In 1956, my grandparents, Arthur and Elmyra Ramse, received a call from the Lord and went to serve Native Americans in Tokio, North Dakota at the Tokio Indian Mission. My uncle Ben was 13, dad was 12, my uncle David was 10. They had left their farm in Northern Minnesota in May or June when school was out to live and serve in Tokio. The photo below was shared by my uncle Ben with my grandparents sitting on the couch and behind from left to right is dad, Ben, Dennis Kakinawash (foster child from Belcourt, Chippewa), and David. In the front on the floor are John Guy and Duane Guy (foster kids who stayed at Tokio mission for several years). Grandpa was the pastor of a local Lutheran Church near Tokio, on the reservation.
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During the time that my grandparents were serving local Indian families, they would wonder if they were making a difference and if their efferts to share Christ would impact the braken lives around them. Meanwhile, a local family had a new baby, Brian. His father was 18 and mother was 25. His father was a member of the Spirit Lake Sioux Nation on the Ft. Totten Indian Reservation in North Dakota. His mom was the grandchild of Norwegian immigrants from the 1900's and Brian was the 6th generation to have lived there. Below is are photos of the card my grandma sent to this family with a prayer written on the back.
The back side of this card reads, "April 22, 1960. Dear Evelyn, Eddy, Was so happy to hear of the dear little boy God has entrusted in your care - Now it's my prayer you will both invite Jesus into your hearts and home so this dear little soul will have a happy life here on earth and point others to Jesus Christ. 'Only one life to live twill soon be past only what's done for Christ will last' - Much love, Mrs. Ramse"
Years later, Brian was given a box of childhood momentos from his mother. Brian is a historian and collects books, articles, and photos. This shoebox from his childhood though, did not interest him so he put it away. Then a few years ago, he was looking through the box to find a photo from his youth. He found the card, read the message my grandma had written to his family.
When I met Brian and his wife, Ruth, a few weeks ago, Brian described some of his life on the reservation and how Native people came to view God.
The government made efforts to civilize and Americanize the Native Americans, with the goal to "kill the Indian in him and save the man". So they created government run schools for Native American children, many of which were boarding schools. Brian's grandfather and father attended these schools run by the Catholic Church. There is much passed down orally attesting to the harsh treatment by the nuns. Brian's father expressed a hatred of his time in these schools and the nuns. Because of the history of faith leaders pressuring Native Americans to give up their land and old ways, there was a deep mistrust.
Brian shared with me the difficulty of his childhood as he also attended Native American schools. He was in fights almost daily as he was bullied a lot and came home with scars from these fights. His family life was also hard. When he was 11, he, along with his siblings and his mom left his dad. He shared that he was very angry all through school and after he graduated.
A month before he entered the military, he met his future wife, Ruth, and they married a year later. Through her example and testimony, she pointed Brian to Christ. Brian found forgiveness through Christ and his example as he died on the cross for all of our sins. A lot of hard work began as Brian had a lot of baggage to work through but in his story, he shares God leading him to Matthew 11:28-30. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
My grandma wrote that card 60 plus years ago. When Brian and Ruth found that card and read the sweet prayer from my grandma, they wanted to find out more about this family who shared Christ's love with his parents so many years ago.
And here is where our current story intersects! A few years ago, I had created a digital ethnography for my Digital Storytelling class about my grandpa. This was an assignment that I chose from a selection of assignments. I interviewed my dad and his two brothers and my uncle Ben sent me photos to align with the stories that they were sharing. I had so much fun putting this together and hoped it would be a sweet tribute to the life and testimony of my grandpa. I uploaded and shared what I created with family, friends, and supporters. About a year later, a Brian Greene reached out to me and shared how he had found my video on YouTube and how touched he and his wife were as they watched and heard the stories from my dad and his brothers. He shared the sweet card my grandma sent and wanted to connect with our family. I reached out to my dad and uncle David and asked if they knew a Brian Greene and they responded very enthusiastically and began sharing how they knew him from the Indian mission in Tokio!
A few weeks ago, I traveled to the Midwest, landing in Minneapolis, and spent the first few days in Eden Prairie with friends. Brian and Ruth live close by in Shakopee so I finally got to meet them face to face! It was incredible! I got in Saturday evening and on Sunday morning, Brian and Ruth picked me up to attend church with them. I loved meeting Brian and Ruth and they are an incredible couple. They are so tender-hearted and their love to Christ just shines out of them both. I loved every minute I got to spend with them!
Years ago, my grandparents obeyed the call they received from the Lord to pack up their family and move to North Dakota and share Christ with Native Americans on a reservation near Tokio. Yet, even before that, my grandparents obeyed the call the Lord set on their hearts to remain steadfast in their faith and to say, "Yes, Lord" to whatever He would ask them to do. Growing up, they expressed this desire to obey Christ with all of us six grandchildren and their wish and prayer for us to do the same. Grandma had a heart for the young people and in church, during the prayer time, she would pray for the young people. My grandparents had a heart for others to know, love and serve the Lord and they were bold, courageous, gentle, and loving as they shared the gospel with those in their community.
The lesson I take from this incredible testimony and story of God's amazing grace, is to never stop praying for family, friends; those we know who need Christ. It may take years of faithful prayers and there are so many testimonies of God's goodness in bringing lost people to himself as their loved ones prayed for years and even decades! All glory goes to God!
Below are two framed photos in Brian and Ruth's home from the ending quote in my grandma's card. Below that is a photo of us at church a few Sunday's ago. I will also share the link to the post that Brian wrote for his church website and the video that I made. My hope and prayer is that you are encouraged today as you read a story of how God weaved a beautiful testimony to His grace in the lives of two families.
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