I grew up in a loving family in Germany with good social-humanistic-Christian values, but no strong witness for Christ. As a young child I believed that there is a God. My dad was already very interested in the culture and history of the First Nations of North America. He taught me at a very young age the true stories about the First Nations and their encounters with the Western worldview and lifestyle. At an early age, I read books by Dee Brown, Vine Deloria Jr., Stan Steiner, Black Elk and many others, and also German authors who challenged the treatment of First Nations peoples by mainstream society.
Later in my youth and young adulthood I was atheistic, pacifistic and against mainstream society. Politically I was almost anarchistic, following Vine Deloria’s idea that only small tribal groups with a direct democracy will have the chance to survive. On the other hand, disillusioned that nothing would change, I even sympathized with the extreme left in Germany called the “extra-parliamentary group” (APO) and the German terrorist cells of the 70/80s. (I was born 10 years too late for the Hippie era.)
During that time I also indulged in the party life for a few years. I was always a very contemplative person, and not finding real fulfilment in this lifestyle; I was searching for meaning in my life. I took great interest in the culture and legends of the First Nations. Interestingly enough, through this engagement I again became convinced that there must be some kind of higher power or god. But in my desperation not to have any assurance of the origin of life—where we came from and where we will go, what is our purpose—I cried out to this unknown god to show me my way!
The answer came promptly through a guy I met in my alternative service (instead of military service) in my work at a hospital. He was a “punk” at that time, and not much different in his lifestyle than me, and we became friends. Then, after a long time not having seen him, I visited him again and he told me that he had become a Christian! He told me stories from the Bible and I compared them with the legends that I read from different tribes, amazed at the similarities. We talked a lot about faith and the meaning of life.
At some point he gave me a Bible, and told me to pray to God and start reading the New Testament to find answers for my questions. So I did. For me, reading the Gospels was like a personal revelation! Everything that Jesus said, I thought, “This guy is right!” Jesus had all the answers I was looking for. What He said and did was the perfect fulfilment of what I wanted.
My friend invited me to his baptism service on Good Friday 1987. During the sermon (and I don’t even remember what was preached about), God spoke to my heart and I knew that I had to make a decision to live the life I so desperately was longing for. So, right there in my seat, I entrusted my life to Jesus Christ, knowing that He paid for my sins with His blood so that I could live a meaningful life in fellowship with God.
So I began life with Jesus in all of its challenges—and my mistakes and wrong decisions—but also the achievements and blessings that I experienced. My plans for my life changed drastically. I began nurses training, then switched to working with troubled kids. I went to Bible school and later worked for almost 10 years in a Christian home for men with addictions. After that, I applied to serve with NCEM and arrived here almost exactly 10 years ago to work with Tribal Trails TV. I love my work planning programs, talking to people on our spiritual help line, and developing an internet platform for the next First Nations generation.
Matthew 6:33: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” is the verse that was evident all the way through. And I trust that God will do it also in the future!
Tribal Trails ministry. He serves in various roles, including program planning and answering calls to the spiritual help line.