Training in Guatemala

I just got back to Quito after a week in Guatemala where I was able to scout out a training possibility for May 2011, follow-up on training we did in May 2008 and do training for a small group of very talented young people from an indigenous community in the province of Totonicapán. We held the radio workshop in the facilities of the Guatemalan Bible Seminary in Chimaltenango.

One of the goals for our radio training ministry in Latin America is to develop a network of Christian communicators throughout the region. For the workshop in Chimaltenango, I had the very special opportunity of teaching with one of my former students from the Christian Center of Communications (CCC), an university level institute on HCJB’s Quito compound which is a joint education program with Northwestern College of St. Paul, Minnesota. Kristy (Calvache) Liles is a gifted Christian broadcaster with Almavision Radio in Miami, Florida, USA. She was in the second group of students I had the privilege of teaching in the CCC. That was in 1995. What a blessing to be able to teach with her in 2010!

The night after we finished, Kristy wrote me the following note:

I want to tell you how happy I feel for having been able to be a part of this training. I’m sure that I learned more than I taught! I want you to know that I admire a lot the work that God has called you to do. I admire more the passion you have for it and want to encourage you to keep on going because you will see the fruit of your efforts in us, your students. Many thanks for this opportunity. May God continue to use you and I’m here to serve when I can. Blessings, Kristy.

Thanks for the encouragement, Kristy. And thanks to each of you who have faithfully prayed for and supported my ministry with HCJB Global Voice year after year. You were there when Kristy studied in the CCC in 1995 and you’re here now as we taught together 15 years later. You made it possible! I hope that you can share in Kristy’s gratitude and joy in having been a part of this workshop. This was her first time to share her experiences and knowledge, and let me tell you that she did a fantastic job. Kristy is good at what she does and is also passionate about being able to help others use this great tool of Christian radio to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. To God be all the glory and praise! Thanks again for making it possible, generation after generation.

Spotlight is a daily 15 minute radio program that uses a special English method of broadcasting. This makes Spotlight easier for many people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

In Ecuador, HCJB has been broadcasting Spotlight since 2001. We've had fabulous response from the program over the years. In fact, there are currently more than 4,770 listeners throughout Latin America who receive the scripts of the program by e-mail every week. This gives them an opportunity to hear the program and read along at the same time.

Here's an e-mail I received from Carlos, a listener here in Quito, after sending him the scripts for this week:

Thank you a lot for the e mail.

There have been awesome programs like the one about the museum of laziness, disappearing languages, fear....

It´s fabulous listening from you that in Japan a Toyota´s employee died of too much work. Yeah. That must really be widely told.

We (people who listen carefully to your program) appreciate your stories about people who are miles away: Middle East, Asia, Africa, and aren´t super stars, nor famous heroes. That´s meaningful not having programs related to Hollywood, Shakira, US fashions.

Tell us more about South America and Cuba.

Bye Bye

Cool, huh? We are so thankful for the Spotlight program that allows our radio stations to meet a very real need of our listeners. And as they improve their English, they also hear a message of eternal hope, the message of Jesus Christ.

Please pray for the Spotlight production team and please pray for our listeners as they struggle to learn English, but more so as they have an opportunity to hear about and give their lives to Jesus.

In September 2009 I was in Tacna, Perú for a training session with our partner station Radio El Buen Sembrador (The Good Sower). One of the participants was Kenny Lazo, a dynamic Christian communicator from Arequipa Visión en Arequipa, Perú. This past May, Kenny and two colleagues traveled 3.5 days in bus to come to Quito for our annual conference with affiliates of our Spanish satellite network, ALAS-HCJB. It was great to see Kenny again and share more ideas on how we can do a better job of communicating Christ by radio and other media. After the conference, Kenny shared the following comments about his participation in our training conferences:

"Thank you for the events in which we’ve had the privilege of participating. I feel well equipped, challenged and encouraged to serve in a more efficient manner, breaking down paradigms, filling myself with new ideas, and, moreover, the ability to establish new contacts with various people around the world. Thank you and congratulations to everyone on the team at Radio HCJB for helping us do better radio."

Kenny, thank you for letting us be a part of your formation as a Christian broadcaster. And thank you dear friends for making this happen through your support of HCJB Global Voice's radio training ministry. More people who need Jesus will hear of Him because Kenny and others have been given the tools to do better radio ministry. To God be the glory!

More on radio training in Africa

Emmanuel Ekpeh-Addrey was one of the very talented radio producers with us during the radio training in Accra, Ghana. After I got back from Africa, Emmanuel sent me the following message.

"APPRECIATION and GRATEFULNESS are the two words that I woke-up with this morning. The fact that you are so down to earth amazes me. Your simplicity blows my mind.

Like our Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven to show us the way, you came to 'show' us the way in radio communication. Your all inclusive style of teaching is superb. I'm a better communicator now than before thanks to your impact made possible by the Holy Spirit."

What an incredible privilege to have shared the training experience with people like Emmanuel. Please pray for him and the others that took part in the training. They are all great communicators of a great God! May the Holy Spirit use them to impact the lives of their listeners.

Radio training in Sub-Saharan Africa

I am currently in Accra, the capital of Ghana in Western Africa. This is my first time to this continent, so it will be a great learning experience.

Together with Joseph Kebbie (with me in the photo), we will be conducting the first region-wide radio training for HCJB Global's SubSaharan Africa Region. Joseph is the training coordinator for the region and is also very involved in the radio planting aspect too.

We have folks joining us from Freetown, Sierra Leone and many different parts of Ghana: Tamale (north central), Bolgatanga (on the northern border with Burkina), Asin-Fosu, Assamankisi and of course the capital, Accra.

Praise God for this opportunity to share our experiences in radio training in Latin America with our ministry colleagues here in Western Africa. I am also very thankful for the partnership that this region shares with the media ministry of Theovision International.

Joseph and I welcome your prayers!

César Trejo

Today, let me introduce you to César Trejo who lives on the island of Muisne in northwest Ecuador. I first met César in 2000 when I went with an evangelistic team to do ministry in Muisne and immediately noticed that he had amblyopia, or a lazy eye.

Several years later, a group of prayer warriors at Chinese Grace Bible Church in Sacramento, CA (my home church!) provided the money for César to have much needed surgery because of the amblyopia. This picture of César was taken a couple of years ago, but you can tell that the surgery was a success. Thank you, Lord!

Now almost 15 years old, César has outgrown his glasses and is in need of new pair. The recommended frame which is totally flexible (rather important for an active 15-year-old!) and lenses comes to $225. If you would like to donate to help César get his new glasses, please let me know. He and his family will be most appreciative, I know.

God's answering our prayers!

In my February 1 blog I told you about "Vertical Limit", the new youth group at church. I told you about Samuel Zarria, my co-leader, and the fact that most of the youth that come are his classmates. I also asked you to pray for sensitivity to the needs of the group.

Thanks a lot for praying! God is moving and constantly opening doors for Sam and I to minister to his classmates and family. Two weeks ago we had the opportunity to clearly present the Plan of Salvation to four of his friends. None made a decision, but the seed is planted. Please keep praying!

Four are having some pretty serious relational problems with their parents and three of them have sought out help from Sam. Tomorrow he and I will meet with one of their mothers who is seeking advice. God's Holy Spirit is moving because you prayed. Thanks a bunch. Please keep praying.

The photo: In November, Samuel was one of the actors in a new radio series of short-format programs in Spanish being produced by Hope for the Heart Ministries. Here's a photo of him in the studio during the recording. Pretty cool, huh?

Nube Vogan - Waves of Hope Radio

Nube Vogan and her husband are missionaries with OMS - One Mission Society and serve with Waves of Hope Radio in Loja, Ecuador. Nube came to Quito for a 2-week internship as part of our personalized training core. Here are her thoughts after completing her time with us:

"I thank God for the giving me the blessing of being at HCJB for two weeks for the internship in radio news. I enjoy learning, seeing and collecting all of the information that can serve us in Waves of Hope Radio. This way we will improve professionally without putting to one side, not even for a moment, the passion for showing our listeners the love and power of God. I’m very thankful to HCJB for opening up this form of training which is a great blessing for me.

I will go back to Loja with a challenge: to be more professional every day, not forsaking my passion to talk about God’s love and to continue preparing myself at every opportunity. Recently I have come to understand what a privilege it is to serve God by way of radio, the responsibility for the way I do so and for each word that I speak."

Please pray for the Vogans in their ministry through Waves of Hope Radio.

Pantasma - Nicaragua

In February 2007, we did a radio training seminar for the staff and volunteers of about 7 small radio stations in northern Nicaragua. Armando Zerón, who at the time was a producer at the Evangelical Voice of Honduras, was the other trainer with me. We met, trained and slept at what is now a retreat center run by the provincial government. However, it formerly an operational center by the opposition government during the civil war days in Nicaragua!

Colleagues from Perú

Our training programs also include a 1- or 2-week personalized training, run much like an internship. In September 2009, three colleagues from a future Christian radio station in Chazuta, Perú came to Ecuador to participate in this program.

In this picture, they're seen with Carlos Salgar and his wife, Gabriela. Carlos is a Christian recording artist from Colombia who uses music to tell much of his personal story of his Christian walk.

Christian Briones

You actually met Christian Briones and his brother in last Saturday's blog. But today is Christian's 15th birthday, so he's here again.

I first met Christian during HCJB-2's annual sharathon in December 2008. (The picture is me interviewing him then.) I didn't know his story then, but God really placed a burden on my heart to pray for him. I later met his younger brother, Kevin. I've been praying for both of them constantly.

Even though none of us can physically be with Christian for his birthday today, we can all be with him spiritually. Please join me in praying for him. That in spite of all that he has experienced in his life, God would be so real to him today and that he would sense God's spirit and our love through prayer.

Happy birthday, buddy! ¡Que viva el cumpleañero!

Spotlight Listeners Club

The Spotlight Listeners Club meets tonight at Quito's English Fellowship Church. Spotlight is a specialized English radio program that is being used by many Ecuadorians to improve their English. In late 2002, the Listeners Club component was added which allows for conversation with native English speakers and open doors to share the Gospel. In this photo from 2004, Jeff Ingram facilitates his small group.

By the way, all of the Listener Club materials are available on HCJB's website so that your church can use them to reach out to non-English speakers in your community.

Ezequias Macedo - Filadelfia, Brazil

In August 2008, I had the incredible experience of teaching a radio seminar to an indigenous group in northwest Brazil. A co-worker was just there last week and sent this note and picture today.

Carlos says: I participated in a meeting of indigenous leaders in the Yavari Valley in Brazil. The first day, I saw some tables being set up on which some portable computers, speakers and a sound console were placed.

Later, when the meeting started, I asked myself, "Who's going to be in charge of the technical aspects?" Then I observed a young indigenous man with his laptop. He was the youngest of all the group. I went up to him and saw that he was using an audio editing program for preparing radio programs.

I asked his name and where he had been trained. His answer was "My name is Ezequias Macedo and I was trained by Allen Graham of Radio HCJB."

Carlos finished his note by saying: I suspected as much. It's good to see one of your students in action.

Thanks to your donations and prayers for making it possible to train Ezequias and many others. And thanks for letting me share this story. You're awesome!

The Zúñiga Family in Costa Rica

When I was in Costa Rica for language school (August 1992-August 1993), I had to work with a native Spanish speaker as part of my classwork. The last six months of my time there, Rafael Zúñiga was my language helper. We became good friends and have stayed in touch over the years. He always dreamed of bringing his family to Ecuador and that dream became a reality in January 2009. In this picture, we see Rafael with his wife, Ingrid, and their two children, Allan and Kimberly. We're at snow level on Mount Cayambe. A climate very different than that of Costa Rica!

HCJB-2 & the Shalom Foundation

For the last 10 years I've had the blessing of working with HCJB-2, our FM station in Guayaquil on Ecuador's southwest coast. Ten percent of the donations received during our annual sharathon go to support the Shalom Foundation, an orphanage currently housing 30 children and youth. Here I am with two brothers from the home: Christian and Kevin. Their mother died about three years ago, which is when they went to the Shalom Foundation. Their father is a high ranking official in the Ecuadorian Navy who refuses to recognize his sons in anyway. Please pray for the Shalom Foundation ministry and especially for Christian and Kevin. Thanks.

Koxonoty - Brazil

Today we go to Koxonoty, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Here you can see Jasiel Martins, my radio training colleague, teaching how to use digital audio editing software to a group of future radio producers who will broadcast in various indigenous languages to the tribes surrounding this reservation. Jasiel is from the Terena tribe, one of the first tribes in Brazil to be reached with the Good News of Jesus Christ. (Please see my April 11, 2009 blog for more information.)

Vertical Limit / Límite Vertical

Vertical Limit is the name of the new youth group at church. It's a small group for now, only about 10-12 youth, but no doubt God's going to do some pretty amazing things through them. Please pray for Samuel Zarria and me as we lead this group. Samuel is a senior in high school and everyone in the group are his classmates and friends. He and I are the only two Christians! Pray that we will be very sensitive to the needs of these youth and be very alert to how the Holy Spirit is moving and preparing their hearts for salvation. Thanks!

Leo & juvenile arthritis

Okay, you've met the two older siblings, Karen and Jaime. Today it's time for you to meet Leonardo Andrés Quiroz, best known as Leo. From the two previous posts, you know that his mom lives in Spain and that he is in grandma's care. Leo's dad lives in Italy and as far as I know they get to talk about once a month by phone. I'm not sure when he last saw his father. By the way, this picture was taken while we were waiting for Jaime's graduation to start!

I have known Leo for about eight years and have been able to help with his studies the last few years. However, I had a huge surprise when I visited them in September and found Leo unable to get out of bed and with his knees extremely swollen. His grandmother told me that this happens every now and then and that it had been happening for the last seven years. I never knew! Leo never said anything. I was shocked.

Grandma took him to see doctors in Guayaquil and Esmeraldas on several occasions to find out what was happening to his body. The doctors said it was an infection and prescribed antibiotics. I asked as many questions about the symptoms he's experienced and then consulted doctors at HCJB's Vozandes Hospital in Quito. He came up a couple of weeks later for a complete check-up and blood work. It was confirmed that he has juvenile arthritis. We were both in shock now!

I thank God for providing a treatment plan that is working well. Please pray that Leo's body would continue to respond to the medicines and the guidelines that his doctor has given him. Pray too that Leo would use this physical challenge as an open door to share with his classmates and others. Thank you!

Karen's graduation!

Yesterday you met Jaime. Today, let me introduce you to his older sister, Karen Párraga. Karen should have graduated two years ago, but due to a number of different circumstances wasn't able to do so. Hats off to Karen for persevering and not giving up. Way to go Karen!

As I told you yesterday, Karen's grandmother has had responsibility for her, Jaime and Leo, one of their younger brothers, for a number of years now. She is one amazing woman and I'm so thankful for her. I'm also very thankful to God for giving me the unique opportunity to walk alongside Karen during her last years of study. What an honor to see her graduate!

I would also ask for your prayers for Karen as she considers options for future studies and a career.

A Photo a Day!

Wow! It's been a long while since I've been here on the blog. Using Facebook quite a bit, but I can't say as much there as I would like! A missionary colleague (Nick Johnson) shared a great idea the other day and I want to put it into action, at least on the days that I have access to the Internet!

The idea is to share a photo a day. Now Nick's a photography hobbyist and I'm sure has some really cool cameras. I use a simple automatic camera designed for radio people! So don't expect high quality oooooohhhhh aaaaaahhhhhh type photos. In fact my first photo to share with you didn't even come from my camera! Still, I hope you will enjoy seeing a bit of my life and those that surround me in pictures.

To start off this new venture, I would like to introduce you to Jaime Sotamba. Jaime's an amazing young man. He graduated high school on January 19. I've had the incredible blessing of being able to help with his school studies since at least the sixth grade if not a year or two before. His father died when he was 7 years old. His mom has lived in Spain for about the last 9 years. His grandmother has cared and provided for Jaime, his older sister Karen and one of his younger brothers since the mother left. Mom comes back now and then to visit and bring them presents. She has a total of four children by four different men. I finally got to meet her. Frankly, I'm still not sure what to think except to say that if anyone really needed to know Jesus, it's her. And I really thank God for grandma!

Jaime had a whole lot of reasons to give up, but he didn't. In fact, he excelled! He was class valedictorian! To say that I am proud of him is an huge understatement. God has done a great work in this young man and will continue to do so. Here we are at his graduation. There are even more photos on Facebook if you want to check them out.

Thanks for praying for Jaime as he makes decisions for his future studies and career. And thanks for letting me tell you about him.