The Storyteller

Truman's story is the seasoned voice of a Kiowa elder sharing wisdom gained by a journey marked by much hardship and difficulty. From his early years at boarding school to the battlefields of World War II, his life has not been easy. Yet, he is an overcomer.

Linda spent the early days of her life away from her family because of a medical condition. As she grew older, she discovered another condition in her life that needed attention. Living life her way only led to fear, abuse, and pain.

When his wife became ill, they called a preacher to come and pray for her healing. While he was with them, he turned to Kim and asked him to pray for Linda. It was a challenging moment for Kim because he didn't have the relationship with God that he so desperately needed.

Just after a weekend of partying and I was looking to go to work, possibly on the next Monday morning, I was sitting there in the yard of my cousin's house. I was sitting there and I thought to myself, "There's got to be something better..."

With her kids taken away, her mom gone, and with no place to turn, Josephine found herself, lost, hopeless, and alone. She was standing at the junction looking to catch a ride but she didn't know which way to go. It was there in that desperate moment on the side of the road that she cried out to God. She said, "take this desire away to drink... and put a new desire in my heart"... and He did.

Josephine grew up in a home where her mother was careful about who her kids were around. But eventually Josephine found a way to be with her friends. She ended getting into trouble with alcohol in a way that would change her life. It's a path that many are familiar with. Listen to part one of her amazing story about how God saved her and set her free.

Robert was caught up in the gang life, so he was used to violence. But at some point he realized that there had to be to life than what he was living. One night he had a dream that would get his attention. He then began a quest that would change everything.

Robert was born on the Oneida reservation in Wisconsin but - because of the Indian Relocation Act - spent his growing-up years in Chicago. It was there that he learned to drink and fight. He would discover though that it was an empty life.

Victoria put her trust in Jesus early in life. When she got to high school, though, she began to party with family and friends. This continued this while in university until she finally saw how useless it all was.

Chester found out that, just because Jesus saves us from our past and gives us hope for the future, life can still be hard. Difficult challenges and choices are part of the journey. For Chester, this included something he was never able to do before... forgive his father for years of abuse and neglect.

The hate that Chester had harbored for his father since childhood was driving him to drink, despair, and death. Through the intervention of an understanding judge and a caring friend, Chester would have another opportunity to face his self-destructive behavior and pursue a new life.

Chester grew up in Eel Ground First Nation. His troubled childhood left him with deep hurt and a miserable existence. He tried to end his life. Thankfully, he wasn't successful. Listen to part one of his story which helps set the background for his inspiring journey of overcoming alcoholism and hate.

Sophronia's life from early childhood was marked by anger at being shipped off to boarding school. Then alcohol took over after her mother died. When she 'found Jesus', she told everyone how SHE had won over the battle over alcohol, but until she recognized that true and total victory is only found in Jesus, she discovered that she really wasn't free.

Paul is a full-blooded Aleut, born in Egegik in 1935. In part 2 of his story, he shares about one of his life's most difficult moments. He lost his precious daughter Jewell to cancer while she was a college student. We understand though that words cannot describe the pain of losing a child that you have loved and cared for. How does one cope with such a loss? Paul was able to because of the hope and peace he had found before she passed away.

Paul is a full-blooded Aleut, born in Egegik in 1935. Growing up, he lived in the village of Kanatik during the winter. But in the Springtime his family would walk over the mountain and cross the lake called Becharof to go back to Egegik in order to make ends meet. Like this journey, his early life was filled with difficult challenges... but he was an ambitious young man.