Dear Soldiers of the Cross,
Psalm 103:2 “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Beloved, I cannot start this letter without first giving God thanks for all his many blessings and benefits that he has shown to me. I’m still rejoicing over the wonderful opportunity he gave me to share the John Eliot’s Native American Bible with our government officials in Washington, DC. Words cannot describe the joy I felt and am now still enjoying. I’m glad that we can rejoice in the good things of God right in the middle of our suffering in this life.
In July 2023 while doing a VBS on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, I hurt my back lifting an 84-year-old Navajo lady that could not walk and could not speak English but wanted to come to Bible school. Since then it has given me much grief. The first of March it moved into my sciatica and has been very painful. I have been doing physical therapy and also seeing a chiropractor. I’ve had two x-rays and an MRI, and I’m scheduled to see an orthopedic surgeon Friday, May 10th. Ms Sheril and I attempted to attend a Native American missions meeting in Kansas the first week in April and made it as far as St Louis in our camper and had to turn around and come back home because the trip was too painful for me. But God has allowed me to visit many of our supporting churches and also visit some new ones. Please pray that God will intervene and send healing for me and Ms Sheril as well. We have 14 Bible schools scheduled this summer, and we need our health to see the work through.
God gave us a wonderful opportunity to present our ministry to a group of high school seniors here on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Reservation. God gave us good liberty and allowed us to give out 25 Cherokee Bibles translated from the KJV Bible to them. Praise the Lord! Again, there is nothing better than giving God’s Word to a people in their language.
Praise the Lord! God has blessed us with the $60,000 needed to place our first 1000 book order of the John Eliot Bible, and they will be ready by June. We are looking forward to putting this Bible back into the hands of the Wampanoag people at no charge to them. Please pray! We are trying to raise another $60,000 for a second 1000 book order. This was the first Bible printed in America, and it was a Native American Bible translated into the Algonquin language. This Bible was printed in 1663 on present day grounds of Harvard University.
You can send your support for this Bible project to:
Native American Mission Fund Ministries
3232 Hendersonville Hwy
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
Please mark the MEMO, John Eliot Bible Fund. Please pray for this Bible project and call me if you have any questions.
As We Labor for Christ,
Gerry & Sheril Locklear
Missionaries to the Native Americans