Arctic Adventures: Iditarod Outreach

ByNAMB missionary Brenda Crim

It’s twenty below, the wind is blowing, and over 90 dog-sledding teams are trekking across the unforgiving landscape of Alaska, enduring frostbite and threats of hypothermia while balancing on two skids behind as many as 16 canine marathoners. It’s the Iditarod—an 1,100-mile sled dog race across mountains, glaciers, frozen lakes, rivers, and some of the roughest terrain known to man and animal. It starts just north of Anchorage and ends on the Northwest shores of the Bering Sea in the old west township of Nome.

Nome was a gold rush town, and still hosts saloons that are reminiscent of a bygone era. Wyatt Earp’s establishment still stands in its original location, but today houses the City Hall. If you want to see a view from the webcam, go to http://home.gci.net/~cityofnome/704x480.html. The camera shoots from a second story window of the Hall. And yes, that’s the frozen Bering Sea in the background, unless you’re viewing in mid-May to October when break-up reaches the shores. 

The romance of the race lures the visceral adventurers into this rugged land where mistakes are costly, perhaps even deadly, and where dialing 911 leaves a vacant tone. It’s where you have to be able to get yourself out of any predicament that you get yourself into. There are no safety nets for this act. And these are the very challenges that while intimidating and repelling some, they attract others—the gutsy maniacs drawn by the requisite of tenacity, grit, and wit. It’s a race that is both exhilarating and heartbreaking.  

This race and its culture are much of the sinew that binds the people of this land. That being so, it’s the perfect place for a multi-faceted outreach project for mission-minded Christians to connect with the soul of Alaska. Southern Baptists in Alaska call it Iditarod Outreach.   

Imagine over 100 volunteers from SBC churches or Baptist Collegiate Ministries in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, and Florida giving up their spring break, vacation time, and wages, and braving the elements to serve selflessly and impact the people of Nome with goodness and the gospel. These volunteers hold up our arms, so to speak, as we missionaries work in this great land to make Christ known. 

The Southerners come, decked out in layer after layer of their warmest gear and willing to do whatever is asked of them. Gives me —and them—goose pimples just thinking about it. They instantly multiply our witness and are a formidable work force.   

Iditarod Outreach’s task is to reach two relatively distinctive people groups that emerge in Nome during this time: 1) The Alaskan Native community from villages in and around Nome; and 2) Race personnel and tourists of the Iditarod. It is the goal of the strategists of Iditarod Outreach to penetrate every possible avenue in both realms. Here’s a glimpse into the varied ministries and service projects that are saturated by believing volunteers:

Community Connections

• Jeff and Karen Sones of New Braunfels, Texas, led our volunteers in hosting concessions and served more than 11,000 pounds of food and drink at the Lonnie O’Conner Iditarod Basketball Classic—one of the largest tournaments in the world, hosting 35 adult teams from villages across the arctic. We donated our proceeds of over $10,000 to the Bering Sea Women’s Group, a local shelter that serves the region, and volunteered more than 1,100 man-hours. We distributed Bibles and tracts from the concession stand and ministered to and prayed with individuals who shared personal concerns.
• Crossfire Ministries’ Randy Shepherd and Jamie Johnson joined Pastor Bruce Landry in leading evangelistic outreaches at the local women’s and men’s prisons, half-way house, and juvenile detention center. More than 50 professed Christ. They also hosted basketball clinics for community youths.  
• Mrs. Lillian Miller of Mississippi hosted teas at the XYZ elder’s center, connecting with the community’s honored and respected seniors.
• Mission team members aided the community Security Patrol in the early morning hours to assist the late night bar crowd in getting home safely. If a person should pass out in the snow in sub-zero temperatures, he could freeze to death.
• Hosted a Hospitality Street Booth featuring free cocoa and coffee for Iditarod fans.
• Hosted a Hospitality Sled featuring free cocoa and coffee for fans of the Golivan Snow Machine Race, a 200 mile snow mobile race to White Mountain and back to Nome.  
• Distributed “Bible in a Bucket” to households in Nome and in surrounding villages, including White Mountain, Alaska.

Iditarod Race Headquarters Volunteers

Our teams provide the majority of the volunteer force needed to manage the race at the official headquarters of the Iditarod. They permeate every facet of the race with smiling faces and generous hearts. Their work ethic and kindness melts away agnostic hostility. Below are some of the areas in which we assisted race officials.

• Dog Lots. As race teams finished, canine marathoners are ushered to the secured dog lots where they receive special care and much needed rest.  
• Snow-Mobile Transport. Taking officials, vets, and supplies out to the Safety Roadhouse, the last checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail. Twenty-two miles, one way, across the frozen Bering Sea and tundra. 
• Race Security. When mushers cross the finish line, our volunteers are inside the gates and barricades among Iditarod Hall-of-Famers, providing security from encroaching crowds.
• Musher’s Banquet. We serve a fabulous meal to more than 800 in the awards banquet of the Iditarod
• Red Lantern Banquet. We prepare the meal and serve the banquet for the final musher’s finish. 
• Reception Desk. We man phones at the front desk of the Iditarod Headquarters.
• Set-up/ Take-down. Our volunteers arrive in Nome early enough to set up the headquarters and remain after most of the Iditarod personnel have returned to their homes. We close down the headquarters, pack it up, and clean up what’s left behind. 

Christian Pilots and Baptist Missionaries

Another feature of our outreach was an Arctic village tour with evangelistic sports events. We boarded a bush plane with performer Tanya Crevier, the World’s Best Female Basketball Handler, and hosted half-time shows and evangelistic rallies at several villages: in Noorvik’s Tournament, Kiana’s High School Gym, and Kotzebue’s National Guard Armory gym. Tanya drew the hearts of young and old to enjoy her amazing skills while hearing an inspiring message. Fourteen accepted Christ in Kotzebue as a result. In addition, relationships were strengthened in the villages on the behalf of the nearby churches.

Can you imagine the experience had by Charlie Parnell, Curtis Goodion, and Stacy Montgomery of Longview, Texas, as they flew across the Arctic with Wes Price (Christian Pilots Association) to aid in the basketball shows? These men packed into a small Cessna and hopped villages to aid us in our rallies. They arrived grinning, having spotted musk ox, caribou, and moose along the way. 

And bouncing along behind the entourage was Marvin Savoie, a true-blue Cajun from the swamps of south Louisiana. He ventured more than 200 miles by snow mobile to villages Noorvik, Kiana, and Kotzebue to aid in our basketball shows. He tasted the Native lifestyle, full-throttle across the frozen tundra, escorted by arctic missionary, John Forrester, and Kotzebue church member, Dan Sheldon. The icing on the cake was getting to ice-fish with Dan and catching several sheefish?? (I had never heard of these either, before moving to Alaska three years ago.) The Cajun went home with plenty of stories to tell the folks back in Lafayette. 

To sum it up, we had a big wild ride in Alaska. More than 70 people made decisions for Christ and hundreds were encouraged in the Lord. A strong Christian presence permeated the Iditarod finish line, and several thousand volunteer man-hours were given to the community of Nome, in the name of our Lord. Jesus and basketball touched the hearts of ballers across the arctic. Our visiting teams indulged in the wilds of the Arctic while sharing Christ, etching their memories with unforgettable snapshots. And after they left, our Alaskan missionaries were encouraged and strengthened to continue the task before us.  

Iditarod Outreach is an annual outreach event spurred by the Baptist Collegiate Ministry and Chugach Baptist Association. It is a partnership effort with the Alaska Baptist Convention and the Evangelism Division of the North American Mission Board.  Go to www.iditarodoutreach.com for more info. 

Brenda Crim is a missionary serving at the University of Alaska-Anchorage.