Hope at Family Camp - God Is Strong
As an elder mother of 73 embraced her 50-year-old daughter, tears began to flow. I knew God was at work. The five-day workshop in Montana was drawing to a close. We were thankful to witness the healing that began as a result. This elder mother had lived a very hard life. As a Native American, life had not been easy. She had never been able to tell her daughters that she loved them. Forgiveness began to flow from her daughters, and the family that had been under attack was being healed in a beautiful way.
This past summer we focused on families. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that the evil one is full of many schemes as he tries to trip us up from walking in a good way with our God and Creator. This is especially true for families.
In Northwestern Ontario at Beaver Lake Family Camp, we presented workshops on addictions. People there found hope, too. We praise God that even though we are under attack, He is still healing and building strong families today!
- Rick Martin, Niverville/Manitoba, Canada
Drug addiction has become a huge “struggle” in the northern communities these last few years. Some have declared a state of crisis in their communities as a result.
At an annual family camp in our tribal area, it was only fitting, then, to do a teaching session on addictions that the camp has on Friday and Saturday nights. Friday night’s teaching was broadcasted over the tribal area where 25 isolated communities are situated. The organizers were intentional in their broadcasting as to reach as many people as possible.
As always, Rick and I ended our talk by pointing them to Jesus. Yes, we talked about the impact of addiction that it has on the whole person: chemically, emotionally and spiritually. Yet, we point out how there are times in the struggle of addiction that Jesus intervenes supernaturally and delivers someone from drug addiction.
There are some people out there who have testified of God’s supernatural intervention and deliverance from their addiction. Other times, Jesus does not deliver instantly. Instead, He will walk with us and help us as we walk the journey of addiction toward recovery on a day-to-day basis. This is the typical but rewarding journey.
After the session, different people came up to Rick and I and shared how the teaching helped them better understand the struggle of addiction: why people struggle and what we as families can do to help and support our family members who are addicted. They were encouraged and hopeful. As it is with other kinds of healing, such as with grief and abuse, it takes time. One of our goals in our teachings is to give people hope and encouragement in their struggles. We thank God that we saw this happen again at this family camp weekend.
- Linda (Cree) Martin, Niverville/Manitoba, Canada