Greetings to all!
We have just returned from from what Jonathan, Kris and Bill (Broken Walls) and Paul Starling ( the most incredible sound man on the continent!) have called the most successful MWK journey in our 10 years. And we agree! We thought last year was incredible with breakthroughs, but this year saw even greater things. Our many thanks to all of you who were in intercession for the team of 8 who are still recovering.
I am not going into much of the journey here as I will be sending out a follow-up newsletter in November. It will take that long to put to together plus Donna and I, with several others, will be assisting to honor hundreds of Native Veteran's this November 6th at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. We have 250 Warriors Medals of Valor with Military insignia blankets to present that day during their Veterans Powwow. We are having Marshall and Lauretta Tall Eagle Serna do the ceremony. So we are looking forward to ministering with them once again. So a newletter will be coming, but later.
The purpose for this email is the ATTACHMENT. One of our supervisors at my office retired while I was on the MWK Journey and emailed the attachment included below. Thought you might enjoy it. Randy wrote the story himself; he is of the Cherokee Nation:
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There once was a peaceful Native American village nestled in a horseshoe-shaped valley surrounded by beautiful, majestic, tall mountains. Their Chief had led the people of the village through some difficult times, but had at long last enjoyed a time of peace and plenty. He was well and content, but he knew the time grew close for him to go the way of his ancestors and be with his Creator.
So he called his three sons together and gave them a simple quest, to help him decide which one should be the next Chief. He said to them, behold the mountains that have protected and provided for our village with their shadow, shelter, and abundance. Take forty days to hike and climb into the mountains alone. There to ponder the future of our village, and to pray in the solitude of the mountain. Then return to me, and share of your journeys and thoughts.
While they were on their quest the elder Chief prayed earnestly for their safe return, and for wisdom in deciding which one would take his place as Principal Chief.
Upon their return the Chief asked the first son where his journey had taken him, and what insight the Creator had given him while there. This son presented the Elder Chief with a huge pine cone as the totem of his quest, and then told how that he had gone to the very top of the tree-line and from there gazed upon their whole valley. He saw that it was wonderfully lush and green, and full of the sounds of life; babbling brooks, gentle breezes, and the many creatures of the forest. He went on to say from this view he foresaw many more years of peace and plenty, by tilling the open land and gathering from the forest.
The Chief smiled and told him he had done well, you shall be chief over the youth, the women and the aged ones that tend our gardens and gather from the forest.
The second son, as he listened to his brother’s words, had straightened his stance, squared his shoulders, and went from a faint smile to a near grin on his face. When it became his turn to speak he presented the elder Chief with a magnificent eagle feather, as the totem of his quest. He then told how his journey had taken him far beyond the tree-line, to the bluffs and rocky crags where the eagles nested. From there he saw beyond their valley to a high mesa he had never even known was there! As he admired this lush plateau, of wild grass and a sparkling lake, he saw many wild horses, deer, and antelope, and above them bighorn sheep. In all that his eyes beheld his mind saw the potential to capture spirited horses for breeding, and for much big game to hunt. He was very excited for the potential of wealth and increased mobility the horses would bring, and the abundance of meat and hides of the plentiful big game!
The Chief smiled and told him he had also done well, you shall be chief over our able-bodied men that hunt, explore, and break wild horses.
The third son, as he listened to his brothers’ words, had stood very quietly with a respectful but distant gleam in his eyes. When it became his turn to speak the elder Chief noted that his son’s hands were empty. Then the old Chief asked this last son to speak of his journey. The third son then told how his journey had taken him to the very highest peak, and his totem from there was a changed and humbled heart. As from there he had seen the beauty and immensity of the other side! And there, as he prayed and pondered the vastness of the other side, he had heard the still small voice of the Creator whisper in his ear, “The whole earth and the fullness therein is mine.” In all this he was struck with the knowledge the Creator had graciously led them to their beautiful valley, and provided the plenty of the forest and the potential of the mesa! He there came to understand that what is truly important is to seek to know the Creator and to follow His ways, and to be ever prepared for when He chooses to lead us to the “other side.”
The elder Chief gazed admiringly through tear-clouded eyes at his son, and told him he had done very well indeed, and that he would become a wise and compassionate Principal Chief.
Randy
P.S. I am reluctant to spoil the story by re-stating the obvious, but just in case the obvious is not as obvious as I had hoped? The point is - we will always need management capable of maintaining the status quo like the ‘forest,’ and of exploring the new areas of potential like the ‘mesa,’ but the greatest need will always be for leadership that can see and appreciate the ‘other side.’ I am truly sorry for how much of the time I failed to see or forgot this lesson! Be blessed, and
“… seek ye first…” Matthew 6:33
Morning Grace
