Participants:
Series Code: OTG
Program Code: OTG000011
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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, 00:14 where there are no roads with violent weather 00:17 and extreme terrains make this 00:20 the most dangerous skies in America. 00:23 Adventist World Aviation has two outpost positioned 00:27 in north and south Alaska. Hauling critical supplies, 00:30 rescue personnel, and the Gospel message to remote villages 00:35 all across the Alaskan region 00:38 Without aviation these Alaskan villages would be unreachable. 00:44 This is Adventist World Aviation OFF THE GRID 00:50 On today's episode of "Off The Grid" we venture 00:53 to the far corner of North America, to Kotzebue Alaska, 00:58 where AWA has an outpost run by Jim and Linda Kincaid. 01:03 Here above the article circle, Jim and Linda use 01:07 their talents of aviation to spread the gospel and minister 01:10 to the local Native American people in their region. 01:15 Many people might think, Alaska is not in need 01:18 of mission projects; but due to Alaska's unique climate, 01:23 landscape and overall size, mission aviation 01:28 is a necessary tool to spread God's Word. 01:31 The areas in the world where mission aviation is most 01:36 essential is in the areas of the world, that are not developed 01:41 with roads and infrastructure. Here in Alaska we are located 01:48 approximately 500 miles from the nearest end of the road system, 01:53 upon which you can travel to any place in north America. 01:58 So that's 500 miles of beautiful pristine but very remote country 02:09 There are approximately 225 native villages scattered 02:12 across Alaska, of which only about half a dozen are connected 02:17 to the road system, to the rest of the world, so to speak. 02:21 Aircrafts are absolutely essential to traveling to or 02:28 from these places and providing support. 02:32 The highway system and road infrastructure of Alaska 02:35 is limited to the eastern and southern portions of the state. 02:39 Most of Alaska cannot be driven to. 02:43 Most of Alaska is accessible only by airplane. 02:50 There is a road system that covers the large towns of 02:54 Anchorage, Fairbanks, and in between connected to the highway 03:00 that travels down to the lower 48, but the majority 03:03 of the state is able to get there only by flying. 03:08 So we felt like this was a skill that we could provide service 03:14 to allow people to get back and forth from their camps 03:17 and to their villages that there is no other way to get there. 03:21 For many people living in Alaska the conventional mode of 03:25 transportation is aviation. 03:28 Jim and Linda do not just provide aviation support 03:32 to the north western Alaskans; they offer so much more. 03:36 Both are involved in evangelism on a weekly basis. 03:40 Almost every Sabbath they hold church right next door 03:44 to their home in Kotzebue. They sing; preach the word; 03:49 and fellowship with their friends and neighbors. 03:52 After church is over, Jim and Linda's day 03:56 is only half way through. 03:58 After lunch, they immediately head to the airplane hanger. 04:01 On weekends several times a month we go to remote villages 04:09 and help hold worship services to support the Christians 04:14 who live there. 04:16 Many remote villages do not have any permanent pastors 04:20 or Bible workers. 04:21 The villages are so remote, that unless they have a missionary 04:25 living in the village, there is no Adventist presence at all. 04:30 Jim and Linda have made it their mission to have regular Sabbath 04:34 visits with a few of these villages that surround them. 04:37 We will continue to help the couple of out lying villages 04:43 that have missionaries in them and have church members, 04:46 so we will be going and meeting with those people 04:50 every month or so. 04:51 After they pack the plane with Bibles, a guitar, and a meal; 04:56 they take flight toward those in need of Christian companionship. 05:01 Today, the Kincaid's are flying to the village of Selawik. 05:06 There is a small Adventist congregation here and they 05:10 eagerly await the plane's arrival. 05:12 Rural Alaska is characterized by over 280 isolated villages 05:18 scattered across an area more than twice the size of Texas. 05:23 Nearly all villages are accessible by air and water only 05:28 making evangelism especially challenging. 05:31 The need for the gospel is very great in these remote villages, 05:35 and without aviation, it would be all but impossible. 05:40 There is no road between here and any other village. 05:44 Only trails, snow machine trails and airplanes. 05:51 Selawik is located at the mouth of the Selawik River, 05:54 about 70 miles southeast of Kotzebue. 05:58 There are 147 families residing in an area 06:02 of only 3.4 square miles. 06:05 About 1,000 people live here, yet there is no one here 06:09 to reach these people with the gospel message. 06:12 The village is completely isolated from 06:15 any other villages or cities. 06:18 Four wheelers are the conventional mode of 06:21 transportation here in Selawik. 06:24 Jim and Linda are picked up from the air strip and given a ride 06:27 to the church building. 06:30 They wined through the town on the wooden board walk made 06:33 especially for these ATV's. 06:36 Since the village is small, everyone sees Jim and Linda 06:41 as they make their way towards the church. 06:43 We have a little church here, Seventh-day Adventist 06:49 We don't have any pastor at this time, but every Sabbath 06:53 we try to meet in the church and spend some time there. 06:59 We read the Bible, or watch DVDs. 07:04 Jim and Linda hope to bring strength and encouragement 07:07 to the believers of Selawik. 07:09 The small congregation soaks up every minute 07:12 of Jim and Linda's visit. 07:14 They crave spiritual leadership and are always blessed 07:17 from the Kincaid's visit on Sabbath afternoons. 07:21 So we help to provide them a focus and a reason 07:28 to get together and to augment the worship service with music 07:32 and preaching. And praising God. 07:36 It is good, there is nobody to teach us and preach things 07:42 that we need to know. 07:46 We learn a lot of things from the pastor from the Bible. 07:53 ... that we'll be awake to what is happening and awake to the 07:59 spirit of Jesus in our hearts, so that we'll be ready when the 08:04 time comes. Amen, Amen 08:08 We appreciate it very much. I am glad they are coming more 08:12 often, not that we don't have anybody in the church. 08:16 It is real good for Jim and Linda to spend time with us, 08:21 that way we can be all closer to each other and deepen 08:26 our knowledge, to know more about Jesus and be closer 08:33 to Jesus every day because time is getting close. 08:37 As the Sabbath draws to an end, it's time for the Kincaid's 08:41 to return home. They had a very pleasant visit with the Selawik 08:46 congregation and had an opportunity to encourage 08:49 and spiritually rejuvenate these fellow believers. 08:54 This is kind of a weird place to live, if you look at the map 08:58 and we are way off in the far northwest corner and people 09:02 would say, why are you living up there? 09:06 I guess one of the reasons is... we lived in Alaska for 35 years 09:11 It was time for us to do something a little different 09:14 from what we had been doing we had a real love for Alaska. 09:18 Didn't want to leave, so we looked for a place that we knew 09:23 had needs that we could provide a skill that we had. 09:30 And yet, on the other hand, I don't feel like, 09:33 I am doing anything special out here. 09:36 I like the people and it's where we definitely feel 09:40 God has lead us to be. 09:42 So it is not something I view as look at me, 09:46 I'm up here doing this wonderful thing at this odd place. 09:49 It is just where God has placed us, we want to continue 09:52 to do the very best we can to serve Him here. 09:55 Jim and Linda feel blessed to be able to use their skills 09:59 in aviation to carry out the Lord's work in their region. 10:03 Although it makes for a long day, Jim and Linda feel 10:07 great fulfillment in the work they do. 10:17 Alaska is a vastly different area 10:19 from the rest of North America. 10:21 While it is considered part of the United States, 10:24 It still has many challenges and obstacles that make it unique 10:28 from the rest of the lower 48. 10:30 Because of it's enormous size, and vast wildness, 10:34 Alaska is often difficult to live in. 10:38 Villages are hard to reach; and therefore Alaskans' often go 10:42 without many of the comforts, that we take for granted. 10:46 Things like churches, pastors, news papers, 10:49 or even radio stations are a luxury in rural Alaska. 10:54 You know, we have all the technology, we have satellite 10:56 we have all of the stuff that North Americans have, 11:01 but we still have the logistics and the problems 11:06 and the challenges that you would face 11:09 in a third world country. And so because of that 11:12 the Adventist World Aviation is a very needed part. 11:17 In Alaska, only a few of the larger southern cities have 11:21 radio stations for people to listen to. 11:24 However, there is a project in Dillingham that is making 11:28 efforts to provide Christian Radio stations 11:31 to all remote and rural villages. 11:34 Warren Downs is one of the leaders in this movement 11:37 to spread the gospel message. 11:40 Adventist World Aviation partners have discovered that 11:43 flying in pastors isn't the only way to reach 11:47 remote villages in Alaska. 11:49 Village that was once unreached because of it's remote location, 11:53 can now be given the good news of the Gospel simply 11:57 by bringing Christian radio programming. 12:02 You've just seen me setting up a radio station kit for a 12:08 low power FM radio station. All we need now is 12:11 an extension cord to plug in and have power 12:14 and we can have a station operating. 12:17 Here is where the power supply goes in, here is where 12:21 the Ethernet for your internet connection goes in. 12:24 And here is where the antenna connects, or disconnects. 12:31 In the villages we are rather limited. There is an AM radio 12:36 station that is located right here in Dillingham 12:39 It's high enough power that it does reach the villages. 12:42 That's the only regular listening option. 12:45 There is nothing in Christian radio close by here. 12:50 Now if you go further east of here, there is a Christian radio 12:53 station in King Salmon and actually right here 12:57 in Dillingham there is a translator. 12:58 But out in the small villages, there really is nothing 13:01 out there. And so when we have been able to put 3ABN radio 13:06 in the small villages, and you have to understand, 13:09 these villages maybe sometimes half a mile deep, and maybe 13:14 at the most a mile long. I mean that's stretching it sometimes. 13:18 So we are not really talking a very large geographical area. 13:22 Beyond the perimeter of these villages there is nothing 13:26 out there, there is no houses, nothing, so we are talking about 13:29 a very small area, and a low power FM station seems to be 13:35 really the ideal means to put Christian radio 13:41 in the villages. 13:42 As you go out, into more bush villages, you don't have any 13:47 any other stations, maybe if you are lucky if you can pick up 13:50 an AM station in the middle of the night from Japan, 13:53 or somewhere around the world. So don't have a lot of selection 13:59 There certainly is a lot of negative media coming out. 14:04 If you do get a radio station, most likely it is 14:06 not a Christian one, that are available. 14:10 We want to provide something positive, that will help people 14:15 to understand the love of Christ for them, and have something 14:19 that will draw them away from the negative things that the 14:23 world with the devil has put out there to try to 14:26 lead people away from Christ. 14:28 I contacted Three Angels Broadcasting Network, 3ABN 14:33 Who was interested in helping us with this. They already have a 14:39 system that lets you stream 3ABN radio over the internet. 14:44 So it does work with internet and if you plug in the internet 14:50 Ethernet cable here into your router, it will connect 14:54 and go that route. But more recently we have been working 15:00 on a modification that will allow it to operate entirely 15:04 off line with a preloaded cache, basically. A small SD card, 15:12 like you stick in your camera. You can put a whole bunch of 15:16 media files on that. 15:17 We actually have two radio systems that are in operation 15:21 one is a stand alone system, that's the one 15:24 Linda is referring to. We also have another system 15:27 that is pre-recorded material. It randomly chooses and picks, 15:33 depending on the play list, whether it is sermons, or songs, 15:38 or stories, or that type of thing. 15:40 This is not the only project like this, there are other 15:46 efforts along the same lines. One of them in particular 15:51 has had feedback from a man, who was interested. 15:56 At first he listened to the radio and he was angry 16:01 about what he heard, because it went against what he understood 16:04 about the Sabbath, but he looked up the text in the Bible and 16:08 he found that it corresponded to the truth and he found 16:12 it matched the Bible. So he was challenged to study for himself. 16:18 He found that the radio was something that he enjoyed 16:22 and was inspired, and led to the truth by it. 16:25 I believe that could happen for many other people. 16:29 My vision for this, and I know it sounds far fetched, 16:31 but I would like to have one of these stations 16:33 in every village of Alaska. 16:35 Currently we've been saving about $500 a kit. 16:40 The cost is actually going down for making them as we figure out 16:44 technology and new technology keeps getting less expensive 16:48 and more powerful, but there is also the cost of deploying them, 16:53 and that is still an expense. Getting them out to the field 16:57 is probably... the airplane flight, which could run 17:03 couple of hundred dollars, so I think that the funding 17:06 will come when the timing is right, 17:09 when the people are there ready to host it. 17:12 I am sure God will make it possible. 17:15 So far we've had very positive response from the people. 17:21 Every time the radio station goes off the air they call us up 17:25 and they say, hey can you get this radio station back on 17:28 we really, really miss it. So we are really positively blessed 17:35 by the reports that are coming back from this. 17:39 Adventist World Aviation's goal is to help bring this project 17:44 to a reality. 17:45 By partnering with the radio project. AWA can help spread 17:51 the message of the gospel by bringing aviation support 17:54 and deliver these radios to the remote villages. 17:58 AWA's commitment is to provide air support to any radio 18:04 that needs to be transported and installed with this project. 18:08 One town that has been affected by the radio 18:11 is the town of Manokotak. 18:14 This village was given a radio to be hosted 18:17 in Edward and Rhonda's home. 18:21 It's been a blessing to have Adventist World Aviation come in 18:25 and bring new supplies, the Word and of course 18:33 Seventh-day Adventists. We are always blessed to have a pastor 18:41 from Dillingham come in, we wish we could have him more here. 18:49 There is no doubt about it, villagers long for 18:51 more frequent visits from their regional pastors. 18:54 However they are still appreciative and soak in 18:57 the programming they receive by way of Christian media. 19:01 There is a need for Adventism here. 19:05 Our family is the only Adventist family in Manokotak 19:09 Our dream is for people to find out more of the truth. 19:16 Because if they are not listening to you, 19:19 they are listening to them. 19:20 The radio station, it will probably talk to them. 19:30 Edward and Rhonda have made it a personal goal to share 19:34 this media with anyone in their village that will listen. 19:39 This radio project is a collaborative effort. 19:41 The radios are built, 19:43 but they must be deployed to the rural villages. 19:47 Not only that, they must also receive maintenance 19:50 about twice a year. This is only made possible with aviation 19:55 Today, we are going to fly with AWA partner, Eric to the village 20:00 of Koliganek to check on one of the radios 20:03 that was installed there. 20:06 I have a small airline Shannon's Air Taxi, that I started in 96. 20:13 Eric's business is a charter company, 20:15 but he also uses his business for ministry. 20:19 Whenever he has a trip to a village with a radio in it, 20:22 he offers to transport radios, or do the maintenance 20:25 while he is there. 20:27 I prayed to God, if got a Navaho I would use it, for business 20:33 and when ever I could, I would use it to help out. 20:38 in God's cause, where ever He needed it. 20:42 Eric has lived in Alaska all his life and therefore has a strong 20:46 passion to help the Native Americans whenever he can. 20:49 As Eric Loads up his plane, he heads towards Koliganek. 20:54 He travels down the run way with his plane 20:57 full of passengers and supplies. 20:59 Eric knows the value of aviation 21:02 To Alaskans, aviation isn't a luxury, but a necessity. 21:07 The journey between Dillingham and Koliganek, 21:11 is over flat arctic tundra. 21:14 There are no roads anywhere in sight. 21:17 Eric has been an intricate player in getting the radios 21:20 installed in Koliganek. 21:23 He too wants to help whenever he can and therefore 21:26 has been instrumental in this project. 21:28 About 56 miles north east of Dillingham pastor Downs asked 21:37 if we could put radio stations anywhere else, so I called 21:40 Koliganek, the people of Koliganek village and he said 21:46 that we could put one in the Counsel building, than we put it 21:49 up in an afternoon, and I switch out the computers when... 21:58 After so many months, I switch it out to a new hard drive. 22:05 Today, Eric is going to be doing some general maintenance 22:09 on the radio in Koliganek. 22:11 After he drops off his passengers, he will ride 22:14 into town and check on the radio that is located 22:17 in the community building. 22:25 Koliganek is a very small town of roughly 200 people 22:29 and 50 households. 22:31 They have no local TV, newspaper or radio stations here. 22:35 So having a Christian radio here is a very powerful tool. 22:40 The radio antenna is attached to the roof 22:42 of the Community Building in the center of town. 22:46 It's low power, it has six months of material on it. 22:53 It is a hard drive and it transmits basically 22:57 from one end of the village, to the other end. 22:58 This is the central part of the village. 23:00 It just plays on it's own, we put it on there, turn it on 23:04 and after... It is time to change it now. 23:09 And I just come switch out the computer. It only takes me 23:12 about 20 minutes, half an hour. 23:15 The radios are very low maintenance. 23:18 They are simple to set up and can be left to play on their own 23:22 for months at a time. The contents can be easily updated, 23:26 and requires very little work. 23:28 They are the perfect solution for these rural villages. 23:33 Eric looks over the radio system and checks all the connections. 23:37 He wants to make sure that everything is in order 23:39 and it is transmitting without any problems. 23:42 Radio Stations are a very simple solution for a very complex need 23:48 Everyone involved in the project 23:50 realizes the impact these radios have. 23:53 Whenever I want to switch it out I just have to shut this off, 23:56 unplug it, put the new one in, turn it on and, that's it 24:02 start playing. 24:04 A local village member expresses just how much he enjoys having 24:07 the radio here in the village. 24:09 Lot's of good variety, Story Hour, preaching, music, 24:16 Bible history, lot of good music there is even native music, 24:21 lot of good hymns. 24:24 Do you like having it here in the village? 24:26 Oh yeah, the only other station is AM650 in Anchorage and that 24:33 is the news, talk shows. That is real good and clear. 24:38 We don't have TV, no satellite, nothing, 24:43 so I am sure glad it is here. 24:47 Before leaving, Eric tunes the radio to listen and make sure 24:51 the signal is strong. The radio is working optimally, 24:55 and spreading the gospel to all those around. 24:58 AWA is very happy to help and be a part of this radio project. 25:04 Ultimately AWA's primary goal is to spread the gospel, 25:08 and these radios are the perfect tools 25:11 to accomplish this in rural Alaska. 25:14 Another Radio was installed in the village of Togiak 25:19 Togiak is 65 nautical miles from Dillingham. 25:23 Here, missionary Chad keeps a close eye on the radio. 25:27 The radio has become a helpful and beneficial tool 25:30 to Chad's ministry. 25:32 Chad can now reach people in church as well as in their homes 25:38 Well, what we have... We don't have radio stations like we have 25:43 down in the lower 48. Which pretty much the case 25:46 in the main body of the United States 25:48 We can't just flick a switch, or put on a preprogram, 25:53 regular station of K-Love or anything like that. 25:56 We actually have to install our own connections here 26:00 satellite or Am, FM transmitters here. That's what these are here 26:07 We have two stations, both are the same, 26:11 but if one channel is bad the other one will be clear, 26:16 that is why we have two here. 26:17 So to get to know more about the Adventist culture, 26:21 what we do, who we are as a denomination 26:26 they love getting to know that aspect through 3ABN. 26:30 That is what we use out here. 26:33 As a collaborative effort with those already working on this 26:37 radio project, Adventist World Aviation is excited about 26:42 delivering future radios to remote villages 26:44 all throughout Alaska. 26:46 There are 15 villages in our immediate area 26:49 that are serviced by the hospital in this hub village 26:52 of Dillingham. We would like to place radios in each one of 26:57 these villages, because it is a good way to reach out 27:02 in an area where we don't have a presence. 27:05 Currently there are only a handful of radios in place. 27:08 The dream and goal of the AWA partners, are to expand this 27:14 number to over 200 radios, one in every village. 27:21 We have great expectations, that this will become a real 27:25 blessing in this region anyway. 27:28 This is sort of a team effort it's no one person's 27:31 star of the show type of thing. It is a team effort and we 27:35 really do appreciate all the support that Adventist World 27:40 Aviation and the direction that they are able to give. 27:42 I see a need for Adventist World Aviation around Dillingham area, 27:46 Bristol Bay area, the rural area. There is no roads between 27:53 villages, there is no roads between anywhere except on water 27:59 So, yeah it's very much a need. 28:03 We really appreciate the work that AWA is doing. 28:06 Making this a possibility, making this a reality. 28:11 It has really enhanced our ministry in this area here. 28:19 What you have been watching is areas that 28:24 Adventist World Aviation goes into. We go into areas that 28:29 you can't reach by conventional means, whether it's in Guyana 28:32 whether it's in Alaska, whether it's in the Philippines. 28:34 We go into areas that can't be reached. 28:38 We reach the unreachable. 28:40 The average person doesn't recognize that there are 28:43 2 billion people in this world 28:45 that have never heard of Jesus Christ. 28:47 Of those 2 billion people 800 million of them can only be 28:52 reached by means like aviation. We are able to reach people that 28:55 would normally, under normal circumstances just not be able 28:59 to be reached. And as a result we are able to share 29:02 the love of Jesus Christ. 29:03 Pray for us! We need your prayers more than anything else. 29:06 For more information contact your local station. 29:09 Thanks for watching! 29:10 Ask about Adventist World Aviation! |
Revised 2014-12-17