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Here
is an excerpt of the report written by Richard Twiss, President, Wiconi
International
Around
the world North American Native people are highly esteemed. They are regarded
with great respect, dignity, and honor. The songs, dances, and culture of First
Nations people enjoy a remarkable global fascination and recognition. Richard
Twiss President of Wiconi International and Team Leader said,
“We saw in part the fulfillment of what I, and many others, have
been saying for the past few years, that, no other people group is so uniquely
positioned for world evangelism, as First Nations people are today. After
400 years, we are at last beginning to see the emergence of redeemed cultural
expressions from the Native church, to the honor of Jesus Christ.” This was
one of the few evangelistic outreaches from the North American Church to Europe
where a group of Native people has taken advantage of the remarkable European
fascination with Native culture. Various team members were invited who not only
have a deep love for Jesus and were spiritually mature, but also were gifted in
the areas of traditional Native dance, drumming, and singing, who had beautiful
dance regalia.
The
team gave 25 ministry presentation in just nineteen days, in 13 cities in three
countries. They danced, drummed and shared Christ at the World Expo and the
International Children's Festival in Hannover, Germany; in numerous public grade
and high schools; a wide range of churches; a school for physically and mentally
challenged children; a large public park on Lake Geneva, in Lausanne,
Switzerland; village community centers; and a large Ethiopian/Filipino
International Church in Frankfurt, Germany. Both believers and non-believers
alike were touched by the presence of the Lord during our ministry times.
Several nationally respected Swiss church leaders witnessed our team in action.
Here is what some had to say about the team.
”I think that in our post-modern society our Native friends have a great
future in front of them as far as the sharing of the Gospel is concerned. To
those who pretend that the rehabilitation of these Indian traditions and
cultures have nothing to do with the Christian faith we would like to remind
them of the vision of John in the Book of Revelation who saw that in the end of
times the nations of the whole world will bring their richness to the Lord of
the Universe. So our friends have given us a taste of the coming Kingdom.”
Pastor Guy Chautems,
former pastor of the Reformed Church at the Cathedral of Lausanne
“My
conviction is that God can use the testimony of the Amerindians in Europe (and
probably elsewhere) in a very specific way, especially to reach and touch people
with New Age and ecologist tendencies. Such people have both admiration and a
wrong vision about Indians. They imagine they are in the same philosophy than
themselves and they could be very surprised and impressed to see that they can
be true Disciples of Christ, fully committed to the Kingdom of God without
denying their cultural values. Such a demonstration would be able to lead many
people back to the Lord in Europe.”
Jean Pierre Besse, Pastor
of the Reformed Church, Elder in an evangelical Church, Best-selling Christian
writer, President of Cabes International, Agent at the Scripture Union
”We
saw our people touched in a way we had not seen for a long time. The interest
the people here have for the First Nations opened doors that would have been
closed otherwise. Their way of sharing the Good News doesn't only touch the
intellect of the people but their hearts in a very deep way. They showed a
friendship reflecting the Kingdom of God on Earth. For those who have doubts
about the authenticity of their ministry we would like to say that all they said
was glorifying Jesus as the only Way, the only Hope for mankind”.
Josquin & Nathania Boschung,
Swiss Outreach Organizers
Each team member commented on how honored they were to be used by God in such a
spiritually impacting way. Also we were absolutely amazed by the depth of
respect and notoriety Native people have throughout Europe. We were like
Hollywood celebrities. Here are a few reactions of team members:
"The past sixteen years I have carried a wooden cross and
preached Jesus in 36 countries of the world, and as a native man have always
well received. However, as I watched our team share the Lord thru our various
cultural expressions, I think the people were shocked to see Native people in
full regalia, proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and King. He said, " I think
it is a wonderful way for the Gospel to be proclaimed to the nations."
Ed LaRose from the Pomo Nation
On a personal note this was a very special team for me to be to a part of. It
was a beautiful picture of brotherly love and respect. The level of humility,
willingness to serve with joy when exhausted or uninspired, and spiritual
maturity of every member was a reward in and of itself. Richard Twiss,
Lakota, President of Wiconi International, Team Leader
I keep seeing the faces of all the people we touched with the Gospel and with a
word of encouragement. I keep thinking of the way the Lord took a simple thing
like our Cultural gifts and used them to his honor and glory. Pastor
Robert Soto, Lipan Apache
Rachel Soto, Pastor Robert Soto’s 15-year-old daughter, jingle
and fancy shawl dancer, experienced new freedom as a Christian. She said,
"I found out it's okay to show you're a Christian and an Indian, instead of
being Christian at church and church activities and Indian the rest of the time.
I was honored to minister dressed in my regalia, and amazed to see how eager
people were to hear what we had to say. I was especially blessed to lead those
two young girls to Christ, and getting to anoint the teens at the camp in
Switzerland with oil and prayer."
Already
plans are being discussed to have another team return to Switzerland, this time
for city-wide outreaches in several of the major cities as well as Bible
teaching and leadership training for the churches. They have also been asked to
pray about a team to Poland for large evangelistic meetings as well as returning
to Germany.
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