Worshipping together

Today a friend and I visited a church service of the West End Assembly of God in the longhouse of the Spokane Indian Reservation. It was a joy to worship Jesus Christ together with native and non-native believers.
Below:
1. talking with Roy Graham (on the left), Franklin Graham's son (Samaritan's Purse was giving boxes as a giveaway to Rez families)

2. The praise team included Chief Reynard Faber of the Jicarilla Apache who gave a wonderful talk and testimony. Also Jan Brisbois, a descendant of Spokane Garry. A remnant of Garry's faith strongly remains in his family and tribe!

3. We sang songs on the overhead with Pastor Mike on his trusty laptop. To sing unashamedly to Jesus surrounded by native artwork was a real blessing.

A holy place

I went in search of a place, an image left behind.  A carving of a man who carved his name on my heart: Garry.  I found his unnamed statue in Shoreline, Washington, miles away from the ocean.  A cedar tree had stood there, and died.  Someone had carved, out of this trunk, a likeness to this man who opened my eyes to new dreams.  Now his wooden eyes stare across a clearing, waiting.  He holds a book in his left hand.  His right hand is held upward.

Across the clearing and beyond a line of trees I found a statue of a raven.  The rain was lightly falling.  The water collected like tears under the raven's eyes.  His mouth was open, calling.

I want to pray for God to do a miracle in this decade and this century.  Like the raven, I cry out... in prayer for friendship between Native Americans and non-Natives, and for Garry's vision of a book that tells how people are reconciled with their Maker, and He reconciles them to each other through the way of Jesus.

This is a good prayer.