Intertribal Life Newspaper -

Chestermere, Alb.-"Let's Talk About Reconciliation"

This was the theme of Indian Life Ministries' first conference in our 42-year history.

We wanted to consider reconciliation on a personal level. If reconciliation is vertical (both personal, and between people) and horizontal (between us and God), what is our role? At Indian Life, we believe that reconciliation is not merely a big picture idea. We believe it is a verb. It requires action. Personal action. We sought to answer the question, "What does reconciliation mean for me?"

We started planning in October, not certain that we would be able to pull it all together. Our dates were set for December 10–12, a mere 2 months lead time to nail down a singer, keynote speaker, location, and all extra details we didn't know to plan for (but we quickly learned). However, it became evident very quickly that the Lord was blessing this, as every detail seemed to fall into place.

Camp Chestermere, the location of our satellite office in Chestermere, Alberta, was able to host the conference. Kene and Milly Jackson were able to provide their wonderful native gospel music, and we asked a friend to host a Kairos Blanket Exercise. The big detail we had left to determine was who our keynote speaker would be. After spending some time in prayer, and talking to trusted advisors, we decided to give Mario Swampy a call. It turned out that the topic we wanted to talk about was already formulating in his spirit, and so with that detail firmed up, we had a conference! Now to advertise and invite people!

Nervous excitement filled our emotions as the weekend for the conference drew near. We began to question whether or not people were going to come. We considered that maybe Chestermere was too out of the way and that we had made a big mistake in hosting it there. We just had doubts. But the Lord was quick to remind us that He was responsible to bring the people and take care of the details that were beyond our capacity. We did our part as best as we could. We had no reason to doubt that He would do his.

Matthew 6:34 kept on coming to mind: "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." Just before this passage, Jesus was teaching His disciples, reminding them that God provided for even the tiniest sparrow, and that humans are more important to Him than the tiniest sparrow, so certainly, He would provide for the disciples (and us!). And then He told them to not worry about tomorrow, for today has enough trouble of its own. It felt like such a poignant reminder to keep my eyes focused on each day, and what details I could take care of in the present.

Sixty-five people came in person to the conference, while many more tuned in on our YubeTube Channel (IntertribalCC) and our Facebook page (Indian Life). In addition to the booth that Indian Life set up to promote our resources, we also warmly welcomed Kene and Milly with their gospel music, Tribal Trails, Family Life Canada, Interact Ministries, and Galcom.

Mario Swampy led us in four teaching sessions on reconciliation. We explored the importance of treaty and relationships between the First Nations and non-first nations in Canada. We also took a look at the impacts of religion and politics on First Nations, and how an honest look at the past can help bring healing to the present and help set the tone for a reconciled future.

Milly Jackson, Mario Swampy, and Florence Flett courageously shared personal testimony of how God has worked in their lives. (See sidebar for a summary from Mario Swampy). One spoke of how the Lord healed her heart from the deep pain her family experienced in the residential school system. It was a powerful time.

Hear what a few of our conference guests said:

Wayne Penninga

Todd and Krystal Wawprzyniak, the new Indian Life director team, telling of the impact of Indian Life's prison correspondence ministry.

"I'm glad I came. Most of my interactions with religion and religious people have been bad. This conference and the people I've met gave me hope for my faith, and I've learned new things about myself and others."

"I appreciate the willingness to talk about reconciliation. It's a nice start to this topic. Great speaker! More conferences in the future are needed. Make it longer next time!"

We are thrilled, and beyond humbled, that our first conference was a success. We are thankful to the Lord that He brought all the details together and that hearts were encouraged and renewed during the conference. Friendships were formed, and reconciliation took yet another step forward. If reconciliation is a verb, the "Let's Talk About Reconciliation" conference was one small step towards a reconciled future. It is our prayer that Indian Life will be blessed to host an annual conference. Stay tuned for what 2022 may bring.