The Navajo have a very expressive term for the English expression, "Oh my goodness!"  It's Yah-di-lah!  All LaDonna and Craig Smith can say regarding the life story of this truly Victorious Indigenous Person, T.J. Valtierra is,  YAH-DI LAH!  The backstory of this amazing servant of Christ is so incredibly challenging it seems even Hollywood would find it hard pressed to capture it in a blockbuster movie!  But true it is, as told right from this amazing warrior for Christ, T.J. Valtierra.  Like many Native people in North America, T.J. and his family was raised in the urban inner-city.  His parents continue to maintain a faithful ministry of over fifty-years, and yet, for all his siblings, crime, drugs, violence, gangs, and other inner-city woes are their stories.  But yet, as you'll hear in this amazing multi-episode series, there is redemption for all at the foot of the cross.  Now, T.J. is one of the most powerful young Native preachers in all of Native North America as he continues to serve the Lord in the same inner-city environment that stole so much of his youth and life.  The Smiths are privileged to work with T.J. and other young Native ministry workers through their ongoing partnership with On Eagle's Wings and their Warrior Leadership Summit, which is where the Smiths caught up with T.J. and his beautiful young family in the summer of 2025.  This is one story you will not want to miss one episode of dear friends.  What's better than reading about the life and times of T.J. Valtierra?  Well, listening to the life and times of T.J. Valtierra!  So without any further delay, the Smiths are excited to share with you this remarkable VIP visit with their dear brother in Christ, T.J.!

In this third and final episode in this VIP series with Colleen Estes and Mario Keeper from the remote First Nations community of Pikangikum, Ontario, Canada, these two warriors for Christ continue to share about the new work of God in their lives, as well as their community.  Known historically as one of the darkest communities in Native North America with way too many suicides, substance abuses, etc., hope is on the horizon through the power of the Spirit of God now at move in new and unprecedented ways.  Mario's renewal in his heart with his God is resulting in him completing a degree he was so close to completing nearly a decade ago, and now knows God's calling him into pastoral ministry!  Whether that be in Pikangikum or somewhere else, the Smiths are confident that God will use all he's gone through and how God has worked in his life recently, to become a powerful proclaimer of the liberating truth of the gospel.  And the Smiths continue to thank the Lord for the faithfulness of their dear sister and colleague in ministry, Colleen Estes, as she continues to serve the the Lord until He takes her home and they lay her body in the ground in her beloved community of Pikangikum.  She is truly a hero of the faith just like the mighty men of valor and great sufferers Hebrews refers to, and of whom is said, The world was not worthy of!  The Smiths pray the Lord will have encouraged your own heart and soul by the faith of these two servants of Christ, so different, so diverse, yet so close to the Lord and to each other.  It illustrates the power of the Lord to bring those who come from such diverse backgrounds and upbringings together into a team that serves Christ and His Great Commission so well.  Mario and Colleen, great is your reward in heaven!

In today's episode, Mario Keeper tells of the healing power of Christ in his life in dealing with the loss over the years of three siblings to suicide, and how he now has not only a renewed passion for Christ, but for his community as well.  Colleen Estes shares the impact Mario and other Native young believers are having in the community as their lives are given over to Christ.  The discussion then changes to the serious challenges they and other northern communities have experienced not only in past years, but even this year, and even while they've been at the Warrior Leadership Summit as raging wildfires threaten northern communities including Pikangikum.  So many challenges, yet God continues to work in and through these two servants of Christ.  This, the most isolated community in all of Native North America, yet Pikangikum was the largest community represented at WLS this year!  Truly, the Scriptures Colleen claimed about sowing in tears yet reaping in joy were being fulfilled right before her eyes, and the Smith's were eyewitnesses to that reality.  Stay tuned next week, dear friend, for the final episode in this amazing VIP visit with Colleen Estes and Mario Keeper!  You won't want to miss it!

Today the Smiths begin a new VIP interview series with Colleen Estes and Mario Keeper.  Two people who's backgrounds are so diverse and different, only the Divine leading of the Spirit of God could ever bring these two stories together, merging into an amazing story of faithfulness of a missionary, and the new work of God in a man who has faced such tragedy and adversity in his life, only God could redeem and remake such a life into a productive leader for the future.  And it's a community that brings these two stories together.  It's the community of Pikangikum, Ontario, Canada.  Known as one of the most painful communities in all of Native North America, it has an international reputation as a place of darkness, death, substance abuse and suicides that are off the charts compared to the rest of Canada.  But in this place, the Spirit of God is at work, moving through the faithfulness of servants of God like Colleen, and moving in the hearts and lives of a generation of young men like Mario.  Today, and in the weeks to come, you'll learn about the amazing work of God happening in Pikangikum, a place that has been visited by Craig and LaDonna Smith and the On Eagle's Wings ministry.  This series comes to you from an interview Craig and LaDonna did with Mario and Colleen at the recent Warrior Leadership Summit, sponsored by the On Eagle's Wings ministry.  Get ready to be blessed beyond imagination as you are reminded about the redemptive power of Jesus Christ and His powerful gospel message!

Craig and LaDonna wrap up their three part visit with On Eagle's Wings team members, Adrian Staples and Miles Davenport.  These two young warriors for Christ continue sharing how God has been working in their lives through their involvement in the On Eagle's Wings Summer of Hope tours and by attending the one year intense discipleship program offered OEW team members at the brand new OEW Leadership Center in Harrison, AR.  The two complete their visit with the Smiths by sharing how they sense God is calling them into future full-time ministry.  The Smith's know you'll be greatly encouraged to see how these two young men, who are young in their faith but yet show great wisdom, faith, and maturity from the strong discipleship they have received through the On Eagle's Wings ministry.  They truly will become leaders in their generation for Christ!  Now that's a real Victorious Indigenous Person!  The Smiths love sharing the stories of mighty men and women of God in the Indigenous Faith broadcasts.  Why?  Because if God can use young men like Adrian and Miles, there's hope that He can use you as well if you only surrender to the Lordship of Christ in your life!  Tune in next week as the Smiths turn are attention northward, across the US Canadian border, as we visit with a real hero of the faith and another younger Native follower of Christ who also shows great potential for a lifetime of service in Native ministry!  All on the Indigenous Faith podcast/broadcast!  We'll see you then!

Craig and LaDonna continue their VIP visit with On Eagle's Wings team members Adrian Staples (Ojibwe) and Miles Davenport (Meskwaki).  These young warriors for Christ share about their early days of being discipled and how they got introduced to the ministry of On Eagle's Wings and their annual Warrior Leadership Summit (WLS).  They share about their experiences at the Summit, including the impact of seeing hundreds of Native young adults from many tribes across North America worshipping the God that was now in their lives.  From their experience at WLS, they quickly applied to join the On Eagle's Wings on their Summer of Hope evangelistic tour to Native communities way beyond what their exposure was previously.  Their story is a shared experience, not only between these two young men, but the many Native youth who have served on past On Eagle's Wings teams.  You'll be encouraged as their stories continue to unfold on this and the next episodes of Indigenous Faith.  The Smiths ask you to pray for all the young warriors who join this incredible Native youth ministry.  They are fast becoming the leaders for the next generation should the Lord hold back His imminent return.  Until He does, we will continue to bring you the stories of VIP's like Adrian and Miles through the Indigenous Faith podcast/broadcast.  See you next week!

Today, the Smiths launch a VIP visit with two young, next generational Native leaders serving with the On Eagle's Wings team.  Adrian Staples is a home boy from Cass Lake, MN and actually a relative of Craig's.  Craig's grandmother was a Staples, so the family ties are there.  Miles Davenport is from Tama, IA, and represents the Meskwaki Tribe, which is part of the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.  Together these two resemble Paul and Barnabas of the New Testament who have become very close and serve throughout the years in ministry work, along side of their leadership roles with On Eagle's Wings.  In today's episode, both Miles and Adrian share their backstories of how and when they came to Christ.  Both experienced genuine salvation but in very different ways and circumstances.  But now their service for the Lord is build upon a passionate devotion to Christ.  You'll be encouraged by the ministries these young men share in together, and the number of lives they've impacted for Christ already.  Both men articulate a strong calling to minister the gospel as a life calling, and that bodes well for the future of Native evangelical ministry.  What a joy it is for Craig and LaDonna to bring to you the life and times of these two amazing warriors for Christ!  They know you'll be blessed as you join them for each episode to follow!  Stay strong, dear friend, in your own walk in the Lord as these two men are doing.  See you next week!

In today's final episode with our wonderful guest, Pastor Joel Van Hoogen, the Smiths draw out of brother Joel as much information as they could because of the importance of the message he brings.  Saving Evangelicals is not just a ordinary book, but the subject matter is life and death!  In all these four sessions, Joel does a fantastic job in articulating his deep concern about helping all who reach out to Jesus for salvation actually find that true and lasting work of God in their lives.  It all starts before we ever come to Christ with an awakening that goes much deeper thank a specific sin or habit I'd like out of my life, but an agonizing realization just how lost I am.  From there, Joel lays a total of six building block experiences we should have and are experiencing with the Lord if our salvation is truly genuine.  The Smiths encourage you once again to tell as many of your friends at church, in your family, and those others you love too deeply to lose to take an honest listen to  all four episodes which will help ensure the faith we embrace is a saving faith and one that is built on the powerful work of God in our lives.  Thank you, Joel, for the courage to write what you wrote, then join outlets like Indigenous Faith to bring these truths to as many people as possible.  The Smiths continue to pray that the programs they offer on the Indigenous Faith podcast/broadcast will continue to strengthen you in your spiritual life until Jesus comes again!  See you next week!

If you've been encouraged and challenged by the past two episodes the Smiths have had with Joel Van Hoogen as he unpackages his book, Saving Evangelicals, then you're in for a real treat today!  Joel continues to speak about the six encounters with God anyone who is truly saved can look back on in their lives when the Spirit of God led them to a genuine saving faith brought about by true repentance in their lives.  Some, as he describes, are internal, while others are external, or visible to those around us...such as a changed life that is lived much differently than before a person "prayed a prayer" to ask Jesus into their lives and forgive them of their sin.  Craig and LaDonna believe this series is so important for listeners to hear they encourage everyone tuning in to go back and start from the beginning and listen with note paper and pen in hand to jot down important points that will help you do a self-examination to see if you truly are in the faith.  Better yet, get ahold of Joel's book at outlets like Amazon.com because the book is also a study guide, helping each reader do that biblically prescribed self-examination as outlined in 2 Corinthians 13:5.  It's Craig and LaDonna's great desire to bring to listeners of the Indigenous Faith broadcast some of the most important teaching that will help build biblically healthy Indigenous followers of Christ in the context of the cultures, communities, and traditions.  This is one series that nobody should miss!  So, tell your friends about it and share about it to as many people, including your spiritual leaders in your home church.  They will benefit from it, too!  We've got one more episode in this series, friends, so be sure to join us next week for the final visit with Joel Van Hoogen and his Saving Evangelicals!

In this second episode on Saving Evangelicals, Craig and LaDonna Smith and Joel Van Hoogen continue to discuss the fascinating book Joel wrote that helps anybody who is questioning the reality of their faith in Christ do a self-examination to, as the scriptures say, determine whether or not you are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).  As the discussion ensues, brother Van Hoogen explains what salvation is, and what it is not, as we begin unpacking six experiences in the salvation process Joel says should be a part of the life of every genuine believer in Christ.  It's good to know that the scriptures further confirm that we can know that we truly are saved according to God's Word.  That's good news for all of us!  Craig and LaDonna are so pleased to be able to present this series with you, our faithful listening audience, and we hope you'll spread the word to others about this timely topic.  Please hear what the Spirit of God is saying to us all as we seek to live in and abundant and assured life in our salvation experience!