Ruby Creek, (Jerry’s home land). It was so nice to spend time just being together in a relaxed atmosphere. Jerry’s sisters and brother are the most gracious hosts. Saturday afternoon we had a gathering with about 30 people in attendance where we shared in protocol and music. We are already thinking about doing something together next year.
August 21, Jerry officiated a wedding in Grayland WA on the beach and uncharacteristic of Grayland the weather was bright, sunny with just a slight breeze on the beach. It was lovely day for the happy couple.
August 22 & 23, We went to the Gorge to celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary. The time was short but most refreshing.
The Barn: Well the process is slow but sure. Upstairs we have one wall left to finish, fabric to be hung from the ceiling, and 4 benches to be finished. Outside we have picked out the paint and will be purchasing that this weekend. Then some final scraping, a pressure wash and then we will be ready to paint starting in October. Pray for good weather The catch is we have chosen to change the color of red for the barn so now we will also have to paint the house. (Just one more thing to add to the list) Also Help is needed in all of these areas so please call us or send an email and let us know what you are willing to do and when you will be available to help.
As always your prayers and financial support are greatly appreciated.
Thank You
We pray blessings for each and everyone and extended blessing to your families.
Jerry and Leslie
Dear Jerry, Joe and I had the privilege of attending the gathering at the Lummi Nation. We so enjoyed everything about the day and the evening. We heard about this gathering from Johnny and Laurie. I purchased a flute from your table and have really been enjoying your cd. I would really love to order a drum from you and was wondering what is the time frame in receiving an order. I would really like to purchase the handheld kind that comes with the stick. I played Johnny’s on Saturday night and really liked it. I look forward to your reply.
In Christ,
Brenda Mitchell