Port Angeles, WA
Walls Coming Down
by Cathy Benzler (Cherokee)
Ministry Staff
I want to share with you a letter from one of our house church hosts in Elwha. This lady has become very special and dear to us, and we have seen such growth in her over the last couple of years. She watched what we did for two 
years before becoming active in the ministry at Elwha, to see if she could really trust us, because she had been hurt by church in the past. When she did commit to come to our Bible study and prayer meetings, it took her 6 months before she could pray out loud, because she was told she didn’t pray the right way. Here is her letter that she wrote:
“Before I met my husband, I had a very bad life. I battled with alcohol and drugs. My mom and dad drank a lot. I was put in an orphanage and had to go to a Catholic residential school. Before I was sent away I knew there was a God, but in the residential school I did not learn anything from the Bible. I just couldn’t understand any of it partly because of the way we were treated. I still believed in God, even when I ran away and had to live on the streets and endure horrible things. I moved to the Elwha reservation 10 years ago with my husband because that was his home. He was Klallam and I am Blackfoot from Alberta. I joined the Indian Shaker church. It was said that they go by the spirit of God only. No Bibles. I still believed in the Bible, it was inside of me to believe in this book, even though I didn’t understand it and even though I had such a bad life growing up.
"My husband went to a Bible study that Tom and Cathy held on the reservation at his cousin’s house. When his cousin passed away, my husband John wanted to have it at our house. I told my husband yes, but only if I could stay in the back bedroom till they were done. I was very much into the Shaker church and we weren’t supposed to have Bible studies or go to other churches. I loved going to the Shaker church, but I always felt something was missing. Deep down I felt I needed something more. I wanted to know what was in the Bible. I wanted to help people and pray for people but didn’t know how.
"I felt God led me to Tom and Cathy. At first I didn’t want to get close to them because they didn’t belong to the Shaker church, but I finally let them in and my walls came down. I got to know and trust them. They taught me what was in the Bible, and that Jesus loves me and really cares about me. Tom and Cathy understood my pain and helped me walk through it. I could really trust them and they taught me what Jesus did for me, and how He died for all the things I went through. They became my teachers. When my husband passed away last year, I wanted to give up and be with him. Tom and Cathy helped me get through that tough time and never gave up on me. As much as I wanted to die at that time, I still wanted to have Bible studies at my home and learn more of what Jesus has for my life and how to help others. This couple helped me grow stronger in my faith, and even though I was grieving for the loss of my husband, they would take me with them when they would go visit and pray for the elders and other people that needed help.
I have to leave the reservation now, since it has been a year since my husband has passed and you cannot stay for longer than that if you are not a member of this tribe, because of lack of housing. I am not sure where I will end up, but I believe God will take care of me. Just as I believe God sent Tom and Cathy to my home to teach me the Bible and to teach me that God has a purpose and plan for my life and that Jesus loves me no matter what and never gives up on us. I feel in the time I have known Tom and Cathy, I can now pray and help others and share Jesus with them." Georgia Spotted Eagle-Charles
God is working and changing lives on the Elwha reservation one at a time. I feel so humbled to be part of what God is doing in the Pacific Northwest. His will for His people will be accomplished, not in our strength, but in His.