Adam LondonHSTY 7390May 14, 2012

Ferdinand Drebert and the Early Moravian Church

In his book, Alaska Missionary, Ferdinand Drebert gives an account of his 42 years of missionary service in the Moravian church in Western Alaska, one of the longest periods of service among any missionary in all of Alaska. Drebert grew up in a rural community and learned to live off the land as a boy, which no doubt contributed to his longevity in the rugged arctic. Drebert remarked that he never even attended High School, but had to be tutored by his pastor in English, Latin, and math in order to meet the requirements to enter Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.i

While studying at Moravian College, Drebert was very serious about his studies. In fact, at one point Drebert noted that “In order to have more time for specific preparation I dropped basket ball. I had just made the Varsity team and played several games with them.”ii Drebert’s heart’s desire was to be a missionary. One on trip home, Drebert was surprised by a conversation with his mother, which he recorded in his journal: “[My mother] had never told me until now [April 16, 1912] that she had dedicated me as a child to the service of the Lord in the mission field.”iii

After completing his studies at Moravian College, Drebert sought a position from the Moravian mission board. Drebert wrote; “…on January 5, 1912, I received an official call from the General Mission Board of our Church, in Herrnhut, Germany, to serve in the Alaska Mission.”iv It is notable that the Moravian mission board was all the way in Germany. Interestingly, they were not the only foreign church denomination to enter into Alaska, as they were joined by the Swedish Covenant, the Norwegian Lutherans, and Canadian Congregationalists most notably.

As Drebert prepared for Alaska, he was introduced to a book that would greatly affect his future ministry. According to Drebert, “Dr. Augustus Schultze had written a short grammar of the Kuskokwim dialect, in consultation with two Eskimo boys who had been sent out to attend the Carlisle Indian School.”v On his way to Alaska, Drebert would take as much time as possible to “read and study Eskimo.”vi Drebert became one of the few white missionaries to become fluent in Yupik Eskimo, even to the point of translating the New Testament into Yupik later in his life.

When Drebert arrived in Alaska he received a crash course in medical care, thanks to the famous mushing medical missionary, Dr. Romig. Drebert wrote of Romig’s crash course often, noting that “With the help of a little hand book and a medicine kit, prepared for missionaries by Dr. Herman Romig, I was often able, later on, to help the sick at times when there were no doctors or nurses available.”vii

From the beginning of his ministry until the very end, Drebert always was devoting to building relationship with the Native people whom he loved and deeply desired for them to grow in their faith in God. All the while Drebert would improve his Yupik Eskimo. Drebert was kind enough to share his secret to linguistic success in his journals; “Whenever I had the opportunity to be with the natives, either at work or visiting with them, I asked questions and practiced words and sentences. I always carried a note book and pencil in my vest pocket and jotted down new words as I heard them. This I did even to the end of my 42 years in Alaska. It is the best aid in learning the language.”viii

Another trick Drebert had in learning the Yupik language and culture was to stay in the homes of the Natives, rather than the white traders or school teachers whenever he was traveling. Drebert was at home in the Native culture and even noted that he “preferred to stay with the natives…I enjoyed to fellowship with them.” Drebert also notes that white people slept in too late for his lifestyle, while the Eskimos awoke early to work.ix When white people looked down upon the Eskimo, Drebert was quick to defend them, saying, “The Eskimos were not inherently wicked and immoral, as many people would imagine. They had a fine code of ethics…”x

Not surprisingly, Drebert had a very high value of Eskimo leaders in the church, although he used the same language as the rest of the Moravians; he called them “Helpers.” Drebert shared the story of one particularly important “Helper” with the name of Neck:

“Then several years later Helper Neck was appointed to be their native preacher. In his earlier years he had himself been a mighty shaman and opposed the Gospel. But then Christ claimed him and, like the apostle Paul, he was so thoroughly converted that he zealously served the Lord the rest of his life…it was not long before the shamans disappeared. Some of them were converted and others moved out.”xi

Later on, Drebert told of how one Eskimo man, called Noah of Kwigillingok, was curious about Christ and went and spent two weeks with Helper Neck. Speaking of Noah, Drebert reported, “He was thoroughly converted, and caught some of Helper Neck’s enthusiasm, being on fire for the Lord. His grasp of spiritual things and the way of salvation in Christ, was remarkable. I could depend on his cooperation, and we spent many an hour together in study and Christian fellowship.”xii The people’s Spiritual hunger was tangible to Drebert as he even noted in his journal one time that “Most of the people moved their igloos closer to the mission…”xiii

Drebert also wrote in his journal years later; “…praise God who raised up native evangelists: first Isaac Atertayagak and later Lloyd Neck, who sought out the people in their camps and presented the Gospel…”xiv Another Eskimo Helper was Makar. Makar was one of the first converts of the mission and had been a staunch Christian and helper. As a young man he had served in the Weber home in Ogavik and later on in the home of Dr. Romig in Bethel. He liked to tell of how he was a doctor’s assistant and how “he and the doctor amputated the Rev.

Mr. Kilbuck’s arm.”xv Reverend John Kilbuck was the first Moravian missionary, a full-blooded Delaware Indian.

During Drebert’s ministry he was stationed by the Moravian church in various villages, most notably Kwigillingok, Quinhagak, and Bethel. However, Drebert used these villages as launching points to spread the Gospel to outlying villages. When he found the Natives in these villages to be responsive to the Salvation message he reported; “I always made it a point to stay a day or two at each village in order to instruct those who had asked for baptism...There were still a number, however, who were not ready to be baptized, not having comprehended the meaning of it. One man wanted me to pay him for the privilege of baptizing him…Well, he was not baptized until several years later.”xvi Later when he would return to give communion, Drebert “…took time to conduct “speaking” with the people, before communion, (a personal interview with each communicant).”xvii

In his home base village he would hold catechism for his congregation throughout the year. Drebert noted that in 1916 there were 15 candidates for baptism and 13 confirmands.xviii Drebert also instructed the Eskimos in various carpentry and gardening skills. Drebert noted; “I also raised my own plants and planted a garden just for ourselves. Mr. Rock had given me a patch of ground in his garden.”xix Of course education went both ways as the Eskimos taught him how to hunt, fish, gather, and survive in the Native subsistence lifestyle.

Several years after Drebert came to Alaska, he fell in love and married. Perhaps defending why he was single he noted in his journal; “It had formerly been the policy of the mission to send new recruits to the field unmarried and without a definite station assignment. This was done in order that the Brother had time to acclimate himself and learn the language. If after two or three years he had proven himself, his call became a permanent one.”xx With his permanent call to Alaska firmly in place, Drebert met his wife in Quinhagak where she was a school teacher. Marie, “was born on the mission field…who first served among the Eskimos in Labrador…It was there that Marie was born, at the village of Okak…where they served ten years.”xxi

A few years later, Marie’s family caught the missionary bug and moved to Alaska to serve alongside her in Quinhagak. Marie’s father, brother and sister also all moved to Quinhagak when Marie’s father, Rev. Stecker retired. Rev. Stecker would remain in Quinhagak even after the Dreberts left, remaining in charge of the mission station until 1930.xxii

The Drebert family was much more than a preacher-teacher one-two punch. Besides looking after Spiritual and educational needs, the Dreberts also played a huge role in caring for the Eskimo’s physical needs as well. Drebert mentions several famines and epidemics in his journals; times when they had to literally be the hands of Christ to those who were starving and dying. During a particularly vicious famine, Drebert did his best to feed the entire village. Drebert wrote in his diary; “We used a ten gallon wash-boiler, to cook beans or rice or

evaporated potatoes, or simply flour, flavored with some canned meat, or bacon or salted salmon. The people were asked to come at a certain time of the day with a container, and we dished out for them, a cup-full to each person. There were about 180 who received these rations.”xxiii Drebert also remarked that when the Eskimo did not have enough to eat “It is remarkable what things they did find to eat: mice, potato peelings from our garbage pile, fish-skin boots and dead dogs!”xxiv

In the midst of one famine, Drebert was surprised one morning by men who were “sent all the way from Akiak, with three carcasses of reindeer meat, 100 lbs of beans, 100 lbs of flour, and a few small items. Mr. Kilbuck had heard that our village was hard up for food in the early spring.”xxv The salvation of reindeer was one of many examples of how Sheldon Jackson’s Reindeer Project was successful in saving the lives of many a starving Eskimo.

One reason Drebert attributed the many famines was the Eskimo tradition of have “Potlatch” celebrations. Potlatch was a huge multi-village get together and feast in the spring. Often neighboring villages would try to outdo one another and would bring all of their food reserves and would have nothing left until the summer hunts. Drebert gladly reported that “It was…at a conference of our church leaders, that this matter of the potlatch was brought up and debated. Because of its excesses and because it generally came during the season of Lent, when is interfered with the proper observance of the Lord’s Passion, the helpers all agreed to discourage their people from continuing the practice. Most of the people were willing and ready for such a move…”xxvi

During epidemics, the Dreberts did all they could to care for the people. During one particular influenza epidemic, Drebert noted that although the missionaries and Natives were generally good at keeping the quarantines between the villages to prevent the spread of the disease, “…some unscrupulous white fur traders took advantage of the situation and travelled form village to village to buy furs.”xxvii

Late in Drebert’s ministry, it is interesting to note that he saw the development of youth ministry in the Moravian church, perhaps as a response to the many orphaned youth from the epidemics. Drebert noted on one occasion: “One time I was invited to take part in a young people rally at Nunachak.”xxviii In another entry, Drebert noted: “This year, in addition, [Native worker, Ina Shepherd] took over the young peoples’ work…”xxix

Even though the Dreberts would have preferred to stay in one village to continue to care for that village needs, the Moravian church chose where the Dreberts would serve, often without consulting them. One such even was recorded; “Missionary Conference decided that the Dreberts be transferred to Quinhagak and the Hinzes take over Kwigillingok.”xxx While Drebert was generally very positive about his church, the constant reassignments wore on him. Speaking of the Moravian Missionary Conference, Drebert said, “…it was the people in the homeland who had failed us. Only a missionary on the field can fully comprehend what it means when we are

asked to retrench and leave the babes in Christ to the mercy of, not the old heathen superstitions, but the temptations and evils introduced by our own civilization.”xxxi Another transfer note in Dreberts journal reported; “When the Rev. Butzin resigned and left the field in 1931, we were transferred to Bethel to take over the spiritual work in that district. This included four up-river villages, five tundra villages, two villages down river, and also the Kwigillingok district…”xxxii

Drebert’s predecessor in Quinhagak, Hinz, became a great help to Drebert when he would later translate the New Testament into Yupik. Drebert gave this glowing report of Hinz; “The Rev. John Hinz, with his knowledge of the Greenland Eskimo as a background, pioneered in translating Scripture, into the Kuskokwim dialect.”xxxiii Drebert was always hesitant to take credit for his translation work, whether giving credit to Hinz or other Eskimo interpreters; “All translation work has been done with the help of Eskimo interpreters…When we lived in Quinhagak, I used to have a class of young men come in once a week for translating.”xxxiv

In the early days of his ministry, Drebert loved speaking in Yupik, making special note in his journal when shortly after his first year he preached his first fully Yupik sermon: “Feb. 7. Preached my first native sermon in Bethel…Feb. 13. Worked on a native vocabulary and dictionary.”xxxv That being said, Drebert was not always encouraged by others (even in the church!) to continue his translation work. In one journal entry he lamented:

“At the time I was criticized for teaching them to read and write in Eskimo, because they would soon all be able to read the English Bible. Now, forty years later, I have also been criticized for completing the New Testament translation [completed April 7, 1954), because they should learn to use the English Bible…It has been a great satisfaction, too, to be able to speak their language, to understand their way of thinking and their spiritual needs, to see, as it were into their very hearts and thus be able to counsel them in spiritual matters.”xxxvi

When Drebert came to the end of his 42 years in Alaska, he retired with failing health. Reflecting on his time serving, he offered this cutting observation of mission, that would serve us well to keep in mind:

“As we Americans saw it, both, the Orientals, and the Pagan tribes of the world, were backward in civilization. And so, consciously or unconsciously, we were presenting Christ in our Western garb…There is actual opposition to the Gospel on account of our attitude and the results of our civilization… [the evils] of civilization have followed closely on the heels of the Gospel and often preceded it…Instead of being a help they have been the enemy of the Gospel and a curse to the people….Much of our civilization has been a hindrance to the Gospel.”xxxvii

Resources

Drebert, Ferdinand. Alaska Missionary. Bethlehem, PN: The Moravian Book Shop, 1959.

Thomas, Tay. Cry in the Wilderness. Anchorage: Color Art Printing Co., INC., 1967.

Endnotes

i P. 17ii P. 19iii P. 20iv P. 19v P. 19vi P. 22vii P. 27viii P. 28ix P. 30x P. 59xi P. 32xii P. 59xiii P. 41xiv P. 96xv P. 118xvi P. 60xvii P. 84xviii P. 70xix P. 71xx P. 27xxi P. 73xxii P. 92xxiii P. 80xxiv P. 81xxv P. 81xxvi P. 83xxvii P. 84xxviii P. 144xxix P. 149xxx P. 91xxxi P. 93xxxii P. 93xxxiii P. 135xxxiv P. 136xxxv P. 36xxxvi P. 59xxxvii P. 161-164