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To the Ends of the Earth

(Sebastian Update Interview)

2007-06-03

PRODUCTION #: 1090

SPEAKER: Shawn Boonstra

The territory found inside the Arctic Circle is one of the greatest wastelands on earth. And yet to many people's surprise there are a lot of people living up there.

Today, on It Is Written I'll share with you how those people are hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

People have been waiting for generations for certain prophecies of the Bible to come to pass so that Jesus Christ can come. And one of the biggest of those prophecies is the prediction that the Gospel message, the story of Jesus Christ and the Cross of Calvary will go to the whole world just before Jesus comes.

Let me show you what I mean in Matthew, chapter 24 and verse 14. Here is what Jesus said would happen.

"And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

Jesus said the Gospel would go to the whole world, to absolutely everybody. In fact, He uses the words "all nations."

Now, He doesn't just mean every political state, every political country on the face of the earth. He literally means that He's going to get the Gospel message out to every group of people on the face of the Earth.

This becomes even clearer in a passage found in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 14. This is one of my favorite passages. It shows the extent to which God's work will take place around the world.

Listen to this impressive prophecy found in Revelation, 14, verse 6. The Bible says (Revelaion 14:6):

"Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue and people."

Now, did you catch that? It's not just talking about every nation, every country that's recognized by the United Nations. This is talking about every tribe, every tongue, every person on the face of the planet. And what's really exciting to me is that the day and age we live in is seeing that moment where some of these people in the toughest to reach places on earth are actually being reached with the Gospel.

My guest today, Sebastian Tirtirau is with the Pilgrim Relief Society. And Sebastian, I'm just delighted to have you back on the program with me today.

SEBASTIAN: I'm glad to be here, Shawn.

SHAWN: You know, Sebastian, I know God has called you, commissioned you to reach some of the toughest places on earth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you've been on the program before. Some of our viewers have seen you before. You've been working among the Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert. That was sort of the first remote tribe. What are some of the other places that you've sort of been working with around the planet?

SEBASTIAN: I've been working with several tribes in Africa, four or five countries in Africa. Then in 2001 I also entered into the Amazon Jungle of South America to several tribes there.

SHAWN: I understand those are some rough people there.

SEBASTIAN: Absolutely.

SHAWN: Some tough people.

SEBASTIAN:Yes, very remote and their lifestyle is quite different than what we are used to. Then in 2004 and 2005 I went into the Arctic to reach the Inuit people of the Arctic.

SHAWN: Now, the first time you went into the Arctic, you tried to go by sailboat.

SEBASTIAN: That's right. I tried to go by sailboat there and it was an expedition that took almost everything out of me, and I got violently sick. I had to return and then I found another way to go to the Arctic by plane.

SHAWN: It was March in 2005 that you went, correct?

SEBASTIAN: March 2005.

SHAWN: And you were on the program a while back and discussed what that was like. What is the weather like in March?

SEBASTIAN: March is actually the coldest month in the Arctic. I experienced temperatures of minus 60 degrees. I believe it's around minus 76 Fahrenheit.

SHAWN: What's it like to stand outside and breathe in the air at minus 76?

SEBASTIAN: Well, they say that at minus 60, if you keep your mouth open more than four or five minutes your teeth start cracking. This is hard to believe, but trust me, it's true. Secondly, because of the wind chill and of the wind that was blowing at that time, my eyelashes would get stuck to each other as I blinked because of the extreme cold. Of course, there were icicles in my beard and so forth, so it's pretty cold. I was drinking hot tea, boiled tea. And after the fourth sip I had to throw it away because it was freezing.

SHAWN: Yeah, if I remember correctly, you had an Inuit guide who took you.

SEBASTIAN: That's right.

SHAWN: And his name was?

SEBASTIAN: Natalino. We became very good friends and we have a relationship that I believe will continue. And I delivered just a handful of Bibles, a couple of hundred Bibles to several villages, made some first contacts, and then I dreamed again of bringing more Bibles to these people, because I saw the need.

SHAWN: And that is where we met on this program last time. We were saying, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could carry more copies of the Scriptures.

SEBASTIAN: That's right.

SHAWN: And at that time we discovered that the Canadian Bible Society actually had some Bibles in the Inuktitut language.

SEBASTIAN: That's right. I have one right here with me.

SHAWN: You have one today with you.

SEBASTIAN: It is the New Testament translated by the Canadian Bible Society in the Inuktitut language. It's a very beautiful musical language.

SHAWN: So this is actually a Bible. This is not a Latin alphabet, I've noticed.

SEBASTIAN: No. It's called Syllabics.

SHAWN: Syllabics?

SEBASTIAN: Yes. It's actually developed for the Cree Indians.

SHAWN: For the Cree Indians by missionaries some time ago. But, Inuktitut has been translated into this language. Now, I can't read a word of it. It has symbols that I don't recognize other than the numbers. And yet here it is and I can't help but notice, Sebastian, that this was printed by the Canadian Bible Society in 1992. And that was a very special year for you, wasn't it?

SEBASTIAN: Yes, that was the year when I became a Christian.

SHAWN: You became a Christian in 1992. Now here is what I find astounding. The Bible predicts that the Gospel is going to go to every nation, kindred, tribe, tongue and people, everybody on the face of the earth. And at the same moment that the Canadian Bible Society is printing these Bibles in the Inuktitut language, you are coming to Christ, half a world away, in Romania. The providence of God. I'm convinced that He lines all this work up ahead of time.

SEBASTIAN: Absolutely. I believe that.

SHAWN: He knew that you were the guy He was going to send to the North and so He has someone else printing these Bibles at the same time. They sat in a warehouse up until this year. Now, we've managed to acquire the first 3,000 of these Bibles to deliver to the Arctic. Those Bibles came to your house in Quebec by truck.

SEBASTIAN: That's right, and then we had to ship them to Iqaluit, to the capital in three shipments, because the planes are small and they have other cargo to take. And once they got there, I split them into smaller shipments and started delivering them all over the Arctic.

SHAWN: Okay.

SEBASTIAN: Of course, you cannot do it by yourself. It's a tremendous task, two and a half tons of books to carry on a sled from village to village. So we had to split them between some of my friends, my Inuit friends that were also traveling to other villages.

SHAWN: Now, you flew up to the Arctic, right? I'm still not going to let you get out on the ice quite yet, because I know what it was like for you to step into the airplane. Describe for me a little bit, is it like getting into business class on Delta Airlines or United?

SEBASTIAN: It is a completely different experience to fly up there. First of all, the planes are converted from passenger planes into cargo planes, because passengers are a second priority there. You first carry equipment, and then they had in the back of the plane, a few seats where passengers would sit. And then the captain came in from the tail of the plane, dressed in black overalls, with a cap on and there was a lady there next to him, as well. And they said, in case of emergency landing, the survival pack is in that closet.

SHAWN: So that was the safety demonstration? They told you where the survival pack was.

SEBASTIAN: That's right. And in a normal plane, they tell you in your carry-on, no sharp objects, scissors, and so forth. Here they say, if you have pepper spray, bring it with you. If you have a knife, bring it with you. There are no carry-on checks or security checks within the Arctic, because of the fact that in case the plane goes down you need everything on you to survive.

SHAWN: Absolutely, of course now, you told me last time we met that you would never go back to the Arctic in March.

SEBASTIAN: Not in the winter again, because I experienced a lot of danger in the snowstorm where I was lost for three days, and so forth. The winds were very strong winds and the temperatures were extreme. I said, "I'm never going to go back in the winter there. I'm going to go in the summer."  And I did go in the summer.

SHAWN: So, in 2006 you went in June, right?

SEBASTIAN: In June and then in July in the summer.

SHAWN: What's your opinion of June?

SEBASTIAN: I will never go back in the summer either, because I saw more dangers there. The fact that the ice does not melt completely, but it breaks away and then we have to navigate from village to village, on this open pool of water that is between the ice breaks. And it was not the same thing. I wasn't able to go with the dog sled anymore because the dogs cannot navigate the open pools. We had to be pulled in our sled by a snow machine or a Skidoo, as we call it in Canada. And it was noisy. It was smelling of gas and we had to bump and jump up and down over this ice, icebergs, and breaks in the water, and it wasn't fun at all. We were wet most of the time. It wasn't as cold as in March. It was only minus ten.

SHAWN: Right.

SEBASTIAN: But a minus ten hyperthermia sets in pretty quickly when you are wet and you face water.

SHAWN: Everything is slushy. And, you know, I've thought about this often and people have asked me about your work. Why is it thawing at minus ten? And how does the salt water freeze in the winter. It's really a different world altogether.

SEBASTIAN: It's a different world altogether. Usually they say salty water like the ocean should not freeze. But at temperatures of minus forty, fifty, sixty degrees everything freezes, it doesn't matter. It does not thaw completely at minus ten or a zero and so forth, but the movement, the currents of the ocean break up the ice on top. And as it becomes thinner and thinner, they start moving around. So we have to navigate on top of this to go to the villages, because it's extremely difficult to pull a sled over the rocks. And then he tied us to this sled with a 20-25 foot rope.

SHAWN: Now, why is that rope so long? Wouldn't you want to be two feet behind the snowmobile?

SEBASTIAN: That's right, usually. That's what I thought. But he said, no, no, you will see soon. And then he would tie us to his snowmobile and he would stand on the snowmobile to see the openings in the ice, so he'd know how to avoid them. And he would stand like this for eight, nine, ten hours a day. And this really impressed me first time. And secondly, he needed a long rope because when we had larger pools of water, he would tie us even a longer rope.

SHAWN: Now, tell me why. I'm almost afraid to ask.

SEBASTIAN: He would see the distance between two icebergs. And he would say, I can navigate this with my snowmobile, but I can't pull you at the same time. So he would tie us with a very long rope. He would come very fast and jump over this pool of water, actually skipping on the water.

SHAWN: No kidding?

SEBASTIAN: And then end up on the other iceberg and he would continue to pull us slowly through this water pool to the next iceberg for the snowmobile.

SHAWN: Now, I can't help but think that everybody's getting very wet.

SEBASTIAN: We in the back, we didn't, because the sled was quite high and it wouldn't have time to sink enough to let water in. But he was always wet.

SHAWN: Unbelievable.

SEBASTIAN: Natalino was always wet, and this was really the thing that worried me the most. And I said next time I will always go back in the winter. I prefer 20 feet of ice under me in minus 60 and pulled by dogs. Dogs do not need spark plugs. They don't need gas. You don't have to stop and see if the belts are okay. These dogs eat once a week and they pull us anywhere. And it's silent, it's quiet, it's very beautiful.

SHAWN: So you are actually in more danger from the elements in those summer conditions, getting wet, hyperthermia is a bigger risk and so on. So summer travel really is worse.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, and Natalino told me that was not a good month to come and do what I want to do there. He said the best month for you to come is March. It's colder, but it's safe. We take you anywhere, we dress you well in clothes, so just come in March.

SHAWN: Let me ask something that I know a lot of people are wondering. If they've ever seen pictures of the Arctic, it looks like a barren wasteland. It's one of the biggest deserts on the face of the plant. Precipitation is actually low and there's no trees. There is nothing. What does Natalino survive on? What do the Inuits eat?

SEBASTIAN: Their diet is mainly composed of seals, whales, and walruses. Now, because it was summer, they had also fish.

SHAWN: Yeah, I've seen the pictures. Now what is going on in the ice there? Tell me a little bit about Inuit fishing.

SEBASTIAN: It's one of the oldest types of survival known on the planet.

SHAWN: Right.

SEBASTIAN: They make a hole in the ice. They lie down on their belly.

SHAWN: I notice they don't have a Shimano reel and rod.

SEBASTIAN: No, they don't. They have a small stick with a line and a little anchor. And the reason they get down on their bellies is to see through the clear, beautiful water underneath where the fish are, and my first shock was that they use no bait.

SHAWN: No bait at all?

SEBASTIAN: I asked Natalino, "Where's the bait? Where's the worms, or whatever you use there?" He said, "We never use bait there. We just hook them." And I said, "But how do you hook them? Does he come to your anchor? To your hook?" He said, "No. I'll show you." And as I looked down under the ice, there was a forest of Arctic char, or what we call trout. But it's an Arctic trout, which is very large. And they were very close together, and he would just hook around and catch one, bring him up on the ice.

SHAWN: Now, how many fish? I mean, you'd have to fish all day to get one that way?

SEBASTIAN: No, no, no, no, no. I believe Steven, his father, caught about 40 trout in half an hour.

SHAWN: Forty fish in half an hour?

SEBASTIAN: Yeah.

SHAWN: Now, tell me, did you try?

SEBASTIAN: I tried and I caught three in half an hour. And I was very proud because, I've been fishing since I was a child. So this really impressed me to fish with them like that. But this is their survival. They froze this fish and they would cut at night a slice and eat it. Then they hunted some seals, as well, when we were there. And I saw them eating seals, which is not the prettiest experience.

SHAWN: It's something that people who live in warmer climates have never seen, probably would never understand.

SEBASTIAN: And probably would affect them negatively to see that, because the seal is a very gentle animal, very beautiful with beautiful kind eyes, and to see them hunting them and eating them, but that's how they survive.

SHAWN: You can't plant a vegetable garden in the Arctic.

SEBASTIAN: No, you can't.

SHAWN: You know, even if it were warm, there is no soil.

SEBASTIAN: It's impossible. Exactly.

SHAWN: Now, you've got a sled load of Bibles. I understand that Natalino also had some of his gear on that sled.

SEBASTIAN: That's right.

SHAWN: And that you actually had a mishap at one point.

SEBASTIAN: Three things happened to me. First of all, because I didn't have water, fresh water, Natalino told me that I could drink from the iceberg, from the ice because the ice water is fresh.

SHAWN: Sure.

SEBASTIAN: Which is pretty strange, because it freezes from the ocean, but the ice water, it's fresh.

SHAWN: It loses its salt after a time.

SEBASTIAN: That's right. And I would drink from the pools of water, but then I realized that this was the same pools where the seals and the walruses were living.

SHAWN: Oh no.

SEBASTIAN: So I got a very bad intestinal infection, which wasted a lot of my weight. And secondly, as we were traveling, navigating over these icebergs, you have to jump a lot because the sled in the back is bumpy. And as we jumped once, one of his harpoons, a metal piece, stood up and I landed with my left thigh on this piece and it pierced me about two inches deep.

SHAWN: Unbelievable. So you actually got harpooned.

SEBASTIAN: I got harpooned.

SHAWN: In the Arctic.

SEBASTIAN: And I didn't feel much. I felt a little pain, but then I felt something warm coming down my leg. And I couldn't shout at Natalino because he's driving and it's very noisy.

SHAWN: And he's 30 feet away.

SEBASTIAN: So I just tied a scarf around my thigh and waited until we stopped the first time and treated myself. But because the Arctic has no microbes or bacteria, it's the cleanest environment on the planet, so it didn't get infected. So it healed pretty quickly.

SHAWN: Let me ask you a question. I know somebody's watching at this moment thinking why? Why would you get on this sled behind a snowmobile? Why would you go up there in the slush and the wet and the freezing cold? Why would you go to a place with no food and you need 8,000 calories a day to survive, and you risk being harpooned and sinking into the ocean. Why?

SEBASTIAN: Because I believe that Jesus died for them too. He loves them with the same love. He loves me and you and everybody else, and because God called me to do this, I have a great passion for these remote people, because I know the Inuit now. I have friends there. In every village I went to they accepted me like a brother. I am in love with them. They are my friends, and when you have friends, you do a lot of things for them.

SHAWN: You have a sled load of Bibles. Again, I find it remarkable that these were printed the very year you accepted Jesus and that they were sitting in a warehouse up until this expedition. You've got the first 3,000 of these. Tell me a little bit about putting Bibles in the hands of the Inuit people.

SEBASTIAN: Well, it was a great experience. I saw the joy on their faces for the first time. We visited a small prison that held 40 prisoners. We gave them Bibles and their happiness was beyond words. The other Inuit people who took some of the Bibles for me to other villages tell me that there were young people who were crying, because this was the first book where they could read about a better chance, a better life, that they could have if they believe in Jesus. So, a lot of them received this with an open heart and with great joy. And they ask me, "But when can I come back to bring some more?"

SHAWN: Amazing. So there is this desperate need. You brought some to a prison, and I've run ahead of myself a little bit because there is a question I was going to ask you before we talked about actually delivering the Bibles. And I guess it comes in conjunction with delivering the Bibles. I have seen photographs of you delivering Bibles or coming across this little tent village in the middle of no where and there is nobody there but children. Tell me about this.

SEBASTIAN: In the summer, the Inuit people from the villages go closer to the lakes and to the seashore to hunt, and they deposit all this hunting and animals for the winter. They call them meat caches. So, as we would go from village to village, we would see, once in a while, these remote communities living in tents for the whole of the summer. And when we got there, there were about six or seven children, no adults. They were all gone hunting.

SHAWN: The kids are by themselves out on the Arctic tundra.

SEBASTIAN: Out on the Arctic tundra and next to some tents I saw a pile of eggs, geese eggs, and then I saw some geese. They were lying down there frozen, dead. And I saw some seals and walruses and so forth. And while we discussed with the children and talked to them, they were very happy to see us because they, for quite some time, they were alone. So we played a little bit and I put a Bible in each of their hands and I gave them some food and so forth, and then we moved on. But it really impressed me to see how remote these people are. Not only are their villages remote, but in the summer they are even more remote, going deeper into the tundra to provide food for their families, which is a life or death situation. If you do not go hunting, you die of hunger.

But what really impressed me is that in the villages they now have in most of the villages I've been in, they have wireless Internet. And in most of the houses I've been, they have flat screen TVs with television, satellite television. And they are watching Hollywood movies in the middle of the Arctic, where they have six months of darkness and six months of light. When I got there in June there was a 24-hour daylight. And everybody was watching TV.

SHAWN: Now, what has that done to the Inuit people? I mean, obviously I find the Internet and television a big convenience. Is that their greatest need?

SEBASTIAN: I personally believe that it's detrimental to their culture, because they see a world and a lifestyle that they will never have in the Arctic. And I heard young people listening to rap on that MTV channel and they want to look as cool as the people on TV, but they can't and they will never be the same. And their parents are suffering tremendously because none, they say none of the young people can survive off the land that they got used to when they were young.

SHAWN: Because they are not learning the traditional skills. And they are seeing a world they'll never be a part of.

SEBASTIAN: And they are spoon-fed.

SHAWN: Is this one of the reasons, in your opinion, and obviously we haven't done a scientific study, but is this one of the reasons that there is so much depression among young people in the far North?

SEBASTIAN: I believe so and it's getting greater, and I believe the Bible brings them hope for a better life.

SHAWN: What's the greatest need among the Inuit?

SEBASTIAN: Right now, it's knowing Jesus and knowing that He's coming soon. And those that believe in Him will be with Him in heaven. And that will bring tremendous hope for these young people that are committing suicide.

SHAWN: Three thousand Bibles in the Inuktitut language have gone into the Arctic. There are another 2,000 to go. And we are delighted that we'll be partnering with you on that again to bring those Bibles. Of course, we'd like to see congregations start. We'd like to see people get involved in a Christian community, and in your estimation, is that too a need?

SEBASTIAN: Yes, it is. I believe that once they learn about Jesus and they make a decision for Him, there will be a need for a place to worship and a place to bring the community together. I believe it's possible. I believe it will be happening, because when the Lord has a plan nothing stops Him.

SHAWN: Sebastian, I can't thank you enough for joining us on the program today. I know you are traveling the world. You are very busy, but you took the time out today to share with us what God is doing through you in the Arctic.

SEBASTIAN: It has been my pleasure.

SHAWN: And I know you are God's man. I know He had you in mind when He said, "We are going to go to every nation, kindred, tribe, tongue and people." He was thinking about you. Thank you so much.

SEBASTIAN: Thank you.

SHAWN: And thank you for joining the program today. I always wish we had more time because there is so much going on in the world that is so exciting right now. The things that Jesus spoke of almost 2,000 years ago are taking place in this very day and age. And in just a moment, I'll share with you how you can be a part of this exciting work in the Arctic among the Inuit people.

But before we close, Sebastian, I'm going to ask that you pray with us. There may be somebody out there that is also struggling with their faith, or somebody who'd like to join us in prayer for the Inuit people. Would you lead us in a prayer?

SEBASTIAN: Absolutely.

PRAYER:
Father, I want to thank you for this program today, that we are able to share the great miracles that you are doing around the world in your work. I pray, Father, for all the people that are listening to this program that they might be able to believe you, in your word, and to go by faith and preach the Gospel everywhere you send them. I want to thank you for your love, for every one of us, including the most remote people on this planet. No matter where they live, how they live, and what conditions their life is, I know you love them and you want them to believe in you and be saved in your kingdom. I want to thank you for this, in Jesus' name, amen.

Scriptures for Show #1090 TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

"And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."
—Matthew 24:14

"Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue and people."
—Revelation 14:6

Scriptures Used in “To the Ends of the Earth”