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Patriotism Is Alive And Well In Marble Country

The Lord has set aside the American Redoubt for His purposes. He has set up the boundaries and it is up to us to implement it.

Patriotism Is Alive And Well In Marble Country

For Such A Time As This… Patriotism Is Alive
And Well In Marble Country, Washington

By Donna Capurso

Marble Country, Washington is a small community of Christian Patriots which was founded in 1991. This community hosted their 23rd annual God and Country event where like-minded folks can participate in activities giving glory to God and sharing the resurgence of dedication to the principles of liberty and freedom of our founding fathers. I will be hitting on just the highlights of the three day event for the various workshops and programs, but the organizers are making it possible to purchase a thumb drive with all of the workshops and sessions by contacting: Marble Country. The thumb drives are $20 and they will accept PayPal payments.

As the attendees entered Marble Country through the log entrance, everyone registered at the “Hitching Post” and were directed to a cordoned off, convenient parking area. Those with RV’s or tents were able to set up near the barn where most of the activities would take place. A building was nearby with a restroom and showers available for the participants. At 4:00 pm local vendors were set up to provide dinner selections at reasonable prices, and ice cream was available as well, which was very much appreciated as the weather was on the warm side; they went through 37 gallons of ice cream by the end of the event. Covered areas were set up with tables for folks to eat and visit before the program would begin early in the evening. As I spoke to a number of people, I found it so refreshing to visit with others that are passionate about preserving our republic for their children and grandchildren and were not hesitant to speak their minds about the condition of our country and the multitude of liberals that are trying to destroy our country and the foundations it was built upon.

Aquaponics greenhouse

The program began with a welcome by Rick Johnson, one of the event organizers, and followed by music and songs by the Black family, who live nearby. Most of the songs they sang were written by Mom and sung by the daughters, with Dad accompanying them on the guitar which was very inspiring and beautifully sung.

The first speaker for the God and Country event at Marble was introduced. Lt. Colonel Damon Friedman, a former Marine, is a decorated active duty Combat Controller with the U.S. Air Force and Founder/President of SOF (Shield of Faith) Missions, currently from Florida. He spoke passionately of “The Heart of a Warrior” and the terrible toll that PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) has on our veteran warriors returning from war. His statistics regarding veterans committing suicide since 2001 is more than 20 veterans per day. When many of the returning military come back home, they have lost hope and are broken.

Over one million vets have taken their own lives because they do not understand that Jesus is the ultimate commander of the universe. These statistics should be staggering to everyone. Friedman spoke at length about the heart it takes to be a warrior for God and that we have a “Spartan gene that does not take kindly to tyranny. Our forefathers were hard core warriors, Spartan men that were bad to the bone. They were Godly men who understood the power of God and knew that the odds were against them in the fight for their freedom from oppression, against the most powerful army and navy that the world had ever seen.” Though the colonists knew they were no match against them they chose to fight anyway. “It was a bloody and gut wrenching fight, and it was a miracle that the colonists won, by true grit, heart and by the power of a relentless God.”

Since 2001 over 2.5 million men and women have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and it is just now coming to light the seriousness of PTSD that has affected our returning troops. Lt. Colonel Friedman was instrumental in producing a video titled “SURRENDER Only to One.” I watched this video when it was shown the following morning and I have to admit that I was moved to tears as there is a special place in my heart for our military veterans. I bought 3 of the videos in order to share them with several churches here in north Idaho and I encourage others to do the same. The men and women that are deployed deserve to live happy and fruitful lives when they return home and not be subjected to the horrific after-effects of PTSD. More information can be obtained at: SOF  missions.

Rep. Matt Shea

Matt Shea, Washington State Representative in the House of Representatives then spoke about “The Kingdom – Building the Redoubt.” As Matt explained to the audience, “if we are not walking in the Spirit then we’re only getting things half right. We need to be walking around in victory, not defeat. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and we need to walk in truth and love, boldly and fiercely, not worrying about what others think. All of us as Christians are leaders.” Listening to Matt speak is always inspirational and informative. You can learn more about Matt Shea at: Matt Shea House Republicans WA.

To finish off the day, Jordan Page performed to the delight of the audience. Page is an American recording artist who performs a mixture of rock and folk music that has captivated audiences all over the US.  He is known for headlining at major functions and rallies in support of freedom, peace, and limited government. 

Saturday started off at 7:30 am for the early risers with a presentation by Toby Bateson on “The Divided Recovery” followed by a workshop on an economic forecast. Toby has been in economic investments for 25 years, and he tells his clients that his job is not to make his investors money, but rather to be a custodian of what a person has earned and will need back someday for retirement. We as people need to change our approach to the way we live. We need to prepare for the future as it is, and that is not necessarily all about canned goods and bunkers.

A diversity of income sources is needed as a single source of income is the most vulnerable way to live your life. He recommends to “not spend money you don’t have on things you don’t need to impress people you don’t like. How to reinvest in your life? The bible says that whatever is good, whatever is pure, whatever is righteous is how to determine how to invest in your life. This is where you invest your mental, physical and financial means which will return back to you in surplus.” Ask yourself: “Am I prepared?” To learn more about investments for the future, you can access additional information at: Wells Fargo Advisors.

Matt Shea presented a power point and information on “Liberty: the 51st State.” In reference to eastern Washington and western Washington, specifically Seattle, the idea behind the 51st State of Liberty is the fact that there are “two different cultures, two different heritages, two different economic outlooks, two different outlooks about what money is and two different ideas about what our political system should be. So if you look at that from this standpoint, we are already two states.” Matt stressed that he believes that the Lord has set aside the American Redoubt for His purposes, that He has set up the boundaries and it is up to us to implement it. Matt also spoke of north Idaho and eastern Montana being a part of the State of Liberty for the same reasons.

A number of other workshops were set up for the afternoon.

John Jacob Schmidt of Radio Free Redoubt spoke about “Surviving the Electronic Battlefield.” He is extremely versed in anonymity and security, especially when it comes to computers. He stressed the need to facilitate the flow of information, however it needs to be done in a manner to insure the security of the information you want to transmit.

He explained the difference between anonymity vs. security. Anonymity means an entity not being able to connect the dots if information is intercepted. It prevents someone from determining who a person is communicating with or who their circle of contacts are. Security is not being concerned about whom one is communicating with but not wanting the government to know what you are communicating.

John Jacob spoke of members of ISIS targeting our military via social media and OSIN (open source information); this is important to understand for Christians, conservatives, and others who can be targeted by those that would do us harm. Many people post information and photos of family members on social media, such as Facebook, making it easy for extreme groups or individuals to gather information who would do harm to those they are targeting. To learn more about obtaining the information and tools to protect one’s security and anonymity via his “Down and Dirty Guide” you can access the info here: Down and Dirty Guide .

Ekklesia – The Emergent Church” presented by Patriot Pastor Barry Byrd and his wife Anne was another session and “Airsoft Drills” by Team Rugged were demonstrated.

During the lunch break, an old fashioned, country style parade was a hit for the kids as well as the adults. “Appleblossom,” a character from the parade, visited with the kids and attendees in the dining area after the parade.

Parade of Patriotic Flags

The afternoon program started off with Rich Scheben on “The Coming Economic Disaster: Why to Prepare.” As Americans, for the past 40 years “we have been force fed Marxist/Alinsky/Frankfort School/Cloward-Piven and Communist Manifesto political strategies. Common sense and logic has been replaced with corruption, manipulation, nepotism as well as political correctness.” Scheben spoke of how our nation is in despair and what can be done with ideas and solutions with an emphasis on economics. Mr. Scheben also provided a workshop later in the afternoon on “Outside the Box Ideas and Solutions for Preparing” where he spoke on his perspective for gold, silver and crypto-currencies.

A number of afternoon workshops were available to choose from:

A panel discussion on the “Purpose and Formation of a Local Assembly” conducted by leaders of local assemblies, discussed the re-establishment of colonial liberty assemblies; to rebuild the Christian body politic and from there to establish the civil body politic which is the elected body of officials to represent the people from a Constitutional perspective.

Steve McLaughlin, who has worked in the emergency and crisis management realm for 40 years, gave his presentation on “Disaster Preparedness” and spoke of enhancing our security by sharing and forming a community which would be a much more secure way of preparing for an emergency or disaster.

Stevens County Commissioner Steve Parker spoke on “County Reclamation: America’s Rebuilding Block.” He spoke on how to set up a foundation for rebuilding. “When things are torn down or broken up, the people will need to rebuild, restore and redraw boundaries using biblical implications.”

An Aquaponics Tour at the Byrd home had been arranged for those interested in self-sustainability, which was quite informative. There was also a children’s obstacle course competition at the children’s playground.

Marble Kids

After the dinner hour, music was presented by Watchman, and then my favorite program began as the Marble Kids came on stage. Youngsters to teens performed to perfection for the audience. Especially impressive was the performance using a variety of colored flags as well as dance and song routines. When I spoke to Em Creach, the Marble Kids creative director, she told me that the kids practice 3 to 4 months on their performances before the Marble Country event and their efforts were obvious during their performance.

John Jacob Schmidt spoke on “Defining Who We Are: Be Not Afraid.” He spoke about our founding fathers and the theme of the event of “For Such a Time as This” and though we may not know what our purpose or reason is, and we don’t know what all this will look like, how we will be used, and what roles we will play, but that we must stay focused. He encouraged us all to trust in the Lord and that all will be revealed.

Lt. Colonel Damon Friedman

Lt. Colonel Damon Friedman completed the evening’s sessions on “War.” He passionately spoke of freedom and the fight for it. He stressed that God is with us and that we must believe in Him and we need to fight for our freedom and understand the power of faith.

The evening ended with a spectacular fireworks show and then a good old-fashioned barn dance.

Sunday morning began with a flag raising, the Pledge of Allegiance, a prayer and then a memorial for political prisoners and deceased, hosted by Steve Melzer. A church service immediately followed in the barn. A flag presentation was offered by Hugh Fleet with an explanation of each of the myriad of flags on display. Songs of worship were then sung, followed by a sermon by Patriot Pastor Barry Byrd. Guest speaker Reverend Matthew Cummings gave an inspiring message on: “Transformation – It Doesn’t Work Unless You Are Engaged.”

After lunch there was a “Team Rugged” demonstration and then an event wrap up in the barn and roundtable discussion, “What is God Saying.” The discussion was moderated by Matt Shea and the panel consisted of Schmidt, Bateson, Scheben McLaughlin, Byrd, Parker and Cummings. A bonfire was provided after dinner.

I found not only the organizers and volunteers extremely friendly, but the other attendees as well. It was three days well spent in an atmosphere of camaraderie, positive attitudes and rejoicing as Patriot Christians. Every speaker and program or workshop was filled with information to be used to enhance our daily lives and to be prepared for whatever may come our way, For Such a Time as This.

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