Discovery Church

Ten members of the Discovery Church from Broomfield, Colorado arrived Tuesday the19th ready to serve the underserved in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After a delicious meal at Fixn’s with Pastor Tiller and his wife Latrisha from Turn Church we hiked to the top of Standpipe Hill to pray over the city and for unity of the churches throughout Tulsa. Tulsa at night is stunning! 

Our day started with a beautiful drive to Pawhuska, OK where we met Pastor Larry Robinson at the Osage Nation Museum. Pastor Larry is an Osage/Cherokee/Kaw First Nations People. He spent the day teaching us about the Native American history in this area. He comes from a very honored and prominent family in the Osage Nation, the Tinker family. His given name is Mo-se-num-pah, which means Iron Necklace. 

The Osage Tribal Members have fought for their country in wars dating back further than we can imagine. The Native American Code Talkers were instrumental in victories in both WWI and WWII. The immature Golden Eagle feather plays a prominent role in their traditional dress and ceremonies. All male members of the Osage Nation wear one feather in their headdress, which points straight up. The feather is pointing towards God. Pastor Larry starts each day picking up his white feather with the black tip and the beaded quill and says a prayer before driving to work. He shared with us that every time an Osage picks up an Eagle feather, God is listening. 

No Alex! You can not pet the Bison! 

What a glorious day of service 🙏🏼 We all chipped in to haul tons of fresh produce into a facility set up to provide food and resources for over a hundred families. 

Alex, you rock!

This was our most humbling and grounding experience thus far. Discovery Church’s passion for social justice drew us to Night Light Tulsa where local community members and faith based groups gather together every Tuesday evening to build relationships with people experiencing homelessness and those in need. Where volunteers almost equaled those who came to be served through a clothing closet, a mobile book store, and a walking prayer group, just to name a few. We fed them and provided food and supplies for their pets. We served the people who came by just showing up with open hands and open hearts. There were about 200-250 people with about 150 volunteers. Kari prayed before we arrived and ask that the Lord break our hearts like those who are in need break His. Her prayers were answered. Praise God

Michaela was in awe with the selection of earrings that Christie makes. Christie is the gifted woman who made our fried bread for dinner a few days ago. God bless her. 

We spent a sobering few hours learning more about the horrifying atrocities the took place during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Our experience left us with more questions than answers though. Like, “Why?” and “How did they make what they did okay?” At the end of the day we realized that those questions can only be answered by God. There are many things in this world that we will not understand and we must have Faith and take heart because He has overcome the world. 

We spent several hours from early morning to early afternoon feeding close to 1,000 participants a traditional Thanksgiving meal. As a bonus they got a fresh turkey and a box of fixn’s to take home. Some of us got to haul their goodies to their car, others served drinks for days, and some of us cheered on and celebrated their arrival. There was a lot to be thankful for today. 

Pastor Tiller shared a message about caring and feeding people. Not just with food but with love and life. After praying a blessing over him and his wife Latrisha we wrapped up our service in Tulsa. 

Praying blessings for healing…

How have we been complicit in racial injustice? How have we benefited from racial injustice? And, what is our part in making things right? 

We were tasked with pondering these three questions as we journaled and continued our week long discussion about our new understanding of those oppressed by others. We couldn’t help but notice this week that since The Fall, this pattern of people hurting people is as deep as our DNA. We were challenged by the question, “What are we going to do about it now?” At the end of the day, we can’t leave here and continue to do less than what we know is right; we know more now than we did seven days ago. 

Our round table discussion led us down a path of, “What are we going to do about this when we go home?” The discussion was heartfelt and honest and real. 

Pastor Larry and his wife. 

Discovery Church PPM Tulsa has come to a close. Farewell Zion Church, your hospitality was amazing. Thank you for all you do to build the Kingdom of God. And a final farewell to Rikki, thank you for not stopping by 😄. And finally, God Bless Discovery Church, I can’t wait to see what He is preparing for you and your congregation next 🙏🏼 See ya soon.