A SELECTED "NORTHERN
LIGHTS" MAGAZINE ARTICLE
(from Issue #480)
The Lord told us to "Go" -
NCEMers tell how we are...
Getting There
"Funny
you should mention transportation," wrote Tom and Donna Cnossen. "We
just spent a half-hour each way travelling 12 miles to visit."
The Cnossens were responding to a recent Northern Lights
e-mail request. After 24 miles of "washboard, mud, potholes, puddles,
more mud...," transportation seemed like a relevant topic!
The road they travel isn't always that bad, but transportation is
relevant to all of us in NCEM. After all, we have responded to the Lord's
command to "go" (Matt. 28:19) -- so in this issue we'd like to
tell you a bit more about how we're getting there.
It's northern Canada's vast and rugged geography, plus the
extreme seasonal changes, that make transportation a major factor in our
mission work. It isn't hard finding stories -- the experiences are
innumerable. Tom and Donna also tell of difficulties that local
believers have just getting to church. For instance, sometimes a
chainsaw has been needed to remove fallen trees from across the road on
Sunday mornings. As for themselves, "We've learned that a 4x4 is
best for this road," they say. "We have two of them!"
So, how else do NCEMers get there? And what are some of the other
challenges?
First of all, the oldest method of all -- walking -- is still
pretty practical for doing ministry. For missionaries in smaller and
more isolated villages, like Jim and Lois Stauffer, vehicles are only
required for travelling "in" and "out" of their community. But
for them, and others, ministry also takes place out "on the land."
That's where skidoos, ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) and boats -- more
commonly used elsewhere for recreation only -- are a necessity.
There are also a few other rather unique ways that NCEMers have
travelled. The late Roy Markel hitched his sled dogs up to a bicycle in
the summer (somewhat successfully). Wayne and Chris Friesen used their
garden tractor and trailer around town (till the police informed them
that it was illegal). And missionaries crossing lakes or rivers on newly
formed (or melting) ice, may still push small boats -- into which they
jump for safety should the ice break.
Chris Friesen also mentioned horses. "It was a great inroad to
people's lives," she says. "I used my horse to get back and forth
to the Reserve ... through my horses I have been able to share the
gospel with many women."
But for most missionaries -- and with more roads built every year -- it's cars and trucks that transport them to and from their
ministries. Phil and Grace Welch, who direct outreach in Maritime
regions, stressed the missionaries' need for reliable vehicles -- and
sufficient funds to operate them. NCEMers in the area are not able to
live close to the First Nations reserves. "It's definitely a
ministry where we must GO to them," they say.
Jim Davis, a Headquarters worker involved in a weekly urban children's
ministry, explains, "If we didn't have a mini-van that God kept
running, we'd be unable to serve at Club, and also unable to bring
kids from our end of the city to participate." And for summer
outreaches, Jim wonders, "Can you imagine Bible camps without vehicles
to get kids there?"
Albert Heal's comments take us back a few years: "When I first 'joined' NCEM in 1954 as an MK," he remembers, "our main
transportation was dog team in the winter and boat in the summer. My dad
had a very reliable team of five dogs ... [Then] in the early 60s Dad
bought a used Chevy pickup to use in the spring to fall months for
visiting and hauling wood.
"In about 1962 he got his first skidoo. It was big and heavy and
had a 7 hp Kohler engine. In 1964, the skidoo became our main winter
transportation for many years. In summer Dad always had a boat ... I
remember one trip. Dad had a 7-1/2 hp Evinrude outboard and it took us
two days to travel the 50 miles."
 Albert
now covers a lot more distance in much less time. He is one of NCEM's
pilots for our fleet of four Cessna planes. With commercial air travel
in the North very costly, having our own Aviation Department has proven
very practical. But, as Albert tells, getting there is still a
challenge.
For example, team evangelism to locations in the Northwest
Territories means sending fuel ahead on a summer barge. The 900-mile
trip (from the Airbase) can only be made when the ocean is frozen,
because our planes are single engine. Spring is a good time to make
these trips, says Albert, but "spring" can still mean temperatures
in the -30s with potential blizzards. "Then there is always the
challenge of finding the barrels of av-gas under the snow drifts."
Weather can be a big factor in NCEMers' travels, especially so for
flying. "We've often had to wait out storms," says Albert, "but
it's missionary work as usual when we are delayed. There is always
lots to do, no matter where you are."
Gilbert Bekkatla (pictured with car at top of page) regularly visits Dene communities
-- some by air
and some by road -- and, along with mechanical breakdowns, he knows how
much weather affects plans. He tells of many opportunities to minister
to people during these delays. "God uses these delays if we are
submissive and available," he says.
Gilbert was raised in northwestern Saskatchewan, the son of a
fisherman. "I grew up in communities where travel very much depended
on the weather," he explains, "so I just do what I can when I can!"
That's how it often is for our missionaries. But that's okay
because transportation is more than just getting there. It's also
ministry on the way -- ministries such as talking to hitchhikers, or to
young people on the way to and from Bible camp.
It is also sharing with Canada's First People while travelling the
very same routes their ancestors travelled for generations ... and in
the very same way! We conclude our Getting There article with these
thoughts and experiences from Tom Cnossen:
"By far the best travelling that I know -- and some of the best
ministry I've had -- has been paddling canoes on our Higher Challenge
voyages. Nothing can compare to days and days of travel through pristine
boreal wilderness. The rhythmic dip and swing of a paddle can prompt
some of the best thinking a person can do!
"I like conversing in a canoe, too. I've had some great talks
with teens. They really open up on a long trip. It is one of the best
ways I've found to really get to know them and hear where they are
coming from. Canoes have brought us into beautiful, wild and remote
places where it is quiet enough for a teen to think, for a body to get
free from tobacco and drugs -- and for the Spirit of God to begin to
open up a hurting heart.
"But one of my favourite trips was with my adult friend, Buddy. The
two of us went up to the Churchill River for a few days last year. We
paddled and fished and visited. It was one of those trips that will live
forever in our memories -- a trip when I really got to know my friend.
"It was invaluable discipleship time -- a lot like in the Bible:
... a lake ... fish ... a boat ... a friend."
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