Current Ministry

JULY 2013 to Present - Relocated UCM to Caldwell Idaho establishing a central location for ministry to the lost and the body in Christ in surrounding states and locations and closer to Native Reservations. Procured 2.72-acres for ministry center with ongoing remodeling, repairs and construction of UCM facilities.  Occasional preaching opportunities at local church.

SEPTEMBER 2012 to Present - Ongoing Native American ministry at Duck Valley Reservation, Owyhee, Nevada & Hoopa Reservation in Northwestern California. 

AUGUST, 2012 - Trip to North Carolina visiting Rev. Shirley Frisbee, and Pastors Hilliard and Elena Smith of Owyhee, NV in Cherokee, North Carolina for a prayer walk, meeting with Tribal Chief and Elders.  Pastors Hilliard and Elena will continue the prayer walk traveling to Oklahoma, reversing the pathway of the Trail of Tears.

JUNE - JULY, 2012 - Return ministry to Duck Valley Reservation, Owyhee, NV and Caldwell, ID to update UCM web site.

Ministry History

At the end of October, 2010, Sis. Judith moved back from the Duck Valley Reservation in Owyhee, NV to her home in Tracy, CA. In November, 2010, she had the privilege of going on an 8-day Tour of the Holy Land, sponsored by Radio Station KFAX. Since her return, she has been setting up the UCM Office, and carrying on the work of the ministry through the daily radio broadcast and personal Correspondence ministries. As the Lord directs, she will resume travel in mission outreaches and Crusade meetings.

Holy Land Tour

 
Rev. Shirley Frisbee & Sis. Judith                               KFAX Host Dion Evans reading scripture, Mount of Beatitudes

Sis. Judith with KFAX host Dion Evans,

more pictures click here

View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

Duck Valley Outreach

In September 2008, Sis. Judith has ministered on what some have said is the most remote Native American reservation in the nation: The Duck Valley Reservation, home of the Shoshone and Paiute nations, straddling the northern Nevada and southern Idaho border. It is true cowboy country, with ranching the principal industry. Owyhee, NV has a population of under two thousand, and for the past year and a half, Sis. Judith has served as Pastor of the Owyhee Presbyterian Church. This Church will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year, and practically every family on the Reservation has roots in this historical Church.

She also conducted and was a part of a weekly Bible Study at the church, a weekly prayer meeting of the local Ministers, and was involved in training and attendance at the weekly meeting of Native Turning Point, a wellbriety program developed for Native American by Rev. Shirley Frisbee reaching out into the community. Aside from getting to know the Elders at the Senior Lunches, she enjoyed writing the Words Of Wisdom article published in the monthly SHOPAI NEWS. The ongoing prayer and financial support of the UCM Family made these missionary efforts possible. Sis. Judith continues to carry on the daily radio and correspondence ministries that have been the hallmark of UCM since 1965.

In August, 2010 Sis. Judith did some extensive traveling to visit Revs. Bo & Cathy Lowe of Morning Star Outfitters, a working cattle ranch in Jackpot, NV. From there she left to attend the 25th annual Blue Sky Ministries Camp meeting in Wolf Point, MT on the Ft. Peck Assiniboine/Sioux Reservation.  In October, she returned to Duck Valley to catch up on mail and the daily radio broadcasts while preparing for the move back to her home in Tracy, CA.

Those attending the local Church are very hungry for a preaching of the Word, and attendance and enthusiasm at the weekly service and mid-week Bible Study is growing. During her visit in June 2012, she observed this growth due in part to the faithful ministry of the current Navajo pastors, Leroy and Ernestine Thinn.  There is good cooperation between the three Christian Churches on the Reservation: the Full Gospel, the Baptist and Presbyterian. The ministers and congregations meet on a monthly basis for a Sunday evening of praise and worship, and a fellowship meal. Also, they help sponsor and work together for the hosting of community events as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter services.

Background on Owyhee, NV: Named by Captain Cook (of South Seas fame) who scouted and named this area after two Hawaiian trappers who were lost in this uncharted region in the early 19th century. This was his spelling of "Hawaii!" The geography is high desert (5,400') and 100 miles from the nearest cities. The present population is about 1,600 including Native American and whites.

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Northern Nevada is home to the "buckaroo" culture of cowboys and ranchers. In this traditional hunting ground for the Shoshone and Paiute tribes, the first early white settlers in the 1860's were sheepherders. Folk life studies have shown ethnic heritage to be Basque, German, Italian, English and Spanish. The term "buckaroo" seems to come from the Spanish "vaquero." In the Great Basin range cattle industry, the vaqueros came first, and they were Hispanic California horsemen. They brought their own traditions of horsemanship, different equipment and saddle types, as well as "dress" with them, influencing other working cowboys. Those attending the Church and in the community wear the traditional dress: a flat-brim hat, large neck scarf, and silver accessories, differing from the typical "Arizona" cowboy, and unique to the buckaroos.

The severe drought of the 1930's virtually destroyed sheep raising as an industry and brought a mixed farming and cattle economy. Because of the dry conditions of this high desert (5400'), this type of ranching allows cattle to range over large territories and are gathered, branded, sold and driven by men on horseback from low to high altitudes ranges as the seasons demand. Because of changing federal regulations governing public lands which have traditionally been grazed by ranchers, and changing systems of animal husbandry this way of life seems to be coming to an end in the American West.