The Christ Action Team helps to build new churches and facilities. Youth groups across the country have taken weeks during the summer to devote to helping others build for Christ. The pictures here are from the 2009 service events.
In 2009, We had 198 youths signed up for the summer at Oaks - 13 church groups. They were from the following churches: Holy cross Lutheran, College Station, TX; Trinity Lutheran, Copperas Cove, TX; Redeemer Lutheran Church, Austin, TX; St John Lutheran, Hamlin, NY; Christ Memorial Lutheran Houston, TX; St Andrew, Houston, TX; Redeemer Lutheran Bloomington, IL; Christ Lutheran Austin, TX; Light of the World Lutheran, Keller, TX, Glendale Lutheran, Glendale, MO, Trinity Lutheran, Bur Ridge, IL; Bethany Lutheran, Austin, TX; and Mt Olive Lutheran, Austin, TX. Quite a bit of work and many blessings were accomplished by these wonderful, dedicated, hardworking young people.
Two foundations were laid and cement block were set on the foundations. We built two guest dorms that will have a capacity to sleep 48 people. Each dorm has two shower/bath rooms. The buildings are air conditioned. The building are sitting on pillars. The building size is 16 ft X 48 ft. We got the units weather proofed, but still have the insides to work on. The plan is to finish the buildings summer of 2010 and add patios onto the two dorms. We also scraped and painted the eaves of the Creek dorm, and helped the Oaks staff clear out some storage areas.
We did some painting for the city of Oaks, and held VBS at Steely Ok. We had 240 kids attend VBS this year, We gave out 800 Salvation Marked NT. One group, Holy Cross, canvassed houses along a five mile stretch of road walking and handing out Bibles. The only reason the stopped was they ran out of Bibles!
The schedule of a typical week's activities for the groups at the Indian Mission was:
Oaks Indian Center began in 1801 when the Moravian church first sent missionaries to the Cherokee Nation at Springplace, Georgia.
In 1926, a home for Native American children was established. In 1938, Oaks school became a public school. This school is now considered one of the finest rural educational facilities in eastern Oklahoma.
Oaks provides a residential care program for 48 Native America children ranging in age from 3 to 18. All have suffered some from of abuse or neglect. Many are orphans. Others have been abandoned.
The needs of the children are the same as all children - love, food, shelter, clothing, encouragement, support, understanding, and opportunity for education.
Values learned at Oaks enables them to lead meaningful lives. Please contact Paul Seiler at paul@bibleoutreach.org to learn more about what you can do to help!