Gracious Lord, thank You for loving us and giving us Your Spirit. Continue to direct us and lead us and help us to follow Your ways rather than our ways. Help us to look upon others with love so that our witness to the world reflects You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

For most of us, the back to school season involves trips to the local stores to pick up new pencils, folders, and notebook. Perhaps there's a special back to school outfit and, of course, a new pair of shoes. But for the kids who live on the Lower Elwha Reservation and surrounding communities, access to new shoes (and money to purchase them) is limited.

But this year's students will be sporting new shoes, thanks to the Hope House.

After the enormous success of Hope House's Backpack Drive last year, Tom and Cathy Benzler have now set their sights on feet. Not only do the children of the Olympic Peninsula's tribes need shoes for the upcoming winter, but a pair of new shoes encourages excitement for a new school year.

"If we can continue to raise awareness and get the ball rolling, we can really make an impact on the lives of Native Americans living on the Olympic Peninsula!" insists Cathy. "We really want all these children to know that someone genuinely cares about them. They are the future, and we want to help give them a bright future!"

Socks can do that!

Life for Native Americans is hard, but how they cope with this hardship varies from person to person.

Native people look to a variety of avenues to escape the hardships. Some turn to drugs and alcohol to fill the void in their lives, and suicide is also prevalent when the hopelessness gets too big to carry.

Others turn to traditional ways.

This return to the old ways has merit. Traditionally, Native Americans were family-focused. Men provided for their families, and children were taught to respect the wisdom of their elders.

Amid machines with flashing lights and rhythmic beeping, Deacon Tom (Ioway) and Deaconess Cathy (Cherokee) Benzler sit hand in hand with a Native elder of one of the many Olympic Peninsula tribes with whom they serve. Though nurses come in and out, checking numbers and fixing tubes, the atmosphere of the room is peaceful. This man, a close friend of the Benzlers and a regular at their home Bible Study, is secure in his salvation and determined to face his final days with courage and faith, which he hopes will draw his family members and community nearer to Christ - family and friends who come in large groups to be with him, hear his stories, and soak up his wisdom.