FIRST NATION MINISTRIES, INC.

P.O. Box 30055    Portland, OR 97294

Phone: (503) 408-2391   Fax: (503) 256-8560

September 2007

Dear Teammate,

  What a mighty God we serve!  His goodness and mercy is ours day by day.  What a joy to be His!  We are His witnesses. We all are commissioned to this calling at home and to the far flung corners of the earth.  No others mission field is more our responsibility than the Indian reservations right here in our own back yard.

  We have made it a hard field to reach with the Gospel because of our broken treaties and vows from the very beginning of our presence in the land that was home to the Indian people.  Our prejudice and our trying to make white men out of them have further hindered our progress and we have had little success!  Today the Indian people are the poorest of any segment of our society!  They have the shortest life expectancy of all - only forty-five years.  The average educational level is less than eight years with many who still can’t read or write.  We have given Bibles to many who never have owned one before!

  We have learned that we must win their confidence before we can win their souls!  Let us live up to the First Nation Ministries motto, “Christians that care”.  It is working!  Thank you for helping us.

Your old missionary brother,

Don Cline

FOR OUR LORD AND THOSE WE SERVE

  I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed.  I have Holy Spirit power.  The die has been cast.  I have stepped over the line.  The decision has been made.  I’m a disciple of His!  I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.  I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.  I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, and popularity.  I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.  I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.  My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear.  I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed.  I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.  I won’t give up, shut up or let up, until I’ve stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and preached up for the cause of Christ.  I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach to all I know, and work till He stops me.  And when he comes for his own, he will not have problems recognizing me – my banner will be clear!                                                                                    (Anonymous)

 MISSION VISIT No. 10

  Leon Hansen and Don Cline were guests at Northwest Indian Bible School on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 and early Thursday morning, May 31st, they headed north to Ravalli on the Flathead Reservation.  Here they visited and ministered to the Rocky Mt. Mission Station.  Brother and Sister Lee Wraith, who are among God’s choice servants in Indian work, have faithfully served a number of years.  We thank God for them!  We thank God for our staff at First Nation Ministries.  Deborah is always available, whether it is truck driving or office work.  We thank God for the hospitality of friends that help.  It was a joy to meet part of Rev. Ken Pretty On Top’s family at a motel along the way.  We thank God for you, Teammate, for helping make it all possible.

Pictures from this trip:

MISSION  VISIT  No. 11

  Sister Bernadine Lovell is a true handmaiden of the Lord.  Our work together goes back several years.  When some “men of the cloth” had given up and informed me they were not interested  in old clothes and damaged groceries, she said, “These Indians are in need and they appreciate help!”  Bernadine got the use of an old building and our ministry together began.  God has blessed and we praise Him! 

  Due to a hospital visit Bernadine was not at home, so we went back to our trusted brother, Lee Wraith, and he let us unload in a spare building.  When Bernadine got back on her feet, Brother Lee got the supplies to her.

Pictures from this trip:   Overnight at NIBS Guest kitchen at NIBS Indian country in Montana Storing the load at Rocky Mt. Mission A true brother- Rev. Lee Wraith Almost home- Mt. Hood due west     MISSION  VISIT  No. 12 The prayer breakfast men met at 7:00 AM, Friday, June 29th in the clubhouse of Club Estates East.  They earnestly prayed for God’s blessing on the visit to Celilo Indian Village ten miles east of The Dalles, Oregon.  The final amen at 8:00 AM saw them grouped around the truck wishing they, too, could go.  Ted Boyd and Don Cline took the clothes, food, and Bibles to these Indian friends.  When The Dalles Dam was built fifty years ago, and it flooded out the old village and choice fishing sight, the people were promised adequate housing.  This was a sacred area to which they held treaty rights.  At long last decent houses are being constructed.  The old will be buried and the new built on the same site.  Our goal is to show them that Christians care and they keep their word.  We minister to their bodies that we might be a blessing their souls. Pictures from this trip:   The longhouse at Celilo 50 year old village         Unloading the truck      Old village buildings soon to be no more The back side of the old village       Headed home-Mt. Hood in the distance