North America: Dog sleds and Determination Deliver Bibles to Arctic (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

North America: Dog sleds and Determination Deliver Bibles to Arctic
Source: Adventist News Network

July 11, 2006
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada .... [Elizabeth Lechleitner/ANN Staff]
http://news.adventist.org/data/2006/06/1152649580/index.html.en?&template=printer.html

Add near insurmountable financial and logistical obstacles to the very
inhospitable Arctic climate (think a frigid -15 degrees Celsius in the
summer!), and many might have let the initiative to lug two tons of
Bibles to the North Pole freeze over.

But not Sebastian Tirtirau, founder and director of the Pilgrim Relief
Society. Whether by plane, train, or--in this case--dogsled, Tirtirau
matches the persistence of Arctic permafrost when it comes to reaching
earth's remotest tribes with education, health care, and ultimately,
the message of Jesus.

Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the not-for-profit Pilgrim
Relief Society was launched in 2001 and is committed to improving the
quality of life for indigenous peoples. Currently, project
implementation is focused on the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa,
Amazonian forests of South America, Congo Pygmies, Papua New Guinea,
and the Inuit people of Northern Canada.

And it's from Northern Canada that Tirtirau just returned. When he
learned 5,000 Bibles translated into the Inuit's Inuktitut
language--printed by the Canadian Bible Society--were collecting dust
because no one could conceive of how to get them to the Arctic,
Tirtirau saw a mission with his name on it.

Because 5,000 Bibles pose quite a shipping challenge--especially to the
Arctic, where travel is costly--he split the cargo into two shipments,
said Shawn Boonstra, speaker/director for the It Is Written TV
ministry.

It Is Written has recently partnered with the Pilgrim Relief Society and
Boonstra hopes to participate in the delivery of the next shipment.

Upon his arrival to the Arctic, Tirtirau reunited with Inuits he
befriended during an April 2005 mission trip. Not only did the Inuit
people welcome Tirtirau back to their villages, they provided dogsleds
and helped him distribute the bibles. "If it wasn't for the kindness of
the Inuit people, the North would be a much colder place," Tirtirau
remarked.

Along with the ruthless weather and persistent poverty, Tirtirau cites
boredom as one of the greatest challenges Inuit people face. During
summer in Northern Canada, the sun shines nearly 24-hours a day. The
remoteness of the Inuit villages and their limited resources make books
a rarity. "I am so happy that they have Bibles to read so they can get a
fresh hope for the life to come," said Tirtirau. The smiles of those who
received Bibles certainly echo his sentiments.

But the distribution was hardly without hurdles. Summer in the Arctic
means constant thawing and re-freezing, making icecap travel
treacherous. "[We] had to navigate through these cracks [in the ice],
making the trip very scary. We were miles from anything and if you get
wet or you sink, it would be a long walk back to the village--if you
make it!" related Tirtirau.

As Tirtirau and his team learned, that "if" is very real, thanks to a
blizzard that beset the team on their return trip. When the rugged,
ice-riddled Arctic terrain catapulted Tirtirau from his dogsled seat,
he landed on a metal rod. With nothing but snow for an interminable
radius, the team had no choice but to push on toward the village of
Igloolik for medical treatment.

Despite his personal suffering, Tirtirau doesn't regret the trip. "I
praise God, my Father, for His work in the Arctic, because the Bibles
and their message will only be spread by His power and grace. All I can
do is go there and be a witness for Him," said Tirtirau. "I also praise
God," he added, "that He spared my life!"

Bibles have now been distributed to the Inuit villages of Iqaluit, Apex,
Kimmirut, Pangnirtung, Qiqirtarjuak, Pond Inlet, Clyde River, Nanisivik,
Arctic Bay, Resolute Bay, Grise Fjord, Sanikayak, Igloolik, and Cape
Dorset, among others. Three thousand homes (averaging 5 people each)
have now received a Bible. And Tirtirau will be back with the remaining
2,000.

Also during this trip, Tirtirau distributed 40 Bibles in Inuktitut to a
local prison, where he says inmates were "in a miserable state. The
Bible will give them hope and will introduce them to Jesus," he said.

Supported by an It Is Written Television team led by Boonstra,
Tirtirau's next expedition will send him to South Africa's Kalahari
Desert in August.

There, the team will distribute another sort of Bible: the Godpod. A
solar-powered digital MP3 player, the Godpod holds up to 160 hours of
audio content--enough to pack the entire Bible, a series of Bible
studies, and a translation of Steps to Christ in the iPod-sized gadget.
All the content will be in the Bushmen "click" language, which makes
Ellen G. White the first English-speaking author to be translated into
click.

The Godpod replaces the old version of the audio Bible, consisting of 99
cassettes and a cumbersome tape deck. "The windows God is opening are
just amazing," said Boonstra of the new technology and its upcoming
distribution. [See also ANN, Jan. 24, 2006.]