A blog about the faith, hope and adventures of Amy, Kim, Tristan and Lesley as they journey together as the Anchored Warriors Team!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Lately in the World of Anchored Warriors....

There is so much new stuff going on it's crazy! I feel like things are on overdrive which probably has to do with the fact that it's summer time and everything is always a million times more busy in the summer! I'm not even 100% sure how to update people on what we've all been up to because each of us have been kind of doing our own thing and running around in a bunch of different directions.

Hope Video
We are done the first video!! Thanks to lots of hard work by Levi Mayerle (our film producer and editor) and a few great volunteers helping with the stuffing and folding and gluing of our DVDs and DVD cases, we are officially done our first Anchored Warriors Hope Video. We were able to take the DVD’s along with a study guide to hand out to many leaders and youth at this year’s Native Youth Conference. The end product will hopefully be up on the Internet soon, along with the study guide so we are able to reach many more Aboriginal youth and leaders. We are currently in the process of gaining more funding so we can start the next DVD in the series! Thanks for all your prayers for this project. Please keep praying for the impact they have, for creativity as we continue to develop the series and for continued funding so we are able to keep resourcing leaders and youth in Aboriginal communities.

Eden Valley Outreach
This summer we have decided to do a week long local missions trip on the Eden Valley Reserve, about 1 1/ 2 hours south-west of Calgary. This is Tristan Lefthand’s home community. The youth/young adults from our Momentum Leadership Retreat in January are able to apply to come and be a part of this outreach week this summer. Our hope is that through this week we will be able to reach out to the Eden Valley Reserve through many different avenues such as serving the Elders in the community by helping them with yardwork, setting up youth and children focused activities, as well as doing a community feast at the end of the week and concert. We are also going to be doing a community art project, which is being organized and led by Josiah, our newest Anchored Warriors team member! Along with reaching out to the community, we want to be able to build into and give opportunities for leadership to the youth/young adults that are a part of our outreach team. We are so encouraged to see how much these youth/young adults have already been stepping up and impacting their communities in the past year, giving them the chance to go into a community different from their own and do the same thing will be such an amazing experience for everyone involved. Ultimately from this event we want to see God’s love and Hope spread throughout the community and the youth/young adult leaders to be encouraged, challenged and brought closer to God and each other! We appreciate any and all prayers for unity, safety and protection as we plan and execute this event. The dates are July 30-August 7th.

Josiah Atkins
We are so excited to be able to introduce you all to the newest team member of Anchored Warriors! Here is the Bio he wrote up to share with all of you! :)



"I'm Josiah Atkins. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya to missionary parents and have always been interested in other cultures. When I was young, we always had guests from around the world staying in our house, telling us stories of their home cultures. I also remember spending 3 months on the road in a mini-van driving across the USA and parts of Canada. We hiked the Grand Canyon, snowmobiled in the Rocky Mountains, rock-climbed in British Columbia—that Dodge Caravan made it from Ontario to California, all the way up to Alaska and back. That really gave me an appreciation for all types of people and realization that life outside my small town was pretty cool.
Along with having people from other cultures in our home and getting the opportunity to travel around at a young age, I have always had a passion for people who are hurting. I went on my first mission trip when I was fourteen to Haiti. There I was struck by the horrifying poverty Haitians have to face and how many of them still have so much joy! Garbage filled the streets, kids didn't have shoes, people lived in half-built houses or in shacks; but the worst part was coming back and leaving the friends I made there, and seeing the luxury that we as North Americans live in. That trip really instilled the desire for me to be a missionary. Since then I have been to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, El Salvador and Sudan to reach out to hurting and impoverished people.

A few years ago, I had lost my job due to an injured back. I had nothing to do all day, so I decided to paint—something I hadn't done since high school. I painted a few pictures with dollar store paints on poster paper. Then my roommate asked me to paint something for him and he paid for the canvas and the paints. From there, eventually all my roommates wanted a painting and word got out. Now I have had paintings on display at local coffee and tea shops as well I had some on display at a local gallery called Resolution Art Gallery. I have a strong desire to connect my passion for painting and art with my passion for missions.


Some day I think these two passions (art and missions) will lead me to another country. But recently, I was convicted that I need to be involved here and now with both those things. I was praying for months and months about involvement in ministry using art. After attending an East Edge house church for a year this opportunity came to be involved with Anchored Warriors. I always had an interest in Native culture, and to learn about another culture while painting and whatever else it entails is a gift from God! "

We are all really excited to have Josiah as a part of our team and that he is using his passion for art to show the Hope and Love of God!

Thank you so much again to everyone who keeps up with us and prays for us and supports us! We are so thankful and so excited to see where God takes us as we continue down this crazy journey!