Since 2012, Jet and I had been privileged to be a part of the Filipino delegation to various mission works in the Native American soil. Right now, there are about 3 million Native Americans in the United States and close to 600 federally recognized tribes. Census showed over the years that unemployment and poverty in the Native American reservations are consistently the highest in the United States. The unemployment rate in the US as of 2014 is 6.7% while in Blackfoot reservation in Montana, for instance, the unemployment rate is a staggering 69%. That number is higher than the peak of unemployment rate in the US during the Great Depression, which was 25%. It is not surprising then that the suicide rate among the Native Americans is also above the national average in the US. Many of these people are hopeless, desperate, hungry, and forgotten. And they're living among us.
Over the years, I have seen with my own eyes that those numbers are not just statistics; they're very, very real. Entering an Indian reservation/village is like walking into another country. Take Tetlin, Alaska for instance. Tetlin is a very small Native American village near Tok, Alaska--home to about 40 households. Almost 50% of this number is living below the poverty line. Oh that's only half, you may say. No, that's 50% of people living below poverty line, which means the other half are living IN poverty.
And that's only in Alaska. I haven't written about the Menominee Indian Reservation in Green Bay, Wisconsin where suicide is a common option to "help out" loved ones (dying means less mouth to feed).
Now let me switch gear here for a minute. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage in the US and naturally the Christian church is devastated. In retrospect, we had this coming. Long-term trend clearly indicates that many Americans are rejecting the Christian faith. In fact poll results show that the younger you are, the more likely that you do not have any religious affiliation. The church have seen a decline in the Christian faith since the 1970s and guess what age group same-sex marriage is most popular with. You see, it takes two to tango. Moral decay do not happen overnight. Painful it may be but our church have failed our society by being comfortable in our big ol' nice stained-glass church (today the big ol' church is just that...old, and empty).
The Bible says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). We have become the church of Laodecia--neither hot nor cold for God. Christians are not on fire for God but they are not really outright rejecting Him either. This attitude, according to Revelation 3, sickens the Lord. LGBT, therefore is not the enemy, our complacency is.
Our faith have been under attack many times and Christians have been defending their faith for so long. Don't you think that it is now time for us to be on the offensive side of this battle? We need to put on the armor of God by taking the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and bring our troops to where the action is. To win this battle, we need to reach out to the lost and make things matter in the heavenly realm.
Jet, Andrea, Paul, and I have decided to take the offensive side of this spiritual war. We, together with other Filipinos from California and West Virginia, are joining our Native American brothers and sisters in Fort Belknap, Montana this week to reach out to the lost. With God's help, we are taking part in ending the cycle of hopelessness and despair among the Native American children of Montana. Doing this mission doesn't make me a better Christian than you are. I am writing this in hope that if you read this, you will be move to action like I was. A wise pastor once asked me, "Do you believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father but only through him?" Of course you know my response to that. But then he asked again, "If you believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father, how do you think the people who have no access to the gospel can make it to heaven?" That question forever changed my view as a Christian. Remember, Jesus' mandate is to make disciples of ALL nations. It may be difficult to go to all nations myself but if all of us professing Christians will arm ourselves and take back from Satan what's rightfully God's then there won't be unreached people for long. Winning this battle is not the goal. No, we are not fighting for victory. We are fighting from victory. This war has been won in the Calvary a long time ago. On that Cross, Jesus proved that #LoveWins. Please take comfort in that.
So if I may ask you to pray for three specific things today:
1. Pray that we will be able to maintain a servant's heart and become more sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray that we speak with boldness and courage.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains” (Colossians 4:2–3, NIV).
2. Pray that the children who are joining the camp will have a receptive heart and really hear the gospel of truth.
"But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Hebrews 8:10
3. Pray that this experience will draw our family more intimately to our Lord Jesus. This is Andrea's and Paul's first mission work and they are very excited. Yeaterday, while we were at Michael's, Andrea all of a sudden felt dizzy and collapsed on the floor. When she came out of it, she was very pale and really dazed. We brought her to the ER where the doctor ruled she was very dehydrated. On our way home, Paul remarked, "Hay naku...si Satan talaga..." Yes, they know what is at stake in Montana.
As for me, I pray that God's name will be glorified in all this. Laws change. Politics, beliefs, ideals...all of these can flip any minute. That is why I praise our living God that he is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is still at work and he will never get tired nor slumber. Satan may have prevailed in America yesterday, but today we're lifting His Banner high to this nation.
That being said, our family's sword is drawn...full battle gear on.
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