Ambrose Visits Eden Valley

From February 17 to 21 a group of students from Ambrose University College partnered with Anchored Warriors and had the opportunity to spend a few days at Eden Valley. It was a great experience! There was no better way to spend our reading week.

There were four students who went, Carisse, Tara, Rafael, and myself: Kayla. At first we did not know what to expect, but as the week went on we learned more and more that we were the ones being served, not doing the serving. I was privileged to learn so much about native culture. We got a tour of the reserve on our first day there, which helped us get a feel for the area. Every night we got to go to the hockey games at the arena, which they were so much fun! It was great way to connect with people there while watching a good game of hockey. We had the opportunity to work in the school for a day; everyone was very welcoming. My favourite part was playing tag at recess. We got to clean the church in Eden Valley and recognize it as a sanctuary.

God defied my expectations and blessed us in numerous ways over the course of the week. There were many lessons to be learned this trip: lessons on sacrificial love, on true joy, and on resting in God. God brought rest to my weary soul as I learned how to be dependent on others for guidance. He did more than we could have asked for or imagined. The relationships that were built are what matter, and I pray that they will remain.

We got to meet and talk with Joel and Amanda Sewell, who have been involved in Eden Valley for almost five years. Their wisdom and hospitality was very much appreciated. High RiverAlliance Church was also gracious enough to let us stay the week in their building. This trip would not have happened without them. Thank you to Anchored Warriors and every at Eden Valley for supporting us and allowing us to learn and grow. It was an amazing experience! I hope to have more like it in the future.


Written by Kayla. 

FAQ and Ways to Join with the Anchored Warriors!

1. How many different tribes/bands are there in Alberta? 

In Alberta there are:
 - 45 First Nations in three treaty areas
 - 140 reserves
 - Approximately 812,771 hectares of reserve land

The province is home to 13% of Canada's total Registered Indian status population from which the most commonly spoken First Nations' languages in the province are Blackfoot, Cree, Chipewyan, Dene, Sarcee and Stoney (Nakoda Sioux).

2. Why is Aboriginal youth ministry so important?

The Canadian census says that 50% of the Aboriginal population is under the age of 25.
Also of these youth aged 15 and up 20% are currently attending school and 20% will not finish high school. (2006 Profile of Aboriginal Children, Youth and Adults 15 years and up)

Along with these statistics the “suicide rates are five to seven times higher for First Nations youth than for non-Aboriginal youth, and the suicide rates among Inuit youth are among the highest in the world, at 11 times the national average.” (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fniah-spnia/promotion/suicide/index-eng.php)

Although these statistics sound discouraging there is A LOT of hope among Aboriginal youth. They are one of the most resilient people groups in the world having survived genocide and adverse effects of both residential schools and colonization. Native Youth Conference has seen an increase in numbers over the last 5 years going from approximately 75-100 youth attendees to over 350 for the last 2 years. This says that there is a thirst among Aboriginal youth to not only know God but do better for themselves and their communities. Of the youth that attend NYC the majority do not come from a church background but have had many different spiritual influences in their lives. Anchored Warriors seeks to build relationships and build into these youth so that they can change their communities from the inside out with the HOPE that they find in true relationship with Christ as an Aboriginal person.

3. What do Aboriginal people value most?

- Family: If there is a culture that would do ANYTHING for their family it is Native people. They will always stand behind their families and they strive to always put family first.

- Community: Family extends beyond blood for Aboriginal people. They believe in the need for community to raise their children and families in the right way. When you are accepted as a community member you are going to be taken care of.

- Laughter: Aboriginal people love to enjoy each other’s company and they love to laugh. Humor is a huge part of family and community for Aboriginal people. It is also a way to deal with some of their day to day life struggles.

- Hospitality: Aboriginal people are some of the most hospitable people you will meet. They will share and help others through thick and thin and strive to take care of one another.

- Spirituality: Aboriginal people understand that this life is not the only life. They understand that everything is connected to the Creator and that we are all deeply spiritual beings and that this earth is a spiritual place. They value and understand this part of life in a very deep and real way. Everything they do and believe is tied to their understanding of the spiritual world and the Creator.

4. How can I help?

a. One of the biggest ways that you can help is to pray for the Aboriginal communities that surround you. 

Here are a few ideas of ways to pray, but also research the communities that are near to you. Every community has their own struggles and strengths, ask God to reveal ways in which you can be praying and working alongside people in those communities.

-  You can pray for the youth and that they would have the courage and resources available to them to achieve their dreams.

- You can pray for Aboriginal people to come into your life that you can be friends with and build relationship with.

- You can pray for unity and strength for Aboriginal people and their communities, and also for unity and strength between all of us as believers.

b. Another way you can help is to decide to make Anchored Warriors a ministry that you will support as a Church family. 

This can look very different for each faith community, so pray for God to show you how that could look for your own Church family.

c. You can also encourage a better understanding of Aboriginal culture in your Church or faith community.

There is still a lot of racism and ignorance about Aboriginal culture and people. There is a portrait of Native people put forth by the media and by many people as outsiders to this culture. We need to be actively learning and seeking to know the truth about Aboriginal culture so that we can love one another the way that Christ calls us to- without fear.

d. One of the most important things you can do is build relationships for the right reasons with Aboriginal people.

Loving and genuine friendships with other people are one of the most important parts of sharing the gospel with anyone. If we want to spread God’s love it is necessity for it to be done in the context of genuine relationship – especially with a people group who value community, family, hospitality and laughter. Pray for God to bring genuine relationship to you, seek to be open and honest in that relationship and try to understand the culture that they come from without needing to fix anything.

1 John 4:7-12

⁷Dear friends let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

For more information or to have a conversation about any of this please contact us at nativeyc@gmail.com

Anchored Warriors Evening to Pray

On January 16 we want to ask you to join us in a nation-wide evening of prayer specifically for Aboriginal youth and the communities they live in.

The idea is to gather together as family, friends and as a church wherever we live and pray specifically for the next generation of Aboriginal youth. We also want to pray specifically for God to show us how better to pray and support one another as a Church body that shares the same Savior, Spirit and Father.

We believe that as we stand in unity and trusting in God's faithfulness that He will not only hear our prayers but that it will make an impact in the work that God is doing within Aboriginal communities and with Aboriginal youth across Canada.

This prayer event can look however you want it to. The main objective is to come together on the same night and pray in one Spirit - pouring out our hearts to our Creator for the next generation of Aboriginal youth and the communities they live in.
I’m excited to see what God is going to do through each and every praying heart!

I’m excited to see what God is going to do through each and every praying heart!

Attached is the poster! It would be great if you do get a group together to pray that you let me know just so we can see who was praying and from where! Also if you aren't sure on what Aboriginal communities surround where you live and would like help getting info about that please contact me!

Amy on behalf of the AW team

Prayer Evening Poster

Arizona Heat: Corn, tea, stories and the power of prayer.

Prayer is power.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Romans 8:26,27

At our fundraiser in March we decided to raise money to go towards an outreach/mentoring/missions trip for the summer of 2012.  Although there were moments that felt as if nothing would actually come together to make this trip a reality, through prayer, God’s hand opening doors, and the guidance of Bev and Dan our trip became a reality!

August 17-31 Anchored Warriors did our first out of Canada trip to the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, USA. We had a total of 14 people on our trip. Tristan, Lesley, Kim, Bev and myself each had prayed about and asked a certain number of youth to come on the trip with the intention of not only an outreach but also a mentoring trip. Kim, Tristan and Lesley each had one youth and I had three wonderful girls to get to know, talk to about God and help them grow as leaders and in themselves.
Dan was our fearless driver and mechanic as we ended up broken down more than once in our borrowed 20 passenger bus.  

Bev took on the role of cook, and nurse and she had a close friend of hers to help with the cooking who she was able to mentor on the trip.

We went down to Hopi not really having any idea what to expect as none of us had been there before other than Kim when she was 17. Our connection was Kim’s cousin Chelsea who had been running a youth ministry in Hopi for three years through Ron Hutchcraft Ministries. We arrived after three long days to an amazing facility as Chelsea had hooked us up with staying at the mission center. We had more than everything we needed for our stay there.

During the course of our week and a bit stay on the reserve we were able to learn a lot about both the Hopi culture and the power of prayer.

Some of the things we participated in during our time in Arizona were: helping Chelsea with different projects around her house such as organizing ministry resource storage rooms and re-graveling the driveway, making and serving supper for the youth night and interacting and spending time with the students that attended the youth ministry. 

We also attended one of Chelsea’s  youth leadership bible studies, got a tour of the reserve by a local elder who showed us his corn field and taught us all about the sacred ways the Hopi grow their corn and some of the things they believe. We took an opportunity to do a prayer walk around the local village on the reserve, hiked up a Mesa, and even visited an area covered in ancient drawings.

Our youth were also able to organize and run an outreach night for the Hopi youth. They put together a skit to perform, games to play, crafts and art to show the other youth how to do, and one of our youth shared her testimony to the group. It was so encouraging to see our young leaders step up and reach out to other Aboriginal youth and to have so much fun doing it too!

Every day we made time for devotionals with our youth. My time proved interesting as I had three girls while everyone else had one youth. I made a point to set aside time during the day to talk with each of my girls and pray with them. It was so encouraging to see each of them, completely different personalities, and in completely different points in their journey with God, seeking His face and trying to work through their own personal struggles and learning about being a strong leader. It was very evident that God was and is still at work in each of their lives.

Every evening we discussed a different “word of the day” of what it meant to be a good leader and what we saw in them that day. We also gave a strong focus on the importance of the youth sharing their stories and where they were in their journey with God. This was such an amazing experience as we saw each of the youth really grow and step out of their comfort zone in sharing their stories- the good and the bad- with us.

By the end of our time in Arizona one of the biggest things that our youth had learned and that we had talked about was the power of prayer. Chelsea said their team motto out there was “prayer is power” and that became our motto for the week too. I have actually never seen youth pray that much before in all my time in ministry. It was such an encouraging experience for us as leaders and I know the youth came out of it changed.

Thank you for your prayers and support to make that trip possible. Please continue praying for our youth and that God would keep turning their eyes to Him in each and every situation they face. 

Momentum Leadership Retreat 2012

Momentum Leadership Retreat is an annual retreat put on by Anchored Warriors. It is a weekend for the leaders and potential leaders from the different Aboriginal communities we have been connected with to come and be challenged, encouraged and built up in their faith and understanding of God as well as in their call to leadership. This year we focused on discipleship, team building and focused on unity within and between Aboriginal communities. We were able to equip everyone who attended with resource binders that we as an Anchored Warriors team put together, which included things such as game ideas, devotion ideas, “how to’s” (read your bible, give your testimony, find out your spiritual gifts and use them etc), and as much “stuff” to help them on their journey both with God and as a leader. We also gave them a devotional book and an awesome version of the gospel of John. 

One of our main aims with this retreat is to help the leaders “go deeper” in their own personal walk with God, as many of them have a hard time in their communities because of a lack of support. We want to create a community, a family, where there is support and encouragement even if we are all spread out across Canada. This is the second retreat we have put on, and just as last year it was amazing to see God’s faithfulness at work with each and every youth and young adult that attended. We had a total of 32 people attend and the retreat was held at Camp Nakamun about 1 ½ hours north of Edmonton. The youth participated in icebreaker games, team building initiatives, we got to have two awesome sessions lead by Dan Woodard which helped us to learn about our God given team roles and how that could potentially play out in ministry. The youth loved learning about how God has wired them and one group in particular came up to us after and said that they were missing two key team roles in their youth group. This was awesome because they now know they need to pray for God to fill the gaps in their team so the ministry God has called them to can be more effective.

Along with these team building and leadership building times throughout the weekend, there was also a big focus on prayer, worship and connecting with God in a real way. The first night Amy talked about what being a Christian really means and the cost of saying yes to an all powerful God. Tristan also shared that evening about his own experience in saying yes and performed a spoken word poem that he wrote for the retreat. Saturday night was focused on having a real encounter with a living God. After we say yes to Him, we need to get to know Him, trust Him and give everything to Him. Cassie shared her heart and her own story of encountering God on her trip on the World Race. It was a powerful evening as Kim had set up many different ways and opportunities for the youth and young adults to share their hearts with God. There was a cross with post it notes to write a name on and pray for that person and surrender them to God, as well as a prayer wall and paint station where people could write or draw their worship and prayers to God. There was also a map station where you could pray for a specific country or person you know in another country and pin you prayer to the map. As well there was a station to write a sin or struggle on a rock and drop it in a water basin to symbolize God taking that sin away and it being gone. It was so amazing to see God working in the hearts of every single person that was there. People were praying for each other and singing and praising God in such a real and honest way it was overwhelming. God is so faithful. The last day Kim shared about unity and the importance of staying connected and supporting each other, as well as finding a church community or bible study to attend back home. She gave opportunity for anyone to share and then we all took communion together, prayed together and went upstairs to share lunch and say our goodbyes.

God is faithful and He continues to show His faithfulness through Anchored Warriors attempts to do what God has laid on our hearts. We are thankful for the support and encouragement we always find from both those we know and strangers. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! 

Hebrews 6:19a – Now we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

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