Crisis Full Circle: The Outlands Response November 2024 Newsletter

As I write this reflection, my mind and heart are with Appalachia.

I pray for the remote and rugged communities in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. Entire infrastructure catastrophically flooded, homes devastated, and many lives lost. Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on a mountainous world similar to Estes Park, CO, where I lived in 2013 when similar floods suddenly severed us from civilization. Winter is now settling in, and the situation only becomes more serious, as the rest of the world moves on.

This crisis in the heart of poor working-class America touched my heart. And in many ways, the Appalachian region echoes the REZ — hurting, isolated, disenfranchised, forgotten.

I can't help but wonder how much opportunity and transformation could come from two sister worlds such as these intertwining and uplifting each other, planting seeds of help, hope, and love together in Jesus' name in marginalized communities that find themselves vulnerable and exposed from the onset of a crisis. This got me thinking about my trajectory...

New Opportunities on the Horizon in the Outlands

I am thrilled to share several exciting developments for this next year! Your continued support is an important part of God's good provision as we boldly pursue His heart for Native America and expand our own trust in His promises to us as our good Shepherd.

2024 Encouragements:

• I am now at 40% fundraised of a full-time salary. Between the generosity of God's people and my little part-time bakery job, I am thankful to be able to pay all my bills. God assures me in pursuing a measured transition from bi-vocation to full-time ministry.

  
  

• I completed two excellent chaplain training programs, one locally under the umbrella of law enforcement and one in Montana under the heading of crisis chaplaincy.

  
  

• I gratefully accepted the volunteer assistance of a friend to help me manage the administrative workload associated with development and growth, what a God send.

  
  

• I embarked on a deeply touching journey of healing with the LORD, and I am thrilled to say I am a far more whole person than I've ever been, praise God. I continue to abide in God's unending mercy and steadfast loving kindness as I continue the journey!

2025 Goals & Initiatives:

• I am entering a purposeful support-raising season, including committing to several significant out-of-state networking trips. I pray this is a time of sweet surrender and cherished connections I intend to maximize and prioritize through SUMMER 2025. At that time, I hope to obtain a full-time salary which will allow me to dedicate my energies to development and discipleship work for Outlands Response in REZ communities.

  
  

• I expect to formulate and flesh out a comprehensive business/operations plan.

  
  

• I will train to become a critical incident debriefing specialist in the next year, a valuable skill I hope to impart to my future Indigenous crisis chaplain teams on the REZ.

  
  

• I plan, LORD willing, to recruit young Native missions-driven, community-oriented leaders at Intervarsity's Urbana 2025 conference in Phoenix, AZ next December.

  
  

• I am currently seeking opportunities to flex my newly accredited chaplain "muscles" on the frontlines of crisis in marginalized communities, including short-term deployments to disaster-ridden regions to assist in the aftermath and recovery.

Cozy Corners Amid Catastrophe

Fall is one of my favorite times when a crisp wind ushers in a refreshing, new season. I enjoy the chill that saturates the senses and the enchanting colors and songs of the aspen trees. It is a time to hunker down into the coziness of winter, and there's more time for reflection.

But at the same time, the transition from life to dormancy feels harsh and bleak. The world can be an increasingly scary place to find ourselves. Winter is a stark reminder of this!

So, in my recent conversations with the LORD about the palpable increase in natural disasters and political doom, a desire for a cozy corner grew — a place to hide away in God.

"So let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found. When great floodwaters rise, they will not reach [the godly]. You are my hiding place — You will protect me from distress. You surround me with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32:6-7 TLV

So I haphazardly set up a cozy blanket on a beanbag in the corner with a candle stationed nearby — my own little cozy corner. And I showed up. And I continue to show up. Sleepy, groggy, and dazed as I return to the vertical plane of existence every early morning wake-up call. I started to occupy that space first thing in the morning, listening to Scripture flow through the dawn as I sipped my tea and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Greeting the day!

And you know, it's been a very sweet space of joyous encouragement and unbounded hope.

Do you have a dedicated place of prayer in your home? So you can pause, then persevere?

St. Cyril of Jerusalem said, "There is a birth from God before the ages, and a birth from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece, and a coming before all eyes, still in the future." Like the dew of the morning, gentle and kind.

As we keep our eyes upward looking for the future, glorious revolution that will not be televised as it comes like lightning in the sky, let us wake up each day, bed-headed and dim-eyed, to the soft, hidden coming of our good Shepherd now. He told us the times would only get darker and darker as history marches on toward its ultimate pinnacle in Christ. But He also promises us solace now by perpetually covering us and completely protecting us with His pinions, and under His wings we will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield (Ps 91:4).

God is our hiding place as we make our way through compounding catastrophes. We engage in love and care because that's what our good Shepherd would have us do.

Discipleship Develops Out of Disaster

We can courageously meet the hurting and the forgotten on the frontlines of catastrophe when we know God is our refuge. I desire this for the future Outlands Response R.I.V.E.R.S. [Reservation-Based, Indigenous-Led, Versatile Emergency Response Service] teams. I want these team members to know this ironclad safety in catastrophes on and off the REZ.

Then I want these Native Crisis Specialists to share this tried-and-true assurance with others in need. Some of the best help for a hurt heart is being able to help someone else.

Genuine, tangible, and abiding:

• compassion comes out of overcoming challenges.

• dignity is the opportunity to guide someone else through similar distress.

• reconciliation is finding a neighbor where previously you saw a rival.

• discipleship develops out of the distress of disaster.

Indian Country is marked with ugly scars — on the land, on the collective psyche, on the people as a whole. Indigenous family members who grew up in REZ communities understand intrinsically what it looks like to persevere long and hard through challenging circumstances. The REZ is a place of perpetual crisis. Growing up in a never-ending disaster.

But Natives from REZ communities who trust Jesus to heal these deep scars can share so much with the REZ and with broader America — namely, Jesus is our good shepherd (Rev 7:16-17).

In this way, through the palpable pain of and perseverance through a catastrophe, the transforming love of Jesus causes crisis to come full circle to healing and wholeness.

This is exactly what Appalachia needs at this exact moment. Even as the roads are rebuilt and the schools reopen, there remains a forever scar in the Hill Country of America.

What if these two sister worlds came alongside each other, planting seeds of help, hope, and love together in Jesus' name? And how is God moving you to invest in these things?

Eagle Spirit Singers and Dancers, Wind River Reservation. Photo: Wyoming Office of Tourism

How to Partner

I am so honored and humbled to have the support of so many wonderful people. Thank you sincerely from the bottom of my heart for coming alongside me in this bold endeavor.

May God the Father be praised for the fruit produced from these small but mighty efforts.

Let's connect! Please reach out to engage together on any of these topics in greater detail. I would love to sit down for coffee (tea for me please!) soon, I'm excited to hear from you. 

PRAY — Prayer is and will always remain my biggest need. Sign up for in-the-field text prayer updates! Send a text message to the phone number 81010 with the code @rezupdate in the message to opt into text notifications of all major ministry developments.

GIVE — I invite you to partner with me financially in this important work. Please prayerfully consider a treasured monthly partnership or a welcomed one-time gift – whatever the Lord leads you to provide will be a tremendous blessing to this blossoming work. All donations are tax-deductible through the 501c3 non-profit organization, Urban Skye.

SHARE — Please share your excitement with those closest to you (plus this newsletter and my website!). Encourage your friends and family to consider partnering with Outlands Response, multiplying the impact and scope of this endeavor. I appreciate your referrals.

Click Here to Partner Financially

I welcome your active partnership as this task should only be done together. Thank you so much!!

God's servant for your sake,

Tessa