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Bennett Jackson by Tina Oneyear
I had a very hard crush on Mr. Jackson, in the short time that I
knew him. I was a typical
teenage girl with no real boyfriend.
I daydreamed about almost every good looking guy around, no
matter of the age or race. Bennett
was a very special person to me, though we never knew each other very
well.
Bennett was a very new 'born again Christian'.
He lived in Lapwaii with his mother and two sisters.
They were all Christians and attended church and camp meetings a
lot. Bennett traveled with a
Nez Perce evangelist named Leroy Vegas when he got saved.
He was a standing testimony of what the drug world was like.
Bennett had testified many times of how low he got when he was on
drugs. He talked about the
things that he did and now was ashamed of.
He was so grateful for the blood of Jesus to wash away his sins.
I remember watching him get up and speak
the several times that he came to visit our tribal church or at
Indian camp meeting. He seem
to be a very quiet and gentle sort of person.
When he stood up to speak, whether from the congregation or at
the pulpit, he always closed his eyes and looked toward heaven.
I don't know if it was that he was afraid to look at the people
or he was trying to show reverence to God.
It has been said that the Nez Perce people have the most fierce
looking facial expressions of the Native American tribes.
Today, it is still very common for all Nez Perce people to have
very long hair. There are a
few that follow the ways of the white man in fashion.
Bennett was about twenty two years old when I knew him.
He was around six foot tall with short black hair.
His face was kind and gentle for a Nez Perce man.
When he shook my hand it was a very soft touch.
I remember thinking that 'some how, we have to show you how to
shake hands like the Pentecost'. I
was always praying for him to stay close to God.
I knew that he had a hard road to go.
The area that he lived in was covered heavily with drugs, alcohol
and violent people.
I was very inspired
by his testimony or that he was able to get up and testify at all.
A lot of new Christians wouldn't have.
There was one testimony that I'll specifically remember about
Bennett Jackson. "Me
and Leroy were going to Canada for revival," Bennett stated with
his eyes closed and face turned toward the ceiling.
"Leroy's car was broke down and we only had enough money for
gas to get to Canada," Bennett said in his tribal accent.
"My tires were bald and the roads were icy with the snow.
The only thing we could do was pray.
We prayed that God would keep us safe and get us there to witness
for him. We let Jesus get us
home". Bennett
raised his hands to the ceiling, "Thank you Jesus for watching over
us and gettin' Leroy and me home," he praised.
From the moment that Bennett was born again, he lived his life on
fire for God. Sadly,
Bennett's life came to a very tragic end.
Bennett's brother was heavily on drugs and Bennett had tried to
help his brother to salvation. The
brother ended up slashing Bennett's throat and he died.
It was one of the saddest moments of my life.
We, the people that knew him, had lost a radiant beam of light.
Even today, he is terribly missed.
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