It has been awhile since we have given any sort of update about what has been going on with Anchored Warriors! Life has been extremely busy, especially since Kim has started a part time job and Tristan and Lesley have moved back to Eden Valley as Tristan has gotten a job working on his reserve. We are all juggling our jobs and life and Anchored Warriors. It has been a challenge but God is good and He is so faithful to us in everything that we do! He has continued to open doors and brought new connections for us in our personal lives and in our work with Anchored Warriors. We have been able to share at a couple new churches about what God is doing through Anchored Warriors. It has been so encouraging to see more churches and people wanting to partner with us and pray for us! We appreciate all the support. 

One of the newest developments, and a very exciting one is a new member of the Anchored Warriors team! She is going to introduce herself as she has written up a bio for everyone to read to get to know her and her heart better. We have been so blessed by her positive attitude, her excitement for life and her love for Jesus! So here she is - Cassie Flett! :) 

Well First of all! My name is Cassie Flett I was born and raised in a small community Gift Lake Metis Settlement in the Northern Alberta. you can google map it but all you will see is mainly trees =) and I can honestly say I am and big DREAMER, I always have all these big plans and ideas to do this and do that… and most the time i just don't do it! . So I had this one dream =) it was to travel the world and live of the land and the live like the people… I even had the thought to live off of rice because I just loved rice that much and just leave with the clothes on my back… I was at a point in my life where I just wanted to be away everyone I knew, everything i knew life was and just live my life… I wanted it to just be me and God… where i didn't have to listen to what other people thought of this and that  and what the world was telling me, I just wanted to hear from God himself. This dream that I was dreaming i didn't think it would really happen i thought it was just something that was gonna stay in my mind and never happen. BUT God definitely had other plans. 

During my 1st year of bible school, I always knew there was way more to God then what I knew like there was something more that I wasn't finding… it was always like this constant whisper being like there is so much more than you think… so after my first year of bible school I was like okay what is this something more… i started praying seeking trying to find and THEN God took me on this crazy adventure called the World Race you go to 11 countries in 11months and live with the people and learn how they do life and sharing the love of christ with the people and for the whole 11 months you were only aloud 1 backpack to fit everything whatever you can carry you can take … at first I was like Whoa seriously? but secretly inside I was like OH YEA this is gonna be awesome I am going to change the world help all these people, when really God was like no no no Im going to change your world… which I didn't know till after… So God provided every single penny that I need to go on the World race and I left Canada in September 2010 going from month to month to each country, learning way to much about myself and God constantly molding me and changing me inside and out. Literally reaching into my heart and stirring it up I don't think I have ever been so broken in my life, but the awesome thing was that in the middle of my brokeness I was able to lean and depend on God. 

Each country was unique in its own way, the people the food the atmosphere everything was always changing. Our lives were constantly changing our thoughts about life were always shifting, the things I was seeing in other countries began to move me. The countries were beautiful in itself but there was just something about the people that I was met, the people that I became friends with, I think they made the most impact on my life. Its crazy that it wasn't at all about the places but the people….  I had the opportunity to travel with 33 crazy Americans… and they became my family, the people in each country we lived with became my family, we looked out for eachother, they held my hand in the good and bad times. The 33 americans and then me the 1 aboriginal, the crazy thing was that for the whole entire 11 months I did not see one native person at all… I didn't get the good native belly laugh, seemed like no one got my humour and they said my accent was really different which was not even =) . I didn't realized that it was going to be that hard to not people around my culture my people, I didn't realize till about half way through the race how much I loved native my own people. Being away from native people made me realized how much of passion I have for our culture and our people. So travelling the world seeing all these different cultures getting culture shock was pretty much normal the funny thing was I got native culture shock which was seriously the strangest thing ever. Its just weird

I have always had such a passion for youth even when I was a youth, I was super involved with all these different youth programs in the community basically was always trying to get involved. I started to get this idea to have a youth ministry and just have young people ministering to young people. So this all came up while on the World Race and towards the end of the world race being God just really started to put this burning passion in my heart for aboriginal youth… not only just to minister to young people but loving them and letting God walk them in true freedom… showing them that God is just not this God who is not involved but the God who is interacting in our daily lives. The one thing that has really been on my heart is Creating a Safe Place… meaning a place where youth can come and feel welcome and wanted. a place where you can just be you… A place of worship where we can just come and Be before God.

I have been back from the Race for 3 months still can't believe it and God has just been doing crazy things in my life and the life of others breaking me down and building me back up. Coming back home I had been praying into what God had for me next and seeking out His will in my life, where my next steps were. Somewhere along the way I connected with Kim and Amy and the rest its just history =) all I can say that it was definitely was a God thing, God crossed our paths and just been going in the same direction. 

So being up here and the North and Anchored Warriors in the south 

God has place these 8 passion driven people in my life, they have such passion for God and a passion for youth. The 8 of us just started to get together we started talking about wanting to work with you and really wanting to seek God and it was so crazy how it happen it was like our hearts were all in the same place our passions all lined up together. So our team is Rebuilding Nations working to rebuild what the enemy has destroyed, represent Christ and to serve…

Watch this video about what Rebuilding Nations thinks about "Passion"

Anchored Warriors - Summer at a Glance

This summer has been a whirlwind! I honestly cannot believe how fast the last two months has gone by and how much stuff we have all packed into it between all of us!

The whole month of July included Tristan and Lesley being at Camp Gladstone as the assistant summer directors, and Kim travelling to Missouri and back with a group of youth to go to the Warrior Leadership Summit. I also was able to travel a little bit as I went to Saskatchewan to run the youth program at the First Nations Alliance Church familycamp.  Me and Kim were able to go visit and help put the spotlight on some of the youth that were planning to attend the outreach in Eden Valley by going to Gift Lake family camp and Kikino family camp. It was a great time to catch up with old friends, make new friends and talk about what Anchored Warriors is all about and how awesome the youth from those communities are!

EDEN VALLEY

After our two long drives up north we had a solid week of running around and preparing for our first ever local outreach. It was such a great learning opportunity as leaders for how much food to buy to feed 14 hungry youth/young adults, as well as planning, organizing and praying!

A few of our youth from Kikino and Lethbridge arrived on the Saturday night before the first day of outreach. Sunday morning we were blessed by Dan and Bev having us over for brunch along with a great prayer/church service held at their house by the house church that D&B, Tristan and Lesley and I (Amy) attend. It was so encouraging to have and know that we had people supporting us in prayer for that week ahead.

That evening we drove down to Millerville Church where we were blessed to be able to make our home for the week! We met up with the rest of the team there that night as many of them were coming in from just having finished up working as counsellors at Camp Gladstone and two others were coming in from Winnipeg! We unpacked, got settled, got to know each other, talked about our plans for the upcoming week, prayed together and hung out!

Overall the week at Eden Valley was beyond amazing. God showed up in so many ways, and by the end of it our team was family. The week included lots of prayer and planning, a prayer walk, handing out flyers, lots of murderball (it's not as horrible as it sounds!), basketball, volleyball, facepainting, hiking in the mountains (with great packed lunches donated from Longview Church!), swimming in the river and making new friends! We had a great evening bonfire with the youth, eating marshmallows and chips, singing songs and some of the youth on our team were able to share their stories of who God was to them and how He has and is working in their lives. We also had an art focus during the week that was led by Josiah! It was a great opportunity for youth to show their creativity.Anothe big focus of the week, which was a huge success thanks to all the prayers and donations and food and volunteers, was the community feast! We fed approximately 150 people from the community! We had many donations from Varisty Bible Church (as well as some awesome volunteers), as well as many food donations from Millerville (and more great volunteers) and then lots of help from our Calgary friends/family. We could not have had that evening work out in such an amazing way without all the support, encouragement, donations and prayers that came our way that night! We had two of our team members share their stories as well as one of our youth sing a song for the community. Then after everyone ate and had their coffee and great dessert, there was lots of volleyball and visiting. We heard lots of positive feedback about the evening from members of the community and those who helped us organize and run it. We are very thankful to all of you who were involved in any way!

Anchored Warriors Team! 

Song/Testimony/Gospel @ Community Feast 

Off we go! 

More youth games

Youth Art Project

Youth Games - "Buck Buck"

Kids Day :) 

The Community Feast

The last day was a short visit at the rez as most of the youth were gone to a culture camp. And then we packed up at the church and prepared to head back to Calgary the next day. We had a fun day at Calaway Park and then the next day everyone headed home and back to their own adventures.

We as a team have all been so encouraged by the amazing way God has been working in the lives of not only the youth/young adults we have been connected with this year through our different events, but also through the way God is working THROUGH these youth. They are the ones that will change and make a difference in their home communities, and we can already see this happening. We are so proud of all of them because they are facing their own fears and struggles and in that process they are also showing other Aboriginal youth that they can make a difference and that their lives do matter! They are being the example to not only the youth in their communities but also the the adults and elders. It is so amazing to see God work and encourage them in that way! We love you guys! :)

THE REST OF THE SUMMER

After the outreach event I (Amy) was blessed to be the main speaker at the Jr.High Camp (2) at Camp Nakamun. It was a great opportunity to practice my teaching/speaking skills and get to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. It also was a week that reminded me that God uses people of all ages and He believes in the next generation!

We all wrapped up the summer this past weekend as we all attended the Southern Alberta family camp at Camp Gladstone. It was a good, relaxing way to end the summer and enjoy the company of people we love.

YEAR TWO

This is officially the beginning of year two for Anchored Warriors. It is so crazy to think that a whole year has gone by already and that God is allowing us another year with this project. We have not recieved any grant funding for this year and so we have been working at raising our funds with lots of help and advice from Interact Ministries. Kim is going to be starting a part time job next week as her funding through the last grant has ended, and I will continue my part time work as a nanny. Tristan and Leslie are waiting to hear back about some potential jobs and are in transition right now. Please be praying for all of us as we figure out how this next year is going to work. We are trusting in God for doors to be opened and closed where they need to be so that everything will work even better then we can imagine for this next year full of adventures. Please pray for us as we are taking steps of faith. Also pray for us and the people that are helping Anchored Warriors (like Josiah and many people in Interact that are helping us get our footings with this ministry). We already have some new roads to walk down and new people that are interested in working with Anchored Warriors.

We appreciate all your support and prayers and encouragement so much. I know I've said that alot, but I really don't think we would be where we are today without it! So thank you for being a part of our team as we continue seeking and serving God through loving and building up solid Aboriginal leaders!

We will try and keep you all updated as much as possible! Keep checking our facebook page and this blog. Also keep posted because we will be having a website up and running sometime in the next couple months!

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!

Leader in the Spotlight - Brayden!

Leader in the Spotlight!!

We at Anchored Warriors are so excited to introduce you to our next upcoming young leader! She is such a driven and focused person, so full of energy and life! We are so excited to see where God and life is going to take her. So here she is!!

Name: My name is Brayden, but most people call me Bray.

Where you're from: I'm from the Peavine Metis Settlement, but I have been living in High Prairie for the past eight years.

Tribe/Status:I am a Proud Metis :)

Age: I am 16 :) birffday is July 19.

Favorite Food:I love CHEESEBURGERS!

Favorite Sport:That's a tie between Basketball and Volleyball, but I enjoy almost every sport.

Favorite Place Travelled: I really love Toronto and Hawaii. They are soo different from each other, but I loved both and hope to make it back to those places one day.

What are you up to this summer?

This summer I will be working at the Gladstone Christian Camp down by Pincher Creek for the month of July (soooo excited!). Then I will be joining Kim and Amy for the Eden Valley Outreach Mission :) also very excited for that. Then I will wait and see what all God has in store for me.

What are you hoping to do after highschool?

The end of high school seems so far still, and I still don't have the slightest clue what I want and what God wants me to do. But recently, Alaska has really been on my mind, so who knows besides God ;)

What does being a leader mean to you?

Somebody once said,"When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say "thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking." This is what a leader should live by. To me a leader shows and teaches others how to be a light for others, and not for their own glory, but for the sake of others.

What do you hope/dream to see happen in your community?

I really want to see more youth come to God and have a true desire to serve him. It's hard for one person to stand alone, but having someone beside you makes it so much easier.

What is the biggest thing God has been teaching you this past year?

My life this year can be summed up in three words; extremely busy, extremely difficult, and extremely life-changing. There was so many times, I felt like giving up, but God was always there to push me through or pick me up. I really believe he taught me about true faith and perseverance, but I still have much to learn.

What is some advice you would give to other Aboriginal youth?

Being a youth is hard. Being an Aboriginal seems so much harder. At times you feel worthless and that you will never do anything to change the world, or even your own "little world". But we must remember its God's world and it's in his hands. My advice to you is to remember the verse Jeremiah 29:11," For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord,' plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

How can people be praying for you?

Umm if I was to ask for prayers, it would just be for patience, wisdom, love, endurance, and physical health for the upcoming summer. Also, that God would use me to make a real difference in other youth's lives

Leader in the Spotlight - Will

Anchored Warriors would like to introduce everyone to our second up and coming leader in the spotlight! He has been a part of Native Youth Conference since he was just little, as he came with his parents who used to run the concession at NYC. This past year he attended the Momentum Leadership Retreat as well as was one of our seminar leaders at NYC, talking about his life and how he's been able to deal with the ups and downs that life throws at you. (He lead the seminar with Val who was in "the spotlight" last time :) )

So here he is!!

1. Name:  William, people call me Will for short.

2. Age:  20

3. Favourite food: Pad Thai it’s a food from Thailand  it’s a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, red chilli pepper, plus any combo of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken or tofu.

4. Favourite place travelled: My favourite place I have traveled has to be Beijing the capital City of China, I got to spend time walking on the Great Wall of China as well as Tiananmen square and forbidden city, Bangkok Thailand comes in a close second to favourite placed traveled.

 
5. Tribe/band that you're from: I am Métis and the tribe I am from is Cree.

6. What are you currently doing with your life?
I am currently living in Edmonton Alberta going to Vanguard Bible College. I am in the four year missions program and I just finished my 2^nd year.

7. What has God been teaching you over this past year? 
God has been showing me where he wants me after I am done Bible College and has slowly been confirming my calling.  He is shaping me into the Man he wants me to be, I have been growing in my faith greatly and I am closest to God that I have ever been.

8. What has been the most challenging but rewarding part of being in school this year?  
The most challenging thing this year has probably been my studies, now that I am in my second year the school is a lot harder and the essays and tests are more difficult there were times where I didn’t thing I was going to be able to continue but I just kept praying and God pulled me through it.

9. What does being a leader mean to you?
Being a leader to me means that I need to be an example to the youth of this generation, I need to be someone that kids can look up to and come to if they need help.

10. What advice do you have for other young aboriginal people that may be struggling or trying to figure out where they fit?  The advice I’d like to give to other young aboriginal people is that the Christian life isn’t always going to be easy, and that to remember that God is always there ready to help you where ever you are and whatever  situation you are in, and if you trying to figure out where you fit in life remember this verse Jeremiah 29:11 it says this “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”  this verse just says that God has a plan for your life! Don’t worry about it, it’s in his hands! =)

11. How can people be praying for you?

- Finances because school is expensive
- For my grandma's recovery from the removal of a cancerous tumor and the chemo treatments she had. The cancer is gone but it was all really hard on her body and still needs healing.


Thanks to everyone for the prayers and support they give not only to Anchored Warriors but also for the prayers for our leaders! They are the next generation. We believe they can and will change things for the better when they are empowered and encouraged!

"This years NYC was so, so amazing! God is so good to us! Thanks to all the staff for your hard work and all the youth who came and were stellar to the max! Go make a difference, it's your time to be who God has called you to be!" - NYC Chaperone/leader

"Well i can say i miss everyone from NYC it was the time of my life everyone i met this year and everyone i met it the past years u all mean the world to me.... i got to say it was well ran by the NYC committee..." - NYC attendee

"Best NYC ever!!" - said by more than one NYC attendee


Every year I am so encouraged and exhausted by the end of NYC. This year was no different. The weekend was amazing! We had more youth than ever before and the whole weekend was a constant buzz of activity, laughter and the sound of 350 youth/young adults and leaders having fun! The love of God was shown and taught over the weekend and many 115 youth/leaders came forward to accept and start living in the Hope and Love of God. Here is an account of the weekend from two of the key leaders/missionaries that have been involved in NYC for the last 18 years!

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,

that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:9-10

The line-up for registration snaked out the door and down the sidewalk. Full of anticipation and nervous energy the Native Youth Conference (NYC) leadership team put approximately 350 people through in about 2 hrs.

Sitting in the prayer room before the main speaker session started, I listened as over a dozen First Nation adults/youth cried out to God to draw their youth to Himself and bind the enemy.

Through tears I headed to the prayer counsellor room where 115 youth/young adults were being directed after stepping forward for first time decisions to follow Jesus Christ.

We praise God for His work in the lives of so many this past week-end! It was so obvious that people were praying. We did not experience the same ‘darkness’ as usual the first night and sensed that these young people had come the NYC with expectant hearts that the Lord had prepared for ‘such a time as this’.

NOW THE HARD WORK BEGINS!!

We praise God for:

· 55 native and non-native volunteers on the ground that worked long hours to make NYC run smoothly

· Native adult leaders leading the way in both prayer sessions and counselling of youth at NYC

· 330 native youth that attended and no major behavioural issues

· Safely and great weather

· Unity on the leadership team despite differences of opinion and exhaustion

We pray for:

· ***The follow-up of all the new believers. (we’ve got contact info and material in their hands) Anchored Warriors have a big job ahead of them!

· Milly’s mom who still has no diagnoses but is losing weight alarmingly fast

· Wisdom for the NYC team as we evaluate the wk-end and start to make plans for next year.

 

It’s hard to believe how quickly an event can pass after planning for it for so long. Both Dan & I are wonderfully tired and thankful that God has allowed us to be a part of what He is doing through NYC. And we are also thankful that He has given us many prayer warriors to partner with us. We can’t thank you enough.

God is good!"

We are so thankful for all the prayers that were prayed and all the encouragement that was sent our way before and since NYC this year! The whole NYC committee is so excited about where God is taking this conference and how He is going to use all these Aboriginal youth in their homes and communities. Please continue to pray for them as they are back in the same situations and for all the struggles and battles they may be facing over the next several months.

These are the next generation and they are the ones that can and will change things if they want to! We belive in these youth/young adults and all the passions and dreams they have and want to pursue. We believe that when they live in the Hope and Love of God and begin to move towards their dreams and passions using their giftings and abilities, they will make a huge impact in their communities and in the world around them! 

Ephesians 1:10-12 (The Message)

^7-10Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

^11-12It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

"Like" Our Page!

Hey All!

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are officially in the two week countdown to Native Youth Conference! We are posting new prayer requests daily on our facebook page! If you would like to see these prayer requests and stay more updated with what Anchored Warriors is doing all you have to do is press the "Like" button to the right of this page. (You also have to have an account on facebook to "like" it).

If you are already a member of our facebook page, you can access the daily prayer requests by looking at our discussion board!

Thanks again to everyone praying for us!

Our Awesome Leaders!

I am so excited to start a new regular part of our blog! We are going to start introducing you all to some of our up and coming leaders and current leaders connected to Anchored Warriors. This is going to be a time to give some of our leaders a chance to express themselves and for all of our Anchored Warriors supporters to join together to pray for these amazing young leaders as they strive to live out their dreams.

Our first leader in the spotlight is Valerie! Val was a participant at the Momentum Leadership Retreat in January and has a heart to live our her faith in a real way in her community. She is so full of joy...here's some of what Val wanted you all to know about her!

Age: I am 20 years old

Tribe: I am Cree, Treaty Status

Home:  I come from Loon River First Nations Reserve

Favorite color: purple

Favorite things to do:  Read, go for walks, go running, play volleyball, (even though im not exactly 'pro' but I love to play it lol). I also love to play other sports. Another soon to be favorite is teaching myself how to play guitar because my older brother had bought me one which I need to start playing! He just recently bought me a strap for it and its really cool (it has flames on it! ) and after I strapped the guitar on and saw how 'awesome' I looked it made me REALLY want to start playing now! There are a lot of things I love to do, too much to name them all (including travelling)! Basically I just love trying new things!

My all-time favorite movie is A Walk To Remember ♥ and it will always be my favorite.


What does it mean to you to be a leader?
It means a lot to me to be a leader. It makes me feel important in a way. I know as a younger girl I looked up to people who were leaders (Christian leaders), who were older than me, and I used to want to be like them when I grew up. Now that I am older I hope to be someone younger kids can look up to and I hope to set an example for them and to be a light to them I guess you can say.

How has God been changing you and working in your life this past year?
God has been doing alot of work in my life not only this year, but a WHOLE lot last year also. He is really breaking me down, showing me the kind of person I need to be for Him. He is really teaching me to let go of things I shouldn't be holding onto, and He is also teaching me to forgive myself, which is something I struggle with. It seems its way easier for me to forgive others, but just not myself.

Not only is the Lord teaching me these things, He is also granting me cool stuff; things like patience and strength, which I lack but I know I am getting better at it with His loving help♥.  I find I am getting stronger everyday, and it's all thanks to God.


What is it that you want to see change in your own community?
What I really want to see change in my community is the lack of fear for God. People seem to just not fear God anymore, and are giving into their worldy desires way too much. They are going the way of the world, and not the way of the Lord. It is really sad for me to see older and younger people in my community giving into all these things that they think is giving them 'pleasure' when really it just drives them more and more away from God. It is also sad because they all know about Him, and who He is, but its almost like the Word of God falls on deaf ears, and they just ignore it. So thats what I really would like people to pray for, for my community.


What direction do you think God is calling you for your life?
At this point in my life I have no idea where God wants me to be, however I know that He wants me to go to a Bible school somewhere, because it's just always on my heart to go and learn more about my Savior and about how I can be a stronger disciple for Him. I do have two Bible schools that I have really been wanting to go to, but I am just waiting for an answer from God, because it's all up to Him and His will for my life, and where to go, I just need patience! haha.
I guess another thing thats really on my heart is to do something with youth. Since I am still a kid at heart, I can get along easy with youngins and I love having fun with them! I have also been trying to put on a youth event in my community, but am still waiting to hear back from some people and I'm hoping to maybe get that up and running sometime either during summer or next year.


How can people be praying for you?
They can pray that God shows His will for my life, and that He would answer my prayers (He's already answered a few :) )

Another thing people can pray for is for Gods strength and patience, even though He is already helping with that, it is still nice to have people praying for you, prayer never hurt anyone!

So yah, just for God's plan for my life, I am always nervous about the future, I guess I'm a worry wart, which is bad, im going to get worry lines soon!! haha just joking! :)

So yah I guess people can pray for that too, that I would quit being a worry worm!
PS -  I forgot to mention that I love animals! I currently have just a kitten, and I hope to maybe get a few fish soon. But yes, I love pets! When I'm older and married and have kids, our home will be full of all kinds of pets! lol just kidding .. kinda. Lol.


We are so encouraged and hope you are encouraged by the amazing person Val is and how she is striving even during hard times to live out her faith in a real way. She is an amazing example to everyone in her community of what it means to be a leader and someone who is themselves 100% of the time. Please pray for Val and she continues on this journey and as she continues to see who she is and what her passions and dreams are and how to live those out!

New Things!!

As usual, there has been so much going on that we need to update everyone on! So I am just going to go in order of what has happened and talk about each thing a little bit!

Mini Youth Conference

This was a one night event put on by Logan and Amanda, both Aboriginal young adults. They were both attendees at our leadership retreat this year and have taken initiative in their community as well as in their own lives. The mini youth retreat was a Friday night to Saturday night event held at the Lethbridge Evangelical Free Church. It was the first time in about 3 or 4 years that anyone had put on an event like that in Lethbridge, but we believed in Logan and Amanda's ability and their desire to put this event on was very obvious throughout the whole planning process. They are both amazing leaders and have been setting such a great example of what it means to have faith in God, and in who He created them to be! The event was so much fun and it was such an honor to be able to support Logan and Amanda during the weekend as they longed to make an impact in the lives of the youth in their community. During the weekend we played lots of sports and other games, had lots of good laughs, got to learn more about the love of God through teaching by Randy from Kikino and make new friends! It was an awesome weekend. Here are some pictures!

Playing some Dutch Blitz!

One of the awesome youth from Siksika

Yes they are duct taping her to the wall! It was a very funny game to watch :)

Logan - one of our great leaders from Lethbridge!

Fundraiser

This past weekend we had our first ever Anchored Warriors Fundraiser. This was an event that none of us on the A.W team had ever planned before, so we weren't really sure what the final product would look like. Thankfully we had a lot of great help from so many amazing people! A big thanks to all of you! Especially to everyone that came early on Saturday and stayed late, we honestly couldn't have done it without you all. We had amazing support from Interact Ministries (our partners in crime!) and from all the wonderful ladies involved in donating the baking and for Colleen, Larry and Bev for all your hard work in making us some awesome Indian Tacos! And then we had friends from the East Edge House Church, and some amazing youth from Montreal Lake - and all of our performers for the evening...I could honestly go on forever. This event left us all feeling so encouraged! It was such an amazing feeling to know and see the support we have behind us as we continue to step forward with our ministry and helping Aboriginal youth find hope and inspiration so they can change their communities from the inside out.

Other Updates

The final update we have is that Tristan Lefthand and his family have suffered a great loss as Quentin Lefthand (Tristan's father) has passed away. He is in heaven now, and as comforting as that is, it is still such a sad thing to lose such an amazing man. He is leaving behind an amazing legacy through his family and all of the lives he has had an impact in. Please keep the Lefthand family in your thoughts and prayers as they walk this difficult journey.

In Loving Memory:  Quentin Lefthand
 February 6, 1957  - March 27, 2011

Thank you all for the support and encouragement just by praying for us and believing in our vision and what Anchored Warriors stands for!

opps...

The contact number is 403 719 2430

Sorry for the mix up!

MOMENTUM LEADERSHIP RETREAT (Jan 21-23, 2011)

MOMENTUM LEADERSHIP RETREAT 2011

“this weekend had a huge impact on me..."

“I definitely needed some

encouragement to get me through the rest of the school year. I appreciated this weekend so incredibly much!”

“Encouraged and challenged”

“Amazing weekend!”

“I learned

that leadership is not a lonely road”

These were some comments we heard and received from tho

se who were at the Momentum Leadership Retreat. We have been so encouraged by the 37 people who came for the weekend. We have learned a lot and are thankful for this experience.

I’m excited to share with you all the events that took place

during the weekend and how God took this retreat and made it so much more. We put a lot of work and time in preparing for this weekend, and had some very frustrating moments too! It was great to see everything come together at last.

Ready to hear about the weekend adventure?

!

Friday January 21, 2011 – “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy…” (John 10:10a)

Anchored Warriors Team (not sure if I should speak for the whole team…but this is how I felt) - a little hesitant and nervous for the weekend. It’s our first time holdi

ng this retreat, we don’t really know how many to expect…10? 25? 70? Ah… all the “what if’s” started to flood my m

ind.

Picked up the Van (which can run on gas or propane - but if you use gas the fuel pump cuts out, so it was best to stay with propane) it’s a totally ghetto old van BUT it’s big and saves us money from renting J and we are THANKFUL for the Mayerle’s in letting us use it no matter how much we “hate” on it. haha.

Arrived at our house to load up- - Van got stuck in the snow

before we could even load up all our stuff. Already off to a late start – but we’re officially on the road.

We had to make a few stops to pick up people, fill up on propane (it runs out FAST!) and ended up getting in to Edmonton during rush hour traffic.

Had to feed everyone supper, and pick up extra food for the band who were already setting up at the camp. I’m pretty sure every minute that went by the stress level increased because we were getting more and more delayed and NEEDED to get to the camp by 6:30 (registration time).

As we left Edmonton it was dark outside, snow started to fall and roads were getting bad. We were on the final stretch, only 2 km from the ca

mp, and a deer runs on the road! Next thing I know, we missed the dee

r and hit the snowbanks in to the ditch …. And the time is officially 6:30 - - NOOOOO!! Haha.

Thankfully we called the camp and they came and rescued us in a mat

ter of minutes…the van was easy to pull out. We arrive late, some groups were already there and I felt horrible for not being there early to have everything set up and to be able to greet the groups arriving, rather then them greet us.

Now I’m REALLY nervous for the weekend because of the rough start.

As the night went on I started receiving calls and texts from different groups (almost all the groups) and the challenges they faced in trying to get to the camp. One group had someone that started having panic attacks – were planning on going to the hospital if it continued (prayerfully it stopped), a few groups were lost, one even considered turning around and going bac

k

home. One group got a flat tire and the road conditions were bad for everyone.

The enemy was out to attack and prevent the weekend from happening, prevent people from coming and putting a stop because he knew that God was going todo something big! I’m so thank

ful we serve a God that is greater and bigger then anyone or anything!!

The evening consisted of icebreaker games – putting them in small gr

oups (which they had for the whole weekend during discussion time) and main session where the Deeper Worship Band lead us in awesome singing time of worship and Amy spoke on how God calls the unexpected as leaders.

Saturday January 22, 2011

We opened the morning with breakfast, devotions and prayer time as a group.

Dan Woodard came and lead

2 sessions on Personality profiles. It was awesome seeing each person so interested and involved in D

an’s sessions. They learned about themselves and the personality strengths that they have. Each person came forward and wrote there name on a little sticky note placing it in the area of what there personality type was (there dominant and secon

dary.

<-- one by one each youth came and placed there sticky note on the chart... When we were done the chart was completely filled!

We heard great feedback from everyone. One youth was saying that she had recently been questioning who she really is – what kind of pers

on is she, do I even know who I am? Etc… And with the surprise in the t

iming of the conference and having Dan come and lead the session – she walked away with so much insight about herself and learned who she was. Very cool.

(Below is a team-building game. The group was divided in 2 groups and they had to see how high they could get on the wall...)

There were other team-building activities throughout the day, free time of sports,

snowshoeing, fellowship and different games. There was the Main session in the eveni

ng with an time of worship through singing and a message from Tristan that spoke on what it means to be a believer on the rez and being a leader.

Saturday was a day of unity amongst everyone, encouragement and a great deal of fun and fellowship. Everyone has been challenged in stepping up as leaders and learning much about themselves.

I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Sunday January 23, 2011

Last day already - the weekend flew by so fast!

Sunday was led in singing and I spoke on forgiveness and being the Church. Each person wrote a letter to thems

elves saying what they have learned, what goals they would like to set and the experienc

e they had from the wee

kend… we took each letter and will be sending it to them in 6 months as a

reminder for them.

We had communion together – It

was a cool thing seeing each native leader taking the stand in there communities, learning about being a leader and stepping up as a leader. We finished the weekend by standing in a circle, holding hands and praying (trust me – sounds so cheesy, but it was a pretty significant moment – we had become family during the weekend).

Each person received a Binder of resources, devotions, games, how to lead, bible reading plans and so much more - - this is to help them in there personal walk with Christ but also to be a leader in there community and ideas they can use. They also received two books, “Book of Hope” by Native American Fellowship and “Warrior Generatio

n” by Doug Hutchcraft.

Looking back we see how the enemy was out to ‘steal, kill and destroy’ and attempted various ways to stop it. He knew that God was going to do something big and God did… We have already scheduled dates for next year and are looking forward to it.

Thank you so much for your pr

ayers for this weekend, we couldn’t have done without!!

Below shows some of the small groups they had throughout the whole weekend.