My friend Inez Kollmar told this story the other day in Sunday School, and I asked if she'd write it up for my blog. Thank you, Inez. It gives us a glimpse into the marvelous ways of God.
My husband, Bruce died in 2002. When I got to the point of sorting through some of the things he had stashed away in a closet, I came across four videos, unopened, of the evangelistic Jesus film. I'd heard/read that this film had been instrumental in bringing people into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in some of the more remote areas of the world. My husband hadn't shared what his plan was for these videos, but I knew he certainly intended them for people who might not hear the story otherwise.
They sat in their pile and in the back of my mind for a long time, while I tried to think who might best benefit from them and how to get them there, but nothing brilliant popped up. Then a fellow choir member in our church announced that he would be taking a mission trip into the Yukon River delta area of Alaska with some people from the Missionary Aviation Training Academy to help out at a Christian family retreat center. This is a ministry to Alaska native villagers who live in remote areas, unreachable during the warmer seasons except by small plane or boat. In the winter, when everything -- including the river -- is frozen solid, they can get from one place to another by snowmobile or dog sled, but that's not when family camp takes place! The only way they can come to camp then is by plane, thus the need (and opportunity) for the MATA pilots to bring them to and from their villages.
Having lived in southeast Alaska for a bit in junior high, I went to school with native kids and my best friend was an Eskimo girl. So I already had warm feelings toward the native populations of Alaska. I asked my choir friend if he thought my Jesus films could be put to use in this situation, and it turns out that the MATA pilots were happy to get them and distribute them to four different native villages far out in the delta areas of western Alaska, across the water from Russia.
I was thrilled! Though I don't know what Bruce's plan was for them, God knew all along where they should go and was just waiting for the way to be opened for that to happen. I hope in some distant day that I, and Bruce, will know the impact this film may have had.
Bless MATA and my choir friend for their kindness and caring of His people.
In just 30 years, God has used the Jesus film to greatly impact the world. If you'd like more information about the Jesus film, click here. If you would like to view the film online, you can click here and choose from over 1000 languages that it has been translated into! Maybe you know someone to whom you could forward this link, someone whose life could be forever changed by seeing the story of Jesus.
They sat in their pile and in the back of my mind for a long time, while I tried to think who might best benefit from them and how to get them there, but nothing brilliant popped up. Then a fellow choir member in our church announced that he would be taking a mission trip into the Yukon River delta area of Alaska with some people from the Missionary Aviation Training Academy to help out at a Christian family retreat center. This is a ministry to Alaska native villagers who live in remote areas, unreachable during the warmer seasons except by small plane or boat. In the winter, when everything -- including the river -- is frozen solid, they can get from one place to another by snowmobile or dog sled, but that's not when family camp takes place! The only way they can come to camp then is by plane, thus the need (and opportunity) for the MATA pilots to bring them to and from their villages.
Having lived in southeast Alaska for a bit in junior high, I went to school with native kids and my best friend was an Eskimo girl. So I already had warm feelings toward the native populations of Alaska. I asked my choir friend if he thought my Jesus films could be put to use in this situation, and it turns out that the MATA pilots were happy to get them and distribute them to four different native villages far out in the delta areas of western Alaska, across the water from Russia.
I was thrilled! Though I don't know what Bruce's plan was for them, God knew all along where they should go and was just waiting for the way to be opened for that to happen. I hope in some distant day that I, and Bruce, will know the impact this film may have had.
Bless MATA and my choir friend for their kindness and caring of His people.
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In just 30 years, God has used the Jesus film to greatly impact the world. If you'd like more information about the Jesus film, click here. If you would like to view the film online, you can click here and choose from over 1000 languages that it has been translated into! Maybe you know someone to whom you could forward this link, someone whose life could be forever changed by seeing the story of Jesus.
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