Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY220055A
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00:04 I want to spend my life
00:09 mending broken people. 00:14 I want to spend my life 00:20 removing pain. 00:25 Lord, let my words 00:31 heal a heart that hurts. 00:36 I want to spend my life 00:41 mending broken people... 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:52 mending broken people. 01:07 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:09 My name is Angela Lomacang. 01:11 I'm glad that you have tuned in. 01:13 We're going to have an exciting day - exciting program - 01:16 and I know you're going to be blessed. 01:18 As we know this mission, this gospel, 01:22 will be preached unto all the world as a witness 01:25 and then the end shall come. 01:26 So I'm just giving you a little hint about this program. 01:30 Thank you for your prayers and support of 3ABN. 01:33 It is GREATLY appreciated. 01:35 Well, let's go into our guest. I want to introduce you 01:38 to our guest right now. Her name is Tandi Perkins. 01:41 Welcome Tandi. Thank you... thank you, Angela. 01:43 Yeah... and tell us a little bit about yourself 01:46 before we get into the mission. Sure. 01:48 I'm a former wildlife biologist 01:50 that was called out by God 01:53 to serve Him in a way that was totally unexpected. 01:57 So just a fast-forward from being a wildlife biologist. 02:01 I was working for the NAD 02:03 with the Philanthropic Services for Institutions 02:05 with Dr. Lilya Wagner. And she asked me one day 02:08 if I would like to go to Alaska. 02:10 And I thought: "As a consultant? Sure. " 02:11 Who wouldn't want to do that, right? 02:13 And little did I know that Alaska Conference 02:18 needed to have a development office created 02:22 and working for the priority mission that they have 02:27 which is Arctic Mission Adventure 02:29 reaching out to Alaska Native villages. 02:32 So four years later here I am. 02:34 Wow! Exciting! 02:37 Well we're going to talk a lot more about what your mission is 02:41 in Alaska, but before we get into our conversation 02:45 we have some wonderful music to share with you 02:48 by ET Everett entitled I Will Serve Thee. 06:59 Thank you so much, ET 07:01 for that wonderful rendition 07:03 of I Will Serve Thee. 07:05 And that's what this program is about: serving the Lord. 07:09 Before we go into our program I'm going to ask 07:11 Tandi to just open with a short word of prayer. 07:14 Sure. Heavenly Father, 07:16 We thank you so much for being the God that 07:20 is out there moving hearts and moving people to serve You. 07:24 And I pray that You will be with this ministry 07:27 of 3ABN... also with the work in Alaska. 07:31 Bless this discussion as we talk about 07:33 how You're moving in Alaska. In Thy name, I pray, Amen. 07:36 Amen! Thank you for that. 07:38 Now Alaska is one place my husband and I have never been. 07:43 We always say: "I want to go on an Alaska cruise. " 07:45 Just to see the... It's just beautiful! 07:48 The ice and the polar bears and all that. It's just amazing. 07:53 So tell us about the dichotomy of Alaska. 07:56 Sure. Well it's really inter- esting because as you mentioned 08:00 people come to Alaska or they see a program on TV 08:03 about Alaska and they think about all the things you just 08:06 mentioned: the glaciers. The glaciers! 08:09 The big large mammals... sea mammals or what have you. 08:12 But the reality is it truly is a dichotomy. 08:15 Alaska is the largest state and if you consider 08:18 sort of looking at this map if you think about Alaska 08:21 if you were to cut Alaska in half 08:24 Texas would still be the third largest state. 08:28 So even cutting Alaska in half 08:30 would make it the first and second largest states. 08:33 So it's vast. The other thing that people don't realize 08:37 is that there are very few roads. 08:39 You know, the road system is very very limited 08:44 to pretty much the western third... 08:48 or the eastern third... sorry... of the state. 08:51 And so anything off of what we call the road system 08:54 is considered bush and you have to fly to it. 08:56 So resources... getting resources out into areas 09:00 in the bush require either barging 09:03 or shipping or sometimes dogsledding. 09:07 Ooh! Yeah... and flying. 09:11 And so it jumps the prices up 09:14 for anything that you want to do. 09:16 If you consider the indigenous folks that live there 09:20 we have nine different people groups that are distributed 09:24 across the state - Wow! in six regions. Umm! 09:28 And these individuals have six different languages. Wow! 09:33 So when we think about Alaska in the terms of 09:39 evangelism it's striking... it's daunting, to say the least 09:44 because not only do we have to overcome the logistical 09:48 aspects of evangelism 09:50 we have to overcome evangelizing individuals that 09:56 sometimes their English is a second language. Hmm! 10:00 And then we will talk later about some of the challenges 10:03 the Alaska Native peoples are faced with. Yes. 10:07 Now are there different time zones? 10:09 No... no. So we sitting here at 3ABN 10:13 it's four hours behind so it's not as bad as it could be. 10:17 But it's all in the same time zone. 10:19 Is it? OK. 10:21 All right. Now Alaska is a mission field, isn't it? 10:23 It truly is. It's almost like a third-world country 10:26 in America. It truly is. 10:28 I mentioned the fact that we have... 10:31 Let me just back up - yes - and say that 10:33 in the Alaska Conference Arctic Mission Adventure is a... 10:37 is a self-supported ministry within the Alaska Conference 10:42 because we have such a large population of indigenous folk 10:47 in Alaska. So while we do have a conference - 10:53 a church conference - its top priority is to... 10:57 to minister and to go out and serve Alaska Natives. 11:02 And so in that sense it truly is a mission field 11:05 because we are called to serve 11:08 and to spread the gospel to Alaska Natives. 11:13 But it's a mission field even more so 11:16 in the fact that as you go out into the bush 11:19 and into some of these villages 11:22 It's dark... it is dark. These folks 11:27 are still very much tied to the land. 11:30 They still hunt and fish. Yes! 11:33 They still whale. There's whaling still going on. 11:37 And they are still out there picking berries 11:40 and land vegetables. And they start at the beginning 11:44 of "ice out" and they finish right when 11:47 ice comes in. And it's partly 11:49 because of tradition. I mean, there's a tradition 11:52 to that... they've done that historically. 11:54 But in the last years it's being done because 11:59 of necessity. You know I just came back from Utqiagvik 12:03 or Barrow which is the furtherest point 12:06 in North America. We actually have a church there. 12:10 And the prices are astronomical. 12:13 If you consider a new mother that is trying to do laundry 12:16 you know the Tide pods are $54. 12:19 So I just went into a store... What is that? 12:21 Tide laundry detergent. Oh, laundry detergent! 12:24 It's $54, right? 12:26 And so if you think about that 12:28 I just went into a store here in the lower 48 12:31 you know visiting and it was $16. 12:34 I mean that tells you the difference in costs. 12:38 Why is it so high? Just gettin' it there? 12:41 It is getting it there. You know, if you think about 12:43 there's a distribution center in the lower 48 just about 12:47 in every... in every place, right? 12:49 Anchorage is the distribution place but it has to be 12:54 flown or barged up into Anchorage. 12:58 And so it creates a real challenge. 13:01 And so food challenges are a big issue 13:04 in our Alaska Native communities. 13:06 Clothing is a big need. 13:10 Now you mentioned vegetables. How do you grow vegetables 13:14 in Alaska? You don't. 13:16 You do in Anchorage and things like that 13:21 but Alaska Natives... You have to consider 13:24 that above the Arctic Circle. Yeah. I mentioned Utqiagvik 13:28 or Barrow... they are in dark- ness 6 months out of the year. 13:31 Oh yes. So they're in... When I went there just last 13:34 weekend they're still in 24-hour daylight. 13:38 And so it's a dichotomy in the time 13:42 and in the day length. True. 13:46 And so it's very much... very different than anything 13:51 that you can imagine. And the interesting part is 13:55 that it's all in the United States 13:57 and people don't realize it. Right! 13:59 Now how difficult is it for evangelism in Alaska? 14:04 Well as you can imagine given the logistical challenges 14:07 that we see in the vast state 14:10 it is very challenging. 14:12 You know, we have the challenge of getting people to 14:15 the different villages, the different locations. 14:18 We also have the challenge of working with different people 14:22 groups in the indigenous communities 14:24 that English is sometimes a second language. 14:27 And then we have the challenge that we are... 14:31 are working with Alaska Natives that have had generational 14:34 trauma and so it's been... You know we have to be so sensitive 14:38 and so considerate and really just starting to be 14:42 the hands and feet of Jesus. Hmm! 14:43 But if you consider where we are as a Conference 14:47 we have only 16 pastors in the entire state. 14:52 Sixteen. Sixteen? That's it? That's it. 14:55 Sixteen teachers because we have schools in Alaska. Oh! 14:59 We have ten Arctic Mission Adventure workers 15:04 and we have less than 4,000 Adventists in the entire state. 15:10 So there is a lot of work to be done. 15:13 Wow! That is a challenge! 15:16 But nothing's too difficult for our God, is it? Amen. 15:18 Nothing's too difficult. 15:20 Now what about the diversity and traditions there? 15:23 I know there's a lot of tradition. 15:25 There is. How do you work with that? 15:27 Sure. So again you know we have individuals 15:30 that come from different language groups. 15:34 For example, we have on the St. Lawrence Island 15:36 Siberian Yupik. And while the tradition 15:40 and the habits may be different there are similarities too. Hmm. 15:45 Each one of the indigenous groups 15:48 value each other. They value the land; 15:51 they value spirituality; they value humor. 15:54 So there's a lot of things that kind of bring them together 15:57 even though there might be differences in say some of the 16:00 coastal natives that are still fishing as a primary source 16:05 for their dietary needs. 16:08 And the interior Alaska Natives are maybe hunting more 16:12 than the people on the coast. Interesting. Yes. 16:18 I have a question. What's the difference between an Eskimo 16:21 and a Native American? OK. So you actually brought up 16:25 a good point. Native American is a term that is used for lower 48 16:28 natives. Right. So if you are on a Navajo Nation 16:32 reservation they are considered collectively Native American. 16:37 An Eskimo is actually kind of a derogatory term 16:40 that we don't really use. 16:42 You know, I have friends that call themselves Eskimos. 16:45 But it's a term that the non- Natives have brought in 16:51 and coined for Alaska Natives. 16:55 Alaska Native is the term that is used 16:58 for the indigenous people in Alaska. 17:01 I see... OK. 17:03 Now what are the challenges that these... these Natives face 17:09 in Alaska? Primarily 17:12 we see generational trauma as a result of 4 main events 17:17 that have occurred in the not-too-distant past. 17:21 So you have back in the late 1800s 17:24 the different denominations came into Alaska 17:27 and they carved up Alaska. So one denomination 17:30 went in one area, another in another. 17:33 And unfortunately with them they brought some pretty egregious 17:38 acts and abuses. And so we have a huge challenge 17:43 when we go into a village because organized religion is 17:47 not necessarily well accepted. 17:50 And with the religion 17:53 comes past grievances, past hurts. 17:58 And so we can't call ourselves missionaries. 18:00 We call ourselves Bible workers 18:02 or Arctic Mission Adventure workers. 18:05 And the reality is is that 18:08 we don't try to meet them immediately with the Bible 18:13 but we try to be the hands and feet of Jesus. 18:16 We do what Christ did on earth which is let me heal, feed, 18:20 you know, talk and be there as a support system. 18:24 And then they start to ask what's different with you? 18:27 So we have the organized religions that came in. 18:30 We have the mission schools that have created a huge problem 18:34 in that they took kids away from their parents 18:37 and they put them in these institutions. 18:39 They couldn't speak their language. They couldn't dress 18:42 the way that they traditionally did. 18:44 And so basically they were trying to anglicize them. 18:48 And that happened... both of these have happened 18:51 well into the 20th century. Oh yeah. 18:54 And so then we are dealing with the adults today. 18:58 And then what most people don't realize is that 19:02 we've heard of the internment during World War II 19:05 of the Japanese-Americans but what people don't realize 19:08 is that Alaska Natives were interned during World War II. 19:12 And of course that displacement 19:15 into locations that were less than stellar 19:20 caused some pretty grievous abuses as well. 19:27 And so we are still dealing with the adults from that episode. 19:30 And then finally adoption of Alaska Native children 19:34 into non-Native homes again just causes this disconnect 19:39 of tradition, of self-awareness and identity. 19:44 And so you have these individuals that are having to 19:49 use coping mechanisms. Not all of them are a part of this 19:53 but we have a high incidence of suicides, sexual abuse, 19:57 substance abuse and it's a challenge... it's a challenge. 20:04 Wow! Now where does Arctic Mission Adventure come in? 20:08 AMA... sure... and you're part of AMA. You bet. 20:11 Arctic Mission Adventure is a self-supported ministry 20:14 of the Alaska Conference. 20:16 Our Conference is so small that the budget could not... 20:20 could not be able to do the kinds of mission work 20:25 and outreach that is needed 20:27 just from a Conference perspective. 20:31 So we have had to do our own fundraising 20:35 so that we can build and grow in what we can accomplish 20:39 out into the bush... which is everything off of the road 20:42 system. So there are over 220 Arctic Alaska Native villages. 20:47 Villages? And we are only in ten. 20:50 So that gives you some perspective of the field 20:54 of need and the field that is wide open 20:57 to show Christ 21:01 in some of the Alaska Native communities. 21:04 And so we have ten workers that live in village 21:09 and we have churches and parsonages in these 10 villages 21:14 and they are distributed across Alaska. 21:16 So we have a church in the northern-most point 21:20 in North America and that is Utqiagvik. 21:24 We have a church in the St. Lawrence Islands, Gambell, 21:30 and that's 35 miles from Russia. 21:32 And then we have a church plant in the Aleutian Islands - 21:36 Wow! where we've just put a pastor 21:41 that is trying to develop 21:43 a church down in the Aleutian chain. 21:47 Is that the one from Andrews? Yes... yes. 21:49 So the folks when they live in village 21:53 they determine what the needs are within the village. 21:56 A lot of it is food insecurities. They need clothes. 22:00 They need... We do after- school programs for the kids. 22:04 Kids really have been our primary focus 22:06 because there's a dispropor- tionately high number of kids 22:10 in these villages. And so we... And usually 22:13 at home, they're dealing with adult situations. 22:16 And so we try to bring them out of that 22:18 and we do vacation Bible schools, day camps. 22:21 You know, anything that we can get the kids to come in 22:24 and just be kids for a day or even a week. 22:29 But now we're seeing that there's a true need 22:32 to kind of diversify. And so we just received 22:35 a grant to do mental health pro- gramming in 6 of our villages. 22:39 Wow! Where did that grant come from? 22:42 That grant came from the NAD... I'm sorry, excuse me, the 22:46 North Pacific Union. So it's a shark tank grant 22:51 that we were able to get. 22:52 And that's been a real blessing 22:54 because what happens is because of suicides 22:58 and because of the high number of fatalities in these villages 23:03 grief counseling is so much needed. Really? 23:06 Oh absolutely. Grief counseling 23:08 also being able to see signs of suicide to prevent suicide. 23:12 So there's a lot of programming that we can do. 23:15 So this is sort of a template to start 23:17 to see what we can do to grow some of these programs 23:21 out to help not only spread the gospel of Christ 23:26 but to be practical in what we do in villages. 23:31 Has anyone ever given an actual evangelist series 23:34 in these villages? Yes. So every Spring we have 23:38 our Arctic Camp Meeting. So of course you know in the 23:40 lower 48 in the States all the people can drive 23:43 to the Camp Meeting. Well we can't drive 23:45 to our central Camp Meeting so we have periodic 23:49 Camp Meetings in the Arctic. 23:51 And so we invite people to come up and do 23:55 an evangelistic series. 23:57 It's a real challenge - oh yes - to... to 24:02 have these folks change 24:07 their religious affiliation. It's surprisingly not the... 24:11 The missionaries of the past have done a really good job 24:13 at solidifying the doctrine - 24:18 yes - and the belief system. But in one of our villages 24:21 we had 12 baptisms which is huge. Praise the Lord! 24:25 And believe it or not COVID has been a real instrument 24:29 in terms of being able to spread the gospel 24:32 because we have had 24:36 our workers have been able to get on radio. 24:39 Get on the CB radio or the marine radio - oh yes - 24:42 that goes throughout the village. 24:44 And the people can not have to walk through the doors 24:47 in order to be blessed by the message. 24:49 And so we've really grown in terms of being able to touch. 24:53 We talk about radio. We have a radio station 24:55 that is in every single one of the villages that we're in. 24:59 And it is Adventist Radio. Is it AWR? 25:04 No... we haven't been able to do that. 25:06 But it's a state... It is an Adventist radio station 25:10 but it is locally owned and run 25:14 by Ryan Woehler who is in Nome. 25:18 And so we have been really blessed. But it costs 25:20 about $22,000 just to put a station into a village. 25:25 Oh yes! And we also have... We try to 25:28 put radio stations in villages that we didn't have 25:31 any presence in, but it's been really challenging 25:34 because we don't have a contact or a network already established 25:38 and you need to have a place to put that. 25:40 So God is moving. You know, we do 25:43 like I say we do day camps. Oh yeah! We do 25:46 health messaging. Health messaging is really a challenge 25:51 because we don't want to 25:56 minimize the traditions and the traditional foods 25:59 that were being used. However, we believe that there is 26:03 an opportunity to sort of talk about how 26:07 people can choose different healthier options 26:10 given the fact that you can't grow vegetables out there. 26:13 So we have to be cognizant 26:17 of the Native way and the Native tradition 26:20 but also being able to share Christ's message. 26:24 Now talk about the Baby Box. 26:26 What is the Baby Box? 26:27 Right... so I'm really excited about this. This is 26:30 a very new program. We discovered that 26:34 SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome 26:38 is very high in Alaska Native communities. 26:43 And I don't know all the research; I don't know 26:46 exactly why it's so high. 26:49 There are some things that I could point to. 26:53 When you look at a village housing situation 26:57 it's packed with sometimes 12 and 15 individuals 27:02 in a very small home and there's no real space for baby. 27:05 You know, there's not a place for a crib or a bassinet. 27:11 And so often times the mother will... 27:14 will have the child with her in bed 27:16 and accidents can happen. Yes. 27:19 So we have decided to create a Baby Box 27:24 that's out of a sturdy cardboard box. 27:27 And it sounds kind of plain but we have 27:31 native motif that decorates the box. 27:34 And we have a mattress that we put down 27:39 and it's full of all kinds of things that a new mother 27:42 would need to start life with baby. 27:45 And we bring people in to talk about 27:48 safe spaces for baby and how to just protect your child 27:52 and have a safe sleep space for the child. 27:56 And it's been phenomenal. 27:59 We have started it in Utqiagvik Barrow. 28:01 Um-hmm. And we had over 30 people come to it. 28:07 To a baby shower. They put a baby shower on 28:10 and we talk about life with baby with a new mother. 28:15 And it's been very successful and very much a need 28:18 for trying to help reduce the incidences of SIDS 28:23 in the villages. Wow! These Baby Boxes! 28:26 It's a great mission for these mothers as well as the families 28:30 isn't it? Um-hmm. Yes. Yes! 28:32 Speaking of missions 28:34 let's talk about mission experiences. Share with us. 28:37 Sure. About a year or so ago 28:40 we started structuring mission trips - right - to Alaska. 28:46 We've had a lot of people reach out to us and say: 28:48 "How can we be a part of 28:51 Arctic Mission Adventure? " 28:52 And so we have limited opportunities 28:55 but we have provided mission trip experiences for schools. 28:59 So Walla Walla, Southern have come up 29:03 and done some construction work or put on VBS, day camps. 29:08 We've also had churches. We had Spring Meadow 29:11 church in Florida come up and they actually did some amazing, 29:16 amazing things. From Florida? From FLORIDA! 29:18 Right. During the summer. 29:21 And it's been a real blessing because obviously 29:25 we cannot do it all ourselves. 29:26 How's the response from the people? 29:29 From the locals? From the locals. You know, very good. 29:32 When you have somebody coming to your door 29:35 you have an opportunity to be the face of Jesus. 29:40 Amen! You know, there's been a tremendous response 29:42 to the kindness and the willingness to just be a friend 29:48 and to serve Christ in that way. 29:53 Beautiful! Now you have an interesting story 29:56 that you want to share - yes - with our viewers 29:59 and listeners. Share it with us. 30:01 Well I call it Miracle on the Tundra. 30:04 So in Selawik, we have a couple who serve on the search and 30:09 rescue. In the Arctic on the tundra 30:13 you know if a person gets lost I mean that's... that's 30:16 really dangerous. It's dangerous to get lost anyway 30:19 but when you're on the tundra during a winter storm 30:22 it's very difficult to find these people. 30:26 And so Selawik is about 75 miles 30:30 from the... It's a small village 75 miles from the bigger village 30:35 or the hub village of Kotzebue. 30:37 And during the winter time people will use their SNO-GO 30:40 which is what they call snowmobiles to go from 30:43 from Selawik to Kotz to visit people or to replenish stores. 30:49 And this couple set out Dec. 31 to do just that. 30:56 And about 4 o'clock in the afternoon 31:00 their relatives realized that they had not come back. 31:03 That was not typical because there's a pattern 31:07 that you follow when it's winter on the tundra. 31:11 And so they waited a couple more hours 31:14 to see if they would return. They did not. 31:16 So they contacted our search and rescue team 31:21 and asked them to start mobilizing and getting 31:27 folk to go look for them. 31:30 And so Edna and Jose gathered all of the S&R personnel. 31:36 Not a lot but they said 31:38 "You know, we need to pray for this endeavor. " 31:41 And so they got into a circle and they prayed. 31:45 Now these are not Adventist individuals. These are 31:47 just people that are serving to find lost individuals. 31:52 OK. So Edna prayed and she sent the first two teams out. 31:56 They went back to where they thought this couple should be 32:00 based on the trajectory of the trip 32:03 and they were not there. 32:05 And so they came back and they said they could not find 32:09 the couple. And so they sent out more teams 32:12 to the different points of where this couple should have been. 32:18 This went on all night long... through the night. 32:20 Four o'clock in the morning the last team came in... 32:24 no results. And Edna had in the meantime 32:28 gotten herself into a corner and was just prayerfully 32:32 asking God to find this couple. 32:34 A lost soul - whether spiritually or physically - 32:39 is very upsetting. And so she had tears coming down 32:44 and she said: "Lord, please help me to know where to look. 32:49 Tell me where to look. Help us to find this couple. " 32:52 And she was impressed that the S&R team 32:55 needed to go back to the original point 32:58 that they searched the very first time that they went out. 33:00 She didn't understand this 33:02 but she thought: "OK, I need to do this. " 33:05 And so she got the group back around 33:07 and they prayed once again 33:10 that the timing was... 33:14 was you know challenging 33:17 and coming down to a real critical point 33:20 that this couple would be found. 33:22 And so the two S&R squads went back out. 33:27 And as they came upon this location that they searched 33:31 the very first time they saw an object in the distance. 33:34 And as they got closer they realized it was the couple 33:38 and they were on foot and they were crawling through the snow 33:41 towards Selawik, the village. 33:44 And there was something behind them and they couldn't 33:46 quite make that out. And as they got closer 33:48 they saw that there were wolves on the heels 33:52 of this couple. What? 33:53 And if they had not found that couple who knows 33:57 what would have happened. It gives me goosebumps. 33:59 And so they put the couple on the SNO-GO 34:04 and went back to Selawik. They got into the... 34:07 the housing area where the S&R team were 34:11 and there was a huge celebra- tion as you can imagine. Sure. 34:14 But what was interesting is yes they were glad that 34:16 the couple was found but they were more amazed 34:18 and celebratory of the fact that the God of the 7th day 34:22 answered their prayer 34:24 and found that couple before the wolves got them. 34:27 What? What an amazing story! 34:31 But you said they say "The God of the 7th day. " 34:34 Explain that. They call our church the 7th day. 34:37 They don't call it the Seventh-day Adventist church. 34:40 They call it the God of the 7th day. 34:42 God of the 7th day. The Lord protected them. 34:46 They were missing for many hours. 34:48 Throughout the night. And so on the first day 34:51 of January, on January 1st, 34:54 the New Year they found the couple. That's beautiful! 34:58 Praise God! I love that story! 35:00 The Lord protected them, shielded them, 35:03 and it was snowing and I'm sure the winds were howling. 35:06 Oh absolutely. They were crawling you said. 35:08 It was -30, -40 degrees 35:10 you know, so yeah it was critical that they were found. 35:14 Wow! Praise the Lord. 35:17 Now we're going to go into a little different avenue. 35:20 How is Arctic Mission Adventure funded? 35:25 Sure. So I mentioned earlier that Arctic Mission Adventure 35:28 is a ministry of the Alaska Conference. Yes. 35:31 And again, because we are such a small conference 35:35 the kind of budget that we need 35:38 in order to do evangelism 35:40 and mission outreach 35:41 into the Arctic into the Alaska Native communities 35:44 is more than what a conference - one of the smallest conferences 35:49 in the North America Div. can manage. 35:52 And so we are a 100% donor-supported ministry. Wow! 35:57 And because you know we've talked about how expensive it is 36:01 to travel and to do the business of God 36:06 it requires a lot of funds. 36:08 And so we every year have to raise between $425,000 36:13 and half a million just to main- tain, that keeps lights on. 36:18 So we have a church and a parsonage in every single one 36:21 of the ten villages that we're in. 36:23 So we have to pay for all of the operational funds. 36:27 But we also have to pay for 36:30 and continue the outreach 36:33 that we feel God is calling us to do. Yes. 36:36 And that means shipping things and materials to... 36:39 you know for VBS to the villages. 36:43 We didn't talk about this but part of what we do, too, 36:46 for the kids is bringing kids out of the village 36:49 into one of our resident camps. So we pay for their... 36:52 their airline ticket out to the resident camp. 36:55 All of that costs a lot of money to do. 36:58 When you say "resident camp" what does that mean? 37:00 So we have three resident camps in Alaska. 37:06 And what we try to do is 37:11 we try to take kids that are from the bush 37:14 out of the village because oftentimes 37:18 they've had to deal with adult situations and adult challenges. 37:22 And we do bring day camps to the village 37:25 but it's not the same as getting kids out of that village 37:29 and allowing them to just be a kid again. 37:31 And so when we do that 37:34 there's a lot of costs - sure - surrounding that 37:38 for the plane ticket, for the food, for all of that. 37:42 And it's just amazing because some of these kids 37:44 have never left the village before. And when they enter 37:46 Anchorage it's a culture shock. 37:48 They've never seen asphalt; you know it's all dirt roads. 37:53 Some of them have never been on a plane before. 37:56 Some of them have never seen Taco Bell except for on the TV. 38:00 So I mean it's such an eye-opening experience 38:03 for them, and it provides a huge opportunity. 38:07 And we've had several baptisms resulting from that. 38:11 And so again any kind of outreach that we do... 38:15 If you can imagine what your church does 38:20 in terms of outreach and the costs associated with that 38:22 in the lower 48, triple that 38:25 and that's what it costs us to do the same kind of outreach 38:28 in Alaska. Wow! It is truly a mission field. It is. 38:32 Like a third-world country. We call it "a mission field 38:35 in your backyard. " I like that 'cause it is! 38:38 It's in our back yard in America! That's right. 38:40 That's right. Now for these children... 38:43 Once you get the children a lot of times 38:46 you get the parents. It's really neat 38:48 to see and to hear stories 38:50 where the children will come either to our resident camp, 38:54 to a day camp, to a VBS 38:56 and you can see them changing. You can see them 39:01 you know starting to adhere to some of the things 39:04 that they're being taught. And they take it home! 39:06 They take it home and there is a difference. 39:09 There is. And there's an opportunity 39:12 to shine wherever you are 39:15 as God touches the hearts of the young people 39:18 but also the adults. 39:20 Right... and they're learning 39:22 but the expense of everything... 39:23 Like you said to me earlier 39:27 that they have to fly in? 39:32 Many people have to fly in or you have to go to different 39:35 places in Alaska - that's correct - where of course 39:38 you can't drive. No... no... no you can't. 39:42 So for me to go from Anchorage to St. Lawrence Island let's say 39:49 really wouldn't be one-day travel 39:53 so chances are it's going to take me two days 39:56 to get out there. 39:57 Because you get on... Alaska Air will fly to Nome 40:02 which is the hub city 40:06 and then you go from Nome to St. Lawrence Island. 40:10 Oftentimes the airlines or the charter planes 40:15 don't fly because of weather. 40:17 As I've said before I was flying up to Utqiagvik 40:21 and we circled three times and had to come back 40:24 because the fog ceiling was so low. 40:27 But I mean, if you think about going across the ocean to do 40:29 mission work you encounter very much the same kinds 40:34 of conditions and situations 40:37 that you do there as you do in Alaska. 40:40 Wow! So Alaska Conference is the smallest conference? 40:45 I think West Virginia is smaller - 40:48 right - but it's certainly in the bottom tier of size 40:53 of conferences, yes. 40:54 That's oooh! For the largest territory. 40:57 And only what? Four thousand? Less than four thousand - 41:02 um-hmm - Adventists. Less than 4,000 members. 41:04 So we have a lot of work but God is moving. 41:06 I mean I've told you stories of how people 41:08 have changed, people have come to Christ. 41:11 You know God truly loves Alaska and He is calling us 41:17 to do His work for the end times. 41:20 I mean we talked about this: God is coming. 41:22 Christ is coming. So soon! 41:24 And we have a work to do and Alaska is part of that work. 41:30 You know the fields are wide. The fields are ready for 41:35 people to come out. 41:36 If there's an interest in being an Arctic Mission Adventure work. 41:42 or there's an interest in being a pastor, Alaska is 41:44 an experience that is unlike any other 41:49 as far as putting your life in God's hands and saying 41:53 "Is Alaska right for me? " 41:55 So is it open to mission? Like if someone 41:58 say here in Illinois wants to do some mission work 42:02 in Alaska? Absolutely. 42:04 Absolutely. We have churches as I mentioned 42:07 that are interested in coming up. 42:09 Again we have a limited number 42:12 but they can go on our website ArcticMissionAdventure.org 42:17 We have a form that people fill out 42:20 and we match skills to our needs in the villages. 42:23 And there's a lot of work 42:25 that can be done. And as I've 42:26 mentioned before we are such a small conference 42:29 we cannot do it all. 42:30 Our workers cannot do it all. 42:31 So we have a need. We have a financial need; 42:34 we have a resource need; 42:35 and we have an action need 42:39 for people to come out and actually do what we can't do. 42:43 You have to be so creative, don't you? 42:45 We have to! Creative but also flexible. 42:49 We have to be flexible because there's going to be 42:51 times when your plane will circle 3 times over the village 42:55 and you have to fly back to Anchorage. 42:56 It's just part of doing business in Alaska. 42:59 What do you say? The plane will fly over? 43:00 Right. So oftentimes you fly from Anchorage 43:05 to the village and the fog is so low - OK - 43:09 that they can't land because it's all by sight. 43:12 They don't have any of the instruments that they use 43:14 in a bigger airport and so it's all by sight. 43:17 And if they can't sight... which we wouldn't want them to do... 43:21 but if you can't sight the runway then they go back. 43:26 Wow! And there's a collective sigh of "Ohh. " 43:29 Yeah. Praise the Lord! We made it! 43:32 Yeah, and the suicide rate. You mentioned the suicide rate 43:38 with the Native Americans there. 43:40 'Cause I know the Native Americans here in the lower 48 43:44 the suicide rate is also high. 43:46 How do you deal with that as a church? 43:50 As the conference there in Alaska? 43:52 It's a challenge... it really is. 43:54 It's a challenge because trying to... 43:58 It's all about building rapport and relationship. 44:01 You know, like Christ did. He met people one on one. 44:06 Yes. He detected a need. He detected 44:09 a despondency and He sat and He talked with individuals 44:14 one on one. Yes, He did. He became a friend; 44:17 He became an ear... a listener. Yes! 44:20 We can't have people that come in 44:26 and stay a short period of time and then leave. 44:30 I mean that's happened to Alaska Natives historically. 44:35 So we need people that are able to come in 44:38 and build relationships, build a rapport. 44:42 Commit to staying for a while. Have a passion and a love 44:46 for a group of individuals that 44:51 need to feel the love of Jesus through each of us. 44:56 Amen. How do you minister to the young ladies there? 44:59 It's hard. It really is hard because 45:03 unfortunately sexual abuse is astronomical 45:09 and it's not something that is talked about you know. 45:14 But what we're trying to do is 45:17 something that I have a passion for - yes - 45:19 is bringing in art therapy. Oh good! And I met a lady 45:24 who is from Canada and she does art therapy. 45:28 We tested that in one of our villages 45:31 and we found that it was really powerful 45:34 to instead of articulating and talking about it 45:38 you use art in the form of creating a Native doll 45:44 out of paper... so sort of a paper doll. 45:46 and it tells a story and it tells their story. Wow! 45:50 And so, again, we're lacking funding for it. 45:53 But that's something that I would really like to see 45:56 move forward. And I have talked to some of the people, 46:01 the administrators in Barrow and different places 46:05 and they are very interested in trying to collaborate 46:09 with this kind of program 46:10 because your tendency is not to talk about your past 46:15 and your history. Yes. Nor necessarily should you. 46:19 I mean maybe if that works for you. But I find for Alaska 46:22 Natives, it would be ideal to do this art therapy 46:25 because they are so creative. They're very creative people 46:31 and their artwork is phenomenal. 46:34 And so if we can use sort of what comes natural for them 46:37 to tell their story in a way that's healing 46:40 would be amazing. That would be... yes. 46:43 In the General Conference they have it's called End It Now. 46:47 Right, right. Do you have that initiative up there? 46:49 How would that work? Umm, the challenge is that 46:53 and I've talked to that organization 46:58 and we are trying to collaborate on certain things 47:03 part of which is how do we take a non-Native message... 47:08 not a message but materials - yes - 47:13 I guess is a better term... 47:15 and adapt it into sort of a Native perspective. 47:20 Because they get hit with all of this Western 47:24 messaging and the reality is 47:26 that we should be able to do a better job 47:29 of personalizing that message so that it hits 47:32 them where they need it and communicates 47:37 in a way that they understand. 47:39 Not that they don't speak English. They do. 47:41 But whoever you are you want to be talked to 47:45 in your style, in your language. 47:47 For their culture also. Absolutely. 47:51 I mean it is amazing work to be done. 47:55 And those of you out there if you want to help 47:58 we'll show information later on. But there's a... 48:00 How to get in touch with Tandi and the mission. 48:05 But there's a great work to be done out there. 48:08 And as you said, we are the hands and feet of Jesus, 48:12 aren't we? Um-hmm. I mean the suicide. What else is it? 48:15 Suicide; sexual abuse; substance abuse; alcoholism. 48:21 When you say substance is it drugs? Alcohol? 48:24 It's everything and above. 48:27 Again, we are all like this. When we have been hit hard 48:33 we tend to use certain things to cope. 48:37 That's across the board because it's not just a Native 48:41 issue you know... it's across the board. 48:44 And so of course when you've been hit 48:47 with more Westernized challenges... 48:52 things like religious organizations coming in, 48:58 the mission schools and things like that... 49:00 it's a lot harder to get beyond. 49:03 And if you don't have Christ - right - it's almost impossible. 49:07 And so there's a tendency to turn towards those things 49:11 that are harmful. And that could be overeating. 49:13 True. It could be anything. Whatever you identify as 49:18 your coping mechanism. 49:21 Yeah. And so the first step again is to be there. 49:25 To be in village; to be a support system. 49:28 To come alongside and carry your friend 49:34 through the journey that they're going on. 49:36 It's such a great mission. 49:38 And also the language? 49:40 When you say English like a second language 49:42 what is the first language there? 49:44 It depends on the region. Oh! It could be Yupik. 49:46 It could be Kupik; It could be Enupiak. 49:50 It could be... There's just a lot of different... 49:55 Never heard of those! Oh yes. And trust me: it's very hard. 49:59 The first time I tried to... The first village I went to 50:03 I tried to learn a phrase just to say hello 50:09 and I botched it up... but they loved it 50:11 because you tried. So Cama'i is hello 50:16 and welcome in Yupik. 50:21 It's a very challenging language 50:24 and one that I would love to learn 50:26 but I don't have a penchant for language. 50:30 So I try my best and they appreciate that. 50:33 Do we have Bibles in that language? We do! 50:35 We do. We have Bibles in Siberian-Yupik. 50:38 They translated the Bible on that island. Really? 50:41 And so yeah, there's things happening in Alaska! 50:45 I'm glad. So different languages; we have Bibles. 50:48 Do they have Spirit of Prophecy books in those languages? 50:51 No, I don't believe they do. No. 50:53 Again, they watch 3ABN. 50:57 Amen! They do... they do. 50:59 I have people saying that they thoroughly enjoy watching 3ABN. 51:03 And so again, what I love about Christ's work is we have 51:08 no idea who we touch. True... true! 51:11 And until we get to heaven and a person walks up to us 51:14 and says: "I am here" - yes - 51:17 "because of you. " Amen! 51:20 That is what... We are in the business of bringing people 51:24 to Christ because time is short. Amen! 51:26 And there's a song called Thank you for giving to the Lord. 51:31 I LOVE that song! Yes! I love that song. 51:37 And for those of you out there what we're going to do 51:39 is go on a short break. 51:41 We're going to give you contact and how to 51:43 connect with this wonderful mission. 51:45 We will be right back. |
Revised 2023-07-24