JOURNEY INTO ALASKA By Arthur Houk, Biola ’50
I T was 11 p.m. Saturday, July 21, and a cool evening breeze was blowing over the waterfront of Seattle, Wash ington. This night was “ our night.” We were sailing on our missionary journey into Alaska. The Seattle Youth for Christ had just given us a great send-off and now we were aboard the missionary ship, Willis Shank, ready to sail into the Northland. Five graduates of the B.I.O.L.A. with other young people, had been asked by the Marine Medical Mission to go into British Columbia and Alaska to teach daily vacation Bible school and to give the Word of God to the people of the villages along the coast of the North land.
and girls. Three more joined us at re cess. By the last day of school we had an enrollment of thirty-four. Twenty- two precious children professed to ac cept Christ as Saviour. Our hearts were full of praise as we looked back over the days and counted the physical diffi culties as small indeed in the light of
in most of the homes on this large island. A boat is valuable equipment for missionarv work in the northwest. In many towns there were one or two auto- piobiles for hundreds of people and in some towns there was not one. Thus when the Willis Shank tied up at the dock of a northwest village to let work ers off the ship, the whole town counted the arrival of the ship as a major event. The visitors who came aboard were de lighted with the church-like service we held for them. They listened eagerly to the testimonies of the student mission aries. As we proceeded north, we left Adeline Gordon at a small town to teach Vaca tion Bible School. Afterwards she told her experience. “ Plans had not matured for a school in this area so consequently we were housed in a school building. We called this home and were thankful for a place to stay. We lived in a small room that was used for a cloak and wash room by the children. We scrubbed the room and placed our food and personal belongings there. “ Upon investigation of the building we discovered the lights, which were run on gasoline, would not turn on. No heat was provided for cooking purposes, and the water was dirty from non-use. “ For the first three or four days we had no water to drink. By this time I said to my co-worker, ‘I am so thirsty, I am going to drink this anyway.’ There were no ill effects, for which I was grateful.
Capt. Stabbert and Family on their Missionary Ship, the Willis Shank
The dock lines were hauled on board; the Diesel engines began to throb, and our hearts were full of the joy of the Lord as we sailed out of the security of the harbor toward the North where unknown experiences awaited us. Soon the Biola graduates, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Harris ’51, Alberta Hanson ’50, Adeline Gordon ’48, and Art Houk ’50, along with fellow-travelers from the other Christian colleges, were busy cleaning the ship and doing K.P. duty. We soon learned that there is plenty of work aboard a ship. Three days out of Seattle we had a rare treat. The Willis Shank dropped anchor at Maple Bay, British Columbia, and there we witnessed one of the great est works for the Lord we had ever seen. Here was a Bible Camp with 100 Junior girls in attendance. How they could sing those action choruses and quote Scrip ture verses! Here, in Camp Imadne, which means “ True to Faith,” we met former Biolans Paul Flint ’34 and Mrs. Martens ’33 who were busy winning the children for the Lord. Our hearts were stirred as we watched the Lord at work in the hearts of these girls. Mrs. Martens’ husband is also a Biola grad uate and is working with the British and Foreign Bible Society on Vancouver Island. He has placed a Gospel of John
Alaskan Native Totem Poles what God wrought in and through us. “ One lad came the second day in the afternoon to visit. He asked, ‘What is the Holy Spirit?’ While I was explaining about the Trinity, another lad joined us. The second boy was saved as a result of this conversation. How thrilled I was! These boys had just come to the build ing to visit with us.” In another town farther north we enrolled eighty children in our Bible school which was held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon each day. The fellows were baseball fans so we entered into it too, remembering the words of Paul, “ I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” In the afternoon we took all the boys, and girls too if they wanted to go, to the ball field for a good American game of hard ball. We played ball for an hour then followed it with a ten or fifteen-minute Bible story. Then we told the children they could either play ball or listen to another story in the grandstand. One afternoon a ten-year-old girl lingered in the grandstand for two hours listen- (Continued on Page 88)
Native Children of the North
“ Our first four meals consisted of crackers and chocolate milk. Most of the meals were cold because either the gas oline supply was exhausted or the fuse blew out. ‘This is good missionary train ing,’ I said to my fellow-worker. Some of our food spoiled because of the lack of ice. “ But we laughed every time some thing went wrong or did not work right. A good sense of humor is an essential part of the missionary’s equipment. “ School began at 9 a.m. with four boys
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