A Prayer For The Oppressed
by Rachel Sams
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I don't think I even know where to begin. Before we left for this trip, leadership kept telling me about the poverty, the head lice, the homelessness, etc. I kept telling myself, "I've seen all that before. I see that daily in Wyandotte County. Is there really a difference?"

Our week on the Yakama reservation was pretty busy. Days consisted of early breakfasts, work detail until 2pm, Vacation Bible School with the children in the park until about 6pm, dinner, and an evening debriefing time. Most nights I didn't go to sleep until about midnight. I was up most mornings by about 7am. All in all, the only thing different from my regular schedule was the amount of physical work that was done in each day!

Our work detail was at the home of a woman named Julia, who is in her 70's. Her daughter, Jeanette (50's) and her son (30's?) live with her, along with her son's girlfriend, Kris, and their son, Clay (2). Julia's great-grandson, Cole (6) was there most of the week, but I'm not sure if he lives there or was just visiting. There is a huge family history of addiction, and Julia and Jeanette seek daily to have a 'clean' household.

Jeanette told us her story one day during our lunch break. She talked about her drug and alcohol addiction, how it had affected her, her children, and her family. She has been sober for 7 years now. She continues to pray that God will deliver her son (Adrianne) from these same addictions. Her son is currently in prison due to possession and gang-related charges. Jeanette showed me a letter that Adrianne sent her, in which he shared a 'prayer for the oppressed'. As she read it to me, I recognized it as coming from the Psalms. I wish you could have seen herface when I told her this. She was both surprised and hopeful that her son may be reading the word and seeking help. He often praises his mother for her faith and her sobriety, but has never voiced a desire to have these for himself. God is moving.

I know that many people in our group talked about 'Finding your heart-kid in Yakama', and many of them found that particular child through VBS. I have to admit, I didn't want that. I thought, "I work with troubled children often through my job. I don't think I can emotionally handle loving and hurting for another one!" Because of this, I really didn't connect with any one child there, although there are several that will stay in my thoughts and prayers. They are all God's creations and are beautiful (even when they are acting down-right ornery!).

The missionaries in Yakama, the Granberrys are wonderful people. I was amazed, not only by their ability to love the native people, or by their ability to love each other as a family, but mostly by their ability to do both at the same time! As we sat in the van after the rock slide, I listened to Chris pray with his children. He thanked God for keeping us safe and prayed for the safety of the vans that were driving behind us. I watched as his children responded to his faith, and saw how much they loved and trusted their father. It was a beautiful sight and it had GOD written all over it.

Towards the end of the week we met Dennis, who is a friend of Chris' and a leader in the Native American community. He shared his testimony with us and honored us by singing a prayer song of the native people. He is a drummer in the Long House, which is the Native American 'church' building. He asked us to pray for his daughter, Raquel/Rocky, as he hadn't seen her in some time and was afraid that she had returned to her addictions.

The last night that we were there, during our debriefing/ sharing time, Rocky and Robert (her boyfriend) walked in. She said, "My dad said that I needed to come here for prayer. I think he's right." She continued to struggle with addiction, but want to conquer it. She gave her heart to the Lord several months ago, but struggles with memories of past behavior and beliefs. The spirit world is very present to her, but most of what she experiences is negative and frightening. I think that, of all the people we met in Yakama, my heart went out to her most. I pray that she will continue to gain a clearer picture of her Creator and, in turn, gain a clearer picture of how He sees her. I have no pictures of her, but her memory is strong in my mind.

On the way back to Kansas City, I thought about my original question. "I've seen all that before. I see that daily in Wyandotte County. Is there really a difference?" My ultimate conclusion was that there is not a real difference. There may be differences in the details, and by no means am I trying to ignore or down-play the plight of the Indian People. The thing that struck me most was the 'culture of poverty' ... poverty of spirit as well as finances. God has called all of us to minister in this area. While mission trips are wonderful and useful, the ministry should not end when we return home. There is a hunger for the things of God. If allow ourselves to feel it, the hunger pains in our own neighborhoods can be difficult to bear. May the life style of ministry begin in every one of our own backyards.