Storyteller

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An Orphan’s Christmas – Soapy Dollar (Mescalero Apache)

December 9, 2022Storyteller Audio, Native American, Special, Stories 00:14:30

Soapy Dollar is a Mescalero Apache who was abandoned at birth on the streets of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  After being picked up by a fortune teller and passed around till he was five, he was placed in a ranch for homeless and delinquent boys.  This would become home for the rest of his youth.  As an orphan, his memories and perspective of Christmas are different than most.  Would bitterness and resentment mark the man who was born rejected… or would his path be different?  What was Christmas like for a boy with no family? It might just surprise you… and encourage you.  Got 15 minutes? Listen to his story and then pass it on.

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I’m Free – The Story of Allen Early (San Carlos Apache)

July 14, 2022Storyteller Audio, Stories 0:39:33

Allen, a San Carlos Apache, was raised in the traditional by his father. His dad sent him away to school.  Soon Allen got involved in alcohol, drugs, and gang life.  He became so violent that the people in his community wanted him put away. But jail couldn’t hold him. He escaped many times.  Finally, after a successful manhunt, he was placed in solitary confinement.  He tried to hang himself but failed.  So he decided to starve himself to death.  It was then that a man came into the jail and shared his personal story about how he had been set free.  Allen listened through the walls of his cell… and what happened next changed his life forever.

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He was seeking revenge, but found Love. The Story of Jim Rickteroff (Athabaskan)

September 10, 2021Storyteller Audio, Special, Stories 00:22:47

Jim grew up being hated, abused, and very angry… and so it wasn’t long before he was bent on getting revenge. He trained in martial arts, preparing for the day when he would meet his abusers again. He was hot on the trail of one of them in Anchorage… but when Jim would go in the front door, the man would slip out the back.  Then something incredible happened which brought him face to face with this man. If you’ve ever been abused, struggled with forgiveness, or know someone who has, this is a story you won’t want to miss.  Have a listen, and then pass along the blessing to someone who needs to hear this.

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The Rescuer Rescued – The Story of Gordon Thayer (Ojibwe)

August 27, 2021Storyteller Audio, Native American, Stories 00:37:29

Gordon got into serious trouble as a young man.  He ended up standing before a judge who presented him with two choices: join the military or go to reform school.  Gordon joined the Air Force and eventually became a part of the special forces unit, Pararescue, serving two tours in Vietnam.  Pararescue’s motto is “These things we do, that others may live”.  That was his mission during the war, and he fulfilled it valiantly… receiving the US military’s third highest combat-only award, the Silver Star.  Years later, though, in a different battle, Gordon found himself as a prisoner – powerless to set himself free.

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Abandoned, abused, forgiven, free. An elder shares her story – The Testimony of Anne Morrow (Cree)

June 11, 2021Storyteller Audio, First Nations, Special, Stories 00:36:28

Anne’s mother abandoned the family when Anne was just a little girl. When Anne was five years old her father put her in residential school where she was abused. How does one overcome such trauma? As she shares her life’s journey you’ll find a remarkable story of forgiveness… not just in what she says, but in what she does. Her story reminds us that there really is hope – no matter what.

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The Shepherd’s Song – Psalm 23

February 8, 2021Storyteller Audio, Stories 00:14:30

These are challenging days across Native North America and throughout the world. For many First Nations and Native American communities, the prospect of contracting Covid-19 is frightening. Underlying health conditions put many Native people at greater risk with this coronavirus. Tribal leaders are working hard to protect their communities and we’re grateful. The uncertainty of life is very apparent in times like these… and so is the shadow of death. So where do we turn… where do we find hope when things are so difficult? Soapy Dollar, Mescalero Apache and host of The Storyteller radio program points us to where he has found it, and where you can too.

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The Story behind Christmas – Jason French (Cherokee)

December 22, 2020Storyteller Audio, Native American, Stories 00:14:30

Like all of us, the Christmas story has a background… and it begins with our Creator. Join us as Jason French starts at the beginning and helps us understand the significance of this day that was first celebrated by angels in the night sky near Bethlehem and now is celebrated by people from tribes and nations around the world.

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Wisdom for Life

November 9, 2020Storyteller Wisdom

Instruct a wise man, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. Proverbs 9:9 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs. Proverbs 10:12 It is a fool’s pleasure to do wickedness, but wisdom is a man of understanding’s pleasure. Proverbs 10:23 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so your poverty will come as a robber, and your scarcity as an armed man. Proverbs 6:10-11 There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12

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Abandoned but not Forsaken. The Testimony of Soapy Dollar (Mescalero Apache)

October 6, 2020Storyteller Audio, Native American, Stories 00:26:01

A young, pregnant teenager leaves her reservation for the city and gives birth to her child. She returns home alone, after leaving her baby in an alley. The child is found by a fortune-teller who takes him home and passes him around for the first five years of his life. Finally, she places him in a home for delinquent and homeless boys. You could say that life had not begun well for this little boy. But God had plans for this abandoned child that no one could have ever imagined. If you need to be reminded today that God is bigger than your circumstances, and unhindered by your past, this story will encourage and inspire you. Listen. Enjoy. Share.

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The Shepherd’s Song

July 8, 2020Storyteller Special 00:14:30

In times like these… we all need a Shepherd. These are challenging days across Native North America and throughout the world. The uncertainty of life is very apparent in times like these.  So where do we turn… where do we find hope when things are so difficult? Soapy Dollar, Mescalero Apache and host of The Storyteller radio program points us to where he has found it, and where you can too.  Listen as he shares his own personal story, what he learned about sheep in his youth, and what we all can learn from Psalm 23… an ancient song written by a good shepherd. Transcript Show Notes: Many people are very much afraid these days of many different things. But in particular we’re looking at the threat to our health and to our very lives, but if the Lord is your Shepherd. He brings assurance. He brings peace. He brings confidence that you know that you belong to Him and that He is going to walk with you through whatever danger we might face. Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall lack nothing. He makes me lie down in Green Pastures. He leads me beside Still Waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the Lord’s House forever. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life…

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