A Place to Belong Stuart Swartzentruber Growing up with six siblings in my family meant that as we gathered for supper every evening, all nine of us had our spot around the table. I distinctly remember sitting on the long bench between my brothers, joining in the conversations about everyone’s day. I felt included, cared…
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The Joys and Challenges of Transition Rhonda Slaubaugh Red Lake, ON has been the base of Living Hope’s headquarters for many years, so there was a bittersweet element to the staff gathering held there in October. As Merle Nisly ends his years as the Executive Director, Stuart Swartzentruber takes on that role. As the LHNM…
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Stuart Swartzentruber In the December 2018 issue of Hopelines, the theme of transition at Living Hope Native Ministries seems to permeate everything. But although there are changes, much remains the same. We have a dedicated staff team committed to encouraging and developing local churches that matter in our world. We continue looking for ways to partner together to build up First…
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Merle Nisly In the early 1970’s, I was employed at an auto dealership as an apprentice technician. In the process of hearing God’s voice and calling on my life, I would sometimes spend my lunch hour in my car so that I could focus on what was ahead. That seems like the other end of…
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By Merle Nisly About 32 years ago, Rita and I were preparing for a leadership transition in a small, remote community where we had invested more than 10 years of energy, prayer, and love. Three indigenous leaders were preparing to carry on the life of a small community of Jesus followers—without our present influence. It was…
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By LaMar Weaver The Paul and Esther Lee family ministers at Grassy Narrows First Nation, experiencing the challenges and joys of being a missionary family on a small, rather-remote reserve. Arriving from South Korea in 2009, the Lee family has faithfully served the community through a variety of community ministries. “I see positive changes in…
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Special News Bulletin from Living Hope Native Ministries Walking Forward Together by Clarence Meekis, Chairman of the Board Greetings from the Living Hope Board of Directors. Along with our annual prayer focus issue of this publication, the board has important news that we want to share with you. We certainly ask for continued prayer support…
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As we begin a new year, we do well to reflect on where we’ve been in the past year. There are many wins to celebrate, so many lessons to add to our wisdom pool, and some scars to heal from. The team that reports in this paper is offering you a small glimpse of the…
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Intro by Merle Nisly As we begin a new year, we do well to reflect on where we’ve been in the past year. There are many wins to celebrate, so many lessons to add to our wisdom pool, and some scars to heal from. The team that reports in this paper is offering you a…
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by Merle Nisly It seems we love to label and categorize people. We’ve given labels to our age groups–like Boomers, Gen X, Y, and Millennials–presumably to better understand why people think as they do. It seems these affect our expectations of people, and maybe unfairly limit those partnerships we could be developing. To me, now…
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