Brian Bluebird was part of a proud, highly trained military unit that led the U.S. invasion of the island of Grenada in 1983. Last week, however, I found him sitting on a dirty walkway in the tiny town of White Clay as he awoke from a drinking binge (above). I listened for a couple hours as he told me pieces of his life story. He recounted having a good friend shot and killed next to him in Grenada. He also told me of losing his daughter and son-in-law to a drunk driver (not uncommon on the reservation). He finally told me “the real” story of how General Custer was defeated by Crazy Horse, passed down to him from his great-great-grandfather who rode beside the war chief. It was only as he told this Lakota legend to me that he began to weep. I saw firsthand the complex pain that is buried in the soul of our Native Americans. How do young people get rooted in their faith?
A recent survey by the George Barna Group found that 70% of children who are raised in the Christian faith fall away after turning 18. This is something that we long to see changed. Our efforts continue to focus on training a new generation of missionaries.
