Off the Grid

Alaska: Mission Construction

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: OTG

Program Code: OTG000010


00:01 Alaska, America's last frontier.
00:04 The land of vast beauty and endless miles of open wilderness
00:08 Airplanes are the life blood of Alaska
00:12 Only aviation can connect communities, where there are
00:15 no roads, with violent weather and extreme terrains
00:19 make these the most dangerous skies in America.
00:23 Adventist World Aviation has two outposts
00:26 positioned in north and south Alaska.
00:29 Hauling critical supplies, rescue personnel
00:32 and the Gospel message to remote villages
00:35 all across the Alaskan regions.
00:38 Without aviation, these Alaskan villages would be unreachable.
00:45 This is Adventist World Aviation OFF THE GRID
00:50 Today above the Arctic Circle in northwest Alaska,
00:53 we join Jim Kincaid as he shares with us
00:56 about one of the ongoing AWA projects.
01:00 One village, the village of Shungnak
01:03 where a young missionary couple are now living.
01:07 We are in partnership with Adventist World Aviation.
01:12 Leading the effort to replace the substandard housing
01:16 in which they are residing personally.
01:18 Adventist World Aviation will be involved in the effort
01:24 to provide transportation support for this project.
01:28 Shungnak is about 150 miles east of Dillingham.
01:32 There are no supplies, equipment or materials available in
01:35 Shungnak for this construction project, so everything needed
01:39 to complete this building must be flown in from Dillingham.
01:43 Arial transportation of supplies typically adds
01:46 a huge expense to any construction project;
01:49 however, AWA eliminated that cost by offering to transport
01:54 the supplies for Toni and Irene.
01:56 Jim and Linda Kincaid are the project managers of AWA Alaska,
02:02 and they are very pleased to be included in this project,
02:06 however transporting supplies in Alaska can be full of obstacles.
02:11 Both, Linda and I are pilots. I had my pilot license for 40
02:18 years this year. We fly in extremes.
02:21 Extremes of weather extremes of temperature.
02:24 extremes of geography topography...
02:29 During the winter when there is snow everywhere
02:32 When there is very little vegetation,
02:36 you can't tell the sky from the ground.
02:39 So flying with reference instruments even in VFR
02:47 conditions is what we have to do
02:50 VFR stands for visual flight rules.
02:53 Flying by reference to objects and topography.
03:00 But here in the winter when most of the winter
03:04 there is nothing to look at, until you get to
03:08 a lighted village, or a lighted runway.
03:10 Or there is a stand of trees
03:13 or some willows standing in the creek
03:15 You know, there is nothing to look at.
03:17 So you have to fly following very good judgment...
03:25 It's unarguable that flying in Alaska means
03:28 navigating some of the most dangerous skies in America.
03:32 Unpredictable weather and the vast topography make flying
03:36 up here a challenge.
03:37 However, experience, preparation and awareness can all make
03:43 aviation travel the safest mode of transportation.
03:47 Aviation is a mode of travel, which can be very safe
03:54 and can be an excellent way to get around.
03:59 In some cases, like where we live, there is no other choice.
04:03 You have to travel by air in order to do the work,
04:07 that you need to do. Because there are no roads.
04:10 We are about 400 miles from the nearest road
04:14 here in north west Alaska.
04:18 In Alaska where the geography is such that if Alaska was
04:25 superimposed over the 48 states of America,
04:29 it would almost extend over both,
04:32 eastern and western seaboards and we joke up here,
04:37 that if we divided Alaska in two than Texas would be number 3.
04:43 So it is a huge area, with only a small part of it
04:47 accessible by road. There are 225 native villages in Alaska.
04:53 Most of them are inaccessible except by air.
05:00 At Adventist World Aviation it is our purpose to have an impact
05:06 On all those that are reachable by air.
05:13 This is not just about flying, that is very important,
05:16 very critical, but this is ultimately about
05:20 an eternal mission of reaching people for Jesus
05:25 in north west Alaska.
05:27 Most of Alaskan towns are completely isolated
05:30 with no connecting roads between them.
05:32 The only way in and out of these villages is by aviation.
05:37 They are completely reliant on air support.
05:42 Today Jim is flying out to visit the young missionary couple
05:46 Toni and Irene Sherman, and check on
05:49 the progress of the construction of their new church and home.
05:53 Jim is very involved with this project.
05:56 He knows that the completion of this construction ultimately
05:59 means the furtherance of the gospel
06:01 here in the small village of Shungnak.
06:06 As the run way comes into view, he prepares for his landing
06:09 on the icy runway. He is very accustomed to these conditions
06:13 in Alaska, yet it still demands his entire focus
06:18 to make the landing a smooth one.
06:21 Once on the ground, familiar faces rush over excitedly
06:24 to great him. It's not often
06:27 that the villagers of Shungnak have visitors.
06:30 The young children run out and eagerly greet
06:33 the arriving airplane.
06:35 It's a very heartwarming welcome that Jim never tires of.
06:39 Toni is also at the runway waiting to meet Jim.
06:43 Its spring here in Shungnak so it's perfect time
06:47 for construction.
06:48 There is a very small window of opportunity in Alaska
06:52 where the weather will allow for construction.
06:54 Winter starts very early in September,
06:57 and lasts well into May. So they only have 3 short months
07:03 to work on the new house and church building.
07:13 I am Jim Kinkade, AWA Alaska project manager
07:17 This is Toni Sherman, he and his wife Irene have moved
07:22 to this village sometime back, and we want to learn from you
07:27 Toni, about this village. What's the name of this town?
07:31 My wife and I, we moved to this village
07:33 the name of the village is Shungnak.
07:35 We moved here about 3 years ago now, September of 2010.
07:43 We moved here to take on a position with the Alaska
07:49 Arctic Mission Adventure program through the Alaska Conference
07:52 to be missionaries here.
07:54 There has been a small mission post here, that's been inactive
07:59 since about the late 70s, or something like this, maybe 80s.
08:05 We just felt impressed that this is where God wanted us to move.
08:11 So we came here. There is on this particular road
08:16 in Shungnak we got about 250 people,
08:23 it's all native, all Inupiat.
08:26 Shungnak is a very small village comprised of natives
08:30 situated in the heart of north Alaska.
08:33 They're isolated by the beautiful wilderness
08:36 that surrounds them.
08:37 We live in a beautiful place, there are no roads, that really
08:41 connect village to village. There are some trails
08:45 that people take by snow machine and people can also take by boat
08:48 and go up the Kobuk river and they can take that all the way
08:52 to Kotzebue, if we wanted to.
08:54 Aside from that our main means of traveling is by plane.
09:02 Which is not cheap, but that is the main mode of transportation
09:06 for us here in the village.
09:08 To travel outside the village, aviation is the only option.
09:12 But within the village, natives most often use snow machines
09:16 and 4 wheelers to commute the few miles
09:19 around their small village.
09:21 Toni takes the visitors back to his home
09:24 and shows them the progress.
09:26 We are standing in front of the new house,
09:29 the new unfinished house, that is to replace the shack
09:33 they have been living in, and you can see behind me
09:35 a broadcast antenna. The Alaska conference has
09:42 generously installed a low-power AM station here
09:49 and we're trying to broadcast 3ABN radio by live stream
09:54 off the internet.
09:56 And Toni has been working with that project.
09:59 We haven't got the internet stable enough for real good
10:02 signal for the whole village, but that is the goal.
10:05 And so that is what we are working towards.
10:07 Toni and Irene's old home is a small, one room parsonage
10:12 attached to the old church. It's not insolated properly,
10:16 and the cold winter months are almost impossible to withstand.
10:20 They consume great amounts of expensive heating oil just to
10:24 keep the temperature inside the home manageable.
10:28 The living space is also very small and cramped
10:32 for a growing young family.
10:34 They have outgrown this space and desperately need another
10:37 place to live and keep their new child warm.
10:41 Having a new home would drastically change
10:43 this couple's ministry.
10:44 They would be able to open their doors year round to the natives
10:49 of Shungnak and invite them in to a warm and roomy atmosphere.
10:54 We moved here to Shungnak from Delta Junction, which is
11:00 just south of Fairbanks. We moved here in September of 2010.
11:06 We moved here to take up the position as missionaries
11:12 with the Alaska conference under the guidance here of Jim.
11:18 I also got a job, as a community health aid working at the clinic
11:26 I see patience there and I deal with everybody's medical needs.
11:31 Anything that anybody needs to have done
11:33 is going through us first.
11:37 We moved here because we believe in the Adventist message.
11:42 We believe in what a relationship with Jesus can do.
11:47 We believe that God wants more people in Shungnak
11:52 to hear the full Gospel message and that is why we are here.
12:01 Irene, why don't you comment how it's been living in this house
12:06 for the last 2 and 1/2 years?
12:13 It's been lot of challenges and really have to be patient
12:23 because, it is not too bad, when it is not too cold,
12:28 but during the winter time when it is the coldest temperature,
12:33 things get really rough with the little guy, but we survive.
12:36 We've been here for almost 3 years now, even though it's hard
12:43 we are still here.
12:44 When you look out the window and see a new house next door,
12:49 what do you think of?
12:50 Well I am really looking forward to be moving into the new house.
12:56 hopefully this year, if everything works out.
13:00 But now that I see the new house just next door and I am still
13:07 here. It's a little bit of pain, kind of because the house
13:15 is just right there, but living in this house has thought us
13:20 a lot to be more patient and just you know trust
13:27 and everything will come in time.
13:31 Toni, why don't you tell us what it is like to live here
13:35 in extreme climate, or the weather, summer to winter, etc.
13:40 What is it like?
13:42 Well, it is a pretty extreme place to live you know.
13:46 I'll be honest, I am fairly used to it, I grew up in Delta
13:50 Junction, just south of Fairbanks. And in the winter
13:55 time it's not uncommon, for when it is really cold
13:58 to get down to 70 below Fahrenheit.
14:01 Here in Shungnak it is not really any different
14:05 in terms of climate. During the winter time from about October
14:10 till May you have snow, and from about November, December time
14:19 all the way through till March it could still get down
14:22 to 20 or 30 below, pretty easily and in the winter time
14:28 lot of people know that it gets dark up here and that is true.
14:32 I think the darkest day of the year in December,
14:37 it probably gets to couple of hours of daylight.
14:43 You go into the summer time and it is totally the opposite.
14:46 It's almost 10pm and the sun is still out, like it is 5pm.
14:55 So it is totally the opposite from summer to winter.
14:59 The construction can only be done during the summer months.
15:03 Fortunately during that time, the sun doesn't set until 11pm,
15:09 making for extra long work days.
15:11 Having AWA involved with this project has expedited
15:15 the project substantially. Supplies and building personnel
15:20 are not restricted to another airline's time schedule
15:23 and costs.
15:24 Jim is happy he can assist and expend this ministry
15:28 here in Shungnak with the tool of aviation.
15:39 So Toni, tell us about your work,
15:42 what do you do in this town? How do you survive?
15:45 Well currently, right now I am a health-aid, and what that is,
15:50 every village in the region, they have a small clinic.
15:53 You can call it like an outpost clinic. And all these clinics
16:00 work in conjunction with Maniilaq Health Center,
16:03 which is the main hub hospital in Kotzebue.
16:09 What I do, is I basically.. have gone through a training program
16:14 that Maniilaq, the Health Center has paid for me to go through.
16:17 So that I can see patients, I can see anybody for any problem
16:22 with the help and aid of the doctor, who lives in Kotzebue.
16:27 So all the emergencies, or regular patient care,
16:33 or chronic care patients. We see them all year,
16:35 and that is my job. I have met a lot of people. All my friends,
16:40 all the people that I know here, primarily,
16:43 I've got to know them through my job.
16:45 The town's clinic has also been a great ministry tool for Toni.
16:50 Not only does it financially help sustain his mission,
16:53 but it also gives him great opportunities to interact
16:57 and get to know all the villages personally.
17:01 The whole entire region here in the north-west arctic
17:04 has 11 villages total, including the hub which is Kotzebue.
17:10 On a daily average, I probably see about maybe anywhere
17:16 from 5 to 10 patients. Depending on what is going on.
17:20 Emergencies may vary. I imagine each month we probably med-evac
17:27 about, anywhere from 1 to 3 or 4 people, depending upon
17:31 what the incident was... To go to some of the other villages
17:39 that are much busier, such as Point Hope, I go and cover there
17:43 sometimes when they are short staffed. This is something
17:46 that is pretty common. Some of the villages don't have regular
17:48 staffing, so they call on us, who have more consistent staff.
17:52 I might go to Point Hope I might go to Kobuk, I might go to
17:57 Norwick, or one of these other villages and cover in some
18:01 larger place. I might see more. And have emergencies every night
18:09 and have a med-evac every couple of nights, and that is
18:12 something that is more common in some of our larger villages.
18:18 We are a very active clinic and it seems to keep getting busier
18:22 and busier every day, and to make an important point,
18:26 without this job, I would not have nearly the relationships,
18:32 that I have with the people in the community.
18:34 This job, has given me a level of responsibility in the village
18:38 in which a lot of people have extended their trust to me,
18:42 because of it. And without it, I don't think that I would have
18:45 nearly the respect, that I probably have
18:52 with most of the community. So this job is really a miracle
18:57 when I first got here, that it was even open for me to have.
19:03 It can take years to build up a mutual respect
19:08 with a different culture. This is true any place in the world
19:13 and it is very true here.
19:17 The native people are used to for over a hundred years
19:19 of non-natives coming and taking jobs. And there are some
19:25 lucrative jobs here for those that are qualified.
19:28 Taking lucrative jobs and then retiring to their ranch in Texas
19:32 or what ever.
19:36 So they see as non-local, non-native people,
19:39 they look at all of us as just passing through.
19:42 So why take the time to make a friendship,
19:47 if they are going to be gone.
19:49 So for Christians, who want to make an impact
19:53 continuity, longevity, tenure, these things are what can make
20:00 the greatest impact all the time.
20:03 Often times, outsiders are not welcomed into small native
20:07 Alaskan communities.
20:09 The job as the village health aid greatly assisted Toni
20:14 in being accepted in the village and helped develop close
20:17 relationships with the very people he is here to minister to
20:22 Toni's main reason for being in Shungnak is not to work
20:27 as a health aid, but instead, to spread the word of Jesus Christ.
20:31 His passion and ultimate goal is to spiritually reach the natives
20:36 and offer them God's gift of salvation.
20:39 Building relationships, teaching other's God's message
20:44 is the ultimate long term endeavor for the Sherman's.
20:48 We've been here now for about a year and the people are friends
20:56 with us. I can walk through the village and I am not going to
20:59 walk through the village and not hear someone say, hi Toni!
21:02 How are you doing? Where is Irene?
21:04 Is she back from Kotzebue? Is she back from the hospital?
21:07 Is she here?
21:09 So we made good friends. We get to visit people in their homes.
21:13 We have elderly that are bummed out if we don't swing by
21:16 at least once a week and give them a backrub,
21:19 or help clean up their house, or just sit and talk.
21:22 We've been very well accepted here.
21:26 Well, Toni why don't you tell us a little bit about what you and
21:34 your wife, Irene are attempting to do to interact with the
21:42 community aside from your interactions at work.
21:46 Aside from work, my job as a health aid Irene and I have made
21:53 a point to visit with people. We started mostly visiting with
21:57 the elderly, the elders of the community.
22:00 And that's were we had probably the most fruitful relationships
22:06 with people, who are in their elder ages.
22:10 We do visitations probably, when we are not back and fort
22:17 out of the village, when we have our routine we are usually
22:19 visiting people's homes, about two times a week.
22:22 Aside from that we started in January a Bible Study
22:27 with a family, that has been going very well. We've been
22:29 doing that every Wednesday and it's been going very well.
22:32 On Mondays we do Alcoholics Anonymous at the local NANA
22:38 office here. We also do music class on Tuesday nights,
22:43 we are teaching guitar to a couple boys.
22:45 We also do Bible school on Saturday, we could have anywhere
22:53 from 3 or 4 kids to 20 kids that might come and also been a very
23:01 fruitful experience.
23:07 Aside from that it's mostly just seeing people when we go
23:14 to their houses. If we do home visitation, that is the most
23:18 important thing that we can do right now.
23:19 Currently we don't have a church facility that is really suitable
23:24 for any real formal interaction and so that is something
23:28 we are hoping we'll be able to look forward to in the future
23:32 to solving that.
23:35 The current condition of the church is almost unusable
23:40 therefore Toni and his wife Irene cannot hold
23:43 regular weekly meetings in it.
23:45 There are many structural issues with its current condition
23:50 so Toni and Irene eagerly await the completion of the new church
23:54 building so they can expand and faithfully continue
23:58 in their mission.
23:59 This little chapel was built in about 1969, or there abouts.
24:06 But that was a long time ago. It only has 4" walls,
24:12 The windows are Plexiglas, the kind that snap in.
24:15 It really wasn't an energy efficient building that can be
24:19 heated, economically with $11/gallon heating oil.
24:27 The building is structurally sound, but it needs retrofitting
24:32 for insulation, electrical wiring and heating system.
24:38 That is what is holding Toni and Irene back from holding services
24:43 weekly services in this building in the winter time.
24:47 So Toni, once you get a church building, so that you can hold
24:53 services, what are you planning to do?
24:55 That is a good question, we have a few different ideas of things
25:01 that we would like to do. There are number of different services
25:05 that we would like to be able to provide for youth.
25:08 We would like to be able to start a youth group here
25:11 we would like to be able to have a... important for us
25:16 we'd feel good just to be able to have a weekly Sabbath service
25:19 here that we can invite the community to.
25:22 We know that over time people would start coming.
25:26 We know of people right now, who already told us that they would
25:28 come to us, to a church service here, if we had church service.
25:36 That is what we want to do most. Like I said, we'd like to hold
25:40 youth groups, we'd like to do work shops, we'd like to hold
25:46 mid weeks here. Having this facility open and be able to
25:52 keep it heated, which would be wonderful. There is a lot
25:55 times that we have kids people want to come to our house
25:58 sometimes the house is just too small and we don't have very
26:03 much privacy and so having a place apart from our home
26:08 where we don't have to worry about kids peeping into our
26:11 bedroom, or going through our house... it would be really nice
26:16 So Toni, what would it take to remodel or improve the church
26:23 building that you have, so that it would be useful like you are
26:26 suggesting?
26:27 Well, some things that need to happen for the Shungnak church
26:30 to be functional, we would need to reinsulate the church
26:34 we would need to remodel all the windows really
26:39 need to be replaced. The porch needs to be replaced.
26:43 The whole entire floor, walls and ceiling all need to be
26:46 re-insulated right now there is only 2" of white foam board
26:50 it's like R5, or something like that.
26:55 The interior it self isn't cosmetically very appealing.
27:00 We could have new tile put in, we could have it repainted,
27:04 We could... I mean there is a lot of things that could be done
27:06 But the main things have to do with heating and just being
27:13 energy efficient - energy efficiency is the main problem.
27:18 A new church and a new home for the missionary couple of
27:21 Shungnak are going to drastically advance
27:24 mission opportunities here.
27:27 Adventist World Aviation is pleased and honored to assist
27:31 Toni and Irene in the spreading of the gospel,
27:34 by offering air support for this construction project.
27:38 The construction of the buildings is not yet complete;
27:42 however they are very close to opening their new doors.
27:46 With these new buildings Toni and Irene can continue to work
27:50 and minister to the people of Shungnak.
27:53 This couple is determined to make this village their home
27:57 and to reach the people who live here with the Gospel message.
28:03 What Irene and I hope to achieve what we hope is to be able
28:10 to be used by God in a way that we would be able to establish
28:14 a group of believers here, that are active in ministry, that are
28:20 active and excited the about the message that we hold.
28:26 We're hoping that we'll be able to move beyond just simply
28:30 visiting with people, even though we know
28:31 that is the first step, meeting people in their homes.
28:34 We are hoping that in time we'll be able to study with people
28:38 in their homes, study the Bible with families
28:41 to be able to create a church here that would have a name.
28:46 We would have a face.
28:47 We would have a group of people, who are active.
28:57 You know, at Adventist World Aviation we go to these
29:01 communities, Again this community that we are in
29:04 is 250 people here. We are hundreds of miles from
29:07 from any other source of civilization.
29:11 Any needs, that are brought in here,
29:13 are brought in here by Aviation.
29:14 We can't supply all their needs here, we don't.
29:17 Certainly there are other Aviation organizations that fly
29:20 supplies for those, who needs them
29:22 One of the things that Adventist World Aviation does,
29:25 we support our local missionaries.
29:27 We want to increase our support here.
29:29 What we find many times in communities like this
29:33 We find death, we find despair, we find disease,
29:36 we find of course suicide, we talked about that.
29:38 What we leave with is hope and hope in Jesus!
29:42 Hope in the second Coming! We leave them with truth
29:45 and something to hang unto.
29:47 As a result of that, communities improve!
29:49 We can make a difference!
29:51 But we need your help, we need your prayers!
29:54 We desperately need your prayers!
29:55 I pray that you will continue your prayer support!


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Revised 2014-12-17