This summer I will be working with the Blackfeet tribe in Heart Butte, Montana. The Blackfeet Nation, traveled by Lewis and Clark in 1806, encompasses approximately 1.5 million acres, and is bordered by the Canadian province of Alberta to the north. The Blackfeet Indian Reservation was established by the Treaty of 1855 and today is home to about 7,000 of the over 15,000 total tribal members. Today, most tribal members are in the ranching and farming business. Unemployment, however, is high on the reservation. The Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates the unemployment rate is 69 percent among registered members of the tribe. The YouthWorks site is located in the reservation community of Heart Butte, a town of about 700 residents. In Heart Butte, nearly 45 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, including 50 percent of those under age 18.
During the summer I, along with my team will be ministering to this tribe in a variety of ways. Each week we will run a kids club for kids in the tribe. They are estimating an attendance of 40-80 kids each week! Thats 40-80 young souls hearing the truth of God's word and the Gospel each week! Praise God! We will also minister to the community through different work projects and serving them in areas of need. We will be the hands and feet of Jesus this summer as we minister to His children! Pray for us as we go and serve, and pray for the hearts of the people to be ready to hear the Gospel. We are going to a dark land, a land in desperate need of Jesus's light. Pray for us as our feet travel to share the good news!
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