Our Klamath Basin Water Crisis
Fighting for Our Right to Irrigate Our Farms and Caretake Our Natural Resources

Prayer for Dave Sabo, Klamath Bureau of Reclamation manager, July 28, 2003

Our Father,

Please be with Dave, that he may heal from his injuries..

You have given him a huge responsibility that effects thousands of lives in the Klamath Basin.

Be with his mind, that he will look to you for healing, guidance, wisdom and honesty in all things. You are love and truth.

Thank you.

In Jesus name we pray,
Amen

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Prayer from Pastor Gordon
Calvary Fellowship Lower Klamath (Merrill) July 22, 2003

Precious Father, ruler of heaven and earth: we thank you for providing your
water so farmers and ranchers can finish the season.

Your prophet Joel said: "And you shall have plenty to eat and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you;
then My people will never be put to shame.(Joel 2:26)

The Lord God truly has dealt wondrously with us on this issue. Now, let us
deal rightly with Him by ascribing to Him, all praise, all honor, all
thanksgiving, in Jesus name, Amen.

 

 

Prayer Page by Rudy Hiley, Tulelake, for July 18, 2003

Matthew 18:18, the words of Christ: "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what ever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there I am I with them."

A fairly short distance from the Headgates of the Klamath Basin Crisis there is a small lake where something unbelievable happens every year: Engineering students test their metal by racing improbable concrete canoes; the ones which they themselves nervously design, build then loose upon the waters. Now, that requires a lot of confidence and faith and trust!

In Washington State there is a similar annual contest where computer engineering students from around the country design robots which are supposed to reason their way through a maze. They sort out the bad information, collect the good and attempt to formulate their own path to victory. The quickest one to make it through is the winner.

Things may have since changed, but when I heard about maze contest Harvey was the all time record holder. Instead of fighting the wall, Harvey the Wall Hugger just leaned to the right on it and trusted it to show him the way. The mazing secret is of coarse to always hug one side of the wall and eventually you have to come out. The complex computing brains on the other hand would just bump, spin, flounder and sometimes fall over. To them the wall was a barrier.

When I think about the ongoing events related to the Klamath Basin Crisis, the whole mess looks like a maze. There have been reams of information submitted to the complex nerve centers, yet it seemed pretty clear as of June 26^th, 2003 that there was no way the bot could proceed without disastrous results. There seems to be insurmountable problems in effectively culling the good information from the bad, the relevant from the irrelevant, the truth from the lies and acting on any of it without threatening floods of allegations, litigation etc. and worse. Thus, the process bumps, spins, stagers and makes little headway. It seems as if the maze is about to suffer a total melt down.

As of the afternoon of the 26^th of June we again realized just how much we owe to the stakeholders who have earned credibility with the highest offices in this land; heck - in the world! May God bless those ambassadors of peace and may we remember to continually support them in our prayers. They were able to make the way clear, to be able to make the phone calls, which brought the powers to bear on THE ISSUES, which defused a potentially volatile situation: they literally prevented a melt down. Again, may God bless them! May God bless the President and all his, who are His! Still, the bot is spinning and bumping faster than ever. It seems to have no known workable path or direction. Only short term adjustments, without long term fixes seem probable at this time.

It goes without saying then, it is time to again earnestly and in mass seek spiritual assistance and presence of the highest office in the universe: the Learning and Sheltering Wall. The Wall (God via Christ and His Holy Spirit), who we can fully trust to plot our course and direct our path, and at the same time obstruct evil and deliver us from it.

I propose that we all again meet, in His name, in numbers of two or three or …and trust and bear leaningly close to Him. Christ Himself freely offers us access to the greatest power of the universe. A power, which we can bring to bear on all of our circumstances and yes, HE PROMISES TO BE THERE WITH US! HE PROMISES TO BE THERE WITH US!

So then what do we pray? We should pray prayers of trust. We know that there is nothing hidden or concealable from Him. He knows, sees and understands ALL. Even the hairs of our heads are numbered. He knows even when a single sparrow falls. He knows our situations far better than we do and therefore knows the solutions better as well! Thus, in the spirit of faith and grace and trust and confidence, we might do well to powerfully bind and to loose the Father’s Kingdom and Will on earth and in heaven in this Kalamth Water Crisis Situation and in ALL situations in and around the world, in the name of Jesus.

In these times it is imperative that we fully place our hope and trust in HIM, after all faith has to do with trust and trust is an indispensable component of a childlike faith. And, the first part of Matthew 18:18 tells us just how important a childlike faith is. You see, it takes a childlike humility to honestly examine and realize the extent of the human fallibility which we children posses. It takes grace to consider the consequent tremendous potential harm, which could come from our loosing and binding wrong and fallible things. Our Heavenly Father knows best! He is the way, the truth and the life! In my mind, it would seem only right that trusting children should simply bring forward their petitions regarding their problems in need of solutions; rather than solutions in need of affirmation. We are after all children of God, humbly seeking the abundant help of our Heavenly Father.

Let us, let this prayer process now move forward. If you are willing to simply pray that HIS KINGDOM COME AND HIS WILL BE DONE, along with the rest of the Lord’s Prayer (not to mention a plea for justice, support for our local peace ambassadors, etc.) you are the sort of prayer warrior that the current times require. Let us be bold and trusting enough to begin meeting anywhere, anytime in numbers of two, and three and pray His Kingdom and Will. Let us see where it takes us, and where it takes this world. Remember what He says, "there I am with them." HE PROMISES TO BE THERE WITH US and with us all of the way through the maze; no matter where we end up.

Bow down, heavenup and pray,

Rudy.

In God’s Eyes

To be obedient is to be willing to change

To be willing to change is to be humble

To be humble is to be honest

To be honest is to see one’s self in God’s eyes

To see one’s self in God’s eyes it to trust

In God’s eyes, to trust is to change

To trust in God, is to see things change for the better

Rudy Hiley, 12/3/1992

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Prayer for Sunday, July 13, 2003

photo by KBC

Please pray for those farmers who were left without water from the 2003 Bureau of Reclamation water bank.  Crops such as alfalfa  take time to mature, and incur costs to level and accumulate equipment.  The BOR paid more money to take our water than many of the renters could afford to pay, so the owners sold their 2003 water rights to the BOR.

Some renters tried to harvest a dried-up crop, hoping for rain to keep their perennial fields alive.

Prayer July 4, 2003   Today at the Tulelake fairground, in the Klamath Basin, was a 4th of July celebration.  It was awesome...several thousand local residents came to celebrate our country, and give tribute to the veterans who fought to keep our country free.  Woody Chambers, an 83-yr-old  WWII veteran who was given a homestead to farm for his service to his country, sang the national anthem.  Thousands of Americans cheered.  They celebrated the veterans.  They celebrated the flag.  The ceremony revolved around our country and our freedom.

Woodrow Chambers

'Dear God,

Please be with our veterans; be with the Klamath Basin; be with the community that these veterans and pioneers built....the farms they nurtured....the country they defended, and the country they fed.

This community...especially these American Heroes, believe in you.  They believe in their country.  They believe in the community they have built..the churches they built in your name to nurture their families...and the children they raised. God hear our prayers.  We kneel to you.  We fly our flags.  We tend our crops and wildlife, and you make them grow.

We pray for water certainty to be restored to Your fields and Your creatures:  the geese, ducks, snakes and frogs that were devastated in 2001--- the 1st time is all history.  We ask you for certainty so we can get bank loans and keep our produce contracts.  We ask you for certainty so our farm labor, who have lived here for generations, can remain.  We ask you for peer-reviewed science---science with honor and truth rather than agenda-driven opinions.  And we ask you for certainty so our elderly can live, and die, in  peace.

Bureau of Reclamation photo

Our homesteader veterans are old and many are ill.  The stress of this betrayal by our government is literally killing them...even though their life has been defending and feeding their country.  God, we ask you in all humility...give us our water certainty for our Klamath Basin.  You are love, and you are truth.  Your promise is that the truth will set us free. Guide our lives that we may be worthy of your gifts. In Jesus name, amen'

 

A BLESSING AND LETTER TO KBC FROM RUDY, JUNE 11, 2003

May God bless in your efforts!  I will continue to pray for God's perfect direction in this.  The scriptural warning:  "We perish for lack of knowledge" seems pretty clear when we look at the past century, what rose up, the damage it did, the masses that could not or would not see it coming and our collective inability to learn from it...  The mystery of sin is at work again in this century and as before it is running pretty much unchecked.  Oh, the power that we are given against such things and then discard it through religion and its pride. Yet, we are still commanded to bring down the strongholds.  I was reminded last Monday after much prayer that though the job before us seems at times impossible, He would never set us upon a task that could not be accomplished.  He is huge!  He is bigger and stronger than the problem, we just need to join with Him.  We can take heart in the fact, that though Many are veiled by many different things and forces, when the stronghold is prayed down in the warfare of the Spirit, the veils are loosened and people begin to see and evil (at that point in that arena) looses it power.   Still, when we see so many making the same mistake as Job's 3 miserable comforters and blaming all of the world's problems on God's judgment against the unrighteous, the stronghold looks pretty tall.  It is nothing short of amazing that even though God expressed three times how Job was about the greatest Guy ever (APPROVED BY GOD because of his righteousness), how quickly (7 days latter) the three began exclaiming that Job's problem stemmed from GOD's DISAPPROVAL OF JOB because of his unrighteousness - the total opposite of God's truth and wisdom.  That all began after that (?)  terrible spirit visited Mr. E in the night!  Yes, then the opposite of God's truth became their theology and that theology is still here and thriving in the church today.  SO many, instead of siding with God through Christ and do battle against evil, simply repeat the false accusation of the three miserables (WORD FOR WORD...) and heap more and more blame on the afflicted of the area; adding to their pain and suffering.  That spirit, one may reason, is part of the stronghold that will come down!~

 

In Him who is,

Rudy 

 

 

 

Please pray for Monty, the POW's, and the veterans!  Tonkin Gulf North Vietnam 66/67, submitted June 1, 2003"There was relief and thankfulness  when seven POWs returned home from Iraq with a great celebration. But there was sadness as well. The sadness comes from memories thirty years ago on February 12th 1973 when 135 American POW's came home from Vietnam. Most were mentally and physically beaten and broken men. Some damaged for life when they stepped back on American ground. The news reports were basically in gray. No color and very little flag waving as if they were from a war in an era that the nation wanted to forget. It too was a great day. But there was no celebration. There are still 1,902 MIA / POW still unaccounted for in Vietnam. I would only ask that through the jubilance that a prayer be sent forth for those men and those still missing in Vietnam. We all fought for the same causes of the war in Iraq. This War created many mixed feelings among Veterans. We kind of have a bitter sweet situation. We see this 'war' as good medicine for this nation in one aspect. The patriotic unity and support for our troops that it has created. We watch almost daily the return of our ships and troops. This gives us a good feeling and a bad one. There is a bit jealousy hand in hand with pride. The jealously is not really about the war, but of being on the receiving end of gratitude and support of the nation. We did not get that. Our ships came home with no welcome except from families. We watch as the Government sends the family of a wounded soldier to Europe. Most wounded warriors in Vietnam and Korea were never even known or counted. Vietnam and Korean War Veterans have basically, all had to welcome our selves home. Vets from either war received a welcome from the country. Our Vietnam troops, which I was part of, drifted in little by little both alive and in bags during the war and in the wake of the televised final departure from Saigon and in the turmoil of a nation that was being manipulated by groups that hated us and by the Government and its lack of truthfulness throughout the war. Our purpose and sacrifice was over shadowed by these things. But, we know this new support that this nation is showing for its military is basically brought forth from seeds we planted. "Never Again" was and still is a battle cry. Our sacrifice basically demands that none of our soldiers ever be forgotten again. It is also the force behind a country that, for so many years wanted to forget Vietnam and really didn't want us around to remind them of it. Now we have soldiers coming home as heroes. Not because they are heroes but because we made sure that this country treated them as such by our being the signposts of the past treatment of 100's of thousands and in memory of 58000 that are carved in marble. America was wounded then. Whether it realizes it or not. It is the underlying force that is creating the support for the warriors that dedicate their lives to step in harms way for justice and freedom. The same as we did three decades ago. It is a country repairing its patriotism. War changes a soldier and a soldiers life. There is a void in the heart of a man from war. Sometimes even he cannot see it. It must be shown to him by those who have been there. It will not show up on the day he comes down the gang plank. But in five or ten years it will begin to take its toll. We can see it for him and help him through it. That's what its all about, after war. And so it remains many years after war when shadows creep up on a man at night or when he least expects it. They will still need this Nations and the Governments support..more than the home coming. This is a realization now because of what we had to endure on our home coming and for the years that followed. The Government has to take better care of its vets and see to it that they are dealt with as soon as they come home and not left out on a limb for thirty years and deal with them with honor. The patriotism we see to day is the fruits of our sacrifice. We ask that beyond all the flag waving and celebration, that I must say, has gone a bit over board, that this country NEVER forget its fighting men and women again." Monty Fisher Tonkin Gulf North Vietnam 66/67 Po Box 3796 Sunriver OR 97707

 

"Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy servant?" – Numbers 11:11
May 27, 2003

Sometimes our Father in Heaven allows us to experience problems in life to try our faith in him. If our faith is worth anything at all, it will survive any test. Gild is frightened by fire, but pure gold is not. A simulated gem is easily shattered when stricken, but a real diamond is only cut. True faith holds on to the God’s promises when loved ones are no longer with us, when the body falls ill, when depression besets us and the light of His countenance cannot be felt. Under the direst of circumstances a faith that believes, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him," this is faith that is heaven sent. "Tribulation creates patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope." Our Father is touched by these developing virtues.

The music of the piano would never be heard if the keys were left untouched; cinnamon would not omit its’ fragrance with out being crushed and pressed; the warmth of a fire on a cold morning could not be felt if the logs were not turned to ashes. God’s wisdom and power are revealed to his children through troubled times. Current affliction has a propensity to enhance future happiness because the recollection of suffering will result in true appreciation of our many blessings. In heaven, we will understand the incomprehensible love of God only because we have known the sorrows of this world.

Deb Crisp

 

Tuesday, May 27, 2003, Prayer request

For Leo & Marjorie Campbell's niece in Texas.(Charlene), who has MS &
degenerative bone disease, cysts on kidney & liver. Also, for Charlene's daughter
(Victoria), who has cancer in her neck.

Appreciate your prayers, Pastor Gordon, Calvary Fellowship(Merrill)

May 27, 2003 Prayer request

Please pray for the Redfield family, as Russ Redfield , longtime Tulelake resident, has cancer.

 

PRAYERS NEEDED FOR DEB CRISP'S DAUGHTER, May 14, 2003

Deb Crisp, executive director of Tulelake Growers Association, has a 24 year old daughter who is seriously ill and in the hospital in Eugene.  Please pray for Rebecca Dogali and her family, that she may be healed and her family may have strength and faith through this difficult time. 

Deb, we love you and our prayers are with you and your girl.

The prayer request for my daughter Rebecca posted on the KBC website (prayer page) is very much appreciated.  She is home from the hospital, but is still recovering.  Dr. Gander a specialist in Internal Medicine diagnosed acute pancreatitis which can be fatal. The cause is still unknown, but I am sure Rebecca survived because so many wonderful people have been praying for her.  God truly blessed me with a beautiful daughter and I am so thankful she is still with me.  Please let everyone know I appreciate their concern and faithful prayers. Kind Regards, Deb Crisp, Executive Director of Tulelake Growers Association

 

 

'And all things, whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.' 
Matthew 21:22

 

 

PRAYER REQUEST BY JULIE SMITHSON
May 14, 2003

Please, everyone, stop what you're doing and lift your prayer to God for both my webmaster, Gerry Ullery, and his wife, Rachell. I learned this morning that they were is a terrible car accident on April 30th, and are both surviving, although Gerry's injuries, coupled with his preexisting health issues, are making for slow healing.

An address is provided below for sending cards, but what is most needed and appreciated are the prayers, which don't require opening and reading! Thank you for showing this brave couple -- whose faith and dedication to freedom are so evident in my website -- that you appreciate them and send Godspeed on their full recovery!

Julie

"Julie
From Lori, Gerry's sister, who's been 'keeping the home fires burning' while Gerry and Rachell mend.Gerry and Rachell were in a car accident the evening of April 30th.

They were hit by a drunk driver here in Silver City (New Mexico). They were in a Ford Tempo and hit on the drivers side. The Tempo rolled a couple of times and Rachell was thrown from the car when her seat belt broke. She suffered a broken collar bone and her left arm was broken. Gerry really got hurt because he took the full impact of the truck the Drunk driver hit him with. As far as I know Gerry had a broken left arm, six ribs on his left broken, a punctured lung, left hip broken and left leg crushed in several places. They were hit when the drunk driver ran a red light doing around 70 mph while running from the police.

With Gerry's diabetes, it makes for slow healing. He is scheduled for release on the 16th of May to go back home. Rachell has been by Gerry's side at the VA hospital in Albuquerque. Try not to worry, Gerry is in good spirits and is complaining about the hospital food so I know he will be home as soon as they let him. He might be a bit sore, though; I will let him know you're concerned.Lori

Here's the address for sending cards to Gerry and Rachell:

Gerry and Rachell Ullery

PMB #415 - 2311 Ranch Club Road

Silver City, New Mexico 88061"

 

April 15, 2003

THE ETERNAL FINGER

 Gods finger counts each drop of rain

and shows it where to go.

Into the arid ground it seeps,

where lilies always grow.

The daffodil comes to life

and lifts its lovely brow.

Fields where wheat and barley thrive

are turned beneath the plow.

 

Meadows now are hot and dry.

There's need for faith and prayer.

If mans needs are not met,

the fallow fields are bare.

 

May we all show our faith 

 Keep praying patiently

for the fingertips of God

to dampen up our pleas!!!

                        Glen Bowles

 

April 3, 2003

Prayer request by Pastor Gordon Aguiar, Calvary Fellowship Lower Klamath, Merrill, Oregon

Father,

During this time of drought, we recommit to trusting in You.
You are our blessed hope.  We humbly ask that you would provide Your irrigation water for all those that need it.  We cast all of our cares upon you and thank You and praise You for what you are doing in our behalf. 

                                      In Jesus name, Amen.
                                     
Jeremiah 17:7-8

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit."                          

 

 

 

March 21, 2003
Dear Father,
Please be with your children in Iraq, whether they be foreign or Americans.  They are risking their lives so they can give another country freedom to live and worship in peace.  Bless them.

Father, whether we be a soldier fighting for word peace, or an Klamath Basin irrigator fighting in our own country for freedom to farm and care take our community and wildlife, lead us in truth, in honor and in love.  You are the solution to peace and freedom;  you are the rock that our country was founded upon.  Be with our leaders that selfish agendas do not blind them to the truth and doing what is morally and scientifically just.  We ask these things in Jesus name,
amen

 

 

February 12, 2003
(prayer by a Klamath Basin farmer for President Bush, Commissioner John Keyes, Gail Norton and Sue Ellen Wooldridge)

Father, be with the Department of the Interior and President Bush. May they only do your will.  Promises were made in 2002 by John Keyes concerning more water to the farmers for taking away more private land--may he keep his word.  May those making decisions now--Gail Norton and Sue Ellen Wooldridge and others---may they not base their decisions and policies on politics and media pressure.  The life or death of our community is in your hands Lord, so we ask you to convict these representatives of truth, justice and honesty.  We trust you God.
Also, be with our little community.
 In Jesus name we pray,
amen
 

February 1, 2003

Please continue to pray for the McKoen family and friends, and Jerry, who has not been found.  Also, pray for our President, that he makes the right choices in our quest for world peace, and for HIS will in the
Klamath Basin.

 

Oct 21, 2002

Please pray for the families and friends of Jerry McKoen, and pray for Jerry.

A Prayer
Dear Father,
The days and sleepless nights are a continual nightmare, not knowing if Jerry is alive, where and how he is, and what we can do to find him. PLEASE be with Jerry. He is our son, our friend, our cousin, our neighbor. Guide us in our search for Jerry, and please, please God, give us peace and strength. Tell me what you want me to do to find Jerry. Tell me how I can assist in the search,  and in supporting his loved ones.  I ask these things in Jesus name,
amen

Dear God,

You know that I tend to pray backwards ... thank You for understanding that  my faith is such that it gives the ability to thank You for Your Mighty Word.  Although I don't think that he and I ever met, last year I visited the  area of Oregon that he called home. It is beautiful, but it is vast. God, you have my heartfelt thanks that You are protecting those who know and love Jerry, just as You are carrying them at this time. They see only one set of footprints on the beach, because You are uplifting them through this sad and  hard time. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
                              "From a friend who cares" (Ohio)

If anyone has a prayer to share with us concerning Jerry, please send it to:
kbc@klamathbasincrisis.org
 

 

March 13, 2002

With Flying Colors
by Mike Connelly

Thomas Jefferson described farmers as "the chosen people of God." While I happen to agree that God has chosen farmers, I haven’t quite figured out what He has chosen them for.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with the Good Book recently, and the one thing I’ve noticed is that, just because God has chosen you doesn’t mean you’re not in for some hard times. God chose Abraham, and Job, and Mary, and countless others who went on to suffer precisely because they had been chosen. Jesus himself suffered for our sake. That’s what being chosen means: that God thinks you are worthy, that you can pass the tests and learn the lessons that will prepare you to help Him get the really hard jobs done.

So I keep asking myself: What’s the test here? What is the lesson I’m supposed to learn? What am I doing that’s not in line with what He wants? My faith tells me it’s impossible that God was powerless to prevent the events of 2001, in the basin and elsewhere. And while my faith remains unchallenged, that only leaves me facing an even greater challenge: I have to ask the question, "Why?"

Given the severity of last year’s events, it makes me think God wants me to dig pretty deep for the answer. I’ve had to turn over some stones that have been laying still for as long as I can remember. I guess maybe this will sound like hogwash to some folks, but here goes.

God made this world, and He made it in a certain way. He didn’t just build some static thing, like carving a statue. He put a bunch of pieces in place, wired them all up one way or another, and then set the whole thing in motion. Maybe He knew what it was going to do, maybe He didn’t. Maybe he didn’t want to know what it was going to do.

But the simple fact is that God’s Creation started changing the moment God created it. It’s changing right now, and it will keep on changing, which means that the job of taking care of it is not something we are ever going to figure out "once and for all." Sure, we need good science and good managers, but what we need more than anything is faith, and a respect for that which we can never fully understand.

God loved what He had created. In John 3:16, it doesn’t just say "God so loved people," it says, "God so loved the world." The complexity of Creation is far beyond our imagining, which means that the impacts of our own actions on Creation are just as far beyond our imagining. In Genesis 1:28 we were given "dominion," but it was dominion over something that God knew we could never comprehend. Perhaps this is why, in Genesis 2:15 we were given instructions regarding how we were to treat this gift. God told us simply that we should "dress it, and keep it."

Some people -- certain environmentalists and bureaucrats come to mind -- seem to act as if Creation is not really all that complicated, as if their numbers and graphs and GIS layers and computer models could explain the way Creation works. Sometimes they take it even further, claiming they know how it ought to work, which means either that they have somehow gained access to knowledge of God’s will, or they have taken God out of the picture altogether, putting themselves in His place.

Some other people -- a few of them farmers, sad to say -- have somehow managed to interpret the gift of dominion as license to do what ever they please to the gifts they have been given, thinking only of their own personal gain, without a second thought about whether God may have had good reasons for making things the way He did. Perhaps such folks figure God wouldn’t have given us the power to change Creation if He didn’t want us to make it suit our every whim. But we should remember that He also gave us the power to choose to eat that apple . . .

God gave us skills, and He gave us free will, and He told us to go forth and multiply. But He also made it crystal clear that our will did not trump His own. The most important job He gave us -- and it’s a job that never ends -- was to make darn sure we never put our will in place of His. There is nothing that makes God madder.

It’s possible that God has wanted us to make all the changes we have made to His Creation. Then again, maybe he hasn’t, and by throwing these wrenches in our machinery He’s trying to help us get back on track. Who knows? I don’t know the answer, and I don’t think anyone else does either. But the trouble is I don’t see us even asking such questions anymore.

An old-timer once told me, "How you treat the gift is how you treat the giver." I always try and think that way when I walk out the door in the morning, and I always ask Him how I’m doing when I’m done at the end of the day. The trick is to learn how to hear his answers. They don’t come carved in stone, but by way of His Creation. His land, His water, His air, and His critters respond to what I have done in ways that I can see, hear, smell, touch and taste. If it’s just good for me and my family, I’m not sure that’s enough. And if it’s just good for critters other than me and my family, that’s not good enough either.

It is challenge enough sometimes just to take care of ourselves. But the job God gave us is even harder than that. While we’re taking care of ourselves, we also have to treat the rest of Creation with honor and respect -- as if it’s a gift given directly from the hands of God, because that’s exactly what it is. God has trusted us with this job because He knows we’ve got it in us to get it done right. He knows He gave us the ability, but maybe He’s not so sure that we have the will, the strength, and the faith.

Maybe, with all the stuff that’s happened recently, He’s testing us.

Mike Connelly is a Klamath Basin Farmer and Rancher

 

This prayer message was written by Chris Hankins, Bonanza, Oregon
March 1, 2002

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

We all know these words from the Lord's prayer. The question is, do we really believe them? And how should we apply them?

"Reconciliation" is the focus of a film being shown in the area by a group who is attempting to restore or perhaps create better relationships between Native Americans and those whose ancestors came later. At a time when local tribes advocate a repeat of last year's devastating cutoff of irrigation water to Basin farms and ranches, the film portrays Native Americans as victims. It establishes a basis for alienation by showing some horrific and shameful deeds of early settlers against tribes people. What the film does not show is the frequent, brutal inter-tribal warfare and equally barbaric and bloody massacres of settlers by Native Americans. It notes that the U. S. Government did not keep the treaties it made with the Indians.

The promoters of this film declare that we in the here-and-now must repent of and apologize for actions taken a century or more ago by people who may or may not be our forebears, and for the actions of a government that now represents the Native Americans as much as it represents us, and that does not keep its obligations to us any more than it has to them.

So how does this relate to the requirement in the Lord's Prayer?

Do I-- can I-- forgive those who are responsible for the damage to the land, the ecosystem, the Constitutional system of law, and my own personal finances by last year's refusal of water? If I believe Christ's statement, my own sins remain unforgiven until I can forgive those who have victimized me. As the offended party, am I required to demand repentance? Am I authorized to receive retribution from persons who were in no way involved in the offense? No, forgiving should be my focus, not an attempt to exact apology.

True reconciliation must be based on bilateral forgiveness and repentance in the "here-and-now" of attitudes and actions for which the parties are truly responsible. Anything else becomes a form of racism which ensnares and enslaves both the supposed victim and the supposed perpetrator. No one can advance by remaining chained to the past, whether in the economic, physical, social or spiritual realm.

The struggle concerning water is not over. Good citizenship and survival demand that we do everything possible to make government honest and responsible. Current tribal action does not demonstrate any desire for reconciliation. And so, the question remains. It is not a question of whether I repent of the wrongdoings of others long before I was born. It is a question of whether I can forgive now.

Lord, help us to forgive!

 

January, 2002

What would be the national reaction if it were reported that someone had been innocently standing in line to cash their hard and honorably earned paycheck and an aggressor came up from behind and choked them, breaking their neck, making off with their paycheck and leaving their lives, families and future in utter ruin? Those who reported on and learned of such a wrong would most likely experience a deep sense of anger and sorrow. Then if it were learned that it had been erroneously and narrow-mindedly concluded that the victim wasn’t really injured, and that it was all-their-fault-anyway because their neck shouldn’t have been there in the first place; outrage quickly comes to mind! Now, if the injured party, after being denied their rights and justice, were told that they should be ashamed of themselves if they should receive any recompense at all; well now that just wouldn’t be tolerated! Yet what if on top of all of this the victim was belittled and assaulted by oversimplification and false accusation; like being told that they are, well… resistance to change, racist and lack visionary leadership? There would be hell to pay; that is unless the oppressed were residents of the greater Klamath Basin i.e. citizens of a lesser right!

When you consider the immense amount of hypocrisy necessary to overlook what has been overlooked in our situation, bless our oppression, then condemn and demean us, it absolutely boggles the mind. 

The harshness of false accusation, character assassination and spin are by mo means unusual to our situation; they are to be found throughout our world and its history. It is after all a tiny yet huge part of human nature. Tiny, because it convinces itself that it is right, good, balanced and noble and therefore rarely places itself in the scorching light of the self-examination and conscious. Huge, as it can grow unabated (like in 1930’s,1940’s, etc.) until it consumes everything in its path. All the while considering itself to be the epitome of the moral and ethical high ground, unknowingly promoting those things which lead to individual and collective destruction. At the same time abhorring and making war against those things which in truth, perfect logic and reality lead to good.

Many of those who know Christ understand the nature of the times in which we live and can easily discern the root and cause of our predicament. One can see the elements necessary for the persecution of the church steadily falling into place as well. This has been made even more clear to us after seeing and feeling first hand the scorching blast of hatred, violence, injustice, anti-rural bigotry and intolerance as set in motion upon us by the Accuser of the Brethren. All in the name of a greater plan and a bigger picture.

Whether or not we are entering the final times or merely the end of another apocalyptic cycle which ushers in famine, upheaval and the like, we must never forget that Christ and Christ alone is our answer and our champion. Whether things get better or continue to spiral downward, we must always hold close His powerful reminder as found in Romans 12:21 and not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. If we dare to examine ourselves and let God’s perfect light of conscious shine into every aspect of our existence, we will be more likely to know good from evil, be less likely to be mislead by it and thus stand when times of even greater evil come upon us. We are after all over comers!

Amen.

From Rudy, Tulelake

---

December 30, 2001

Prayer Request: 

Ron Kempworth is the manager of our local Emporium store here in
Klamath Falls. Last evening one of Ron and Mrs. Kempworths three sons had gone out to start up the propane heater in their barn . It exploded! Young Mr. Kempworth was seriously burned over most of his body, and was air-life transported to Portland Center.

I am asking that you pass this information on to all you know, asking
that each one takes a moment out of your day & night to say a prayer for young Mr. Kempworth and the Kempworth family .

The family lives in Bonanza, Oregon. I have been informed that 3-4
women have gone to the Kempworth home to check in on the care and needs of the other two brothers there today ..

Please let us all pray now! And pass this message on to others ASAP!

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Marni Morrow, 1st Fallen Warrior, Klamath Headgates

P.S.
Ron Kempworth and The Emporium store have been very very supportive
and active partners in our water crisis. Thanks to Ron and the
Emporium store we had the first "Farm Aid Concert" held here in Klamath in conjunction with The Jefferson Square Mall. Now Ron and his family need our prayers & support!

Marni Morrow

 

Christmas, 2001

Two Christmas articles have been submitted, so we will run both of them.  The first, Remember and Teach the children, was sent by Sherry House, author unknown. The second,  Epiphany Eclipse, was written by Rudy Hiley, Tulelake.

Remember and Teach the Children!

I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree. He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out.
"What are you doing?" I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat, and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone.
Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement... "TEACH THE CHILDREN!"

I was puzzled; what did he mean? He anticipated my question, and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree.

As I stood bewildered, Santa said, "Teach the children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that nowadays Christmas has forgotten."

Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it before the mantle. "Teach the children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven."

He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR."Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago.

God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His promise."

He then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDLE. "Teach the children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness."

Once again he reached into his bag and removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree. "Teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the real nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection."
He then pulled from his bag and ornament of HIMSELF.

"Teach the children that I, Santa Claus symbolize the generosity and goodwill we feel during the month of December."

He then brought out a HOLLY LEAF. "Teach the children that the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly represents the blood shed by Him.

Next he pulled from his bag a GIFT and said, "Teach the children that God so loved the world that he gave..." "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.

Teach the children that the wise men bowed before the Holy Babe and presented Him with gold, frankincense and myrrh. We should always give gifts in the same spirit of the wise men.

Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. "Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds' crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper."

He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. "Teach the children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth.
The angels sang 'Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and goodwill toward men."

Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL. "Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return."

Santa looked back and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, "Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One that is, and I bow down to worship Him,our Lord, our God."

Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9.
Merry Christmas!

God bless us everyone.
"Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway."
--John Wayne

     Epiphany Eclipse, written by Rudy, owner of Ganger Insurance, husband, father,  and resident of Tulelake

Genesis11: 1-9. Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, Come, let us build for ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

 But the lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said, “ if as one people speaking the same language they have begun to so this, then nothing is impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

This portion of scripture makes it easier to understand why people, groups, races, nations, religions etc. have trouble getting along. God found it necessary to frustrate our ability to cooperate, facilitate and communicate. Leading up to and setting the stage for this, in the Garden of Eden we not only defied God and if effect set Satan up as our Lord, we also stole and perverted a staggering power. A power as such is to be wielded only by the one fit to judge the universe. 

In the Garden we absconded with the knowledge of good and evil, yet without the balance found only in Godly wisdom. What we ended up with is a disease called opinion, which by its nature confuses itself with truth and justice. It taints reality to such a degree that people are all too often blindly ready to die for it - and worse yet, to kill for it. Thus in error and by the exercise of free will, our kind became separated from God. At the Tower of Babel, because of mankind’s desire to challenge and unseat God, we became estranged from each other.

Even with restrictions as such and those found in Genesis 3, what a mess tainted and opinionated humankind and its evil guide (by election) have made of things! What a mess it would be if we were all of the same arrogant self exhaling mind, influenced by the Lord of this World, the Prince of Darkness and set upon bringing our collective stolen might to bear upon God. He made it so that could not happen. It is here where the different races, tongues, and persuasions and the disunity that their existence promulgates came to be. He caused us to be so different from one another that confusion and discord took away our ability to pull off mass mutiny.

Then and now, whenever we humans allow the wrong influence to guide and direct us, we are in effect placing a great, looming and engulfing shadow is placed between the perfection and enlightenment of God and us. It becomes an Epiphany Eclipse. 

The eclipse is evidenced by the reliance on human activity, ingenuity, strength and planning to solve our problems and ironically restore the fairness and balance that existed before the fall and the tower. Just like the folks at Shinar, instead of going to the rock, we sometimes like to use human ingenuity and follow our own brick bean stocks to heaven. My wife’s epiphany; all of the pyramids found around the globe are evidence of mankind’s attempt to rebuild the tower of Babel in the new sprit of regulation and uncooperation – they can only get a few hundred feet high and the civilizations that built them are long gone. If we fail to recognize our own towers and expose the resulting eclipse to the light of God, it enters and controls the realms of love, war, peace, church, religion, politics, justice, personal fulfillment, spirituality, vacation, fun, pain, joy, sickness, health, business, sport, fun etc.” The balance of Christ is lost and all hell breaks loose. In our worldly attempt to gain control, everything just gets worse. 

When we are reunited with God through Christ in faith and surrender control of our ill-gotten spiritual power and our intertwined lives to Him, we are one with God. If we love Him enough to raise even above just believing that God is true and real and choose to believe what he says and then act upon that (not by opinion or religion but in faith) all heaven shines loose. We then allow, understand and live the essence of Ephesians 4:20, “Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think ACORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKETH in us. Unto Him be glory…” We have joined forces and his light shines through.

Then if we come together IN MASS as believers, after being reunited with God through Jesus, the collective power of the tower and more, instead of being used against God, it is available to be focused back on to the true source of evil; SATAN. If we choose to use it. 

If in mass we were obedient and rebuked the source of all darkness and evil, the course and future of the world would be forever changed for the good. Satan will be sure to attempt to cast an eclipsing shadow on that notion however if it is right and worthy of consideration. After all, he has everything to loose. 

Just think how it would be if we earnestly and in mass prayed (AS WE ARE COMMANDED) to bless forgive our enemies in the flesh (it is our duty to forgive, it is our president’s and those of appointed and sanctioned legal systems to uphold and execute justice against our carnal enemies – please do not confuse the two). Oh what great power would be turned loose in our basin and world if believers around the planet would do so. There is such power in forgiveness and the New Covenant if we choose to use it.

At Christmas a couple thousand years ago a light was born into this world and much of the world has been trying to put it out in large and small ways ever since. Let us pray that we may all be moved to draw together and pray in never before heard of numbers, and allow that light to shine with all of its brightness! Let us let work together with God through Christ Jesus and eclipse the eclipse.

Have a bright and shining Christmas!

 

A PRAYER FOR WATER
Poem by Glen Bowles, Klamath Falls, Oregon

We thank thee Father
for what you have given.
The pride and the joy of being free
to make our own choices.
Now has come the crisis
of being without the rights of water
to flow across the fields
of potatoes and crops of grain.
You gave us the courage
to survive the stress of pain.
Without alfalfa fields,
there is no way to provide
the needs of the world
without your help.
Now our beautiful Klamath Basin
is in need of water.
Show us the way Father.
You have created all things.
What have you not made Father?
We thank you now in the name of
Jesus Christ, our Savior,

Amen

This also comes from the heart that is with all my friends.

Glen

About the author:Glen Bowles

I was born in Ignacio, CO April 1, 1917 on a 160-acre farm. It was a dry ranch homesteaded by my dad. Life was not simple. I served in WW2 nearly 5 years, before the war started until the after last shot was fired in 45. I lived for several years in Malin, Oregon. I have written 4 poetry books (self published) love music, metal detecting for money, dancing, reading, playing cards, fishing, jigsaw puzzles & etc. I always said when I retired, I would consider I was really retired and would do what I enjoyed doing. So that's what I do.

 

PLEASE PRAY FOR US AND WITH US

Please pray for the farming community and the continual existence for agriculture here in the Klamath Basin. Also pray for our governmental leaders and the ones with the authority to make vital decisions regarding the Klamath Project water deliveries. We encourage you to take this prayer request back to your churches, bible studies, and/or prayer chains. Thank you for your prayer support.

Thanksgiving, November 22

This is from a resource called "Blessing and Beseeching: Prayers on Food and Hunger" by Gail Ramshaw-Schmidt. 

It's the prayer for A National Day of Thanksgiving.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God,
Sovereign of the ages,
who brings forth bread from the earth!
You have fed us with manna;
our land flows with milk and honey.
We praise you for this festival of food:
blessed be God forever!
Yet Lord our God,
have mercy on all who cry for help.
May we share in their troubles,
give them food in plenty,
and work for justice throughout this land.
So may you be praised and lauded,
at this table, in our land,
and throughout the world,
now and forever.
Amen.

Blessings on your Thanksgiving - Donna Herzfeldt-Kamprath ,

Pastor of Tulelake Trinity Lutherin Church

 

November 9, 2001
Prayer and thoughts presented by Rudy Hiley of Tulelake. 

The parable contained in Luke 18:1-8 reminds us to, “PRAY ALWAYS and NOT TO LOOSE HEART”. Jesus tells us that, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him sand saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Here we sit TODAY with Klamath Lake only a few feet from absolute capacity; a Lake which fed the Klamath River nearly to the point of overflow all summer long. Still there is no justice. 

Those who live and travel along the Link and Klamath rivers have never seen so much water headed to the ocean. The “official” record of lake outflow however tells us that less water went down the river during this irrigation season than the past several. Still there is no justice.

Some of those in media have worked hard to spotlight our crisis and work towards a sensible resolution. Too many however could seemingly care less about exposing and deposing the evil which has pressed down so unmercifully on our community. There has been so much in the way of undisputed half (and far less) truth which has been effectively utilized to strip us of our security, civil rights, property, health, and futures that it boggles the mind. Even a novice investigative journalist with true freedom of press could easily crack open the probability that our situation stems from one of the biggest government scandals in American history - and not from drought or the protection of endangered and/or threatened species. If the TRUTH ever made it fully into the grasp of the general public, the problem that never really existed would be over and done with. After all, it is the pressure of the press which moves the people to demand change. Yet silence is the curator of the status quo. Still there is no justice.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the establishment of the historic Klamath Lake level requirement assumes that the Link River Dam was there before it was even built. What was it that kept the water at dammed level before the 1920’s? Obviously nothing as the dam wasn’t there yet. Still there is no justice.

It is no secret that the less than stellar Klamath Lake water depth and quality owe their condition to the fertilizer rich volcanoes which filled in the young and deep Klamath and Tulelake area valleys thousands of years ago. What the railroad survey party found in the 1860’s (nasty smelling, undrinkable water which was no stranger to dead fish) was not caused by farming or ranching. Had irrigation projects and the related dam not been constructed, Klamath Lake would be well on its way to becoming one of those places where the-river-runs-through-it. Still there is no justice.

Opinion has absolutely nothing to do with science, yet the science that is used to devastate our area is based largely and loosely on opinion. Still there is no justice.

Suckerfish are bottom dwelling mud-burrowing-when-the-water-gets-low types; not high, clear, cold water trout. Still there is no justice.

Are the coho native to the Klamath River or someplace else? Well there just may be some justice hatched around that issue.

What do we do then when it would seem that the vast majority of those who could grant us justice against our opponents neither fear God or respect people? We cry our to God for justice day and night! Many of us cry out in prayer, yet not day and night. Let us begin the commitment to pay in such a way; not telling God what justice is, just pleading for His justice. No matter what side of the issue you are on, there is no reason not to plead for truth and justice. 

Every time the horror of knowing that we have been targeted for devastation by the very same government which is charged with upholding our rights settles in, or when the associated feelings of fear, hurt, emptiness, frustration, anger, panic etc. consume our thoughts; let that be taken simply as a reminder for us to pray to Christ Jesus that He grant us justice! The constant and uninterrupted way that those feelings come at us pretty much covers the always as wells as the day and night thing!

Further, you can as friend of the court notify a sitting judge in writing of information which you may find to be of value relative to a current court issue. Need I say more?

If we do these things and trust in what He has told us to do, we will not loose heart. If we know and trust that those things are effective, right and powerful we will be acting on them in faith. When the Son of Man comes, I hope that we will have heard Him and that He will find faith in us!

In Him we trust.

Amen

Submitted by Rudy Hiley, Christian at large/Husband/Father and owner of Ganger Insurance Services in Tulelake, CA     gis@cot.net

November: 

Take a look at this:  link   nice... 

God, give us the strength to fight injustice,
   Give us intelligence to fight our best, 
       Give us the compassion to fight with with dignity
           But please God,  most of all, give us the will to fight til we win.  
                                                                                           unknown author

People in our world gripe and complain 
their excuses are dumb, their reasons are lame 
they whine for no reason 
and get what they want - 
then throw it away, without one small thought. 
They got what they want 
they don't want to use it. 
They're scared of its power - 
yet they go and abuse it. 
This gift is freedom, 
freedom for all. 
Not just voting in your own private stall - 
it's the power of voice 
and the power of choice. 
The power of us, U.S. citizens - 
what would one do with this gift, oh so small? 
We throw it aside, careless as always. 
Too carefree to have one worry. 
Others beg for it, die for it, too - 
wishing to take a walk in our shoes. 
Most countries don't have it - 
we're one of the few. 
We're special, unique and red, white and blue. 
We're the USA, a chance for new life - 
a symbol of hope and all that is right. 

Deanna Hodges, age 11 

 

September 26, 2001

Submitted by Reg LeQuieu, Klamath Falls, this writing is by Dorothy Sayers,
author of a book entitled LETTERS TO A POST CHRISTIAN CULTURE. 
She gives her explanation to the common question: "How can God let this happen?"

The Klamath Basin Community,

             It has seemed like every day since the declaration of war on Tuesday, September 11, in some way, someone on TV has posed the question that would go something like, “How can a good God allow such evil and suffering?” Someone always tries to respond, but I never heard what I thought was a good and adequate answer—I certainly never heard anyone provide what I would call the answer.  So I am going to try to provide an orientation to that question.  However, this will not be a comprehensive treatise and, even though it will be from a Christian perspective, I will not cite scriptural references.  This will simply be a brief overview of the perspective that has become my conviction.  Maybe it will be helpful.

             In the beginning, God created man in His own image, thereby granting him both moral freedom and the dignity of experiencing the consequences of his choices.  Moral evil entered human experience in the deliberate choice of the first humans to disobey God.  Humankind became corrupted by a propensity toward self-centeredness.

            In the past, God entered into human existence by becoming a man and experiencing the full measure of rejection, pain and death produced by moral and natural evil.  He has fully experienced all of the horrors experienced by those who lost their lives on those planes or in those buildings.

            In the present, when we experience pain from living in a fallen and deformed world, God participates with us: sharing our grief, suffering with us in our pains, comforting us in our distress, and strengthening us in our weakness.  In short, He is not a distant or impersonal deity, but One who is readily available to those who approach Him in faith.

            “For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is—limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—He had the honesty and courage to take His own medicine.  Whatever game He is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules and played fair.  He can exact nothing from man that He has not exacted from Himself.  He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death.  When He was a man, He played the man.  He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile”

                                                            Dorothy Sayers

                                                            Christian Letters to a Post-Christian World

 

August 3rd 
Christine Hankins from Bonanza submitted these verses --- prayers to share with us. She and her husband, LaVerne, are farmer-ranchers, raising alfalfa and Charolais cattle. 

They belong to the Klamath Basin ‘Agricultural Prayer Group’, which holds prayer meetings every Thursday at 7pm. Gail Griffin, former Arizona State Representative, is flying into Klamath Falls from Tuscon, AZ to participate in an Agriculture Prayer Group meeting at 7pm Thursday, Sept 6, at the A Canal headgates. 

She is a member of PrayerNet and Frontiers for Freedom. We invite people from each church in the Basin, or anyone who is willing to join us in prayer. For more information call Laverne or Christine at 541-545-6649 home, or 541 891-4184 cell phone.

Psalm 71: 1-5: O Lord, You are my refuge; never let me be disgraced. Rescue me! Save me from my enemies, for You are just. Turn your ear to listen and set me free.

Be to me a protecting rock of safety, where I am always welcome. Give the order to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress. My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors. O Lord,You alone are my hope.

Vs 12-15: O God, don't stay away. My God, please hurry to help me. Bring disgrace and destruction on those who accuse me. May humiliation and shame cover those who want to harm me. But I will keep on hoping for You to help me; I will praise You more and more. I will tell everyone about Your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim Your saving power, for I am overwhelmed by how much You have done for me.

Vs 23,24: I will shout for joy and sing Your praises, for You have redeemed me. I will tell about Your righteous deeds all day long, for everyone who tried to hurt me has been shamed and humiliated.

 

August 10th

This prayer is offered by Jeanie Arant,  a member of the Mt. Laki Community Church, located on Hwy 39 (Merrill Hwy) between KFalls and Merrill. This church has a bucket hanging by their bell with a sign that says WE CARE.. And these people really do. This congregation may be small but the people have the biggest hearts in the world. They have been turning in food to the Merrill clinic and have gathered school supplies to donate to the families also. They love to have visitors. Church services are at 9:00 am Sunday morning.

Creator, God, Yahweh,
Thank You for Your presence in our lives.
We know that You are in charge of the world.
We also know that You are already aware of our sufferings and our
yearnings before we ask for Your guidance.
We know that if we get clear about what we want from You then
we will recognize the answers we receive from You.
We come to You so our lives may be healthy and cleansed.
We are Your people.

Water has been basic to our lives and to all creation that surrounds us.
We see the beauty of water in the lakes, rivers, streams and canals.
We have been surrounded, immersed and blessed by water.
Water has sustained us and our crops and animals.
The abundant wildlife has depended on the water.
We cry out in great agony as water has been denied us! 
How can we survive without water?

May we be a community united, who support one another.
May we be creative in making good out of what seems tragic.


Thank You for those who have patience!
Thank You for the courageous!
Thank You for the kind and caring!
Thank You for our resilience!
Thank You that no one has to feel they stand alone!

Guide this total Klamath Basin in the ways of Love, Peace and Justice.

We ask this in the name of the one who came as a model of human
wholeness, Jesus.

Amen.

By Jeanie Arant - A member of a farm family in the Mt. Laki area.

 

Prayer for Week of July 27th:    from Klamath County Assessor, Reg LeQuieu

Dear Friends;

While most appreciate-and the rest at least tolerate-those of us who actually meet for prayer each week, some have said that the farmers praying isn’t what is going to change things; it is what they do that will change things. Allow my perspective.

First, prayer alone is not likely to change things. However, we have no assurance that doing things alone will actually change things either. In my view, they both need the other. So, this is how I pray.

I pray that we might be granted wisdom. I pray for wisdom for our national leaders, I pray for wisdom for our state leaders, I pray for wisdom for our county and city leaders, and I pray for wisdom for the leaders in the agricultural community. We are told repeatedly in the Bible to pray for wisdom, with the promise, that if we seek wisdom it will be granted to us. I pray that our local leaders will have both the wit and wisdom to think of the right response to questions from the media (rather than thinking of the right response at ten o’clock that night).

I pray for creativity in thinking of protest activities that will keep the spotlight on the Klamath Basin in a positive light. Protest activities that will keep the morale of the basin up and continue to build esprit-de-corps in our community. There have been many of these beginning with the bucket brigade right up to the recent “cavalry ride. Very wise.

I pray that all the other areas of the west similarly affected (and there are many) will somehow find the leadership and vision to join forces and unite in a collaborative and cooperative effort at modifying the Endangered Species Act-for meaningful change will take nothing less. I pray that those other areas will gain the vision and resolve of our people here in the Klamath Basin. Maybe it is because we are praying that we have greater vision and resolve than any other affected area in the United States. Maybe it is because we are praying that the Klamath Basin is emerging as the leader of the effort to gain national attention and in showing all the other “endangered” areas how it is to be done.

I pray that long-term solutions will come out of this and that they will come soon enough to save most farmers. We need solutions with guarantees for the farmers; solutions like increased in-lake and off-stream storage, and continued restoration of the upper-basin river catchment basins.

And I pray that this crisis will cause some to turn to their maker and put their faith in his provision for their eternal salvation. That is the “big issue”, when an individual settles that issue, all other issues take on there true perspective and are more manageable.

I pray (no pun intended) that this perspective might be helpful.

 

Reg LeQuieu

Klamath County Assessor

 

 

 

July 5th

The following are inspiration and prayer of Cheri Frey, Tulelake, CA resident and farmer.

Exodus 33:12-17 (Living Bible)

Moses talked there with the Lord and said to him, "You have been telling me… That you are my friend, and that I have found favor before you; please, if this is really so, guide me clearly along the way you want me to travel so that I will understand you and walk acceptably before you. Don’t forget that this nation is your people." And the Lord replied, "I myself will go with you and give you success." For Moses had said, "If you aren’t going with us, don’t let us move a step from this place. … And the Lord had replied to Moses, " Yes, I will do what you have asked, for you have certainly found favor with me, and you are my friend."

Wow! When I read this in early April, I felt that God was truly speaking to me about the uncertain future we were beginning to face in the Klamath Basin. I found such comfort and hope in these verses and I have clung to them ever since. With the bleak water situation shaping up for next year as well, there is a new wave of despair sweeping across the Basin. The Bucket Brigade Committee, the Water Users have worked so hard, along with many other dedicated people in trying to reverse the Bureau of Reclamation’s decision to stop all agricultural water in the Klamath project, yet nothing is happening to help us for next years farming season. On top of that, the inner turmoil within the community of selling verses not selling, TID well site locations, irrigators verses non irrigators and those with private wells seems to be taking it’s toll on everyone within the community. You combine all of these issues facing the Klamath Basin, and it can spell a greater disaster then the loss of our water. We have no control over what happens now, because our fate is up to those in Washington. The Basin has accomplished more than ever thought possible when dealing with Government. God has given many of our leaders the ability to step up to needed leadership and have made wonderful decisions as to how to handle our economic plight. 

May I be so bold as to suggest the next step in our war against this injustice to the people of Southern Oregon and Northern California? The answer is found in Ex. 33 and in Ps. 121. Ps. 121 asks, " Where do I get my help? Do I get my help from the mountains, (mans ability, or from within myself)? NO, my help is from Jehovah, who made the mountains! It is time to step back and let God finish the work he had us begin. It is time that each one of us, from the oldest to the youngest citizen in our basin, get on our knees and give our worries, despair, needs and anger to the Lord, so that HE can change the hearts of those who refuse to hear our plea. God is the only one who will change the hearts of the government, so let him do the work. We have to ask God to do it for us NOW, because we are running out of steam. Moses, in Exodus said it clearly, " God, You said you are my friend, and that I have found favor with you, so if this is really true, GUIDE ME CLEARLY ALONG THE WAY YOU WANT ME TO TRAVEL, SO THAT I WILL UNDERSTAND YOU AND WALK ACCEPTABLY BEFORE YOU! Friends, this needs to be our prayer. We have to ask God to guide us as we walk this unknown path laid out before us by those who want to play god. We have to ask him that what we do and don’t do is acceptable before him, so that HE can work the miracle that needs to happen. Re-read what the Lord tells Moses in his response to his prayer, " YES, I WILL DO WHAT YOU HAVE ASKED, FOR YOU HAVE CERTAINLY FOUND FAVOR WITH ME, AND YOU ARE MY FRIEND!" Can you say that God has found favor with you and that you are HIS friend? If you are his friend, then it is a PROMISE that he will walk with you and he WILL DO AS YOU ASK! If you aren’t a friend of the Lord, then why not? He is our source of help, not man, not government programs and not even us! (Ps.121: 1) If we don’t ask for God’s help, he won’t impose HIS will on us. If you aren’t his friend, his promise isn’t for you. That is a tough pill to swallow, but it is very clear in the Bible that all of God’s blessings are for those who believe in HIM. (Rm. 8:28 & Ps. 145:16-20) They are available to everyone, but those who choose not to believe in him, can not receive His gifts. 

I guess the bottom line is, are we satisfied with how things are going for the Klamath Basin? The leaders of the Basin have worked hard, but we are just treading water. Our time is running out. We are back to asking, "Where do we get our help?" We get our help from the Lord who made the heavens. If everyone in the Basin will humbly pray and seek the Lord’s help, we will see a change in our present situation. 

Dear Lord, Please Guide me clearly so I understand your will in my life. I feel hopeless and helpless and full of despair in our future of our lives within in the Basin. Let me walk acceptably before you as I humbly allow you to direct me in my thoughts, words and deeds within my present situation. Lord don’t forget I am your child, and you promised to answer my prayers and grant me your peace! In your precious name, Amen.

 ----------------------------------

This prayer was the opening for the rally at the Klamath Falls Fairgrounds on June 16, 2001, prior to the U.S. House of Representatives' committee meeting. It was led by Pastor Tim Herzfeldt-Kamprath of Trinity Lutheran Church in Tulelake.

Introduction

Much of the work that we are called to do today will be looking intently at the water of this basin and where it is or is not flowing; looking at the creatures that live in the water, and the crops and livestock dependant on that water. Our eyes will take in the brown dryness that is creeping across the fields and the hills around us. Our gaze will settle on our neighbors' faces etched with concern, with anger, with fear, with wonder.

But our searching eyes must not stop there. The writer of the Psalms, who seems to also sweep across such a basin, calls us to look for one more thing that is vital - our source of hope. Hope for life, hope for change, hope for justice. Psalm 121: "I lift up my eyes to the hills - from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

Prayer

Let us pray.

Lord God, you have molded and shaped this basin and filled the land with goodness.

We thank you for the beauty and delight we have known upon this earth.

In your wisdom you have created the complexities that challenge our understanding,

weaving together lakes and rivers, farmlands and marshlands, forests and homes, tribes, farmers, fishing folk, scientists, and city dwellers.

You who neither slumber nor sleep can be our true guide. Let us see your glory, your justice, and your peace in this time of struggle.

Bless those who work the land, that they might have what they need to support their families.

Bless those who have traveled here today to learn and make decisions, that they might have wisdom inspired by you.

Bless those who have come here to raise their voices, that they might speak the truth in love.

Bless those who receive the fruits of the land and water, that we all may be grateful and mindful of your gifts.

Honor us with your presence as we seek to honor one another. Bless us and nourish us as we strive for excellence in our community. Teach us to look to you and search your word to find our true hope in you. Guide us by your Spirit as we strengthen our commitment to serve. Lord, in Jesus' name, please protect us from evil, and keep our going out and our coming in from this basin from this time on and forevermore. Amen.

PSALMS 121

If I lift up my eyes to the hills,
    Where shall I find help?
Help comes only from the Lord,
    Maker of heaven and earth.
How could he let your foot stumble?
    How could he, your guardian, sleep?
The guardian of Israel
    Never slumbers, never sleeps.
The Lord is your guardian,
    Your defence at your right hand;
The sun will not strike you by day
    Nor the moon by night.
The Lord will guard you against all evil;
    He will guard you, body and soul.
The Lord will guard your going and your coming,
    Now and for evermore.

 

June 14

Donna and Tim are co-pastors at Trinity Lutheran Church in Tulelake, CA, and Hope Lutheran in Klamath Falls, OR. They also co-parent four children, and have been in the Basin for 6 years. They have not been farmers or ranchers themselves, but they love the community and are supportive of those who have given their lives to this important endeavor. Donna and Tim believe God gives the gift of creation and the responsibility to be good stewards.

The story is told about an Army veteran who had been receiving benefits from the government. One day, out of the blue, he received an official notification from the government of his own death. Needless to say, this was quite a shock! He wrote a letter stating that he was indeed very much alive and would like to continue receiving his benefits. The letter did no good. Then he called. That didn't change the situation either. Finally he contacted a local TV station which ran a story about him.

During the interview the reporter asked him, "How do you feel about this whole ordeal?" The veteran chuckled and replied, "Well, I feel a little frustrated by it. After all, have you ever tried to prove that you're alive?"

There are media and people around us today trying to tell us we're dying or "dead in the water". Can the Basin survive? Can the farmers hang on? What will happen next? God has a message for us: even when physically and economically we may be dying, we are being made new in Christ. God says it: "See, I am making all things new" (Revelation 21:1-5). God tells us we're alive, because he is willing to be with us in every situation (verse 3). He's not going anywhere - he's pitching his tent with us, right here, right now.

So how do we prove we're alive? By living in his love! That is: by being his disciples and passing along buckets full of love to one another. By respecting our neighbor who is suffering in a different way than we are suffering. By trying to be patient with the immense complexities of this situation and its affect on so many people. By praying constantly for God's power to love others through us. By opening our hearts in worship and praise to receive the power of God to live in the midst of death. By offering the gift of water from the spring of the water of life to those depressed and thirsty ones around us. Gently. Kindly. With great compassion. From a sermon by Tim and Donna Herzfeldt-Kamprath, May 13, 2001

A quote from 100 Meditations on Hope by Mary Lou Redding: "Our hope in God pulls us into the future. Hope allows us to affirm the reality of the abundant life that is ours in Christ. Hope allows us to stand with those in pain and to hold them until they are able to feel the love of God for themselves again. Hope allows us to work to bring God's reign upon the earth even when we see no results. Our hope begins and ends in God, the source of all hope."

 

June 7, 2001

Rose (Dean) D’Andrea was born and raised in Coppock Bay on her parent’s,  WWII veteran John and Barbara Dean’s, farm homestead.  She graduated from Tulelake High School, and now lives in Klamath Falls, Oregon.  Rose is secretary for the Klamath Union school library.

 WITH GOD WE WILL STAND

BY Rosie D’Andrea

 No snow and no rain

Has left us in drought.

God will be with us

Of this there’s no doubt.

 

The plight of the people

Who’ve built up this land,

Keep them each one

In the palm of Your hand.

 

Fish have the water

That we really need.

Share with the basin

That’s what we plead.

 

The farmers and ranchers

And all in this land,

Pulling together

With God we will stand!

 

POSTED: May 24, 2001

 This week’s inspirational message is by Brad Frey.  Brad is 18 years old, a Tulelake High School graduate, and student at Washington State University, with an architect major.  He is the son of Tom and Cheri Frey, and grew up on a farm in the Tulelake Basin.

"It seems lately that everyone in the Basin has been hit with one blow after another.  Bills are mounting, money is dwindling, and water is as scarce as hope.  With all that is happening in the basin, what are we to do?   The government seems to be putting us on the back burner, while they mount the sucker on a golden pedestal.  At this point there really seems to be no hope as our fields blow away, ditches remain empty, and lawns begin to turn a lovely shade of brown.  

            I remember coming home from college a few weeks ago, not knowing what to expect.   The news of no water was absolutely devastating.  Thoughts of dirt fields stretching as far as the eye could see kept coming to mind.  Needless to say, as I approached Klamath Lake and saw it overflowing with water, my anger and frustration boiled inside of me, while my hate toward the government and sucker skyrocketed.  A greedy government was taunting the basin with a lake full of water and yet not a single person could touch it.  As the days went on, it seemed like one helpless predicament after the other.   Sell, or hold out?  Government relief, or another year of debt?  Wells, or no wells?   Nothing made sense.   Governors and Senate members making fancy speeches promising change and hope, but there is still nothing.   How can we sit by and let this happen?  What can we do?

            Personally…I feel we can no longer do anything.   This whole situation is out of our hands.   We have had our bucket brigades, city meetings, made our speeches, and pleaded with the government.  We have thought of solutions and ideas, possible ways to continue farming only to have the government halt our actions.  It seems as if the government is in complete control and we have to go along for the ride, or hop off the wagon.  I, however, believe there is someone else in control.  God is the maker of all things and holds each one of us in the palm of his hand.  He knows our troubles and hardships; our frustration and tears.  There is no hope in the Government, the suckerfish, or even our water, but there is hope in God.  Paul writes…rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character,  hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts.  Romans 5:3-5.  When there seems to be no hope left, that is when God’s presence is the strongest.   He wants each one of us to cling to him instead of this basin.   Let go of the fish, the worry, the water, the anger, the battles with the ESA.  What good will come if all we do is cling to this world and establish a false hope within ourselves?  If we only rely on ourselves to bring about change by going into battle, then our hope will be blown away like our fields.  We should cling to God and allow him to direct our paths.

            God has blessed us with some amazing leaders throughout this basin.  Hundreds have stood up to the government in hopes of change.   We should continue to do so, but allow God to take a leadership role as well.   We need to take God off the back burner and allow him to establish himself in the heat of the battle.  Our hope shouldn’t be in the leaders themselves, but in God directing the leaders to make the right decisions.   I think that most of us could say that we have not had a good night’s sleep since April 6^th.  Last summer, someone told me that God will break us, so he can bless us.   I truly believe that!!   God can take this horrible situation and bring about blessing after blessing if we look to him, instead of this world, for our hope.  Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.   So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 )   God does not only want to be a part of the leadership, but he wants to establish himself in each of our lives.  Fix your eyes on God so he can renew your spirit with peace, hope, and faith.  He loves each of us and hates to see us in so much pain and despair.  We need to stop focusing on the bad and set our eyes to the positive things, so we can hear God’s directions for each of us individually.   Granted we don’t have water, but we have friends, family, and the ability to put food on our tables.  We still have green fields, our communities, and a hope that God is working everything out for our benefit.  There is still hope for our basin.  That hope is God. 

                I pray that you would cling to God during this oppressing time.  My favorite verse says…”I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord.  “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)  You are being taken care of right now, because God has a plan for you!   He will not allow harm to overcome you, but will establish a hope and a future within you if you only allow him to.  Focus on the things of God and allow him to direct your decisions. God will not disappoint us if our desire is to seek his will.   Allow him to take your problems and establish a New Hope.  God is good!! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!! (Romans 15:13)"

Brad Frey

 

 

Prayer from week of May 15th

This week’s inspiration is by Cheri Frey, on HOPE: 

 As the weeks and months have passed, hope seems to be fading in and out of our lives with all that is going on within our communities. The problems that we are facing of no water, unfair biological science, and a strong environmental coalition, are bringing us down into hopelessness. The giant we are battling seems to be beyond our ability to win. The opposition has more money, a stronger lobby, and has more public support then we. Everything we have worked for and fought for, along with our hope, is slipping away. 

"Fear not, for I bring you good news which shall be to all people; for today ... a Savior has been born...." (Luke 2:10-11) As Christians, Jesus is our only hope! Anything we try and do on our own will fall short of the hope that we are striving for. Only in Jesus, can we find true hope, happiness, success and inner peace. 

Often the problems we face begin to pull us down into an abyss of despair. To combat that, keep our eyes on Jesus, not on the problem! Do you remember Peter in the story about the storm at sea when they were about to drown, and then Jesus comes help them? As Jesus is walking on the water, Peter wants to be close to Jesus in order to escape the dangers of being in the sinking boat. So he begs Jesus to call him out so that he can walk to him. As Jesus approaches the disciples in their "water disaster", he speaks to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." So Peter said, "If it is you Lord, please tell me to come out to you." So Jesus said to Peter, " Come!" As Peter stepped out in FAITH with the HOPE that Jesus is who he said he was, he actually was walking towards the Savior. All was well as long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus, his rescuer. But soon Peter heard the waves, felt the wind spraying the mist in his eyes, and realized what he was doing was really impossible. Peter looked down at his troubles, the storm, and lost hope because he was no longer drawing on Jesus' strength to walk the walk that seems impossible. As Peter began to sink into the depths of the sea, he cried out, "HELP!" Immediately, Jesus saved him from his ultimate watery death. If only Peter would have kept the faith, kept his eyes on Jesus and stayed the course that Jesus was taking him on, he would not have gone into the abyss of despair. (Matt. 14:23-33) A hard lesson to learn for all of us.

 Jesus doesn't want us to focus on the despair of our situation; he wants us to focus on HIM! Jesus is bigger, stronger, mightier, and tougher than ANY Goliath that the world can give us. With our eyes focused on Jesus as our Commander in Chief, he will defeat all of our water storms that face everyone in the Klamath Basin. After all, whom did God send to defeat Goliath and save the Israelites in the Old Testament? It wasn't the army commander, or the toughest and smartest of the warriors. No, it was a child. Why a child? Well, God wants us to realize that for every storm in our life, every Goliath that seems impossible, that with God all things are possible. (Rm. 8:28) God can take us through the storms of our lives, if we have the faith of a child. A simple and deep faith that keeps our eyes focused on our true source of hope and strength and not on the size of the situation. (1Sam. 17) HOPE, the reason to keep going, to not fall into despair and the faith that in Him all things are possible! We MUST keep our eyes focused on the Cross! That IS our only source of hope and strength.