I want to spend my life
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mending broken people.
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I want to spend my life
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removing pain.
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Lord, let my words
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heal a heart that hurts.
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I want to spend my life
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mending broken people...
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I want to spend my life
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mending broken people.
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Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today.
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My name is Angela Lomacang.
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I'm glad that you have tuned in.
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We're going to have an exciting
day - exciting program -
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and I know you're
going to be blessed.
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As we know this
mission, this gospel,
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will be preached unto
all the world as a witness
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and then the end shall come.
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So I'm just giving you a
little hint about this program.
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Thank you for your
prayers and support of 3ABN.
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It is GREATLY appreciated.
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Well, let's go into our
guest. I want to introduce you
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to our guest right now.
Her name is Tandi Perkins.
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Welcome Tandi. Thank
you... thank you, Angela.
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Yeah... and tell us a
little bit about yourself
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before we get
into the mission. Sure.
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I'm a former wildlife biologist
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that was called out by God
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to serve Him in a way
that was totally unexpected.
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So just a fast-forward
from being a wildlife biologist.
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I was working for the NAD
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with the Philanthropic
Services for Institutions
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with Dr. Lilya Wagner.
And she asked me one day
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if I would like to go to Alaska.
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And I thought: "As
a consultant? Sure. "
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Who wouldn't want
to do that, right?
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And little did I know
that Alaska Conference
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needed to have a
development office created
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and working for the
priority mission that they have
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which is Arctic
Mission Adventure
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reaching out to
Alaska Native villages.
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So four years later here I am.
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Wow! Exciting!
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Well we're going to talk a lot
more about what your mission is
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in Alaska, but before we
get into our conversation
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we have some wonderful
music to share with you
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by ET Everett
entitled I Will Serve Thee.
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Thank you so much, ET
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for that wonderful rendition
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of I Will Serve Thee.
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And that's what this program
is about: serving the Lord.
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Before we go into our
program I'm going to ask
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Tandi to just open
with a short word of prayer.
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Sure. Heavenly Father,
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We thank you so much
for being the God that
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is out there moving hearts
and moving people to serve You.
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And I pray that You
will be with this ministry
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of 3ABN... also
with the work in Alaska.
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Bless this
discussion as we talk about
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how You're moving in Alaska.
In Thy name, I pray, Amen.
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Amen! Thank you for that.
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Now Alaska is one place my
husband and I have never been.
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We always say: "I want
to go on an Alaska cruise. "
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Just to see the...
It's just beautiful!
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The ice and the polar bears
and all that. It's just amazing.
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So tell us about
the dichotomy of Alaska.
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Sure. Well it's really inter-
esting because as you mentioned
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people come to Alaska
or they see a program on TV
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about Alaska and they think
about all the things you just
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mentioned: the
glaciers. The glaciers!
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The big large mammals...
sea mammals or what have you.
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But the reality is
it truly is a dichotomy.
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Alaska is the largest
state and if you consider
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sort of looking at this
map if you think about Alaska
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if you were to
cut Alaska in half
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Texas would still be
the third largest state.
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So even cutting Alaska in half
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would make it the first
and second largest states.
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So it's vast. The other
thing that people don't realize
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is that there
are very few roads.
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You know, the road
system is very very limited
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to pretty much
the western third...
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or the eastern
third... sorry... of the state.
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And so anything off of
what we call the road system
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is considered bush
and you have to fly to it.
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So resources... getting
resources out into areas
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in the bush
require either barging
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or shipping or
sometimes dogsledding.
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Ooh! Yeah... and flying.
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And so it jumps the prices up
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for anything
that you want to do.
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If you consider the
indigenous folks that live there
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we have nine different people
groups that are distributed
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across the state -
Wow! in six regions. Umm!
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And these individuals have
six different languages. Wow!
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So when we think
about Alaska in the terms of
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evangelism it's striking...
it's daunting, to say the least
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because not only do we
have to overcome the logistical
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aspects of evangelism
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we have to overcome
evangelizing individuals that
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sometimes their English
is a second language. Hmm!
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And then we will talk later
about some of the challenges
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the Alaska Native
peoples are faced with. Yes.
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Now are there
different time zones?
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No... no. So we
sitting here at 3ABN
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it's four hours behind so
it's not as bad as it could be.
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But it's all in
the same time zone.
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Is it? OK.
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All right. Now Alaska is
a mission field, isn't it?
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It truly is. It's almost
like a third-world country
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in America. It truly is.
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I mentioned the
fact that we have...
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Let me just back up
- yes - and say that
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in the Alaska Conference
Arctic Mission Adventure is a...
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is a self-supported ministry
within the Alaska Conference
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because we have such a large
population of indigenous folk
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in Alaska. So while
we do have a conference -
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a church conference -
its top priority is to...
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to minister and to go
out and serve Alaska Natives.
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And so in that sense it
truly is a mission field
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because we are called to serve
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and to spread the
gospel to Alaska Natives.
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But it's a
mission field even more so
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in the fact that as
you go out into the bush
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and into some of these villages
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It's dark... it
is dark. These folks
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are still very
much tied to the land.
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They still hunt and fish. Yes!
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They still whale.
There's whaling still going on.
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And they are still
out there picking berries
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and land vegetables. And
they start at the beginning
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of "ice out" and
they finish right when
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ice comes in. And it's partly
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because of tradition. I
mean, there's a tradition
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to that... they've
done that historically.
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But in the last years
it's being done because
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of necessity. You know I
just came back from Utqiagvik
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or Barrow which is
the furtherest point
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in North America. We
actually have a church there.
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And the prices are astronomical.
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If you consider a new mother
that is trying to do laundry
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you know the Tide pods are $54.
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So I just went into a
store... What is that?
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Tide laundry detergent.
Oh, laundry detergent!
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It's $54, right?
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And so if you think about that
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I just went into a
store here in the lower 48
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you know
visiting and it was $16.
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I mean that tells you
the difference in costs.
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Why is it so high?
Just gettin' it there?
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It is getting it there.
You know, if you think about
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there's a distribution center
in the lower 48 just about
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in every... in
every place, right?
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Anchorage is the distribution
place but it has to be
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flown or barged
up into Anchorage.
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And so it
creates a real challenge.
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And so food
challenges are a big issue
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in our Alaska
Native communities.
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Clothing is a big need.
00:13:06.55\00:13:10.29
Now you mentioned vegetables.
How do you grow vegetables
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in Alaska? You don't.
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You do in Anchorage
and things like that
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but Alaska
Natives... You have to consider
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that above the Arctic Circle.
Yeah. I mentioned Utqiagvik
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or Barrow... they are in dark-
ness 6 months out of the year.
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Oh yes. So they're in...
When I went there just last
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weekend they're
still in 24-hour daylight.
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And so it's a
dichotomy in the time
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and in the day length. True.
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And so it's very much...
very different than anything
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that you can imagine.
And the interesting part is
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that it's all in
the United States
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and people don't
realize it. Right!
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Now how difficult is it
for evangelism in Alaska?
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Well as you can imagine
given the logistical challenges
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that we see in the vast state
00:14:07.38\00:14:10.15
it is very challenging.
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You know, we have the
challenge of getting people to
00:14:12.18\00:14:15.48
the different villages,
the different locations.
00:14:15.68\00:14:17.82
We also have the challenge
of working with different people
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groups in the
indigenous communities
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that English is
sometimes a second language.
00:14:24.23\00:14:26.96
And then we have the
challenge that we are...
00:14:27.16\00:14:31.17
are working with Alaska Natives
that have had generational
00:14:31.37\00:14:34.70
trauma and so it's been... You
know we have to be so sensitive
00:14:34.90\00:14:38.54
and so considerate and
really just starting to be
00:14:38.74\00:14:41.91
the hands and
feet of Jesus. Hmm!
00:14:42.11\00:14:43.65
But if you consider
where we are as a Conference
00:14:43.85\00:14:47.68
we have only 16
pastors in the entire state.
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Sixteen. Sixteen?
That's it? That's it.
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Sixteen teachers because
we have schools in Alaska. Oh!
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We have ten Arctic
Mission Adventure workers
00:14:59.96\00:15:03.87
and we have less than 4,000
Adventists in the entire state.
00:15:04.27\00:15:09.97
So there is a lot
of work to be done.
00:15:10.17\00:15:12.41
Wow! That is a challenge!
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But nothing's too difficult
for our God, is it? Amen.
00:15:16.21\00:15:18.75
Nothing's too difficult.
00:15:18.95\00:15:20.38
Now what about the
diversity and traditions there?
00:15:20.58\00:15:23.32
I know there's a
lot of tradition.
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There is. How do
you work with that?
00:15:25.59\00:15:27.72
Sure. So again you
know we have individuals
00:15:27.92\00:15:30.63
that come from
different language groups.
00:15:30.83\00:15:33.83
For example, we have
on the St. Lawrence Island
00:15:34.03\00:15:36.73
Siberian Yupik.
And while the tradition
00:15:36.93\00:15:40.50
and the habits may be different
there are similarities too. Hmm.
00:15:40.70\00:15:45.11
Each one of the
indigenous groups
00:15:45.31\00:15:47.88
value each other.
They value the land;
00:15:48.08\00:15:50.88
they value
spirituality; they value humor.
00:15:51.08\00:15:53.88
So there's a lot of things
that kind of bring them together
00:15:54.28\00:15:57.15
even though there might be
differences in say some of the
00:15:57.35\00:16:00.16
coastal natives that are still
fishing as a primary source
00:16:00.36\00:16:04.99
for their dietary needs.
00:16:05.19\00:16:08.56
And the interior Alaska
Natives are maybe hunting more
00:16:08.76\00:16:12.47
than the people on the
coast. Interesting. Yes.
00:16:12.93\00:16:18.04
I have a question. What's
the difference between an Eskimo
00:16:18.24\00:16:21.21
and a Native American?
OK. So you actually brought up
00:16:21.41\00:16:24.81
a good point. Native American is
a term that is used for lower 48
00:16:25.01\00:16:28.68
natives. Right. So if
you are on a Navajo Nation
00:16:28.88\00:16:32.62
reservation they are considered
collectively Native American.
00:16:32.82\00:16:36.93
An Eskimo is actually
kind of a derogatory term
00:16:37.66\00:16:40.23
that we don't really use.
00:16:40.43\00:16:41.83
You know, I have friends
that call themselves Eskimos.
00:16:42.03\00:16:45.27
But it's a term that the
non- Natives have brought in
00:16:45.47\00:16:50.84
and coined for Alaska Natives.
00:16:51.24\00:16:54.98
Alaska Native is
the term that is used
00:16:55.18\00:16:57.81
for the
indigenous people in Alaska.
00:16:58.01\00:17:01.18
I see... OK.
00:17:01.38\00:17:03.02
Now what are the challenges
that these... these Natives face
00:17:03.22\00:17:07.99
in Alaska? Primarily
00:17:09.89\00:17:12.13
we see generational trauma
as a result of 4 main events
00:17:12.33\00:17:17.40
that have occurred in
the not-too-distant past.
00:17:17.60\00:17:21.07
So you have back
in the late 1800s
00:17:21.47\00:17:24.71
the different
denominations came into Alaska
00:17:24.91\00:17:27.31
and they carved up
Alaska. So one denomination
00:17:27.51\00:17:30.48
went in one area,
another in another.
00:17:30.68\00:17:33.05
And unfortunately with them they
brought some pretty egregious
00:17:33.25\00:17:37.09
acts and abuses. And so
we have a huge challenge
00:17:38.72\00:17:43.76
when we go into a village
because organized religion is
00:17:43.96\00:17:47.03
not necessarily well accepted.
00:17:47.23\00:17:50.63
And with the religion
00:17:50.83\00:17:53.13
comes past
grievances, past hurts.
00:17:53.34\00:17:58.01
And so we can't call
ourselves missionaries.
00:17:58.21\00:18:00.24
We call ourselves Bible workers
00:18:00.44\00:18:02.74
or Arctic Mission
Adventure workers.
00:18:02.94\00:18:04.71
And the reality is is that
00:18:05.61\00:18:08.18
we don't try to meet them
immediately with the Bible
00:18:08.38\00:18:13.66
but we try to be the
hands and feet of Jesus.
00:18:13.86\00:18:16.09
We do what Christ did on earth
which is let me heal, feed,
00:18:16.29\00:18:20.50
you know, talk and be
there as a support system.
00:18:20.70\00:18:24.63
And then they start to
ask what's different with you?
00:18:24.83\00:18:27.50
So we have the organized
religions that came in.
00:18:27.70\00:18:29.87
We have the mission schools
that have created a huge problem
00:18:30.07\00:18:33.94
in that they took kids
away from their parents
00:18:34.14\00:18:37.48
and they put them
in these institutions.
00:18:37.68\00:18:39.28
They couldn't speak their
language. They couldn't dress
00:18:39.48\00:18:42.48
the way that they
traditionally did.
00:18:42.68\00:18:44.72
And so basically they
were trying to anglicize them.
00:18:44.92\00:18:48.09
And that happened...
both of these have happened
00:18:48.29\00:18:51.33
well into the
20th century. Oh yeah.
00:18:51.53\00:18:54.50
And so then we are
dealing with the adults today.
00:18:54.90\00:18:58.37
And then what most
people don't realize is that
00:18:58.57\00:19:01.90
we've heard of the
internment during World War II
00:19:02.10\00:19:05.57
of the Japanese-Americans
but what people don't realize
00:19:05.77\00:19:08.74
is that Alaska Natives were
interned during World War II.
00:19:08.94\00:19:12.28
And of course that displacement
00:19:12.58\00:19:14.98
into locations that
were less than stellar
00:19:15.38\00:19:20.32
caused some pretty
grievous abuses as well.
00:19:20.72\00:19:26.23
And so we are still dealing with
the adults from that episode.
00:19:27.00\00:19:30.43
And then finally adoption
of Alaska Native children
00:19:30.63\00:19:34.77
into non-Native homes again
just causes this disconnect
00:19:34.97\00:19:39.27
of tradition, of
self-awareness and identity.
00:19:39.47\00:19:44.35
And so you have these
individuals that are having to
00:19:44.55\00:19:49.18
use coping mechanisms. Not
all of them are a part of this
00:19:49.38\00:19:53.42
but we have a high incidence
of suicides, sexual abuse,
00:19:53.62\00:19:57.69
substance abuse and it's a
challenge... it's a challenge.
00:19:57.89\00:20:03.67
Wow! Now where does Arctic
Mission Adventure come in?
00:20:04.17\00:20:08.14
AMA... sure... and
you're part of AMA. You bet.
00:20:08.34\00:20:11.61
Arctic Mission Adventure
is a self-supported ministry
00:20:11.81\00:20:14.38
of the Alaska Conference.
00:20:14.58\00:20:15.98
Our Conference is so small
that the budget could not...
00:20:16.18\00:20:18.85
could not be able to do
the kinds of mission work
00:20:20.15\00:20:25.09
and outreach that is needed
00:20:25.29\00:20:27.22
just from a
Conference perspective.
00:20:27.42\00:20:31.23
So we have had to
do our own fundraising
00:20:31.43\00:20:35.03
so that we can build and
grow in what we can accomplish
00:20:35.23\00:20:38.97
out into the bush... which
is everything off of the road
00:20:39.17\00:20:42.04
system. So there are over 220
Arctic Alaska Native villages.
00:20:42.24\00:20:46.81
Villages? And
we are only in ten.
00:20:47.01\00:20:49.94
So that gives you some
perspective of the field
00:20:50.85\00:20:53.98
of need and the
field that is wide open
00:20:54.18\00:20:57.59
to show Christ
00:20:57.79\00:21:01.22
in some of the
Alaska Native communities.
00:21:01.42\00:21:04.59
And so we have ten
workers that live in village
00:21:04.79\00:21:09.13
and we have churches and
parsonages in these 10 villages
00:21:09.33\00:21:14.24
and they are
distributed across Alaska.
00:21:14.44\00:21:16.20
So we have a church in
the northern-most point
00:21:16.40\00:21:20.41
in North America
and that is Utqiagvik.
00:21:20.61\00:21:24.51
We have a church in the
St. Lawrence Islands, Gambell,
00:21:24.71\00:21:30.02
and that's 35 miles from Russia.
00:21:30.22\00:21:31.92
And then we have a church
plant in the Aleutian Islands -
00:21:32.32\00:21:36.09
Wow! where we've
just put a pastor
00:21:36.29\00:21:41.26
that is trying to develop
00:21:41.46\00:21:43.73
a church down in
the Aleutian chain.
00:21:43.93\00:21:46.84
Is that the one
from Andrews? Yes... yes.
00:21:47.04\00:21:49.07
So the folks when
they live in village
00:21:49.50\00:21:53.07
they determine what the
needs are within the village.
00:21:53.27\00:21:55.91
A lot of it is food
insecurities. They need clothes.
00:21:56.11\00:22:00.18
They need... We do after-
school programs for the kids.
00:22:00.38\00:22:04.25
Kids really have
been our primary focus
00:22:04.45\00:22:06.65
because there's a dispropor-
tionately high number of kids
00:22:06.86\00:22:10.36
in these villages.
And so we... And usually
00:22:10.56\00:22:13.70
at home, they're
dealing with adult situations.
00:22:13.90\00:22:16.43
And so we try to
bring them out of that
00:22:16.63\00:22:18.57
and we do vacation
Bible schools, day camps.
00:22:18.77\00:22:21.34
You know, anything that we
can get the kids to come in
00:22:21.74\00:22:24.31
and just be kids for
a day or even a week.
00:22:24.47\00:22:28.24
But now we're seeing
that there's a true need
00:22:29.38\00:22:32.78
to kind of diversify.
And so we just received
00:22:32.98\00:22:35.38
a grant to do mental health pro-
gramming in 6 of our villages.
00:22:35.58\00:22:38.89
Wow! Where did
that grant come from?
00:22:39.09\00:22:41.69
That grant came from the
NAD... I'm sorry, excuse me, the
00:22:42.09\00:22:46.70
North Pacific Union.
So it's a shark tank grant
00:22:46.90\00:22:50.80
that we were able to get.
00:22:51.00\00:22:52.33
And that's been a real blessing
00:22:52.47\00:22:54.00
because what happens
is because of suicides
00:22:54.20\00:22:58.11
and because of the high number
of fatalities in these villages
00:22:58.31\00:23:03.14
grief counseling is
so much needed. Really?
00:23:03.35\00:23:06.08
Oh absolutely. Grief counseling
00:23:06.28\00:23:08.12
also being able to see signs
of suicide to prevent suicide.
00:23:08.82\00:23:12.35
So there's a lot of
programming that we can do.
00:23:12.55\00:23:14.86
So this is sort of
a template to start
00:23:15.06\00:23:17.76
to see what we can do to
grow some of these programs
00:23:17.96\00:23:21.06
out to help not only
spread the gospel of Christ
00:23:21.26\00:23:25.83
but to be practical in
what we do in villages.
00:23:26.07\00:23:31.01
Has anyone ever given
an actual evangelist series
00:23:31.21\00:23:34.64
in these villages?
Yes. So every Spring we have
00:23:34.84\00:23:37.98
our Arctic Camp Meeting.
So of course you know in the
00:23:38.18\00:23:40.48
lower 48 in the States
all the people can drive
00:23:40.68\00:23:43.45
to the Camp
Meeting. Well we can't drive
00:23:43.65\00:23:45.72
to our central Camp
Meeting so we have periodic
00:23:45.92\00:23:48.82
Camp Meetings in the Arctic.
00:23:49.02\00:23:51.49
And so we invite
people to come up and do
00:23:51.69\00:23:55.00
an evangelistic series.
00:23:55.20\00:23:56.83
It's a real
challenge - oh yes - to... to
00:23:57.70\00:24:02.40
have these folks change
00:24:02.60\00:24:06.07
their religious affiliation.
It's surprisingly not the...
00:24:07.21\00:24:10.88
The missionaries of the
past have done a really good job
00:24:11.08\00:24:13.58
at solidifying the doctrine -
00:24:13.78\00:24:17.82
yes - and the belief system.
But in one of our villages
00:24:18.02\00:24:21.02
we had 12 baptisms which
is huge. Praise the Lord!
00:24:21.79\00:24:25.06
And believe it or not
COVID has been a real instrument
00:24:25.66\00:24:29.56
in terms of being
able to spread the gospel
00:24:29.76\00:24:32.37
because we have had
00:24:32.57\00:24:35.80
our workers have
been able to get on radio.
00:24:36.00\00:24:39.14
Get on the CB radio or
the marine radio - oh yes -
00:24:39.34\00:24:42.48
that goes
throughout the village.
00:24:42.68\00:24:44.15
And the people can not
have to walk through the doors
00:24:44.31\00:24:47.28
in order to be
blessed by the message.
00:24:47.48\00:24:49.48
And so we've really grown in
terms of being able to touch.
00:24:49.68\00:24:52.85
We talk about radio.
We have a radio station
00:24:53.05\00:24:55.42
that is in every single one
of the villages that we're in.
00:24:55.62\00:24:59.16
And it is
Adventist Radio. Is it AWR?
00:24:59.36\00:25:04.13
No... we haven't
been able to do that.
00:25:04.33\00:25:06.07
But it's a state... It is
an Adventist radio station
00:25:06.27\00:25:10.54
but it is locally owned and run
00:25:10.74\00:25:14.34
by Ryan Woehler who is in Nome.
00:25:14.54\00:25:17.81
And so we have been
really blessed. But it costs
00:25:18.01\00:25:20.42
about $22,000 just to
put a station into a village.
00:25:20.62\00:25:25.59
Oh yes! And we
also have... We try to
00:25:25.79\00:25:28.19
put radio stations in
villages that we didn't have
00:25:28.39\00:25:31.06
any presence in, but
it's been really challenging
00:25:31.26\00:25:33.83
because we don't have a contact
or a network already established
00:25:34.03\00:25:37.80
and you need to
have a place to put that.
00:25:38.00\00:25:40.04
So God is
moving. You know, we do
00:25:40.44\00:25:43.54
like I say we do day
camps. Oh yeah! We do
00:25:43.74\00:25:46.57
health messaging. Health
messaging is really a challenge
00:25:46.78\00:25:51.31
because we don't want to
00:25:51.51\00:25:54.65
minimize the traditions
and the traditional foods
00:25:56.52\00:25:58.99
that were being used. However,
we believe that there is
00:25:59.19\00:26:03.09
an opportunity to
sort of talk about how
00:26:03.29\00:26:06.83
people can choose
different healthier options
00:26:07.03\00:26:10.60
given the fact that you
can't grow vegetables out there.
00:26:10.80\00:26:13.60
So we have to be cognizant
00:26:13.80\00:26:17.61
of the Native way
and the Native tradition
00:26:17.81\00:26:20.54
but also being able to
share Christ's message.
00:26:20.74\00:26:24.15
Now talk about the Baby Box.
00:26:24.31\00:26:26.28
What is the Baby Box?
00:26:26.48\00:26:27.82
Right... so I'm really
excited about this. This is
00:26:27.85\00:26:30.39
a very new
program. We discovered that
00:26:30.59\00:26:34.62
SIDS or sudden
infant death syndrome
00:26:34.82\00:26:37.96
is very high in
Alaska Native communities.
00:26:38.16\00:26:43.13
And I don't know all
the research; I don't know
00:26:43.53\00:26:46.63
exactly why it's so high.
00:26:46.84\00:26:49.60
There are some things
that I could point to.
00:26:49.80\00:26:53.51
When you look at a
village housing situation
00:26:53.71\00:26:57.58
it's packed with
sometimes 12 and 15 individuals
00:26:57.78\00:27:01.82
in a very small home and
there's no real space for baby.
00:27:02.02\00:27:05.22
You know, there's not a
place for a crib or a bassinet.
00:27:05.42\00:27:10.93
And so often
times the mother will...
00:27:11.13\00:27:14.36
will have the
child with her in bed
00:27:14.56\00:27:16.67
and accidents can happen. Yes.
00:27:16.87\00:27:19.13
So we have decided
to create a Baby Box
00:27:19.33\00:27:24.77
that's out of a
sturdy cardboard box.
00:27:24.97\00:27:27.68
And it sounds kind
of plain but we have
00:27:27.88\00:27:31.11
native motif that
decorates the box.
00:27:31.51\00:27:34.62
And we have a
mattress that we put down
00:27:34.82\00:27:39.39
and it's full of all kinds
of things that a new mother
00:27:39.59\00:27:42.22
would need to
start life with baby.
00:27:42.42\00:27:44.86
And we bring
people in to talk about
00:27:45.26\00:27:48.16
safe spaces for baby and
how to just protect your child
00:27:48.36\00:27:52.67
and have a safe
sleep space for the child.
00:27:52.87\00:27:56.24
And it's been phenomenal.
00:27:56.44\00:27:58.81
We have started it
in Utqiagvik Barrow.
00:27:59.01\00:28:01.74
Um-hmm. And we had
over 30 people come to it.
00:28:01.94\00:28:07.48
To a baby shower.
They put a baby shower on
00:28:07.68\00:28:10.39
and we talk about life
with baby with a new mother.
00:28:10.59\00:28:15.59
And it's been very
successful and very much a need
00:28:15.79\00:28:18.39
for trying to help
reduce the incidences of SIDS
00:28:18.59\00:28:23.06
in the villages.
Wow! These Baby Boxes!
00:28:23.43\00:28:26.23
It's a great mission for these
mothers as well as the families
00:28:26.43\00:28:30.21
isn't it? Um-hmm. Yes. Yes!
00:28:30.41\00:28:32.47
Speaking of missions
00:28:32.67\00:28:34.21
let's talk about mission
experiences. Share with us.
00:28:34.41\00:28:37.01
Sure. About a year or so ago
00:28:37.51\00:28:39.88
we started structuring mission
trips - right - to Alaska.
00:28:40.18\00:28:46.15
We've had a lot of
people reach out to us and say:
00:28:46.35\00:28:48.79
"How can we be a part of
00:28:48.99\00:28:51.03
Arctic Mission Adventure? "
00:28:51.23\00:28:52.66
And so we have
limited opportunities
00:28:52.86\00:28:54.96
but we have provided mission
trip experiences for schools.
00:28:55.16\00:28:59.77
So Walla Walla,
Southern have come up
00:28:59.97\00:29:02.87
and done some construction
work or put on VBS, day camps.
00:29:03.20\00:29:08.11
We've also had
churches. We had Spring Meadow
00:29:08.31\00:29:11.41
church in Florida come up and
they actually did some amazing,
00:29:11.61\00:29:15.98
amazing things. From
Florida? From FLORIDA!
00:29:16.18\00:29:18.42
Right. During the summer.
00:29:18.62\00:29:20.02
And it's been a real
blessing because obviously
00:29:21.62\00:29:24.99
we cannot do it all ourselves.
00:29:25.19\00:29:26.59
How's the
response from the people?
00:29:26.80\00:29:29.00
From the locals? From the
locals. You know, very good.
00:29:29.20\00:29:31.97
When you have
somebody coming to your door
00:29:32.17\00:29:35.30
you have an opportunity
to be the face of Jesus.
00:29:35.50\00:29:40.01
Amen! You know, there's
been a tremendous response
00:29:40.21\00:29:42.74
to the kindness and the
willingness to just be a friend
00:29:42.94\00:29:47.92
and to serve Christ in that way.
00:29:48.12\00:29:53.19
Beautiful! Now you
have an interesting story
00:29:53.39\00:29:56.62
that you want to share
- yes - with our viewers
00:29:56.83\00:29:59.49
and listeners. Share it with us.
00:29:59.69\00:30:01.06
Well I call it
Miracle on the Tundra.
00:30:01.26\00:30:04.03
So in Selawik, we have a couple
who serve on the search and
00:30:04.23\00:30:08.84
rescue. In the
Arctic on the tundra
00:30:09.04\00:30:13.27
you know if a person gets
lost I mean that's... that's
00:30:13.48\00:30:16.71
really dangerous. It's
dangerous to get lost anyway
00:30:16.91\00:30:19.15
but when you're on the
tundra during a winter storm
00:30:19.35\00:30:21.82
it's very difficult
to find these people.
00:30:22.02\00:30:26.52
And so Selawik is about 75 miles
00:30:26.72\00:30:30.43
from the... It's a small village
75 miles from the bigger village
00:30:30.63\00:30:35.10
or the hub village of Kotzebue.
00:30:35.30\00:30:37.30
And during the winter time
people will use their SNO-GO
00:30:37.50\00:30:40.54
which is what they
call snowmobiles to go from
00:30:40.74\00:30:43.41
from Selawik to Kotz to visit
people or to replenish stores.
00:30:43.71\00:30:49.64
And this couple set out
Dec. 31 to do just that.
00:30:49.94\00:30:55.65
And about 4
o'clock in the afternoon
00:30:56.15\00:30:59.32
their relatives realized
that they had not come back.
00:31:00.26\00:31:02.92
That was not typical
because there's a pattern
00:31:03.12\00:31:07.60
that you follow when
it's winter on the tundra.
00:31:07.80\00:31:10.77
And so they waited
a couple more hours
00:31:11.27\00:31:13.97
to see if they would
return. They did not.
00:31:14.17\00:31:16.50
So they contacted our
search and rescue team
00:31:16.91\00:31:21.48
and asked them to
start mobilizing and getting
00:31:21.68\00:31:27.22
folk to go look for them.
00:31:27.42\00:31:29.98
And so Edna and Jose gathered
all of the S&R personnel.
00:31:30.65\00:31:35.92
Not a lot but they said
00:31:36.12\00:31:38.46
"You know, we need to
pray for this endeavor. "
00:31:38.66\00:31:41.33
And so they got into a
circle and they prayed.
00:31:41.53\00:31:44.87
Now these are not
Adventist individuals. These are
00:31:45.07\00:31:47.50
just people that are serving
to find lost individuals.
00:31:47.70\00:31:52.27
OK. So Edna prayed and she
sent the first two teams out.
00:31:52.47\00:31:56.78
They went back to where they
thought this couple should be
00:31:56.98\00:32:00.05
based on the
trajectory of the trip
00:32:00.25\00:32:03.55
and they were not there.
00:32:03.75\00:32:05.09
And so they came back and
they said they could not find
00:32:05.29\00:32:09.19
the couple. And so
they sent out more teams
00:32:09.39\00:32:12.16
to the different points of where
this couple should have been.
00:32:12.36\00:32:17.33
This went on all night
long... through the night.
00:32:18.03\00:32:20.44
Four o'clock in the
morning the last team came in...
00:32:20.64\00:32:24.67
no results. And
Edna had in the meantime
00:32:24.87\00:32:28.11
gotten herself into a
corner and was just prayerfully
00:32:28.31\00:32:32.15
asking God to find this couple.
00:32:32.35\00:32:34.32
A lost soul - whether
spiritually or physically -
00:32:34.52\00:32:38.85
is very upsetting. And
so she had tears coming down
00:32:39.05\00:32:44.03
and she said: "Lord, please
help me to know where to look.
00:32:44.23\00:32:48.93
Tell me where to look.
Help us to find this couple. "
00:32:49.13\00:32:51.63
And she was
impressed that the S&R team
00:32:52.03\00:32:55.70
needed to go back
to the original point
00:32:55.90\00:32:57.97
that they searched the very
first time that they went out.
00:32:58.17\00:33:00.74
She didn't understand this
00:33:00.94\00:33:02.31
but she thought:
"OK, I need to do this. "
00:33:02.51\00:33:05.28
And so she got
the group back around
00:33:05.68\00:33:07.75
and they prayed once again
00:33:07.95\00:33:10.29
that the timing was...
00:33:10.49\00:33:14.26
was you know challenging
00:33:14.46\00:33:17.16
and coming down to
a real critical point
00:33:17.36\00:33:19.89
that this couple would be found.
00:33:20.40\00:33:22.46
And so the two S&R
squads went back out.
00:33:22.66\00:33:26.53
And as they came upon this
location that they searched
00:33:27.54\00:33:31.34
the very first time they
saw an object in the distance.
00:33:31.54\00:33:34.44
And as they got closer
they realized it was the couple
00:33:34.84\00:33:38.38
and they were on foot and they
were crawling through the snow
00:33:38.58\00:33:41.52
towards Selawik, the village.
00:33:41.72\00:33:44.15
And there was something
behind them and they couldn't
00:33:44.89\00:33:46.79
quite make that out.
And as they got closer
00:33:46.99\00:33:48.62
they saw that there
were wolves on the heels
00:33:48.82\00:33:52.09
of this couple. What?
00:33:52.29\00:33:53.63
And if they had not
found that couple who knows
00:33:53.76\00:33:57.07
what would have happened.
It gives me goosebumps.
00:33:57.27\00:33:59.20
And so they put the
couple on the SNO-GO
00:33:59.60\00:34:03.87
and went back to
Selawik. They got into the...
00:34:04.07\00:34:06.98
the housing area
where the S&R team were
00:34:07.18\00:34:10.91
and there was a huge celebra-
tion as you can imagine. Sure.
00:34:11.11\00:34:14.05
But what was interesting
is yes they were glad that
00:34:14.25\00:34:16.22
the couple was found
but they were more amazed
00:34:16.52\00:34:18.62
and celebratory of the
fact that the God of the 7th day
00:34:18.82\00:34:22.32
answered their prayer
00:34:22.52\00:34:24.69
and found that couple
before the wolves got them.
00:34:24.89\00:34:27.60
What? What an amazing story!
00:34:27.80\00:34:30.73
But you said they say
"The God of the 7th day. "
00:34:31.13\00:34:33.80
Explain that. They
call our church the 7th day.
00:34:34.00\00:34:37.31
They don't call it the
Seventh-day Adventist church.
00:34:37.51\00:34:40.04
They call it the
God of the 7th day.
00:34:40.24\00:34:42.34
God of the 7th day.
The Lord protected them.
00:34:42.54\00:34:46.01
They were
missing for many hours.
00:34:46.21\00:34:48.18
Throughout the night.
And so on the first day
00:34:48.38\00:34:51.29
of January, on January 1st,
00:34:51.49\00:34:54.02
the New Year they found
the couple. That's beautiful!
00:34:54.22\00:34:57.86
Praise God! I love that story!
00:34:58.49\00:35:00.73
The Lord protected
them, shielded them,
00:35:00.93\00:35:03.53
and it was snowing and I'm
sure the winds were howling.
00:35:03.73\00:35:06.67
Oh absolutely. They
were crawling you said.
00:35:06.87\00:35:08.24
It was -30, -40 degrees
00:35:08.44\00:35:10.44
you know, so yeah it was
critical that they were found.
00:35:10.64\00:35:13.94
Wow! Praise the Lord.
00:35:14.24\00:35:16.85
Now we're going to go
into a little different avenue.
00:35:17.05\00:35:19.95
How is Arctic
Mission Adventure funded?
00:35:20.35\00:35:24.99
Sure. So I mentioned earlier
that Arctic Mission Adventure
00:35:25.19\00:35:28.06
is a ministry of the
Alaska Conference. Yes.
00:35:28.26\00:35:30.86
And again, because we
are such a small conference
00:35:31.69\00:35:34.93
the kind of budget that we need
00:35:35.13\00:35:37.97
in order to do evangelism
00:35:38.17\00:35:40.17
and mission outreach
00:35:40.37\00:35:41.70
into the Arctic into the
Alaska Native communities
00:35:41.87\00:35:44.54
is more than what a conference -
one of the smallest conferences
00:35:44.74\00:35:49.31
in the North
America Div. can manage.
00:35:49.51\00:35:51.68
And so we are a 100%
donor-supported ministry. Wow!
00:35:52.08\00:35:56.28
And because you know we've
talked about how expensive it is
00:35:57.45\00:36:01.29
to travel and to
do the business of God
00:36:01.49\00:36:05.33
it requires a lot of funds.
00:36:06.09\00:36:08.40
And so we every year
have to raise between $425,000
00:36:08.60\00:36:13.44
and half a million just to main-
tain, that keeps lights on.
00:36:13.64\00:36:17.91
So we have a church and a
parsonage in every single one
00:36:18.31\00:36:21.38
of the ten
villages that we're in.
00:36:21.58\00:36:23.31
So we have to pay for
all of the operational funds.
00:36:23.51\00:36:27.45
But we also have to pay for
00:36:27.65\00:36:30.59
and continue the outreach
00:36:30.79\00:36:33.19
that we feel God is
calling us to do. Yes.
00:36:33.39\00:36:36.52
And that means shipping
things and materials to...
00:36:36.73\00:36:39.56
you know for
VBS to the villages.
00:36:39.76\00:36:42.86
We didn't talk about this
but part of what we do, too,
00:36:43.06\00:36:46.57
for the kids is
bringing kids out of the village
00:36:46.77\00:36:48.84
into one of our resident
camps. So we pay for their...
00:36:49.04\00:36:52.01
their airline ticket
out to the resident camp.
00:36:52.21\00:36:55.14
All of that costs
a lot of money to do.
00:36:55.34\00:36:58.65
When you say "resident
camp" what does that mean?
00:36:58.85\00:37:00.42
So we have three
resident camps in Alaska.
00:37:00.62\00:37:06.15
And what we try to do is
00:37:06.79\00:37:10.96
we try to take kids
that are from the bush
00:37:11.16\00:37:14.23
out of the
village because oftentimes
00:37:14.63\00:37:18.37
they've had to deal with adult
situations and adult challenges.
00:37:18.57\00:37:22.60
And we do bring day
camps to the village
00:37:22.80\00:37:25.71
but it's not the same as
getting kids out of that village
00:37:25.91\00:37:28.94
and allowing them
to just be a kid again.
00:37:29.14\00:37:31.11
And so when we do that
00:37:31.31\00:37:33.88
there's a lot of costs
- sure - surrounding that
00:37:34.82\00:37:38.59
for the plane ticket, for
the food, for all of that.
00:37:38.79\00:37:41.76
And it's just amazing
because some of these kids
00:37:42.16\00:37:44.19
have never left the village
before. And when they enter
00:37:44.39\00:37:46.36
Anchorage it's a culture shock.
00:37:46.56\00:37:48.60
They've never seen asphalt;
you know it's all dirt roads.
00:37:48.80\00:37:52.60
Some of them have
never been on a plane before.
00:37:53.10\00:37:55.64
Some of them have never seen
Taco Bell except for on the TV.
00:37:56.04\00:37:59.01
So I mean it's such
an eye-opening experience
00:38:00.18\00:38:03.01
for them, and it
provides a huge opportunity.
00:38:03.21\00:38:06.98
And we've had several
baptisms resulting from that.
00:38:07.18\00:38:11.52
And so again any kind
of outreach that we do...
00:38:11.72\00:38:15.56
If you can imagine
what your church does
00:38:15.76\00:38:19.89
in terms of outreach and
the costs associated with that
00:38:20.10\00:38:22.63
in the lower 48, triple that
00:38:22.83\00:38:24.93
and that's what it costs us
to do the same kind of outreach
00:38:25.13\00:38:28.67
in Alaska. Wow! It is
truly a mission field. It is.
00:38:28.87\00:38:32.54
Like a third-world country.
We call it "a mission field
00:38:32.74\00:38:35.28
in your backyard. " I
like that 'cause it is!
00:38:35.48\00:38:37.85
It's in our back yard
in America! That's right.
00:38:38.05\00:38:40.32
That's right. Now
for these children...
00:38:40.52\00:38:43.62
Once you get the
children a lot of times
00:38:43.82\00:38:46.02
you get the
parents. It's really neat
00:38:46.22\00:38:48.36
to see and to hear stories
00:38:48.56\00:38:50.56
where the children will come
either to our resident camp,
00:38:50.76\00:38:54.20
to a day camp, to a VBS
00:38:54.40\00:38:56.26
and you can see them
changing. You can see them
00:38:56.46\00:39:00.90
you know starting to
adhere to some of the things
00:39:01.10\00:39:04.07
that they're being
taught. And they take it home!
00:39:04.27\00:39:06.68
They take it home and
there is a difference.
00:39:06.88\00:39:09.48
There is. And
there's an opportunity
00:39:09.68\00:39:12.65
to shine wherever you are
00:39:12.85\00:39:15.48
as God touches the
hearts of the young people
00:39:15.68\00:39:18.42
but also the adults.
00:39:18.62\00:39:20.22
Right... and they're learning
00:39:20.42\00:39:21.92
but the expense of everything...
00:39:22.12\00:39:23.66
Like you said to me earlier
00:39:23.86\00:39:27.10
that they have to fly in?
00:39:27.30\00:39:31.33
Many people have to fly in
or you have to go to different
00:39:32.20\00:39:35.24
places in Alaska -
that's correct - where of course
00:39:35.44\00:39:38.47
you can't drive.
No... no... no you can't.
00:39:38.67\00:39:42.01
So for me to go from Anchorage
to St. Lawrence Island let's say
00:39:42.94\00:39:48.28
really wouldn't
be one-day travel
00:39:49.22\00:39:53.59
so chances are it's
going to take me two days
00:39:53.79\00:39:55.92
to get out there.
00:39:56.12\00:39:57.46
Because you get on...
Alaska Air will fly to Nome
00:39:57.93\00:40:02.76
which is the hub city
00:40:02.96\00:40:06.50
and then you go from
Nome to St. Lawrence Island.
00:40:06.70\00:40:10.11
Oftentimes the
airlines or the charter planes
00:40:10.51\00:40:15.31
don't fly because of weather.
00:40:15.51\00:40:17.65
As I've said before I
was flying up to Utqiagvik
00:40:17.81\00:40:21.75
and we circled three
times and had to come back
00:40:21.95\00:40:24.49
because the fog
ceiling was so low.
00:40:24.69\00:40:26.96
But I mean, if you think about
going across the ocean to do
00:40:27.16\00:40:29.79
mission work you encounter
very much the same kinds
00:40:29.99\00:40:34.73
of conditions and situations
00:40:34.93\00:40:37.13
that you do there
as you do in Alaska.
00:40:37.33\00:40:40.04
Wow! So Alaska Conference
is the smallest conference?
00:40:40.54\00:40:44.94
I think West
Virginia is smaller -
00:40:45.14\00:40:48.04
right - but it's certainly
in the bottom tier of size
00:40:48.24\00:40:53.15
of conferences, yes.
00:40:53.35\00:40:54.68
That's oooh! For
the largest territory.
00:40:54.88\00:40:57.49
And only what? Four thousand?
Less than four thousand -
00:40:57.89\00:41:01.82
um-hmm - Adventists.
Less than 4,000 members.
00:41:02.02\00:41:04.49
So we have a lot of
work but God is moving.
00:41:04.89\00:41:06.56
I mean I've told you
stories of how people
00:41:06.76\00:41:08.73
have changed,
people have come to Christ.
00:41:08.93\00:41:11.63
You know God truly loves
Alaska and He is calling us
00:41:11.83\00:41:17.77
to do His work
for the end times.
00:41:17.97\00:41:20.54
I mean we talked
about this: God is coming.
00:41:20.74\00:41:22.68
Christ is coming. So soon!
00:41:22.88\00:41:24.65
And we have a work to do
and Alaska is part of that work.
00:41:24.85\00:41:29.68
You know the fields are
wide. The fields are ready for
00:41:30.09\00:41:34.92
people to come out.
00:41:35.12\00:41:36.46
If there's an interest in being
an Arctic Mission Adventure
00:41:36.62\00:41:41.83
work. or there's an interest
in being a pastor, Alaska is
00:41:42.03\00:41:44.47
an experience that
is unlike any other
00:41:44.87\00:41:48.84
as far as putting your
life in God's hands and saying
00:41:49.04\00:41:53.27
"Is Alaska right for me? "
00:41:53.48\00:41:55.24
So is it open to
mission? Like if someone
00:41:55.44\00:41:58.48
say here in Illinois
wants to do some mission work
00:41:58.68\00:42:02.32
in Alaska? Absolutely.
00:42:02.52\00:42:04.59
Absolutely. We have
churches as I mentioned
00:42:04.79\00:42:06.99
that are
interested in coming up.
00:42:07.19\00:42:09.36
Again we have a limited number
00:42:09.56\00:42:12.63
but they can go on our website
ArcticMissionAdventure.org
00:42:12.83\00:42:17.33
We have a form
that people fill out
00:42:17.53\00:42:19.90
and we match skills to
our needs in the villages.
00:42:20.10\00:42:22.80
And there's a lot of work
00:42:23.00\00:42:24.97
that can be done. And as I've
00:42:25.17\00:42:26.57
mentioned before we
are such a small conference
00:42:26.78\00:42:28.88
we cannot do it all.
00:42:29.08\00:42:30.41
Our workers cannot do it all.
00:42:30.45\00:42:31.78
So we have a need. We
have a financial need;
00:42:31.81\00:42:34.08
we have a resource need;
00:42:34.28\00:42:35.62
and we have an action need
00:42:35.78\00:42:39.05
for people to come out and
actually do what we can't do.
00:42:39.25\00:42:42.89
You have to be so
creative, don't you?
00:42:43.29\00:42:45.43
We have to!
Creative but also flexible.
00:42:45.63\00:42:49.26
We have to be flexible
because there's going to be
00:42:49.46\00:42:51.57
times when your plane will
circle 3 times over the village
00:42:51.77\00:42:54.84
and you have to
fly back to Anchorage.
00:42:55.04\00:42:56.37
It's just part of
doing business in Alaska.
00:42:56.54\00:42:58.81
What do you say?
The plane will fly over?
00:42:59.01\00:43:00.78
Right. So oftentimes
you fly from Anchorage
00:43:00.98\00:43:04.88
to the village and
the fog is so low - OK -
00:43:05.08\00:43:09.05
that they can't land
because it's all by sight.
00:43:09.25\00:43:11.85
They don't have any of
the instruments that they use
00:43:12.05\00:43:14.66
in a bigger airport
and so it's all by sight.
00:43:14.86\00:43:17.69
And if they can't sight... which
we wouldn't want them to do...
00:43:17.89\00:43:21.73
but if you can't sight
the runway then they go back.
00:43:21.93\00:43:26.27
Wow! And there's a
collective sigh of "Ohh. "
00:43:26.47\00:43:29.54
Yeah. Praise the
Lord! We made it!
00:43:29.74\00:43:32.14
Yeah, and the suicide rate.
You mentioned the suicide rate
00:43:32.87\00:43:37.85
with the Native Americans there.
00:43:38.25\00:43:40.62
'Cause I know the Native
Americans here in the lower 48
00:43:40.82\00:43:44.02
the suicide rate is also high.
00:43:44.22\00:43:45.99
How do you deal
with that as a church?
00:43:46.86\00:43:50.23
As the
conference there in Alaska?
00:43:50.43\00:43:52.56
It's a
challenge... it really is.
00:43:52.76\00:43:54.36
It's a challenge
because trying to...
00:43:54.56\00:43:58.20
It's all about building
rapport and relationship.
00:43:58.40\00:44:01.57
You know, like Christ
did. He met people one on one.
00:44:01.77\00:44:05.97
Yes. He detected
a need. He detected
00:44:06.17\00:44:09.24
a despondency and He sat
and He talked with individuals
00:44:09.44\00:44:14.35
one on one. Yes, He
did. He became a friend;
00:44:14.55\00:44:17.29
He became an
ear... a listener. Yes!
00:44:17.49\00:44:19.92
We can't have
people that come in
00:44:20.82\00:44:26.06
and stay a short
period of time and then leave.
00:44:26.26\00:44:30.07
I mean that's happened to
Alaska Natives historically.
00:44:30.27\00:44:35.64
So we need people
that are able to come in
00:44:35.84\00:44:38.54
and build
relationships, build a rapport.
00:44:38.74\00:44:41.74
Commit to staying for a
while. Have a passion and a love
00:44:42.14\00:44:46.21
for a group of individuals that
00:44:46.41\00:44:51.62
need to feel the love of
Jesus through each of us.
00:44:51.82\00:44:55.99
Amen. How do you minister
to the young ladies there?
00:44:56.19\00:44:59.46
It's hard. It
really is hard because
00:44:59.86\00:45:02.96
unfortunately sexual
abuse is astronomical
00:45:03.87\00:45:09.54
and it's not something
that is talked about you know.
00:45:09.94\00:45:13.98
But what we're trying to do is
00:45:14.18\00:45:17.18
something that I
have a passion for - yes -
00:45:17.38\00:45:19.48
is bringing in art therapy.
Oh good! And I met a lady
00:45:19.68\00:45:23.85
who is from Canada
and she does art therapy.
00:45:24.05\00:45:28.12
We tested that in
one of our villages
00:45:28.52\00:45:31.33
and we found that
it was really powerful
00:45:31.53\00:45:34.73
to instead of articulating
and talking about it
00:45:34.93\00:45:38.03
you use art in the form
of creating a Native doll
00:45:38.23\00:45:43.84
out of paper... so
sort of a paper doll.
00:45:44.04\00:45:46.24
and it tells a story and
it tells their story. Wow!
00:45:46.44\00:45:49.94
And so, again, we're
lacking funding for it.
00:45:50.15\00:45:53.05
But that's something that
I would really like to see
00:45:53.25\00:45:55.95
move forward. And I have
talked to some of the people,
00:45:56.15\00:46:01.52
the administrators in
Barrow and different places
00:46:01.72\00:46:05.73
and they are very interested
in trying to collaborate
00:46:05.93\00:46:09.00
with this kind of program
00:46:09.20\00:46:10.53
because your tendency is
not to talk about your past
00:46:10.73\00:46:15.60
and your history. Yes.
Nor necessarily should you.
00:46:15.80\00:46:19.41
I mean maybe if that works
for you. But I find for Alaska
00:46:19.61\00:46:22.18
Natives, it would be
ideal to do this art therapy
00:46:22.38\00:46:25.71
because they are so creative.
They're very creative people
00:46:25.91\00:46:31.35
and their artwork is phenomenal.
00:46:31.55\00:46:33.96
And so if we can use sort
of what comes natural for them
00:46:34.16\00:46:37.09
to tell their story
in a way that's healing
00:46:37.29\00:46:39.86
would be amazing.
That would be... yes.
00:46:40.06\00:46:42.96
In the General Conference they
have it's called End It Now.
00:46:43.16\00:46:47.00
Right, right. Do you
have that initiative up there?
00:46:47.30\00:46:49.64
How would that work?
Umm, the challenge is that
00:46:49.84\00:46:52.81
and I've talked
to that organization
00:46:53.48\00:46:58.75
and we are trying to
collaborate on certain things
00:46:58.95\00:47:03.05
part of which is how do we
take a non-Native message...
00:47:03.25\00:47:07.89
not a message
but materials - yes -
00:47:08.09\00:47:13.70
I guess is a better term...
00:47:13.90\00:47:15.33
and adapt it into sort
of a Native perspective.
00:47:15.53\00:47:20.00
Because they get hit
with all of this Western
00:47:20.20\00:47:23.91
messaging and the reality is
00:47:24.11\00:47:26.14
that we should be
able to do a better job
00:47:26.34\00:47:28.81
of personalizing that
message so that it hits
00:47:29.01\00:47:32.58
them where they
need it and communicates
00:47:32.78\00:47:37.32
in a way that they understand.
00:47:37.52\00:47:38.95
Not that they don't
speak English. They do.
00:47:39.15\00:47:41.12
But whoever you are
you want to be talked to
00:47:41.32\00:47:45.53
in your style, in your language.
00:47:45.73\00:47:47.73
For their
culture also. Absolutely.
00:47:47.93\00:47:50.97
I mean it is
amazing work to be done.
00:47:51.17\00:47:54.80
And those of you out
there if you want to help
00:47:55.00\00:47:57.84
we'll show information
later on. But there's a...
00:47:58.04\00:48:00.18
How to get in touch
with Tandi and the mission.
00:48:00.38\00:48:05.21
But there's a great
work to be done out there.
00:48:05.41\00:48:08.28
And as you said, we are
the hands and feet of Jesus,
00:48:08.48\00:48:11.99
aren't we? Um-hmm. I mean
the suicide. What else is it?
00:48:12.19\00:48:15.26
Suicide; sexual abuse;
substance abuse; alcoholism.
00:48:15.46\00:48:21.26
When you say
substance is it drugs? Alcohol?
00:48:21.66\00:48:24.40
It's everything and above.
00:48:24.80\00:48:26.13
Again, we are all like
this. When we have been hit hard
00:48:27.57\00:48:33.07
we tend to use
certain things to cope.
00:48:33.54\00:48:36.68
That's across the board
because it's not just a Native
00:48:37.08\00:48:40.98
issue you know...
it's across the board.
00:48:41.18\00:48:43.15
And so of course
when you've been hit
00:48:44.09\00:48:47.79
with more
Westernized challenges...
00:48:47.99\00:48:52.46
things like religious
organizations coming in,
00:48:52.66\00:48:57.87
the mission schools
and things like that...
00:48:58.07\00:49:00.24
it's a lot harder to get beyond.
00:49:00.44\00:49:03.04
And if you don't have Christ -
right - it's almost impossible.
00:49:03.24\00:49:07.21
And so there's a tendency
to turn towards those things
00:49:07.41\00:49:11.01
that are harmful. And
that could be overeating.
00:49:11.21\00:49:13.78
True. It could be anything.
Whatever you identify as
00:49:13.98\00:49:18.19
your coping mechanism.
00:49:18.39\00:49:20.86
Yeah. And so the first
step again is to be there.
00:49:21.06\00:49:24.83
To be in village;
to be a support system.
00:49:25.03\00:49:27.90
To come alongside
and carry your friend
00:49:28.10\00:49:33.90
through the journey
that they're going on.
00:49:34.10\00:49:36.00
It's such a great mission.
00:49:36.40\00:49:38.17
And also the language?
00:49:38.37\00:49:40.08
When you say English
like a second language
00:49:40.28\00:49:42.68
what is the
first language there?
00:49:42.88\00:49:44.31
It depends on the
region. Oh! It could be Yupik.
00:49:44.51\00:49:46.35
It could be Kupik;
It could be Enupiak.
00:49:46.55\00:49:49.85
It could be... There's
just a lot of different...
00:49:50.05\00:49:55.29
Never heard of those! Oh yes.
And trust me: it's very hard.
00:49:55.49\00:49:58.89
The first time I tried to...
The first village I went to
00:49:59.09\00:50:02.40
I tried to learn a
phrase just to say hello
00:50:03.70\00:50:08.97
and I botched it
up... but they loved it
00:50:09.17\00:50:11.07
because you
tried. So Cama'i is hello
00:50:11.27\00:50:16.51
and welcome in Yupik.
00:50:16.71\00:50:20.98
It's a very challenging language
00:50:21.18\00:50:24.72
and one that I
would love to learn
00:50:24.92\00:50:26.76
but I don't have a
penchant for language.
00:50:26.96\00:50:30.13
So I try my best and
they appreciate that.
00:50:30.33\00:50:33.36
Do we have Bibles in
that language? We do!
00:50:33.56\00:50:35.46
We do. We have
Bibles in Siberian-Yupik.
00:50:35.66\00:50:38.57
They translated the
Bible on that island. Really?
00:50:38.77\00:50:41.77
And so yeah, there's
things happening in Alaska!
00:50:41.97\00:50:44.91
I'm glad. So different
languages; we have Bibles.
00:50:45.11\00:50:48.34
Do they have Spirit of Prophecy
books in those languages?
00:50:48.54\00:50:51.58
No, I don't believe they do. No.
00:50:51.78\00:50:53.58
Again, they watch 3ABN.
00:50:53.78\00:50:57.02
Amen! They do... they do.
00:50:57.22\00:50:59.09
I have people saying that they
thoroughly enjoy watching 3ABN.
00:50:59.29\00:51:03.46
And so again, what I love
about Christ's work is we have
00:51:03.66\00:51:08.06
no idea who we
touch. True... true!
00:51:08.26\00:51:11.33
And until we get to heaven
and a person walks up to us
00:51:11.53\00:51:14.14
and says: "I am here" - yes -
00:51:14.34\00:51:17.41
"because of you. " Amen!
00:51:17.61\00:51:20.18
That is what... We are in
the business of bringing people
00:51:20.38\00:51:24.08
to Christ because
time is short. Amen!
00:51:24.28\00:51:26.58
And there's a song called Thank
you for giving to the Lord.
00:51:26.78\00:51:31.55
I LOVE that song!
Yes! I love that song.
00:51:31.75\00:51:35.52
And for those of you out
there what we're going to do
00:51:37.23\00:51:39.43
is go on a short break.
00:51:39.63\00:51:41.13
We're going to give
you contact and how to
00:51:41.33\00:51:43.37
connect with this
wonderful mission.
00:51:43.57\00:51:45.60
We will be right back.
00:51:45.80\00:51:47.40