by Walter and Valeria Lang
CHAPTER IV
Yellowstone — Glacier — Canada — 1968
The first Bible-Science-sponsored geology tour was scheduled for June of 1968. It began at Craters of the Moon in Idaho and continued through Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park in Montana, the Banff area of Canada, and the Dry Falls area in Washington State. Dr. Clifford Burdick (geologist) led the group of twenty-five.
Dinosaur Monument — the Arches — Bryce
Canyon — Zion Canyon — Grand Canyon —
Petrified Forests of Arizona — 1969
On the 1969 tour Dr. Bernard Northrup served as geology leader. The tour began at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and continued to the Arches Monument near Moab and Capital Reef and then to the north rim of Grand Canyon in Arizona. Some group members attempted to hike down from the north rim to Roaring Springs and back, but they were sort of overcome. Next day most of the group went to the river and hiked into the inner canyon from the south rim, over the South Kaibab trail, and up on the Bright Angel trail. Then the party traveled to the Petrified Forests of Arizona.
Lassen State Park — Lake Tahoe — Lompoc — 1970
In 1970, following the conference at Lucerne, a tour group traveled through California. Lang and Northrup spoke in Redding on Sunday morning and then went up to the campground; most of the others were coming in on Monday afternoon. Having time on Sunday afternoon, Lang and Northrup climbed Mount Lassen and, on their return to camp, found a group of Boy Scouts. They were from the New York City area, making the cross-country trip by car. Later the Girl Scouts flew out to the camp and, to even things, they drove back while the boys flew.
Tour members enjoyed the steam geysers at Lassen. This mountain experienced a volcanic eruption only fifty years before. Touring a volcano tube, the group continued to Black Mountain on the California/Oregon border. Here they found obsidian, a black glass-like rock and pumice, lightweight rock. Then they continued across the mountains to Lake Tahoe, across California to the Salinas Valley where they found fossilized whale bones, and to Lompoc. Here they received permission to search the diatom beds, joined by people from the Los Angeles area. One of these ladies was afraid of mountain driving and left before the tour was over. Lynn Mohr, teaching in a Lutheran school, was an avid fossil hunter. Group members found fish fossils in the diatom beds at Lompoc, indication of burial through catastrophic action — their heads were jerked backward.
Grand Canyon — 1970
On this tour there were to be only a few participants so that party
members might repeat the pollen grain experiment conducted by Dr. Burdick
in 1964. He had found pollen grains in rocks designated as Precambrian
and dated as very old. Serving as a neutral observer
was a University of Arizona student working on his Master's degree.
However, a large group of young people from Houston asked to come along,
and also several scientists from Loma Linda University in California (Seventh
Day Adventist) arrived unannounced. The Master's student was to process
the samples at the University laboratory but, because he was unfamiliar
with the technique employed by Dr. Burdick, he failed. The scientists from
Loma Linda offered to do the processing and, when they had difficulties,
they called in Dr. Burdick. Working together, they found the same types
of pollen grains which Burdick had found in the earlier experiment. Pollen
of evergreen trees and even oak trees are not supposed to be found in Precambrian
rocks dated at 600 million years.
Hawaii — Grand Canyon — Yellowstone —Glacier — 1971
In 1971 BSA tours were extensive. In February there was a tour of the Hawaiian Islands to accommodate those who could not get a vacation in the summer. Dr. Burdick served as geology guide. On their first morning on the island of Hawaii, tour members were treated to a fantastic sight; they were allowed within five feet of an active lava flow. Other sightseeing was forgotten as they watched, transfixed at the sight of flowing lava. Motor homes were rented for transportation and for living quarters on each of the four islands.
In June, Dr. Northrup led a tour of the Grand Canyon. Dr. Russell Artist, biologist at David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Ten-nesee, was interested in plant life of the area. Several others joined the tour.
Later, in July, there was another tour to Yellowstone and Glacier, and the first trip to the dinosaur fossil beds along the Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada, near Brooks and Drumheller. Fifty people participated. Dr. Burdick served as geology guide to Yellowstone and Glacier, and Dr. Northrup led the Canadian tour. Rev. Marvin Lubenow and his family (six altogether) were on this tour. Rev. Lubenow has some fascinating slide presentations on fossil men. Rev. I. McLean of Eston, Saskatchewan brought a group; he has done extensive speaking on creationism in addition to his pastoral duties. Recently widowed, Dr. Marvin Royce took his young children on this tour and then went on to Alaska. He now practices medicine on the Kona Coast of Hawaii and still presents talks for the creation position.
Mid-East Tour — 1971
In October of 1971 the first Mid-East tour was undertaken. Lang and Burdick drove from Idaho to New York, scheduled for talks along the way. The last was at Pine Island, only fifty miles from Kennedy Airport. Mrs. Elwood Mather, a pastor's wife, drove them to the airport where they were met by thirteen others. Six more were picked up in Ankara, Turkey. The tour included the Mount Ararat region, western Turkey, the Seven Cities mentioned in Revelation (chapters two and three), Greece, Lebanon, Egypt, and Palestine. Six of this group continued on their around-the-world trip. Tour members included Paul and Mary Hackstedde and Dr. and Mrs. Rand Lewis of the Los Angeles area, two couples from Colfax, Washington, two retired nurses from Tampa, Florida, Amelia Doctor (formerly a missionary nurse), Rev. and Mrs. Ben Male (retired Presbyterian pastor), and George Birdsall of Washington, D.C. This may have been the first tourist group to be permitted into the Mount Ararat region. To reach Doughabayazit, at the base of Mount Ararat, required riding a bus the 170 miles from Erzurum. Accommodations were primitive there, but for the rest of the trip accommodations were excellent. Since then the area at the base of Mount Ararat was closed to tourists until the last several years.
Geology, particularly the Great African Rift, was studied. Dr. Burdick believes that prior to the Noahic flood, the continental plates were in perfect balance, which means there were no earthquakes or volcanoes. When the "fountains of the deep" were broken open (Gen. 7:11), lava, as well as water, issued from deep inside the earth. This caused an imbalance in the continental plates and initiated the 40,000-mile rift around the earth. A finger of this rift passes through Africa, continues on to the Red Sea and Dead Sea and through the mountains of Lebanon, up the Jordan Valley where it breaks into a cross-fault through Turkey. Mount Ararat and the Seven Cities area are on the western end of that fault. The African Rift explains the geologic activity of the Ararat region. The rift and drop responsible for the Dead Sea which is 1400 feet below sea level require compensation, and that is found in the mountains which form the center of Palestine, around Jerusalem and Hebron.
Activities at Camp Perkins
In 1971 a seminar was held at Camp Perkins in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, fifty miles north of Sun Valley. This camp is owned and operated by Lutheran churches (LCMS) of Idaho. Guest speaker in 1971 was Dr. John Klotz (at that time teaching at Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana), and in 1972 it was Dr. Duane Gish (he had recently become a full-time partner at the Institute for Creation Research). In 1972 a couple who had been at camp the previous year returned to hold their wedding there, with Rev. Lang performing the ceremony. Some who attended these camps went on to become active creationists; John Neufeld of Didsbury, Alberta, Dr. Donald DeLancey, dentist from Perkasie, Pennsylvania, and the Nettletons from Boise, Idaho are examples.
1972 Tours
Leading the Grand Canyon tour in 1972 were Dr. Burdick and Ed Nafziger, then teaching in a public school in the Seattle area. Afterward, there was a tour through Yellowstone and Glacier Parks. Emphasis was on the Petrified Forests of Yellowstone and alleged overthrust exposures in Glacier. A candidate for a doctoral degree who was studying overthrust from an evolution viewpoint provided material for discussion. In the middle of July there were three inches of snow on the ground at the campground. On the trip to Dinosaur Park, near Brooks, Alberta, there was a study of dinosaur exhibits and fossil remains. Dinosaur bones were found at Drumheller. About fifty people were along on this tour. Under the auspices of Bible-Science, Gerald Mallmann, teaching in a Lutheran school in Kenosha, Wisconsin, led a tour group through Wisconsin. Another conference was held at Lucerne, California, and the second and final camp at Camp Perkins was held
1973 Tours
A small group of seven toured the Hawaiian Islands. Emphasis was on a study of local plants; thus, there were visits to the Alexandria Nursery on Kauai and to the Foster Gardens in Honolulu.
Throughout the summer of 1973 Malcolm Fargher, a geologist from the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom, toured the United States in a mobile home, spending as much time as possible with creationists in order to gain an understanding of creation geology. He had learned of Bible-Science tours through the "World of Tomorrow" radio program. Together with his wife, a native of Pakistan, he joined the tours at Yellowstone, Glacier, Brooks and Drumheller. Later he went to Grand Canyon. He returned to Glacier Park with Dr. Burdick to further study alleged overthrusting. Geologist Walter Peters of Round Lake Beach, Illinois had led the first Glacier Park tour. Gerald Mallmann led a family tour group to sites in upper Michigan.
1974 Tours
In 1974 a small group toured the Hawaiian Islands. This included Ben
Zimmerman (pilot with an airline based in Boise, Idaho), his father (a
retired pastor then living in Nashville, Illinois), Dr. Clifford Burdick,
and Rev. Ben Male of Denver.
The first Alaska tour was undertaken in 1974, traveling in the Nettleton's
VW van and Lang's small station wagon. The six participants regarded this
as an eventful trip — from Vancouver, British Columbia to Prince George,
to Hazelton, British Columbia on the way to Prince Rupert, then on logging
roads to Seward, Cassia Road, Watson Lake, Whitehorse, Dawson City, Tok,
to Fairbanks, Mount McKinley Park, Palmer and the Matanuska Glacier, Anchorage,
Soldatna and Homer. They took the ferry through Portage and went by train
through the tunnel from Whittier to Valdez. At 10:00 p.m. they watched
the Columbia Glacier drop off icebergs while the sun was still high in
the sky. They continued to Haynes Junction and then by ferry to Juneau,
viewing the Mendenhall Glacier. Then it was on to St. Petersburg, Ketchikan
and Prince Rupert and back home through Prince George and Glacier Park.
In addition to being spellbound by the magnificent scenery, tour members
learned much. Dr. Northrup and Ed Nafziger led tours to the Grand Canyon,
and Gerald Mallmann conducted a tour through lower Michigan.
1975 Tours
Dr. Earl Hallonquist, first vice-president of BSA, and Walter Lang scheduled talks in the Hawaiian Islands. Hallonquist showed the popular film "Footprints in Stone."27 Shortly thereafter Dr. Hallonquist suffered a stroke. Through sheer determination he recovered to the extent that he is still able to work for the creationist cause.
Scotland — In April and May of 1975 Burdick and Lang had a three-week trip to Europe. Driving to and from New York, they scheduled lectures along the way, two weeks each way. This is how they financed their trip. In the Highlands of Scotland they studied the overthrust. Flying directly from New York to Inverness (over Loch Ness) they rented a car for the 125-mile drive. The overthrust was genuine, they found. Driving around Loch Ness, it was noted that this is a rift lake, 900 feet deep, perhaps connected with the ocean. This would provide a temperature of 45 degrees, a hospitable environment for a Plesiosaurus. Nearly 200 people claim to have seen the monster, including a London couple driving along the east side of the lake, who claim the monster walked across the road in front of them to return to the water.
Isle of Man — On a flight to Glasgow, after waiting for a flight delayed by fog, Burdick and Lang arrived at Douglas on the Isle of Man. They were met by Malcolm Fargher. He had suffered a fall while repairing apartment buildings, but was able to arrange schedules. He had proposed to the rector at the Church of England that his church sponsor a talk by two American creationists. The rector replied that he did not want anyone telling his parishioners that the Bible is true. But, his church needed money, and he was willing to rent the parish facilities though he did not attend the meeting.
England — At Heathrow Airport in London a representative of the Evolution Protest Movement, K. Hodgson, met the travelers and with careful maneuvering managed to get them through London traffic to the site of the Piltdown Man. He found the restaurant, formerly known as the Lion's Den but changed to Piltdown Inn. When Piltdown was proved a fraud, the people refused to change the name back to its original. At the restaurant directions were received for locating Bark-ham Manor, the site of discovery of Piltdown bones. Present owners, the Harold Millers, indicated that both British and French TV broadcasting personnel had filmed for a documentary on Piltdown man.
A visit with Miss Mabel Kenward was rewarding. At age 86 she was in bed with a broken hip, but alert and talkative. She was a 16-year-old daughter of the manor caretaker when the fossil bones (later to be hailed as Piltdown man) were found while a road to the manor was being built. Miss Kenward does not think Charles Dawson was the one who perpetrated the hoax, but she believes that it was none other than the Jesuit priest and anthropologist, Teilhard de Chardin.
There was a meeting with members of the Evolution Protest Movement in the home of its founder, A.G. Tilney, still alive but very old and weak. Dr. Albert Hamilton Watson of Newbold College at Bracknell in Berkshire (Seventh Day Adventist school) arranged schedules, dinner and lodging. Irene Brightmore, an exchange teacher who joined a 1971 Bible-Science tour in the United States, furnished transportation to Oxford for a speaking engagement, and then to Buford, twenty miles distant. On Sunday she was hostess on a visit to Avabury, to Stonehenge and Salisbury Castle, and put the travelers on a train to London. In London they were picked up by Prof. David Watson and driven to a Baptist Church in northern London for a speaking schedule.
Holland — Belgium — Dr. W.J. Ouweneel (geneticist and researcher with industry) met Lang and Burdick in Holland and took them first to the Rembrandt Museum and then to a meeting of creationist leaders. F.J. Kerkhof is a prominent industrialist and founder of a lay religious group known as the Association for True Bible Research. Through his efforts national television interviews were arranged for Burdick, Lang, and Dr. John Whitcomb, who was scheduled at European Bible Colleges at the time. Kerkhof also furnished transportation to Belgium where Lang and Burdick spoke to student groups at a large Catholic university.
Germany — Then followed a trip to Berlin and talks at the American military base. Sponsor was Anne Beams, an instructor, under auspices of the Christian Church Missionaries. Arrangements were made to reach a Campus Crusade group in Berlin; Lang was sent to Frankfurt while Burdick was kept in Berlin. A visit was made to the Free Lutheran Seminary at Oberursal, a suburb of Frankfurt, with Dr. E. Oesch (instructor at the seminary, now deceased) as host. Burdick was later met in Munich and assisted by Russell Brubaker, a medical student from the United States. Providing lodging was Rev. Smith, a missionary in charge of Assembly of God churches in Germany. There was also a meeting with Dr. Ernst Winters, a scientist working with the United Nations out of Austria. Ken Karlson, U.S. missionary working among students, took Burdick and Lang to the Alps.
Switzerland — Next was a trip to Basel in Switzerland with talks having been arranged at the Free Evangelical Academie, recently founded by Dr. S. Kuelling. Lodging was at a hospice known as Chrishona. One of the professors took Burdick and Lang to visit Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith (well-known scientist and author and a staunch creationist) at Thuringia. Then they traveled by train across Switzerland to examine the alleged overthrust at Schwanden. This is the site where the concept of overthrust was conceived in an attempt to explain why alleged "older" rocks are found on top of alleged "younger" rocks. No more evidence for overthrusting was found there than at Glacier Park or in the Canadian Rockies. There are no scratch marks or crushed rock which ought to be there if there were a genuine overthrust. Lang served an English church in Basel and a high school operated by the Janz Singers of the Black Forest of Germany. Dr. Burdick spent the day with Dr. Alma von Stockhausen of Freiburg, teacher in a Catholic school who had gathered a group of Catholic scientists for his presentation. On the return, their student driver left them stranded in Basel and they had to fend for themselves getting to Burdick's place of lodging. In Rome a Protestant college was served. From there they departed for New York.
Supai — Grand Canyon — Yellowstone — Glacier Park — Alberta — Seattle — Alaska — In 1975 Ed Nafziger led tours to Supai Canyon and Grand Canyon. There were tours also to the fossil beds in Alberta, to Yellowstone and Glacier Parks. Gerald Mallmann led a tour group around Lake Huron. Following the convention in Seattle, Lang, Burdick, and Bob McWethy of Wichita, Kansas drove to Alaska.
1976 Tours
In 1976 Ed Nafziger led a tour group of 36 through Supai and Grand Canyons. Lang, together with the two young sons of Dr. William Lipke (plant biologist and instructor at Arizona State University in Flagstaff) had already been to the bottom the previous week, doing some filming for a movie on Grand Canyon.
That same summer Dr. Burdick and Ted Bruner (of the BSA office in Caldwell) led a tour group through the Alberta fossil beds and through Yellowstone and Glacier Parks. Gerald Mallmann led a group around Lake Huron.
In 1976 the first Christmas seminar was held at Grand Canyon, with an attendance of about 100. Speakers included Dr. Clifford Burdick, Dr. Bernard Northrup (O.T. scholar and geologist), Dr. Harold Slusher (geophysicist and head of the Observatory at the University of Texas at El Paso), Dr. John Cunningham (chairman of the Science Department at Northwestern College in Roseville, Minnesota), Walter Lang and Ed Nafziger. Paul Freeman, Jr., a student of motion picture photography, did some filming assisted by Eryl Cummings. Cummings also reported on his most recent adventures in search of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat. Dennis Wagner and Dave Johannsen, students at the University of California at Santa Barbara, also presented talks.
1977 Tours
In 1977 Lang traveled to Hawaii alone, giving talks on the search for Noah's Ark. Due to illness and other problems, prospective tour members were unable to go as planned.
In April nearly 5000 people attended the Gish/Kirkwood debate at the University of Minnesota. In preparation, Lang spent two weeks in the area, talking to church groups and students.
In June Clifford Burdick, Eryl Cummings (Arkeologist) and Mike Harris (motion picture producer of Tampa, Florida) hiked into the Grand Canyon from the north side in order to do more filming. Ed Nafziger led a group of twenty-five through the canyon. Dr. Burdick and Dr. Cunningham conducted a tour of the Alberta fossil beds, Glacier and Yellowstone Parks, and visited the fossil beds near Kemmerer, Wyoming.
This year the Grand Canyon Christmas Seminar was held at the Squire Hotel, near the airport, rather than in a hotel in Grand Canyon Village. Speakers included Dr. Burdick, Dr. Lipke, Dr. Northrup, Ed Nafziger, and Walter Lang. A group of students from New Mexico participated.
1978 Tours
In February of 1978 a group of nineteen flew to Hawaii for a four-island
tour. About thirty attended the seminar at Camp Makapala in the Kohala
Mountains on the big island. Ann Overn's very active mother, Agnes Rank,
broke her arm and cracked her pelvis in a slight fall and had to be hospitalized.
Later, special arrangements were made for her to fly home. In Waikiki the
group stayed at the skyscraper Lutheran Church/senior citizen complex.
Ed Nafziger again led a tour through Supai Canyon and Grand Canyon.
The other tours were canceled. In November the Bible-Science office was
moved from Caldwell, Idaho to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Christmas seminar was held at Grand Canyon. Speakers included Bill Gates (industrial engineer living in Thousand Oaks, California), John Read (aerospace engineer with Hughes Aircraft, Northridge, California), Dr. George Howe (biologist at Los Angeles Baptist College, Newhall, California), Dr. John Meyer (also of L.A. Baptist College), Dr. Clifford Burdick, and Dr. William Lipke. |
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1979 Tours
Galapagos Islands and Southern Peru
This first tour in 1979 may be described as an exotic tour. Gilbert and Audrey Nettleton of Boise, Idaho traveled by bus to Minneapolis from where they rode with Rev. Lang to Miami, Florida. Lecture stops were made at Brunswick, Missouri, Nashville, Tennessee, Atlanta, Georgia, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In Miami they were met by Gene Faulstich of Spencer, Iowa, Dr. Don DeLancey (dentist) of Perkasie, Pennsylvania and Dr. Burdick. From Miami the group flew to Guayaquil, Ecuador, from where they took a charter flight to the Galapagos Islands. These islands are located about 600 miles out in the Pacific, on the equator, due west of Guayaquil. The boat, Buccaneer, served also as a hotel and restaurant for the 80-plus passengers aboard. Seven islands were explored, including the main city of Santa Cruz. These islands boast a great variety, including the Cactus tree which is unique to the islands, many varieties of finches, sea lions, red-footed boobies, cormorants, penguins and iguanas (both marine and land types). The only tortoises seen were those in captivity at the Darwin Station in Santa Cruz. Wild dogs and pigs let loose on these islands years ago have destroyed many iguanas and tortoises. The cold Humbolt current reaching these islands along the equator provides a favorable environment for penguins. The young guides, recent university graduates, appreciated information on the islands' geology given by Dr. Burdick.
There is much concern over ecology on these islands. Dr. Burdick picked up a small piece of rock, polished by sea lions lying on it, for laboratory study. The guide demanded he put it back. While the young guides were open to a creationist explanation of many things, they would not accept that iguanas are baby dinosaurs. In this holy land of evolution, guides were challenged to demonstrate that evolution is now taking place. Hummingbirds are not evolving into finches nor are iguanas evolving into sea lions or any other form. Surely, the thirteen varieties of finches on the islands did impress Darwin.
Cusco, Peru
The flight from the Galapagos was scary; the crew had stopped at the
ship's bar before take-off. A Braniff plane flew the group to Lima where
members tried to get a little sleep while sitting in chairs, waiting for
a flight to Cusco. Rev. Robert Whatley, a Baptist missionary, met them.
After lunch at a fancy hotel, they were taken in a four-wheel-drive van
across the mountains into the jungle. The route across the Andes Mountains
also went through primitive Indian territory. The van got stuck while crossing
a river, but after much effort and prayer, the van made it to a motel in
the jungle at about 2:30 a.m. Traffic is in one direction only — alternating
day-by-day. Eating places were very primitive. In Cusco a room in a good
hotel cost only $6.50 per night and meals were about $1.50 per day.
Sites enjoyed in the Cusco area included ruins of the castle of Sacysayhuaman,
the K'enkko and Tampu-Machay ruins. Inca is named for the ruler of the
Indian tribe known as Kechwas. Many of the ruins seemed to be temples which
apparently were destroyed by earthquakes or other natural catastrophes.
It is claimed there are 300 such ruins ringing the city. Films were shown
at a Baptist church. Caesar Vargas, retired biologist at the university,
was interested in the report on the Galapagos Islands.
Machu Picchu
The group traveled to Machu Picchu by train. Leaving Cusco, the train had to back up in order to negotiate the hills. It then traveled along an exceedingly wild river, the Urubama. Traveling by bus, the group visited the ruins, spending considerable time at the ruins of a hidden city. Hidden even from the Spaniards, it was finally deserted and not discovered until 1911 by Hiram Bingham.
Nazca Lines
Returning from Machu Picchu on Saturday morning, the group flew to Lima and rented a cab for the trip to the Nazca lines, 300 miles south on the Pan American highway. The cab was stuffed with six passengers, a driver, and all the luggage. First stop was at Ica where, fortunately, there was a first-rate hotel. That evening there was an engagement at a Bible College headed by Rev. Andrew Largo. Next morning the group continued to Nazca where, according to Erich von Daniken (author of Chariots of the Gods51) space ships landed long ago. Rev. Dan Bond, Baptist pastor in Nazca, arranged for a flight over the lines and for picture taking. Marie Reiche of Germany had spent thirty years at this site, studying the lines. She informed the group there were 13,000 lines, 100 spirals, and 700 figures. There were also stylistic birds and a figure of a man (98 feet high) with an owl's head, denoting wisdom. This was not an astronaut as von Daniken claims. All these lines have to do with the signs of the Zodiac. Generally there is one line ending in a trapezoid, pointing to a place on the horizon where that particular sign of the Zodiac can be seen at a certain time of year and a certain time of day. The lines are not a landing strip for space ships; one good rain would have completely washed them out. Rainfall in this area amounts to one inch every ten years; the area is more arid than even the Sahara Desert. The place is so desolate that the Kechwas sent their worst criminals here; it was a penal colony.
The group left Nazca, picked up Faulstich at Ica, where, arriving at the Lima airport, there was a hassle with the cabbie over the fare. Faulstich gave the shoe-shine boys a meal and money. This so impressed the stewardesses that they arranged for a flight for us on a Peruvian plane which left an hour earlier than the Braniff flight. It turned out to be a Lockheed 10.
From Miami the Nettletons and Lang drove to Pensacola, Florida, where Lang served a Christian college, arrangements being made by Dr. George Graf, practicing medicine and operating a Christian Nursing School in Pensacola. At Madison, Wisconsin the Nettletons were left with relatives.
Alaskan Tour
Anchorage and the Peninsula — Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Barnes of El Paso, Texas, Russell Dryden of Seattle, Washington, and Walter Lang flew to Anchorage where they rented a car for the drive to Soldatna and Homer. A seminar was held at a Bible College in Homer, on beautiful Kochema Bay. The trip from Whittier to Valdez was made by ferry. Robert Williams (Alaskan pipeline worker), who provided lodging for Lang and Dryden, received permission for the group to tour the terminal for the oil pipeline. Glaciers viewed included the Worth-ington, Glenn Alien and Matanuska. Talks were given in Chugiak and Eagle River, also at a Seventh Day Adventist Church and a Baptist Temple in Anchorage.
Mt. McKinley and Fairbanks — The trips to Mt. McKinley and Fairbanks were made by train. While Barnes and Lang fulfilled speaking engagements, Dryden flew to Prudhoe Bay. The Christian radio station, KJNP at North Pole, Alaska, taped interviews and there were interviews also on TV.
Dawson, Whitehorse, Juneau — A missionary plane, a twin-engine Cessna, flew the group to Dawson in the Yukon and from there to Whitehorse, then to Juneau. This was a fantastic flight, traveling at 5000 feet altitude over the pipeline, over high mountains, and famed Chilicott Pass where there is both a narrow-gauge railway and a road. After flying over the hump to Glacier Bay, the group landed in Juneau. Following an evening talk, Rev. Frank Barrett of the Assembly of God church took the group to the gold fields at midnight. By light of a midnight sun, they panned for gold.
In Juneau there was an engagement at Douglas Bible Church, Rev. Ken Kehler, pastor. Last-minute arrangements for a talk were made by Rev. Milton Hunt of Resurrection Lutheran Church. Then the group headed for home.
On the Supai/Grand Canyon tour Ed Nafziger led a group of twenty-five. At Christmas there was another seminar at Grand Canyon. The Langs left home early, stopping in Denver to spend Christmas with son Philip (teacher and principal at Grace Lutheran), his wife Linda, and granddaughters Laura and Laisa.
1980 Tours
In 1980 Ed Nafziger led tour groups through Supai Canyon and Grand Canyon. The Carl Radtkes of the Twin Cities area and their grandson, Brian Larson, joined Lang on a tour of Yellowstone and Glacier Parks. A dinosaur bed had been discovered at Chouteau, Montana which yielded a dinosaur egg containing an embryo; the site was visited. Another Christmas seminar was held at Grand Canyon.
1981 Tours
Russ Dryden of Seattle encouraged a South Pacific tour because he wished to revisit places where he had served during World War II. The Langs flew to Seattle where Val stayed with son Bob Lang (design engineer with Boeing) and his family (wife Carole, son Martin, daughter Robin) while Walter fulfilled schedules in Bellingham and Vancouver, British Columbia area. There he met with Rig Ready, an East Indian from Fiji, who was a student at Regents Seminary. He assisted with schedules for Lang in Fiji.
Members of the Seattle branch chapter and of the Vancouver group met at a restaurant in Bellingham, Washington (midway between the two cities). The occasion was to express appreciation to Valeria Lang for her eighteen years of work in connection with publishing the Bible-Science Newsletter.
From Seattle Lang and Dryden flew to Los Angeles where they picked up Roy Bogdon, executive officer with Boys Clubs, and the three began their South Pacific tour.
Hawaii — First stop was Hawaii where the
Dale Fergusons (engineer with government installations) provided lodging
and arranged for talks. The Polynesian Center (tourist attraction sponsored
by the Mormon church) was visited.
New Zealand — First stop was in Auckland, New Zealand where Dr. F.L.
Horton (veterinarian) met them, quickly got them through customs and onto
a flight for Christchurch located on the southern island of the New Zealand
group. There the Eric Wolters (University student also working with the
utilities company) met them and took them to a radio station for interviews,
sightseeing, and to a schedule at a church attended by 100 interested persons.
Overnight lodging was provided by the R. Colberts. Next day the group flew to Mt. Cook. Arrangements had been made for them to take a ski plane; it not only flew over the Tasmanian Glacier but landed there on its skiis. Then it was a flight back to Christchurch and on to Auckland.
In Auckland they were met by Dr. Horton, who took them to the Carpendary Lodge in Howich where Dr. Tony Hanne, gynecologist, has a mission training station. Originally this was part of a mission training program out of England. It was through this program that contact was made with Rig Reddy in Canada who assisted with scheduling Lang in Fiji.
On Saturday evening there was a meeting which included leaders of the Lutheran Church in the area. Arrangements were made for Lang to preach at two Lutheran churches on Sunday, morning and evening.
Australia — At Sydney in Australia, Dryden and Bogden rented a camper (or caravan as it is called there) for sightseeing. Meanwhile Lang went to Marburg where he stayed with Rev. V. Grieger (Lutheran pastor) for a week. He attended a Lutheran pastoral conference of Queensland, went to Brisbane to meet with a creationist group and attended a convention of Lutherans in Toowoomba meeting at Concordia College. On Sunday he served three churches.
On Tuesday Lang was a guest of Rev. Bob Haebich (retired Lutheran pastor) and in the evening served a Lutheran church in Ipswich. Next day he flew to Sydney and then on to Melbourne where his host was I.S. Mibus, teacher at a Lutheran college in Croydon, a suburb of Melbourne. He served several schools, and on Friday evening spoke at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, and on Saturday morning addressed a Men's Bible Class. Arriving in Sydney, he was met by Dryden and Bogden for the flight to New Zealand.
Fiji — The three again stayed with Dr. Horton and on Sunday morning flew out for Fiji. The plane developed problems and was forced to return. Arrival was not until 9:00 p.m., forcing cancellation of the schedule at a church in Suva.
In Fiji the three stayed at a motel near the airport and next morning rented a car for a drive around the island. In Suva they stayed at an Episcopal hostel. Talks were given at Christian schools, at the Technical Institute in Fiji, at the university and at a church. On Thursday the group drove back to Nadi, again around the island, stopping to visit with F. J. Crane, senior missionary from New Zealand, and at a Bible College and camp.
Los Angeles — Return flight was to Honolulu and then to Los Angeles. Lang was scheduled for a talk at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Arcadia, Roger Sonnenberg, pastor.
1982 Trips
In February of 1982 Lang had lecture schedules in Hawaii, Alaska, and across Canada from west to east. Purpose was to encourage organization of local creationist groups. In Hilo he was the guest of Rev. J.D. Crowley and of Paul Alien, teacher at the Henry Opukahiah Christian school. He served at a Christian Missionary Church, a church at the Opukahiah school, a Congregational church, and had a lengthy conversation with Dr. Baldwin, a biologist at the university.
In Maui Lang served schools and the International Baptist Church, Rev. Sam Tillery, pastor. In Kauai he was at the Christian Missionary Church, Rev. Ed Terui, pastor. He also served in the public high school where Eric Ebisu is teacher. In Aiea he served Our Savior Lutheran church and school, James Russow, pastor, and David Haak, principal.
Alaska — From Honolulu Lang flew to Seattle, staying overnight only and then flew on to Alaska. In Homer he served the Bible Church and the Bible College, Rev. Ray Arno, pastor and instructor. Riding through the night to Anchorage he saw the Aurora Borealis. In Anchorage it was a schedule at the Seventh Day Adventist church and then on to Fairbanks where there were meetings at the Lutheran, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches, plus an interview over KJNP, the Christian radio station at North Pole, Alaska. In Juneau he served Faith Lutheran, David Hinz, pastor.
Canada — From Juneau there was a flight to Seattle and then to Vancouver, British Columbia for a dinner meeting and a schedule at Killarney Park Lutheran, Rev. Triet, pastor. Then it was on to Kelowna where he served First Lutheran Church. He stayed with Rev. Lymon Jones, who by himself has built a fabulous home on a hill overlooking Kelowna and Lake Penticton.
From there Lang went to Saskatoon for a noon meeting of pastors and an evening meeting at St. Paul's Lutheran, Lowell Guebert, pastor. At Regina he served Mt. Olive Lutheran, D. Aubey and I. Pudrycki, pastors. In Winnipeg there was another noon pastoral meeting and an evening schedule at a Baptist Church. Then it was on to Toronto, London, Kitchener. From Toronto there was a flight back to Minneapolis.
1983 --- India and Israel
Because of the concern over creation/evolution in India by an anthropologist,
Bimal Nag, Lang arranged to meet Nag in Gahauti. However, on his arrival,
government officials refused to permit him to get off the plane because
of political unrest. Lang then flew to Calcutta where he found lodging
at the Salvation Army quarters. Major Bennett arranged schedules in churches
and schools for a week, also arranged for food and lodging. From Calcutta
there was a flight to Bombay and Cairo, and from Rafia Lang took a taxi
to Jerusalem. During his ten-day stay he met with creationist scientists
at the Ben Gurion University in Beersheba. He also attended a creation
conference at the Truman Institute on Scopes campus at the Hebrew University.
He spoke at a Baptist temple and at a Christian school. He was continually
amazed at the many miracles taking place in Israel.
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