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A SELECTED "NORTHERN
LIGHTS" MAGAZINE ARTICLE
(from Issue #493)
Our Volunteers: On a
Mission
Art Lane has a power saw screaming in the basement of
NCEM's Headquarters Office building under reconstruction. If you need to
talk to him in between cuts, you'll have to follow him to and from the
interior doorways he's working on. And you'll have to walk fast -- Art is
one of NCEM's many volunteer workers who's obviously on a mission.
 You won't find their names listed among our NCEM members,
but we couldn't get along without our volunteers. So what motivates them?
And how do they get involved?
HANDS ON APPROACH
Volunteering just seems to be a way of life for Art, who
retired from farming a few years ago, and for his good friend and regular
coworker, Jack Matiko. Not surprisingly, NCEM isn't the only place they've
found to serve. Their desire to help in missions has taken them as far as
Haiti and Mexico numerous times, and to opportunities right in their home
city of Saskatoon, SK.
But projects with NCEM seem to hold a special place in
their hearts. Art and Jack first got involved building a cabin at our Big
River Bible Camp about 10 years ago. Before long they were invited to sit
on the Camp Committee -- which hasn't really involved that much
"sitting." Ongoing facility development at Big River has meant
hands-on work, just what they like. Their wives have volunteered in the
Camp kitchen.
Right after hearing about our Headquarters Office fire a
year ago, Art and Jack offered to assist with the reconstruction. They
helped tear out smoke-damaged material, dismantle the roof and framing,
and continued with the rebuilding.
Especially for Art, though, volunteering has meant more
than just the physical work. It's been about getting others involved. Art
has enthusiastically recruited retired and semi-retired Saskatoon men for
the Headquarters project. Regularly over the past year he and Jack have
organized crews who've come up one day a week.
DIRECTLY CONNECTING
It's their desire to be part of God's work that leads our
volunteers to assist in many ways. And some of them have the privilege of
more directly connecting with the First Nations people we're seeking to
reach for Christ.
 John Dueck has served as a pastor, but says he has always
seen himself as "more than a preacher." Local churches, he
observes, can easily overlook people in their communities who need Christ
-- people who will never step inside their doors. His involvement as a
volunteer with our Tribal Trails television ministry gives him opportunity
to connect with those kind of people.
Many weeks, from Monday till Saturday, John takes phone
calls from Tribal Trails viewers seeking spiritual help. The calls come
anytime of the day or night. John and his wife, Helen, have their home in
Lanigan (SK), but using a cell phone for this ministry means he is not
tied down. When the phone rings, however, it does mean dropping what he's
doing or, when in a public place, moving to a quiet spot.
John's cross-cultural pastoral experience in Arviat (Nunavut)
and a couple of short-term foreign mission trips help qualify him for this
ministry. He regularly preaches in various churches, but says he's most
fulfilled when he's in front-line outreach like this. As a pastor he has
always tried to connect with people who aren't connected to the church.
John tells about a lengthy conversation with a Tribal
Trails caller from Alberta. The man called initially asking for prayer for
a physical need. Through their talk John discovered that the fellow had
spent over 20 years in jail for killing someone. The man seemed to be
genuinely born again, and their conversation focused on Jesus, His grace
and forgiveness.
If he can continue to help and encourage people like that,
says John, he's more than happy to serve as an NCEM volunteer worker.
SO MANY ASPECTS
The names of all our volunteers and the ways they assist
are too numerous to list. At Tribal Trails a few others help with calls
from viewers, and some do program "transcribing" from their
homes (all our recorded interviews and songs are typed word for word).
Some of our volunteers assist as cooks, maintenance workers, cabin
leaders and teachers at our Native Bible camps. Some help our field
missionaries with various ministry projects. Volunteers have assisted in
just about every aspect of our Mission ... in fact, even this issue of our
magazine (in print) comes to you with the help of volunteers doing address
labelling!
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