Testimony of an Arctic Circle Radio Listener
ARCTIC MISSION ADVENTURE
At the July 2008 Camp Meeting in Palmer, it began to dawn on many of us working here in Alaska, how little is actually being done to share the love of Jesus in this vast land. Most of the pictures of Alaska that you see show beautiful snow‐capped mountains, abundant wildlife, and spotless cruise ships sailing the Inside Passage. But beyond the cruise ships and the well dressed tourists is a completely different picture. Tiny villages, with nothing more than a strip of gravel for a plane to land, and twenty or thirty tiny cabins, many of which still today have no running water or sewer systems. The only way to get to these places is by air. There is nothing but swampy tundra for hundreds of miles in any direction, which prohibits any kind of travel in summer. In winter it freezes up and can be traversed by dog team, but this form of transport is considered "old fashioned" for every day use now. Barges travel the coast line of Alaska in the summer, and some of the bigger towns get visited regularly to deliver freight, but many of the smaller villages are lucky to see a barge on the beach once a year.
After brainstorming ideas for a while, it seemed possible to put together a lower‐power FM (LPFM) radio station package that is self‐contained and small enough to be mailed to a village, antenna erected, plugged in and have it play unattended for an, as yet undetermined, period of time. The idea soon became a reality and with t
he work of a group of dedicated people, at a cost of around $500 per station, there are now nine LPFM stations on air! Demand is quickly exceeding the supply of LPFMs as requests to install stations in Akiak, Anchor Point, Barrow, Craig, Delta Junction, Homer, Kachemak Selo, Kenai, Koliganek, Nanwalek, Nikolaevsk, Nome, Port Graham, Rasdolna, Savoonga, Seldovia, Valdez and Vosnesenko have been received.
But the best part is that people's lives are being touched through this ministry. One of of the listeners writes: "I have the radio on nearly every minute that I'm home and as I move from one part of the house to another, I turn different radios on so that it follows me wherever I go. I love "my" radio station! The part that I don't say in public, or to very few in private, is that I've had a real trial with depression over the last 3-4 years. If you've ever had to live with depression, you may know that there is a deep sadness that precipitates a dive into the pit. I am here to say that since having the radio station, I haven't had even one bout of sadness (much less anything worse) - nothing in my world has changed except for the addition of uplifting music, stories and readings. We have lots of Christian music in our home...but I wasn't listening to it and was instead surrounding myself with silence and my own frequently not-so-uplifting thoughts. For whatever reason, turning on the radio isn't hard for me and it is now one of the most blessed habits I have. Please, please, please...if you ever fall prey to discouragement, remember what your efforts have done and are doing for me on a daily basis. Only Jesus truly knows the wealth of your work but I am a prime example of someone who's life has been tangibly changed because of the station. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
To learn more about the radio ministry and other mission opportunities here in Alaska, visit the "Missions in Alaska" page or email alaskainfo@ac.npuc.org.