The Storyteller

"We would hear the medicine man begin the countdown to evening time to get ready for the stomp dance. But, even though we all were there, you know, most of us young guys, we never did really know what it was all about. We couldn�t understand it really, but we were involved in it. To me, I could see that the older ones were just doing it as well. In our lives, you know, we wanted to be traditional and live and worship God in these ways. But I never could see no change in nobody."

The plans Florence had for her future were changed when her sponsorship for training was not approved, but soon she was offered a teaching job, went to work with some Christian girls, and began to learn what God wanted from her, and what He was offering to her in salvation. Her life, and those of her husband and children, changed drastically when they accepted Christ as their Savior, and they have spent many years now in the service of the Lord and a church for which they have accepted responsibility.

Florence has lived her entire life on the Peguis Reserve, except for a period of four years when she attended the residential school at Birtle. She learned much from her father as she worked the farm with him, and much from her time at the school, but it wasn't until she was asked to teach Sunday School that she began to learn more about the Bible than she had from the stories she heard at home and at church as a child.

Eric looks back over his life since he submitted himself to the care and guidance of God, and stands in amazement at the direction it has taken since he turned his back on the old rebellious sinful behavior and began to live in obedience and service to the God who loved him so much that He sent His Son to take his punishment on the cross, and has led him into an adventure which has only begun!

Eric experienced God's intervention as he was on a mission to end his life, and knew it was time to acknowledge God's claim on him. He accepted Christ as Savior, but stopped short of allowing Him to be his Lord and life director, and soon fell back into his ways of addiction again. A demonstration of service by a Christian woman started Eric thinking about his lifestyle again, and the friendship and witness of a missionary brought him back to make a decision of a full surrender to Jesus.

Eric has fond memories of his childhood on the reserve. He heard about Jesus, and felt a desire to accept His gift of salvation, but had no Christian friends or family to support his relationship with Christ. Instead, by the age of 16, he was into the pleasures of the world, and judged his life to be worthless. At 18, he had decided to end his life with a leap from a broadcast tower, but was interrupted by God's intervention in the form of an icy storm.

Don tells the story about the 1964 tidal wave that hit his village of Old Harbor, and the people that gave their lives to save his village. He also shares about another potential disaster, his problem with anger. His family was being torn apart. When his wife finally confronted him, Don knew that he had to change.