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July 2020 Prayer Letter
 
  
 

Dear Soldiers of the Cross,

As I sit at my desk writing this letter, my heart is aching to be out on the reservations laboring with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have asked the Lord to help me not to take for granted the wonderful opportunities he has given me to put my hand to the plow in his vineyard. I’m reminded of the shortness and the vulnerability of our opportunities we have in reaching the lost for Christ. How many souls have gone out into eternity without Christ during these days of shutdown, without anyone standing in the gap to warn them of their latter end? Oh, God help us to be busy about the Father’s business. John 9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” Many of the missionaries on the reservations I have talked with say that there is a great fear among the Native people about this covid-19 and that many of them don’t want anyone to come see them. Please pray that God will open their eyes, ears and hearts to the Gospel.

I would like to give you an update on the Navajo Reservation and our upcoming relief project. At present the Navajo Nation has 9,019 positive cases of covid-19 and 454 confirmed deaths. Please keep the Navajo people in your prayers. The reservation is still on lockdown and still enforcing an 8PM thru 5AM weekdays curfew and a 57-hour weekend curfew from 8PM Friday thru 5AM Monday morning. Lord willing, we will be taking out another tractor trailer load of food and other essential items to the Navajo Reservation. This load will consist of pallets of food and not the traditional food boxes. This will allow the missionaries to better divide and manage the resources. In addition to the food, we want to purchase another tractor trailer load of bottled water. We will be purchasing other supplies: face masks, sanitizers, toiletries, baby diapers and adult depends, etc.
If you would like to help with this relief project by mail, you can send a check to Native American Mission Fund Ministries (NAMFM), 3232 Hendersonville Hwy, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768. Mark it for Navajo Relief Fund. Or you can make an online donation by going to our website, nativeministry.org, and click on the drop down page, Navajo Relief Fund. Please pray for us as we reach out to help these dear suffering people with the Gospel by hand and feet.

Please continue to pray for us as we are in communication with several of the missionaries on the Navajo Reservation concerning the future site of the Southwestern Missions Warehouse. God is giving us an object lesson through these days of coronavirus (covid-19) of the need for this warehouse resource.

As We Labor for Christ,

 
 
Gerry & Sheril Locklear

February 2024 Prayer Letter

Dear Soldiers of the Cross,

I would like to share a verse of scripture with you that God has given me the opportunity to see develop before my eyes. Jeremiah 33:3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” When we surrendered full-time to the mission field, I had no idea that God would allow me to witness his hand move in such mighty ways. The open doors he has given us to step through have been beyond my imagination: souls saved, the changes I’ve witnessed in the lives of God’s people, the work accomplished, the lives of missionaries helped, and the list could go on. Beloved, we serve a “GREAT AND MIGHTY GOD.” If you want to see the mighty hand of God move in your life, all you have to do is surrender it all to him and trust in him to do that you cannot do for yourself.

Google Maps has once again given me my year-end travel reports, and once again, in 2023 we traveled around the world twice, and once again, I have the old man looks to prove it. Please pray for my and Ms. Sheril’s health; we are not the spring chickens we used to be. At present we have eleven Bible schools and two building projects scheduled. “Lord, how am I going to do all of this?”


I know this paragraph sounds like it came from January’s prayer letter, because it did. We really do need for God’s people to step up and help us with the reprint of the John Eliot Bible. We can never go wrong by giving people the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language. This was the first Bible printed in America, and it was a Native American Bible translated into the Algonquin language. This Bible was printed in 1663 on present day grounds of Harvard University. We want to put this Bible back into the hands of the Wampanoag people at no charge to them. Through the help of Awake America, we are also planning on putting a copy of this Bible in every office in Congress. You can send your support for this Bible project to Native American Mission Fund Ministries, 3232 Hendersonville Hwy, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768. Please mark the MEMO, John Eliot Bible Fund. The project is moving along very quickly, and we must have the funds by March 1st. So please respond as soon as possible. Please pray for this Bible project and call me if you have any questions.

As We Labor for Christ,




Gerry & Sheril Locklear
Missionaries to the Native Americans


January 2024 Prayer Letter

Dear Soldiers of the Cross,

I would like to thank all the churches and individuals for the gracious love gifts and cards you shared with us during the Christmas holiday season. Our hearts were overwhelmed with your love shown to us. God blessed us with a very sweet time with our family and friends, although the Christmas season was a very heart broken time for Ms. Sheril, due to the passing of her mom on December 2nd. We know that she is in the presence of the Lord, but we miss her dearly. Please continue to pray for the family as we continue to press on without her.

We are rejoicing that God has given us another year to labor for him in his vineyard. Right now, we are fully booked for the year, and I’m not sure how we are going to do all that we have made plans to do. Just pray for us that God will give us strength to fulfill that task that lies before us. Please pray for all the churches and individuals that are making plans on joining us out on the mission field to help us with our Bible schools and building projects. The commitments and expenses can be overwhelming, but we serve a God that’s able to supply our every need if we commit all to him.


I have a very important prayer request and plea to God’s people. I would like to once again encourage God’s people to consider being a part of a wonderful opportunity of helping us with the reprint of the John Eliot Bible. This was the first Bible printed in America, and it was a Native American Bible translated into the Algonquin language. This Bible was printed in 1663 on present day grounds of Harvard University. We want to put this Bible back into the hands of the Wampanoag people at no charge to them. Through the help of Awake America, we are also planning on putting a copy of this Bible in every office in Congress. You can send your support for this Bible project to Native American Mission Fund Ministries, 3232 Hendersonville Hwy, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768. Please mark the MEMO, John Eliot Bible Fund. The project is moving along very quickly, and we must have the funds by March 1st, so please respond as soon as possible. Please pray for this Bible project and call me if you have any questions. You can view our video that shares a special message about the project by clicking here.


As We Labor for Christ,




Gerry & Sheril Locklear
Missionaries to the Native Americans


December 2023 Prayer Letter

Dear Soldiers of the Cross,

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Beloved, I cannot start this letter off without first giving thanks to our God for the GREATEST gift ever given to humanity, “the gift of God’s dear Son.” The world looks upon Jesus’ birthday as just another simple birthday, but I see it as a birth into everlasting life with my blessed Savior. Let us not leave Jesus out of Christmas this year but keep Him in the center of the holiday season.

I’m still rejoicing over all that God has allowed us to be a part of this past year. So many open doors of opportunity to labor for Him on the mission field. Right now, we are overbooked for next year, 2024, and I’m not sure how we are going to get it all done. Please pray for us that God will strengthen us for the task. I have asked God to clone me over ten times so the work will not suffer. Our Baptist churches have rallied up for the work and this thrills our soul. 

I have a special prayer request. Please pray for my wife, Ms. Sheril, and her family as her mom, Mrs. Callie Mae Oxendine, went home to be with the Lord on December 2, 2023. For the past couple of years Ms. Sheril has had the privilege of caring for her aging mother. During this time, I noticed a closer bond between them that brought joy to my heart. I’m glad to say that my mother-in-law was saved and ready to see Jesus. I could not have had a better mother-in-law and friend. This will be her first Christmas in heaven, and this is what all of God’s people are looking and longing for. 

I would like to once again encourage God’s people to consider being a part of a wonderful opportunity of helping us with the reprint of the John Eliot Bible. This was the first Bible printed in America, and it was a Native American Bible. This Bible was printed in 1663 on present day grounds of Harvard University. You can send your support for this Bible project to:

Native American Mission Fund Ministries
3232 Hendersonville Hwy
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768

Please mark the MEMO, John Eliot Bible Fund. The project is moving along very quickly, so please respond as soon as possible. Please pray for this Bible project and call me if you need to. 

Merry Christmas to all and hope you have a blessed New Year.


As We Labor for Christ,

Gerry & Sheril Locklear
Missionaries to the Native Americans


October 2023 Prayer Letter

Dear Soldiers of the Cross,

The Lord has been dealing with my heart concerning this thought, “NO STEPS, NO STORIES.” Jesus said in John 9:4, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” I then thought about Israel when they were in Egypt, how that if they had not left Egypt, they would not have their story of God’s amazing deliverance. Then I thought about Job, if he had not stayed faithful, we would not have his story of God’s recovering power. Now if Jesus Christ had not stuck with his plan, we would not have the greatest story ever told. Praise the Lord! Beloved, what are your steps? What is your story? I don’t know about you, but I want to do all that God has called me to do. I do not want to stand before him in that great day and have no crown or fruits of labor to lay at his feet. 1 Peter 2:21 “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.”

The Lord gave us a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with a dear friend and missionary, Bro Glenn Hohmann, from the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. Bro Glenn is doing a great work on the Yakama Reservation in Washington State. Please pray for Bro Glenn as he labors at his post of duty. The Lord also gave us many opportunities to share the Gospel with the Blackfeet people during our time there. We also had a great time worshipping with the people at the Whitetail Baptist Church in the community of Heart Butte. Please pray for Pastor Larry Bunyan and his dear folks there at the church, that God will continue to use them to win souls for Christ. 

I have a very special request from all of you. You have heard me mention this many times, and now we are moving forward. Pastor Mark Smith and Faith Baptist Church in Tacoma, Washington, are helping us with the reprint of the John Eliot Native American Bible. This was the first Bible printed in America. This Bible was translated into the Algonquin language and printed on present day grounds of Harvard University in 1663, 43 years after the Mayflower landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. My heart is overwhelmed with joy to be a part of this wonderful opportunity. This Bible was used to bring salvation and hope to the Wampanoag people and other Algonquin speaking people in that area. There are just over 5000 members of the Wampanoag Tribe, and we want to give a copy of this Bible to each one of them without charge. Would you please help us support this Bible project? Because of all the first-time setup expenses, the price of this Bible will be $30 each. We need $150,000. This is a small price to give for the salvation of souls. You can send your support for this Bible project to Native American Mission Fund Ministries, 3232 Hendersonville Hwy, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768. Please mark the MEMO, John Eliot Bible Fund. The project is moving along very quickly, so please respond as soon as possible. Please pray for this Bible project and call me if you need to. 

As We Labor for Christ,


Gerry & Sheril Locklear
Missionaries to the Native Americans




Gerry & Sheril Locklear
Missionaries to the Native Americans


Please Help with Operation Christmas Child Boxes

Christmas Shoebox List 2023

Dear Soldiers of the Cross,

We are continuing to reach out to our Native children with acts of love through our Christmas Shoeboxes. Please pray over these

reservations and ask God to direct you to the one he would have you to send your boxes of love to. Please fill free to contact me for any

questions you may have.

Items that may be included: KJV Bible or New Testament, Scripture help ads (suitable for age group), pens, pencils, paper, toys

(suitable for age group), candy, snacks (Slim Jims, jerky sticks, etc.), coloring books with crayons, game books, small computer games,

girls (jewelry, makeup kits, etc.). Ask the Lord to direct what He would have you send. We recommend putting the gifts in a clear zip lock

bag so the missionaries can make appropriate gifts for each of the children, this also makes shipping easier and lease expensive. Mark

age groups (example: 3 to 5, 5 to 8, 9 to 12 etc.) also girl or boy.

Navajo Reservation Mark Haynes PO Box 902 Ganado AZ 86505 (817) 913-1683

Lake Traverse Reservation Jerome Renville 45622 Tiospazina Dr Sisseton SD 57262 (605) 742-0576

Fort Hall Reservation Joe Copley 243 N. University Ave Blackfoot ID. 83221 (208) 680-7054

Inuit Nation Nick Serino PO Box 203 Pt. Hope Alaska 99766 (907) 368-2035

Crow Reservation Zack LaRue 423 Faith Baptist Dr. Pryor MT 59066 or PO Box 24 Pryor MT

Maliseet Reservations Corner Stone Baptist Church 16 Columbia St. Houlton Maine 04730 (207) 538-0447

Pine Ridge Reservation Ken Trivette 19347 US Hwy 18 Batesland SD 57716 (605) 890-1324

Rose Bud Reservation Ed Bausell The Baptist Church 523 E. Eagle Dr. Mission SD 57555 (605) 208-3474

Navajo Reservation Raymond Hobbs PO Box 185 Ganado AZ 86505 (928) 755-3084

Eskimo Nation David Youngblood PO Box 155 Kiana Alaska 99749 (907) 378-8241

Navajo Nation Solid Rock Baptist Church PO Box 7327 Nazlini AZ 86540 (928)380-7616

Navajo Nation Ryan Nez PO Box 455 Window Rock AZ 86515 (928) 380-8860

Tohono O’odham Nation Billy Ford PO Box 1312 Arizona City AZ 85123 (423) 444-6561

Navajo Nation Justin Barnett 1414 W Florida St. Holbrook AZ 86025 (928) 225-7787

Navajo Nation Joel Haynes On the Corner of BIA Rte-N27 And N271 Next to Church NAZLINI, AZ 86540 (928) 299-1707

Hopi Reservation Andy Magnarella Mile Marker 367.4 HWY 264 Hotevilla AZ 86030 (928) 206-7811

Navajo Reservation Aaron Nelson PO Box 1806 Crownpoint NM 87313 (505) 231-1372

Chippewa White Earth Reservation Caleb Mitchell 36137 Cherry Lake Rd Ogema MN 56569 (218)-350-5992

Wampanoag Reservation Mashpee Baptist Church PO Box 1770 Mashpee MA 02649 (508) 246-4954

Quechan Reservation New Haven Baptist Church 513 East Country Club Drive Apt D Yuma AZ 85365

Navajo Reservation Don Heeley Star Baptist Church 4169 A E Rt 9 Cuba NM (575-442-1697)

As we Labor for Christ,

Gerry & Sheril Locklear

Misisonaries to the Native Americans



PERSONAL CONTACT:

Gerry & Sheril Locklear P.O. Box 123
Fairview, NC 28730 (828) 606-5011

email: gerry@nativeministry.org www.nativeministry.org SENDING CHURCH:
Hoopers Creek Baptist Church P.O. Box 1856

Fletcher, NC 28732

www.hooperscreekbaptist.com

SERVING WITH:

Native American Mission Fund Ministries (NAMFM) 3232 Hendersonville Highway Pisgah Forest, NC 28768 www.namfm.org

MISSION BOARD:

Anchor Baptist Missions International (ABMI) 3232 Hendersonville Highway
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
(828) 884-7610

www.anchorbaptist.org

July 2023 Newsletter

Dear Soldiers of the Cross,

Lamentations 5:5 “Our necks are under persecution: we labour, andhave no rest.” Beloved, does it seem at times that all our labor for the Lord is always under attack by old Satan? You know that you are doing what the Lord wants you to do, and here he comes, trying to discourage you.

Our first Bible school for July was on the Wampanoag Reservation on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. My church, Hoopers Creek Baptist Church, helped us with this Bible school. Satan was attacking on all sides with the group breaking down and even a car accident. Praise the Lord no one was hurt! It was so plain to see that the devil did not want us to have this Bible school. I had my share of hardship. I made the trip with a back injury I received on the Navajo Reservation the month before, during another VBS. Then while I was there on Cape Cod, I got covid and developed a UTI, so I was not able to help with the Bible school. BUT, BUT, BUT the Lord BUTTED in, and the Bible school was a success. Our high night was 23 in attendance. Praise the Lord! Our door knocking was great, and the church folks received a shot of spiritual B-12. Beloved, don’t count it a defeat if all your labors seem to be uphill, God is still working through you. 

It has been many years since I’ve had an opportunity to attend my home church, Hoopers Creek Baptist Church, Bible school. What a wonderful time we had. God truly met with us in special way with five souls receiving Christ as their personal Savior. God truly has enabled this group of men and women to share the Gospel in the most loving and tender way. I thank God for giving me this group of people to worship and serve Him with.

July 19th North Hazelwood Baptist Church helped us with a Bible school on the Navajo Reservation in Indian Wells, Arizona. We cannot express to you enough of our gratitude for your faithfulness to help our Native people to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you and we are looking forward to seeing you back next year. We also want to thank East Alarka Baptist Church and Old Savannah Baptist Church for your help with a Bible school on the Quechan Reservation in Winterhaven, California. Your willingness to come and endure the overwhelming heat for the souls of men is a mark of your love for God and His work. God blessed you with one soul for your labor. Yes! It was worth it. Thank you and we are also looking forward to seeing you back next year.

Please pray for the rest of our Bible schools that God will move in a mighty way and save souls for His Glory.

As We Labor for Christ,




Gerry & Sheril Locklear
Missionaries to the Native Americans

April 2023 Prayer Letter

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Dear Soldiers of the Cross,
1 Samuel 12:24 “Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he

hath done for you.”

As I sit here in Alaska writing this letter, I can’t help but praise the Lord for his many blessings upon my life. The month of May was one of the highlights of our ministry. God filled our hearts with joy with the wonderful opportunity to serve him by serving others. We were able to take a work team up to the Wampanoag Reservation on Martha’s Vineyard and work on the oldest continually operating Native American church in the nation, established in 1693. The work team did an amazing amount of work in the week they were there. God knit our hearts together along with the church folks there on the Island at Community Baptist Church. God gave us the opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ through word, deed and lifestyle. We had a young man there on the Island take some time to come over and help us. This young man (Tim) is not saved, but God gave each of us the opportunity to share the Gospel with him. We all signed a Bible and gave it to him. We are praying that God will save him for his glory. The church members could hardly believe that we would take our time and expense and give to them. We told them that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has hands and feet and it was our joy to be there.

The next week we invited missionaries from Washington State, Oregon, Idaho and Oklahoma to join us there for a missions meeting. This church is without a pastor and has need of encouragement. Bro Michael Gilman, a member of the church, has stepped up to fill in until God sends them a pastor. God met with us in a mighty way through the preaching, singing and fellowship. These northern church folks were not familiar with our southern Gospel style of preaching and singing, but they seemed to enjoy us as much as we enjoyed them. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to be a blessing to these missionaries as well. God gave them some much needed down

time to rest from their labors. Bro Joe Copley and Sister Lela celebrated their 50th year anniversary while there on the Island. They have been faithful servants of God, starting churches on four reservations in the last forty years. I thank God for the opportunity to share in their ministry.

I’m not sure if you noticed how many times I used the word opportunity in this letter, I PRAISE GOD FOR ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES he has given me to labor for him. Are you diligently seeking your opportunities to serve God?

As we Labor for Christ,

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Gerry & Sheril Locklear
Misisonaries to the Native Americans

Dear Soldiers of the Cross,

Christmas Shoe Box PLEASE HELP

JULY NEWSLETTER 2022

APRIL NEWSLETTER 2022


MAY NEWSLETTER 2022


It is time for us to turn our focus form the cares of this life, “Covid-19, Riotous people and the Presidential election” and every other fearful happens in your life. It is time for us to get our minds back on reaching out with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. We are continuing to reach out to our Native children with acts of love through our Christmas Shoeboxes. Please pray over these reservations and ask God to direct you to the one he would have you to send your boxes of love to. Please fill free to contact me for any questions you may have.

Items that may be included: KJV Bible or New Testament, Scripture help ads (suitable for age group), pens, pencils, paper, toys (suitable for age group), candy, snacks (Slim Jims, jerky sticks, etc.), coloring books with crayons, game books, small computer games, girls (jewelry, makeup kits, etc.). Ask the Lord to direct what He would have you send. We recommend putting the gifts in a clear zip lock bag so the missionaries can make appropriate gifts for each of the children, this also makes shipping easier and lease expensive. Mark age groups (example: 3 to 5, 5 to 8, 9 to 12 etc.) also girl or boy.

Navajo Reservation Mark Haynes PO Box 902 Ganado AZ 86505 (817) 913-1683

Choctaw Nation Olin Williams 710 Hepburn Rd Bennington OK 74723 (580) 847-2730

Lake Traverse Reservation Jerome Renville 45622 Tiospazina Dr Sisseton SD 57262 • (605) 742-0576

Fort Hall Reservation Joe Copley 243 N. University Ave Blackfoot ID. 83221 • (208) 680-7054

Inuit Nation Nick Serino PO Box 203 Pt. Hope Alaska 99766 • (907) 368-2035

Crow Reservation Ronnie Henderson PO Box 4 Pryor Mt. 59066 • (406) 861-7560

State of Maine Reservations Todd Bell 68 High St Sanford Maine 04073 • (207) 432-8298

State of Maine Reservations Corner Stone Baptist Church 16 Columbia St. Houlton Maine 04730 • (207) 538-0447

Pine Ridge Reservation Ken Trivette 19347 US Hwy 18 Batesland SD 57716 • (605) 890-1324

Rose Bud Reservation Ed Bausell The Baptist Church 523 E. Eagle Dr. Mission SD 57555 • (605) 208-3474

Navajo Reservation Raymond Hobbs PO Box 185 Ganado AZ 86505 • (928) 755-3084

Eskimo Nation David Youngblood PO Box 155 Kiana Alaska 99749•(907) 378-8241

Navajo Nation Solid Rock Baptist Church PO Box 7327 Nazlini AZ 86540 • (928)380-7616

Navajo Nation Ryan Nez PO Box 455 Window Rock AZ 86515 • (928) 380-8860

Tohono O’odham Nation Billy Ford PO Box 1312 Arizona City AZ 85123 • (423) 444-6561

Navajo Nation Justin Barnett PO Box 626 Ganado AZ 86505 • (928) 225-7787

Navajo Nation Joel Haynes On the Corner of BIA Rte-N27 And N271 Next to Church NAZLINI, AZ 86540 • (928) 299-1707


As we Labor for Christ,



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