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Koyuk Singspiration
Koyuk Native Gathering/Singspiration January 28-31, 2010
By MarJean Peters
We flew out FRIDAY morning with MARC (another local ministry) in a six passenger Navajo piloted by Mark Swenson and Mike Boetcher. We landed in Togiak two hours later to pick up a native musician. We continued on to Bethel, about forty-five minutes away to refuel and pick up Paul and Joshua, two more native musicians and Esther Mute, a cousin of Wass Mute, the pastor at Koyuk. Another two hours later we landed in Koyuk and were greeted by a group with four-wheelers pulling dog sleds or small trailers to transport us down the hill to the church.
We caught the last part of the first singing session before we and the pastor's cousins, about 18 people related on "both sides," sat down for a shrimp soup supper. The evening session began at 6:30 p.m. and we enjoyed some music from three keyboards and two electric guitars for the first half hour. After that, groups from each village got up in turn to sing songs from their hymnals, and give testimonies. Conrad preached his message on the Lordship of Jesus from 8:30 to 9:30 followed by more songs until 10 p.m..
About 80 to 90 people attended this annual "Gathering" or "Get-Together" from about six different villages. They spent the three or four nights with various people in the village. The pastor and his wife had fifteen people stay in their little house each night. We stayed in teacher housing with Jeni Kazmar, the young kindergarten teacher from Wisconsin. She loves the Lord Jesus, has taught in Koyuk for six years, and leads a women's Bible study including a Beth Moore study. The gals in the study gave testimony during the Gathering.
SATURDAY lunch was a salmon bake. The singspiration went from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Our dinner was Musk Ox, ham, broccoli, and rice with four kinds of agudak (tundra berries mixed with Crisco and sugar) for dessert. Singspiration began again at 6:30 and continued until 11p.m. Conrad spoke from 9-10 on "Choices." The people continued to sing after his message in groups from each village, or specials, some testimonies until 11 p.m..
SUNDAY morning the pastor spoke on the theme of Jesus is Lord and served communion along with more singing until 1 p.m.. Dinner had the addition of swan (very good!). Every group sang again from 2:30 to 5:30. Supper at the Mutes was left-over meats with the addition of crane and the opportunity to try raw black fish dipped in seal oil (we tried it—ahhh, a bit fishy).
SUNDAY NIGHT every group and combination of groups sang again from 6:30 to 11:45 p.m.. Conrad spoke on "Abiding" from 9-10 p.m. Jean Mute told me they used to sing until one in the morning! After the service we were invited back to Wass and Jean's to snack on crane and agudak. We finally walked back to Jeni's apartment sometime after 1 a.m.. Wass and his cousins used the steam hut until 3 a.m..
MONDAY morning we left about 11 a.m.. The five-hour flight back to Kenai was smooth and without incident.
The weekend was a native cultural immersion for us. The music consisted of hymns from the 50's and Gaither 70's. The instrumentalists were great! Everyone from teenagers to 90 year-olds performed special songs. No one was left out, everyone was valued and important no matter their musical ability. When someone would break down in their solo with emotion, the congregation would pick it up for them. There is much pain and suffering in these people's lives but these old songs bring them much comfort. Each time I thought this was the last "special," someone else or another group came up to sing with big smiles no matter how late it got. We were well received and abundantly blessed to be given this very honorable invitation. We felt God's love in our hearts for them as well. We trust the word fell on good ground and will produce good fruit.
