The Inspiring Life Stories of Four Gospel Ambassadors at Work in Hard and Hidden Places
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Speaking Hope Trans World Radio (TWR) Canada PO Box 25324, London, ON N6C 6B1 1.888.672.6510 www.twrcanada.org info@twrcanada.org First Printing Copyright © Trans World Radio Canada 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission from Trans World Radio Canada. Printed in Canada. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Written and Edited by Lisa Hall-Wilson and Gary Roebbelen Cover Design: Eric Siemens Cover photo acquired from iStockphoto.
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“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?� Romans 10: 14 NIV
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Contents Introduction Ray Alary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.1 Chapter One Allahyar: Train Up a Child in the Way He Should Go... P.5 Chapter Two Alberto Gonzalez: Faith Under Persecution. . . . . . . . P.18 Chapter Three Marli Spieker: In the Potter’s Hands. . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. P.33 Chapter Four Abdoulaye Sangho: The Providence of God. . . . . . . . . P.53 Chapter Five Speaking Hope through TWR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.65
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Introduction Ray Alary President, Trans World Radio (TWR) Canada
I began serving with TWR Canada in 1987 on the Caribbean island of Bonaire as a diesel mechanic and electrician, never knowing if anyone was really listening to the programs my station broadcast. Now, as president, I have the opportunity to hear from listeners and see first-hand the incredible impact TWR has on those who listen. When I think about the great missionaries of the past, people like William Carey and Hudson Taylor come to mind. These pioneers laid the groundwork for the modern missionary movement. When they set out to share the Gospel, there was only one way to do it— face-to-face. Most mission work was accomplished by individuals working alone in difficult circumstances with great opposition. The process was risky and slow, but progress was made. 1
“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chr. 20:15b NIV
Because TWR is the world’s most far-reaching media ministry and the world’s largest radio broadcaster, we have a unique responsibility. Every minute of every day we reach into the hidden and hostile corners of the world with hope-filled, lifetransforming messages. The living Word of God is both powerful and comforting, and our primary focus to reach the world for Christ has never wavered. In 2013, TWR Canada will celebrate forty years in ministry and being a pioneer in the missionary movement. While early missionaries had to share the Gospel face-to-face, technology now allows us to deliver the message through AM and FM transmitters, shortwave radio, the Internet, and hand-held audio devices. I thank the Lord for the people who had the vision to use radio as a means to share the Gospel. TWR’s 2
missionary pioneers such as Paul Freed and Carl Seyffert made great sacrifices so the world could hear about the Lord Jesus Christ. The earth’s population is now over seven billion. To meet this challenge, TWR’s global ministry delivers the Gospel within reach of four billion people, in their own language, for just a penny a person. We are reaching 160 countries in more than 200 languages and dialects, equipping believers, and teaching leaders about Christ. Today, two-thirds of the world can hear the Gospel through TWR’s international broadcasting network. But, we do more than just deliver voices through invisible airwaves. Our missionaries, volunteers, and staff become the hands and feet of Jesus. Strategically located discipleship and leadership training centres also provide valuable face-to-face follow-up ministry to believers. Through new technology, we are reaching more people than ever. We are meeting the needs of a generation hungry for answers to life’s difficult questions. 3
As we continue to experience tumultuous times of natural disaster, economic turmoil, and overwhelming need, let me encourage you that the hope of the Gospel, the grace of God, and the joy and peace of Christ continues to be faithfully delivered into the hearts of millions every day through TWR. This book highlights a number of people with a passion and vision for reaching a geographic region or a specific people group. They are my friends and partners in ministry, committed to speaking hope to the world. I hope you are blessed by their stories. Ray Alary President, TWR Canada
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Chapter One Allahyar Train Up a Child in the Way He Should Go… Before 1935, the Islamic Republic of Iran was known to the Western world as Persia. It’s one of the world's oldest civilizations dating back to the Elamite kingdom in 2800 B.C. Shia Islam is the official religion. It is not illegal to be a Christian in Iran if both parents are Christians at the time a baby is conceived. Under Sharia law, it is illegal and punishable by death to convert from Islam to any other religion and to proselytize to Muslims. The authorities try to disrupt the signal of TWR radio programs by broadcasting on the same station or signal with another program or just noise. Through vigilance at the transmitter site, the frequency is changed to circumvent this interference. Here is the story of one of TWR’s front line ambassadors to the Persian-speaking world.
I was born among the rugged mountains of Kurdistan, in the Jemoor Tribe. The labour was intense and because of complications and no medical help, my mother died. The villagers believed she died because she had an evil spirit. My father named me, Golam 5
Hussain which means slave of Hussain, the grandson of Mohammad. My father was a sincere Muslim and named each of his six sons to be a slave of one of the Muslim prophets. I had a nurse maid for six months, but for an unknown reason this lady also died. The other ladies in the village tried to feed me with milk, but I was lactose intolerant and became very sick. The villagers believed the evil spirit from my mother had entered me, so asked my father to take me away. My father loved me and in desperation took me by horseback to the closest hospital which was run by Christian missionaries, about 75 kilometers away. When he arrived at the hospital, the American doctor examined me. My father turned to leave. He thought I was dying and he did not want to take a dead baby back to the village. The doctor asked for my name. My father responded, "Why are you asking for his name? Only if God helps him, he will survive." The doctor thought this was my name and so I was called, Allahyar, which means God's helper. Second Chances
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I spent many, many months in the hospital until the
staff
convinced
some
visiting
Christian
missionaries who ran an orphanage in response to the desperate conditions affecting the country — famine, disease and fighting, to take in an abandoned boy. I grew up in the orphanage. The workers in the orphanage tried to prepare us to fit back into our society one day, and taught us farming, hunting, and apprenticed
us
to
different
tradesmen:
tailors,
carpenters, and welders. Outside the orphanage, I was considered a worthless “prostitute” child because I had no family to care for me. I was considered unclean, needing foreigners to care for me. This was a humiliating circumstance in our culture. I was not invited into local homes — parents wouldn’t let me play with their children. So I found other ways to fit in, ways that got me in trouble. I indulged in all the typical behavior bad boys get into with pranks and a bad attitude, but I also delivered opium between drug dealers and committed other crimes. I was kicked out when I was nine and given another chance. I was kicked out at eleven and given 7
yet another chance. One time I was on my own for over two months sleeping on the streets or on a shop owner’s floor. I had no one to take care of me. This last time I was kicked out, I was crying and cold repentant, and the other children told the missionaries about me. The missionaries showed more compassion than I deserved, and let me come back. A Chance Encounter During a day trip to visit other missionaries with the orphanage, a missionary became interested in looking for my family. I went with him to search, but we got lost. We came to a village near dark, but the people were unsure of us because we were outsiders. To travel at night was dangerous, so we sought shelter in a local home. Imagine my surprise when I learned I was born there, we had found my mother’s family’s house. My uncles and cousins told me the story of my birth and about my father. Even though I didn’t meet my father, I was very excited to meet my other family members, because this meant I belonged and deserved respect and dignity. I belonged to a family even though 8
my relatives were strangers to me, and they were unusual and wild people. I stayed with my relatives for one week, but I cried every day because I missed my real family… the family that loved me… my missionary “parents” and the other orphans, my “brothers.” So, I went back to the orphanage. This was during the 1963 White Revolution (so named because it was “bloodless”) when the Shah attempted to reinforce traditional values, and forced the feudal landlords to sell their land. My father wouldn’t give up his lands or his privilege, and was shot and killed. I found out about this and was furious. The most important part of my identity and value came from my father though I had no memory of him. My anger filled me with a need for revenge so I joined the military for power and influence. In 1972, I was assigned to protect an area near the western Iran/Iraq border. I was on a border patrol. I had just been relieved in the foxhole by a friend, when the foxhole was destroyed and my friend shot and killed. It’s at times like these that we go back to what we 9
know, to the things that brought us comfort and made us feel safe. I requested a short leave from fighting due to emotional trauma and found the Bible I’d been given by the missionaries in the orphanage. I’d heard about the Gospel from missionaries and the orphanage, but very few of the orphans I grew up with became believers. We had a hard enough time fitting in as orphans that we avoided everything to do with Christianity. I was all alone thinking about how miserable my life was, lacking the courage to commit suicide and I opened my Bible. This time I read the Bible with an open heart and fresh eyes, and found comfort in my grief. When I stumbled upon the words of Matthew: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIV The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and I prayed. Lord, I know what Muslims think of Jesus, but, if You are in Heaven and You can do this, I will follow you. If You will do what You promise in Your Word, I will commit myself to You. 10
I received the Lord that day. Risky Business When I finished my military obligations, I joined the Bible Society. I knew about the Bible Society because their name and address were stamped inside my Bible. I travelled from one city to another selling Bibles. Not many adults could read at that time, so we sold our Bibles to high school students. We set up on the streets early in the morning near the high school, sold our Bibles, and got out of town before the students arrived home for the day and showed their parents our Bibles. I was very zealous and was arrested repeatedly. I felt honoured to be arrested for the Lord. Usually I (and any other workers arrested with me) was released by the police the same day. Sometimes we were kept in jail for two or three days. One day, I made the mistake of parking my car in front of the police station. When I tried to sell a Bible to a Mullah, one of the religious leaders of the town, the man began shouting. The police heard him and 11
came running. I was arrested and thrown in jail with the other Bible Society workers. In God’s sovereign providence, the former leader of the Bible Society had gone to school with the Prime Minister of Iran, and we were released and told never to come back again. After over 20 arrests in two years of service, the Bible Society decided it was too dangerous for me, and anyone with me, to continue and said I should find other work for my own safety. A New Chapter I decided to go back to school in Tehran to become an aviation mechanic. In the evenings, I served as the youth director at my church. A friend convinced me to go to a music and drama concert by the Oral Roberts University from Tulsa, Oklahoma. At that time in Iran, we didn’t know much about life in the West. The Shah discouraged women from wearing burkas (long loose clothing that covers body, head and face) and chadors (same clothing but leaves the face exposed), but most of the women still wore them. Imagine how those American girls stood out, even in clothing considered appropriate for church in the West, 12
skirts that revealed ankles, arms exposed, and hair uncovered. Islamic fundamentalists took photos of these Christian girls handing out literature in public. The headline in the paper read: “Christians using prostitutes to deceive Muslims to go to church.” When I saw the article I was furious. I knew that these girls dressed appropriately for the West, but their attire was inappropriate for a Muslim culture. I knew the headline was a lie, but I was angry at God for allowing these girls to represent the Gospel in a way that allowed people to discredit the church so easily. I didn’t know what to think. The Lord answered: “Well, you’re not evangelizing, are you? So I’m sending girls in short skirts.” I got the message and knew I needed more training before doing mission work. I met with one young woman and she encouraged me to come to America to study in Oklahoma. I didn’t think I could get a visa, but God miraculously provided me with a student visa in 1977.
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When I left Iran, I had every intention of coming back and becoming a pastor, but my passport expired two years later while in the United States during the Islamic
Revolution
when
the
monarchy
was
overthrown by rebels. I sent my passport to the Iranian embassy to be renewed, but they refused to return it to me. I was a man without a country. I applied for American refugee status but was told I didn’t have proof of hardship. My application happened to coincide with the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979 which lasted 444 days and saw the American Embassy in Tehran overtaken and fifty-two Americans held hostage. Because of that crisis, I was later accepted without having to prove hardship and given permanent residency in 1981. I was one of the few given refugee status during the Islamic Revolution. I finished my degree in Communications and Theology, the first Iranian to graduate from the Oral Roberts University. Two weeks before I graduated, I didn’t know what to do, so I sought the advice of the American couple I had come to think of as my American missionary parents in Kansas. While I was 14
with them, they received a call from a pastor asking for help because TWR wanted to start broadcasting into Iran. My American dad handed me the phone and said, “Why don’t you talk to this man. They are looking for a Persian-speaking person to help. Do you know anyone?” A New Ministry I went for an interview in Chatham, New Jersey about the position. This would give me the opportunity to be a pastor to Iranians even though I couldn’t be in Iran. TWR accepted me as a missionary candidate, and I met a Canadian girl also accepted that year. Together we prepared for missions work at a summer training program, and we married in 1983. The plan was to go to southern Europe to record and broadcast, but we could not get much studio time. I went to Norway instead, started some test programming into Iran fifteen minutes a week, and later expanded to thirty minutes. During the Revolution, mail service in and out of Iran was unreliable, but we were very pleased with any letter received in response to the broadcasts. Those letters confirmed that people were listening! 15
With the help of TWR and other ministries, I’ve had the opportunity and privilege to train and disciple 3,000 Iranian believers at conferences over the past ten years. These discipleship training conferences are often the only opportunity Iranian Christians have to meet with other believers and be strengthened in their faith. Since 1979, the government has not allowed any Christian church to be built. There are only 6 sanctioned churches with Persian services, as well as a few Armenian and Assyrian churches, but the government limits who can attend those services. Since 1979, churches are not being repaired, only torn down and destroyed when they get old. My Greatest Joy The people in Iran are eager to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot go to Iran and bring seekers and believers teaching and encouragement, so instead we bring them out of the country and equip them to start house churches in Iran. My greatest joy is baptizing new believers. Feeling as though through the radio I have even a small part in their faith journey 16
is most rewarding. Despite closed doors, persecution, and Islam being the only recognized religion in the state, many people are coming to know the Lord. By God’s grace, Voice of Christ Media Ministries has added some of my radio programming to its Radio Mojdeh website and satellite radio broadcasts. Every day we broadcast into Iran for two hours on shortwave radio and via internet. I continue to write and produce radio programs broadcast into Iran. Our God truly is an awesome God, full of grace and mercy. I am so grateful that He loves me and works as He does. My physical father wanted me to be a slave of Hussain, but my Father in Heaven has chosen me to be His servant to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the Persian-speaking world, and God has been with me.
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Chapter Two Alberto Gonzalez Faith Under Persecution For forty-five years, TWR has funded and produced Christian programming for a Cuban audience. When Cuba was closed to missionaries and Christian radio programs were banned from broadcasting inside Cuba, the TWR programs transmitted from the Caribbean island of Bonaire penetrated the iron curtain of the cold war and the Castro government, and offered the hope of Jesus Christ to the Cuban people who had no other way to hear it. Now, a new chapter has begun, and for the first time ever, Gospel programs are being produced from within Cuba by a Cuban pastor. Alberto Gonzalez is TWR’s Ministry Director in Cuba, and here’s his story.
I was born in the city of Cárdenas, Matanzas, on September 18th, 1943, into a Presbyterian family. I was ten years old when Fidel Castro began the revolution
to
overthrow
President
Batista’s
government in 1953. January 1, 1959, he succeeded. Through all the American sanctions, our leaders
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denied that Cuba was communist. The government said, “We are only Cubans. We love liberty, and we are going to give the people a better way of life.� After Castro successfully defeated the rebel uprising supported by the American government during the Bay of Pigs crisis in 1961, Castro declared he was socialist. The American sanctions and the support of the Soviet regime nearly brought the world to the brink of war in 1962. After that, everything changed in Cuba. During that time, if you were a teacher who was a Christian, they fired you because you were a Christian. Students were dismissed from university because they were Christian. It was impossible for Christians to work in universities. Gathering outside official churches, like in homes or public places was forbidden. Churches remained open, but were almost empty because people were too afraid to attend, and about thirty percent of the Christians left the country. It was a difficult time to be a Christian, especially a pastor, but when God called me into pastoral 19
ministry during my final year of my Bachelor’s degree in Architecture in 1963, I obeyed. But I dreamed of leaving for the United States, as my older sister and other family members had during the revolution, and enjoying the freedoms to be had there. As part of my seminary training, I worked in San Antonio de Rio Blanco, Caraballo, and Tapaste, and in the province of La Habana. Training, as pastors in North America would know it, was almost nonexistent. I was a student at Havana Baptist Seminary with good professors, but Christian bookshops were forbidden so I taught myself with books I found or another pastor brought in from outside the country and shared. Faith in a Concentration Camp Before I could graduate, in November 1965 (I was 22 years old), I was taken to UMAP. Military Units to Aid Production (Unidades Militares para la Ayuda de Producción) were established by Castro’s government to forcibly enlist young people identified as being uncooperative, incapable, or morally ineffective for service in the regular military forces. The purpose of 20
UMAP was to eliminate counter-revolutionary values from the population, and “reprogram� dissidents and religious persons. The government took many seminary students, priests and Protestant ministers, mixed with all kinds of other people, and sent them to the center of the island to work to reform our behaviour and religious views. I was allowed infrequent visits from family and one week of holidays, but really we were prisoners treated without respect and denied basic human rights. Especially at the beginning, the UMAP was like a concentration camp without the crematoriums. We worked long hours surrounded by high wire fences, and soldiers with guns prevented anyone from leaving while we were working in the sugar cane fields and other crops. The living conditions were awful. Although it never happened in our camp, I’ve been told that many men committed suicide, and others tried to escape in different ways. At night, the latrines in our camp were used as solitary confinement for those who showed disrespect or disobeyed orders. Prisoners slept on boards 21
covering the holes in the floor in only their underwear, or sometimes completely naked. In the morning, the prisoners were released to work another twelve hour day in the hot sun. One sergeant ordered a fifty-five-gallon tank installed next to the old latrines, and he ordered us to fill it with water every day. He enjoyed throwing cold water on the prisoners inside the latrines at night. You never forget the sound of a grown man crying like that. When family and friends came to visit, they brought us cookies, candies, caramels, condensed milk, powdered chocolate, and sugar to take with water. We ate these before bed to help with the hunger pains, and sometimes snuck the food in our pockets to eat in the fields. We were each given a drawer to keep our personal things in, and that’s where we kept our food stashes. If you left so much as a toothbrush out, the other inmates would steal it. The gifts of food encouraged us and helped us survive because we could not go to the store or a nearby village. Our families could not bring much, they had little to spare in those times, but it was a 22
tremendous help. Even the guards kept extra food for themselves. One day the guards said they were concerned about hygiene and were beginning new health measures. We had to eat any food brought by family and friends while we were with them. This meant we could not keep food in our cabins. We didn’t understand why the guards were doing this. Why were they making a difficult situation more unbearable? Many times at Las Marias, the name of the UMAP camp where I was held, I thought everything was over. I wanted to die and asked the Lord with all my heart to take me in my sleep. I could not imagine how God would later bless me. I remember one man whose friendship and understanding was a great encouragement to us— Lieutenant Rafael Rosabal Viera. We heard him quietly singing church hymns when he thought no one listened. He took the time to chat with us, and saw some of the restrictions imposed on us loosened. One
night,
when
everyone
was
sleeping,
Lieutenant Rosabal came to my bed. In a whisper, he 23
said, “There will be a raid to take the Bibles. Get up and ask the others to put them in my house.” I woke the other seminary students and told them about the raid. Some of them didn’t believe me. “Isn’t there an easier way to get rid of the Bibles?” they asked. All but one of us decided to trust Rosabal, and when he returned, we gave him our Bibles. Two hours later, at dawn, soldiers came and made us stand in the courtyard in our underwear while they searched our things. We were very emotional, but God had sent an angel dressed in military green to save the Bibles we needed so much. The brother who had not given up his Bible was the only one who lost it. The soldiers spent a lot of time looking because the bosses couldn’t understand why there was only one Bible in the camp. The next night, Rosabal returned the Bibles he had hidden at his house. “It’s not fair,” he said. “You didn’t do anything to deserve this. I am going to help you in any way I can.”
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His friendship and understanding was a great encouragement to us, but it became evident that he gave the Christians preferential treatment, and he was transferred. Because he lived in a house in front of the camp, we were able to watch as they packed up his wife and children, furniture and belongings. As he was leaving, he saw us and raised his hand, pointing toward the sky, keeping it there until he was out of sight. Hope in a Radio Despite all the hardships, we were permitted to have portable radios. Even though they were not as common as now, nor as small, my mother was able to send me one. We listened to music and radio programs. Of course, we were supposed to listen to the government propaganda stations. Frequently, when we worked at night, we took the radio to the fields and listened. The radio gave us a degree of freedom because we could tune in the news and foreign transmissions as long as we were not caught. One night in 1966, a group of us were trying to tune in a program and were surprised to find the Spanish transmission of Radio Transmundial (TWR) 25
from Bonaire, Dutch Antilles. The reception was crystal clear, like we listened to a local program. I had never heard a program like that. To listen to sermons and Christian music in the middle of such difficult circumstances was an unexpected and valuable blessing. A soldier overheard us listening to a Christian program once and ordered us to turn it off immediately.
“You
can’t
listen
to
subversive
programs,” he said, pointing a stiff finger at us. “We have allowed you to have radios, but you can only listen to national stations. If you do it again, I will confiscate the radio.” But we found a way to continue listening to Radio Transmundial (TWR). We met in secret at night in different places, and one of us watched while the others listened. We had to huddle close together to hear because we had to keep the volume turned down. Sometimes we escaped into the sugar canes where no one could see and listened for several minutes. When there was no work, we laid down under our sheets with the radios stuck to our ear. When we heard the 26
announcer say, “Transmission of Radio Transmundial, from Bonaire, Dutch Antilles,” our hearts raced, and we were encouraged. That radio brought us hope every night, and helped us face our circumstances. I never imagined at the time that years later I would be a preacher for TWR. During one of my week holidays, I was married. Returning to camp and leaving my wife behind was very difficult. We were permitted to see each other for two hours once every four months. I was in Las Marias for three years. And the World Stepped in… While America mourned the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy in 1968, under international pressure and fear of exposure, Castro erased the name UMAP from the camps and I was released. The camps continued, but were now “military units” and everything began to be different inside them. After UMAP, although people released from the camps were supposed to work with the government, I returned to seminary and graduated in 1969. In 1970, in the privacy of my own church at San 27
Antionio de Rio Blanco, I was ordained. I had planned to go to America as soon as I finished seminary, but it was too difficult to escape, so I decided to wait. Living Under Communism Instead, we moved to Pinar del Río in 1974 and focused our ministry in that city. Always the faithful people went to church, but many people gave up on church. It was very difficult, because if a new believer visited a church, they were persecuted at work and ridiculed in their neighbourhoods. I remember once there was a lady in my church celebrating her eighty-fifth birthday. My wife and I and our two children and another couple took a cake to her house to celebrate. We were just an old lady, two couples, and five children. We sang Happy Birthday, and five minutes later, there was a knock at the door. It was the police. “You are having an illegal meeting,” they said. “No,” I said. “It is just a birthday. See, we have a cake.”
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“But all of you are from the church, and you need to stop,” the police said. “Religious meetings are only possible inside church buildings.” We had to face things like that for many, many years. When you suffer a lot, the Spirit helps you feel loved in a special way. When you are facing tough times, it’s normal to say, “I have nothing.” We knew we didn’t have money, a bank account, our own house, but we had God taking care of us and so we had everything we needed. But always my dream was to leave for America. A Ministry Change Despite my dream to leave Cuba and live in America, I continued working in Cuba for many years. In 1980, I was able to visit Canada for a month to attend a Baptist World Congress. In 1985, I was granted a temporary permit to travel to the USA to preach. I went with the intent to find a church willing to sponsor my family to leave Cuba and where I could serve as pastor. But I couldn’t have predicted what was going to happen during that trip. 29
In Cuba at that time, we had no pornography, no drugs, and no crime. It was a very restricted society, but if you don’t have freedom, you don’t have freedom for anything. What I saw when I visited the United States was unbelievable. By the first week in America, I was nearly in tears because of the spiritual condition of many churches I visited. I realized freedom does not always buy good things. I thought of my church and my people in Cuba, and the way those faithful people were facing their daily troubles. God spoke to me in a way I didn’t expect. It was clear His will for me was to stay in Cuba to serve the Christian people and preach the Gospel. It was a long and a hard process, but I decided to obey Him. Giving up a dream is not easy, but a month later I returned to Cuba feeling like a free man for the first time in my life. Before that decision, I had lived in Cuba
against
my
wishes,
subdued
by
the
circumstances and the impossibility of immigrating. After that decision, I freely returned to Cuba to fulfill God’s plan for me. God was going to take care of all my earthly and spiritual children here. 30
In 1997, I left the church in Pinar del Rio to work for the Baptist Convention, and in 2002, I was elected President of the Baptist Convention of Eastern Cuba. This position allowed me to serve the Cuban churches in a better way.
More Than I Hoped For Thirty years later, I returned to where the UMAP camp called Las Marias had been. There was no trace of it anywhere. The place I hated so much had disappeared. When I saw the ruins of that oppressive place where I had suffered so much, I began to feel love for it. Finally God blessed my life and the bondage I was held in through the memories of that camp was destroyed. Las Marias has become a symbol of justice and God’s mercy for me. It reminds me that the evils of life are fleeting. Time seems to stand still when you’re trapped in a dangerous situation. It is hard to find the strength to continue and to hope for the future, and easy to think God has abandoned us. I thank God there is always a time when it will be
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possible to understand so many of this life’s mysteries and lessons. In 1965, I thought I had lost the best years of my youth in UMAP, but I have ministered to thousands of people through my ministry with TWR. My radio program Messages of Faith and Hope, recorded completely in Cuba, encourages believers just as the TWR programs did in the hard and hidden places in UMAP. Alberto has authored and published several books, including one of the few accounts of the history of the Protestant church in Cuba during the Castro years. He openly speaks about the nature of the camps, and the injustices suffered there, in order that others may be uplifted and encouraged to persevere in the faith.
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Chapter Three Marli Spieker In the Potter’s Hands
Around the world, women are hiding. Some hide behind veils so thick not even their eyes are visible. Others hide in their homes, afraid to come out for fear of being raped, or killed in time of war, or disfigured just because they dare to go to school. Hundreds of women have been burned alive by their relatives in the name of “family honour.” Still others hide inside themselves, beaten down by daily abuse and neglect that hollows out the joy in their eyes, leaving only a sense of duty to keep them alive. Ministry to women is one of the most challenging yet important types of work. Project Hannah seeks to meet the needs of the whole woman, providing practical advice, hope, and spiritual guidance through the Women of Hope broadcasts, and offering the support of an international prayer movement through local small groups.
The following excerpt reprinted with permission from Chapter 1 of “When Hope Wins” Copyright © 2010 by TWR. All rights reserved. No part of “When Hope Wins” may be reproduced in any form without written permission from TWR, P.O. Box 8700 Cary, NC 27512-8700.
33
My life has been greatly enriched by my dear friends and Project Hannah team members as we have worked together to bring Hope to suffering women around the world. Looking back on my own life, I can see God’s plan and purposes being fulfilled behind every experience, every season of my journey. Indeed, His grace never ceases to amaze me! I was born into a humble Salvation Army missionary family in Brazil. I like to think that I was raised by my very own George Müller and Mother Teresa. My parents literally lived for God and for others. They took care of orphan boys, from the ages of 4 to 18, in a Salvation Army orphanage. So I grew up in a home full of boys, with three biological brothers and 64 other “brothers,” many of whom were emotionally damaged and from broken homes. That was a dangerous place for a little girl to be! My mom worked tirelessly cooking, cleaning, washing, and caring for the basic needs of the boys with very little help. One day, as she was busy caring for the little ones, the phone rang. It was the police, 34
who gave her the heartbreaking news that her 14-yearold son, Celso, had been killed by a truck while on his way home from school. As my mom grieved for my brother, her mother’s heart feared losing my brothers and me as well. She did not have enough hours in her day to give me the attention and care I needed, so she prayed for God to protect her only little girl. He answered through a scholarship I received to attend an elite all-girls Episcopal boarding school in the city. I went there when I was only five years old. Although the school offered me a pristine education, life itself was not so pristine. My parents were poor missionaries . . . the other girls’ parents were
wealthy
farmers,
business
owners,
and
politicians. I faced overt prejudice and, at times, even emotional abuse. I remember often being forced by one of the bullies to do her homework! It was there that I learned to love art, beauty, music, and all the social graces, as well as God’s Word. And even though I am thankful to God for giving me that valuable experience, the truth is that I 35
never really quite fit in. Seven years later, I returned home to find out that I did not fit into my own family either. My two brothers were amazing young men, full of life and serving side by side with my parents in the orphanage. I was different. The long years away from home had taken their toll. By the time I came home, I was a very insecure teenager struggling with feelings of inadequacy and rejection. One winter night, sad and tired, I made a bargain with God. I said, “Lord, if You will take away these awful feelings and fill me with Your love and joy instead, I will give You all of me . . . my whole life . . . to serve You until the day I die.” God took me up on my word. He took away the negative feelings and sadness; He gave me His pardon and peace. Joy and hope I had never known before flooded my soul and have stayed with me even through my darkest nights. By His grace I have kept my part of the deal, and He has fulfilled every single one of His promises to me! So, at age 17, and below the normal acceptance age, I was accepted at the Salvation Army Cadet School. Immediately, I became involved in the Army’s 36
tremendous social ministry working in the slums, brothels, and bars of big Brazilian cities São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and others. I was doing exactly what I had seen my parents do—embodying Christ’s message to bind up the brokenhearted, to preach the good news to the poor, and to give hope to the hopeless—feeding them, loving them, and leading them to Jesus. I loved every moment of it! When I was 19, I became engaged to be married to a handsome, intelligent Danish missionary who was 10 years my senior. Eight days before our wedding day, with final preparations in full swing, the phone rang. I listened in shock as my fiancé told me that he was calling off the wedding because he did not love me anymore—a
dramatic
end
to
our
four-year
relationship. He left the ministry, and me, to run away with my friend and maid of “honor”! My life and dreams were shattered. I could barely breathe. I learned the hard way that love can hurt. Wrestling
again
with
feelings
of
rejection,
abandonment, and betrayal, I knew only one place to go. As an act of my will, not my emotions, I heard 37
myself saying, “Lord, I do not understand, but I have given my life to You. Your will, not mine, be done.” Fleeing to Jesus’ arms, I waited until healing began, immersing myself in serving those whose problems were immeasurably greater than mine.
Through
those painful years, only the certainty that “underneath are the everlasting arms of Jesus” kept me going. I stayed there until healing came and I was able to walk on my own again. I began to understand the great truth that God is my maker—never my destroyer. He sustained me in ways I still cannot explain. That was the beginning of a long process of trusting, obeying, and abandoning myself into His hands, no matter what. It was then that I experienced “up close and personal” that Jesus is the great healer of the human soul! Not only was I healed by Him, but I also saw that same healing mercy and power putting together broken lives, broken dreams, broken families, and broken hearts as I served others. And with His healing came the certainty that He has a plan—a plan for “welfare and not for calamity,” a plan to give me “a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). 38
And what a future and hope! Not too long after that painful experience, God rewarded me with Edmund, a German seminary student, who became my closest friend and loving husband; a man of integrity, a truly unusual young man! We share the same passion for God and compassion for the lost.
Together,
through thick and thin, we have served the Lord every day of our married lives—for more than four decades. Two years later, after having our first little boy, Marcio, Edmund and I joined Trans World Radio (TWR). Our first assignment was to establish the radio ministry in Brazil. Fourteen years and two more children later, we were called to join TWR’s international team. We left Brazil and everything familiar to us and moved to Canada to raise our personal support and to learn English. I was 39 years old. That was a turning point for our family. To this day, we still cherish our Canadian brothers and sisters who embraced us, loved our children, and walked with us into our new life and ministry.
39
After two years in Canada, we moved to Chatham, New Jersey. Edmund became the TWR international director for Asia Pacific and started traveling extensively. For 10 years he led the ministry there while I stayed home in the United States raising our children and being his “support staff.” Finally, after our two younger children were both married within four months of each other, Edmund asked me to join him in Asia. “But what will I do there?” I asked. TWR was not inviting me to be involved in the Asian ministry . . . only Edmund was! He answered, “I don’t know . . . but you will see. God has something beautiful for you to do there.” That was one of the first times in our marriage that my German husband did not have a specific answer for my question. But that vague response turned out to be one of his most accurate ever! So, after much praying and soul searching, I agreed to go. I flew to Hong Kong, and from there, we went to the island of Guam, where TWR has its powerful transmitters and studios beaming the gospel to all of Asia, but particularly to China. It is important 40
to me to always know where I am going and how I am going to get there. With this huge change in our lives, I knew nothing—and neither did my wise husband! All he knew was that God had “something wonderful” for me to do. But I usually have plans B and C in my pocket, just in case! So, I began to present these elaborate plans to the Lord. The truth is that I did not want to leave behind the new mentoring ministry for young mothers we had started in our church . . . or our first grandson . . . or our beautiful, secure little home in the US. But I went, believing in God’s unknown “plan and future” for me. Sure enough, there was nothing for me to do! The next morning, after I dropped Edmund off at the TWR office, I took my Bible and drove to a beautiful deserted beach. I needed to spend time alone with God, to feel His nearness . . . the assurance that I was still in the center of His love. I asked Him to speak to me, so I opened the Bible and my eyes immediately fell on Jeremiah 18: “Go down to the potter’s house. ... Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand ...” (Jeremiah 18:2, 6). The words flashed 41
like neon lights in my mind. I knew what was coming, so I immediately closed the Bible. This was not the message I wanted to hear! Let me turn to Isaiah, my favorite prophet, I thought. Turning a few pages these words from Isaiah 64:8 now seemed to light up: “But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.” I quickly closed my Bible again. I was just a little girl when I had heard my dad preaching about this for the first time! Stubbornly, I continued . . . maybe the New Testament would have what I was looking for. Dear old Paul wrote a lot about God’s love. Romans . . .yes . . . this was better. “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? ” (Romans 8:35). Now this is what I wanted to hear! So I kept reading, drinking in each word’s meaning with all my soul. I was so engrossed in that glorious passage that I kept reading on into Chapter 9. Suddenly, verse 20 jumped out at me as though it had been lying in wait around the corner. “Who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded 42
will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it?” But God was still not finished: “Or does not the potter have a right over the clay? ” (Romans 9:20-21). In that moment my little car became a sanctuary. I felt as though God was sitting in the passenger’s seat staring at me! I came to my senses. In tears, I relinquished all my rights, my plans, and my will to Him. “Yes, I am the clay, Lord.” And in my mind and heart, I knew that clay does not rebel; clay does not have plan A, B, and C; clay does not talk back to its maker! It simply abandons itself to the shaping of the potter’s hands. I thought I was a flexible person. I was willing to go back and forth to Asia as many times as needed. We had sold our house so that we could use the mortgage payments to provide for my personal expenses traveling with Edmund. I had left behind family, church, personal comforts . . . but God did not want my “flexibility.” He wanted my “pliability,” my total abandonment to His will and His skillful hands to shape me according to His plan—not mine! So, after 43
32 years of missionary service, I found myself surrendering my life anew to His sovereign will. A few days later we were in Singapore, Edmund as busy as ever and the “Martha” in me still with nothing to do! I decided to take the city bus and crisscrossed Singapore watching the beautiful Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, and even a few Caucasian women passing by on the sidewalks. One day I was making a call from a phone booth in a shopping center when the automatic door next to me swung open and a couple walked in, followed by a blast of hot air. Singapore sits right on top of the equator—the heat and humidity are suffocating! The woman was dressed in black from head to toe, with only a little net peephole for her eyes. Her husband, though, was wearing a cool, comfortable cotton Tshirt! I have never been able to forget that disturbing sight. Very grieved in my spirit, I cried out, “God! How can this be? ” I imagined how the woman must feel under her black burka in that unbearable heat. I sat down in the mall for a long time. That’s when I sensed 44
God asking me, “Did you see that black veil? It is not only over her head, it is over her mind, her heart, her family, her spirit—her whole life! This woman lives in darkness!” My answer was, “Lord, whatever You want me to do to bring her into Your light I will do it! Just tell me how!” Then I felt Him say, “What is the closest thing available to you? What do you have in your hand? ” A microphone. Radio. Trans World Radio! I knew the power of radio! Its waves can go where missionaries can’t! It penetrates any man-made barrier, whether geographical, political, ideological, or religious. And even today, radio continues to be a very effective mass-media tool! From that day on, God started pouring information about the plight of women around the world into my lap. I learned that for countless women today, the world is indeed a dark and dangerous place. Women are still disproportionately impacted by the horrors of wars that never seem to end, natural disasters that steal their families and homes, illiteracy, diseases that ravage their bodies, and poverty that leaves them 45
struggling merely to survive. And the spiritual darkness in which these women live is even greater than their physical plight. “But why, God? ” I asked. “Why throughout the ages, in every culture, do women face such suffering? ” God reminded me of Genesis 3:15, when Satan deceived Eve. I found it interesting—the serpent never even addressed Adam, the one in charge of everything, the head of the family. The one who named all the animals, including the serpent! Satan knew that Eve would turn around and persuade her husband to eat the forbidden fruit and disobey God. It occurred to me that Adam’s participation in this most important event in human history is described in Genesis 3 with only three little words: “. . . and he ate.” Just that. Nothing else. No questions asked. No reasoning, nothing! Satan knew then that God gave authority to men, but to women He gave the powerful gift of influence. Every baby girl comes wrapped in it! All of humanity must first pass through the body and soul of a woman. It spends its most formative years under her influence.
46
It is amazing that even after Eve’s fiasco, God is still counting on the woman to be His partner in His miracle of creation. Every day! She is the entry to life. She leaves fingerprints all over her children’s lives. William Ross Wallace wrote so well, “. . . for the hand that rocks the cradle, is the hand that rules the world.” So very true! No wonder Satan—the first abuser—targeted Eve for his destructive purposes. To this day he continues to break the bodies, souls, and spirits of women all over the world. In more than 70 countries I have seen broken women producing broken children; and broken children turn into broken adults who produce broken societies! In many cultures it is said that women suffer “from the womb to the tomb.” In some countries, if a baby girl can take her first breath she has already beaten the odds. Countless baby girls are systematically aborted for social, political, or economic reasons. Worldwide, the great majority of women are the least valued, the least fed, the least educated, and certainly the least reached with the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 47
Reading further in Genesis 3:15, I found the answer to my question. God said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.” This curse, this “enmity” between Satan and the woman is the reason that women have historically been the victims of violence, incest, abuse, abortion, and all sorts of other crimes. However, in the same breath, God promised the “seed of the woman”— Jesus Christ, the great liberator of the oppressed who became a curse for us on the cross. As it says in Galatians 3:13, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” It occurred to me that women’s suffering is not only a gender problem, or just a social or economic problem, it is a deeply rooted spiritual problem that can be dealt with only through spiritual means. I knew that the only way to go about releasing women from darkness was through prayer—the most powerful resource God has given to His church. Corporate, focused, informed, earnest prayer! The strategy for Project Hannah was given to me in that mall, when I not only saw the use of the radio in 48
a new light, but understood anew that prayer is the most important work we can do for these dear women. I am an eyewitness to His power-working miracles in the lives of women from many cultures and walks of life, as a direct result of our prayer and culturallyrelevant radio programs. All the stories of this book [When Hope Wins] testify to that. Project Hannah’s massive worldwide prayer movement is the propelling force behind such miracles. In Project Hannah we believe that prayer not only supports the work—prayer is the work! I never imagined that God would take my small, faithful prayer group in Singapore, made up of 12 Chinese praying friends, and raise intercessors in more than 120 countries! There is now a wave of prayer circling the globe 24/7. Together, we storm the gates of hell on behalf of these women, using a simple and powerful prayer calendar that has been translated into more than 60 languages! Each month we focus on one country or people group, or on a women’s issue such as the effects of war, domestic violence, poverty, women in prison, 49
illiteracy, or physical and spiritual bondage. Project Hannah’s intercessors—Christian men, women, and young people around the world—pray in accord the same prayer request for every day of the month. They are moving God’s arm, to change women’s hearts, heal their bodies and their families, and restore their dignity. Project Hannah’s signature program, Women of Hope, is broadcast today in more than 60 languages on radio, the Internet, and other media. Through it we enlighten women, impacting their world with God’s worldview. We tell them how precious and valued they are in God’s sight. How He gave His only son—not a daughter—to save each one of them. That Jesus Christ, “the seed of the woman,” has come “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). He came to deliver women from the power of the enemy of their souls! That Jesus became “a curse” for us “on the tree.” And that Jesus Himself said, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). That is the liberating, victorious message we have to tell women everywhere! 50
Since Project Hannah’s beginning, we have strived to scale cultural, religious, social, and racial barriers using these two powerful tools—highpower radio and superpower prayer. God is using our efforts and taking women out of darkness into the light of Jesus . . . and Hope wins all over the world! • Project Hannah was born in my heart in that little old car in Guam when I surrendered anew my will and plans to God. • Project Hannah was sealed in my heart at that shopping mall when so patiently, so clearly, so tenderly God gave me His strategy. • Prayer is the backbone! • Radio programs are the voice! • Awareness and mercy ministries are Project Hannah in the flesh living out Jesus’ message. It is very humbling to see God’s redemptive work succeed on such a tremendous scale! It takes me back to my youth in Curitiba, South Brazil, when I surrendered my life and my will completely to serve Jesus for as long as I lived. If I lived a thousand lives, I would give them all to my king, Jesus. For there is 51
nothing greater, nothing more fulfilling or rewarding than to be clay in the potter’s hand. What a beautiful thing! All Scripture quoted in this chapter is from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright© 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION. Used by permission.
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Chapter Four Abdoulaye Sangho The Providence of God The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in western Africa with its northern borders reaching deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert. About 14.5 million people call Mali home, and about half of that number live below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day, making it one of the poorest countries in the world. The lucrative trans-Saharan trade has long been fought over by European and African empires. When ruled by France, Mali became part of the French Sudan. Mali gained national independence in 1960, and in 1991, drafted a new constitution and became a democracy. In March 2012, a group of junior soldiers seized control and declared the government dissolved and its constitution suspended. In April 2012, rebels who had fled to Libya returned and claimed the northern part of the country as a new state separate from Mali. Conflict and persecution continue, and the future of the city of Timbuktu, an ancient centre of Muslim learning and culture, remains uncertain.
The youngest of five children, Abdoulaye Sangho was born in Timbuktu, Mali, into a Muslim family. His father worked as a weaver, and his mother was a successful artisan selling her own unique pottery
53
designs. His father also owned several plantations of rice, sorghum, peanuts, corn, and wheat, all cultivated with the help of local associations and well-organized cooperatives. His father was respected in the community and was a devoted Muslim. Often called on for advice from people ranging from the main counsellor of the city to the Chief of the City, his father knew all the neighbours and, without exception, took time to visit and chat with them every day. At five years old, Abdoulaye attended a Koranic school where he was required to memorize the Koran. He spent his days between home, school, and his grandparents’ home. His grandfather was a large man of exceptional authority who loved good food. Abdoulaye loved to sit and listen to his grandfather’s stories. Life was good. Forever Changed At seven years old, Abdoulaye’s life changed forever. His grandfather died suddenly, without apparent cause, followed by his mother’s death. 54
Because of this, he was the first of his siblings to be sent to a French school. For a curious boy, this was the adventure of a lifetime, He had never seen so many children in one place. School came easy for Abdoulaye. He loved to read and soon gathered the village children for impromptu lessons. He was a born teacher who had only just begun school himself. Abdoulaye was ten years old when his father passed away, leaving him an orphan. His siblings were old enough to make their own way, so his uncle, a veterinarian in the city, took Abdoulaye in. Overnight he went from being the youngest child, doted upon and treasured, to an adolescent with responsibilities. Abdoulaye’s uncle had two wives and ten children. He was left in the middle with no one to care for him and given menial tasks normally reserved for girls. He saw school as a way to escape what his life had become and immersed himself in his studies. His first encounter with a Christian was the local dentist who was also a missionary. As an avid reader, Abdoulaye took the reading material given him by the 55
dentist and read through it, though his culture told him Christians were lost people predestined for hell. The literature seemed blasphemous to him, but, curious, he continued to read. He decided it was not good to spend time with ungodly people who taught of a God called “Father” who loved people. In Islam, Allah is very far away. You can pray, and maybe, if Allah wanted, you would be saved, but there were no assurances, even if you were faithful. When a young pastor, a national, settled close to his uncle’s business and formed a club called les Amies Toujours
Joyeux,
the
Always
Happy
Friends,
Abdoulaye joined with a few friends and his cousin. In return for memorizing scripture, a very familiar task for those used to the Koranic school, they were given pens, pencils, notebooks, and other school supplies. When his uncle discovered what they’d been up to, they were forbidden to return.
A Not-So-Secret Life Abdoulaye returned to the missionary’s club in secret. He hid his Bible from his family and read it 56
when he was alone. The message of the Gospel was so radically different from anything else he had heard. The ideas penetrated his heart and would not come loose. At sixteen, Abdoulaye gave his life to Jesus. Before long, people noticed the change in him. He was abused and mocked by friends, and was questioned by teachers at school. He became a curiosity, a renegade, a rebel, and was shunned. It was the ultimate insult to be called a Christian where he lived, but he stood firm in his new faith. His family decided he wasn’t pure and forced him to eat alone. He was treated like a dog, and in his culture, a dog is not a gentle friend but rather a dirty animal you don’t allow in your house. Abdoulaye couldn’t help sharing his faith just as he’d shared all he’d learned at the French school when he was a boy. He grew in his knowledge, and soon he knew more about the Christian faith than his teachers and led a night prayer group. Four of his friends tried to lead him back to Islam, a life they were all familiar and comfortable with, but,
57
instead, because of Abdoulaye’s witness, three of them converted to Christianity. Seeing his enthusiasm, the nearby missionary encouraged Abdoulaye to pursue pastoral training, but Abdoulaye wasn’t interested. The life the young missionary led did not appeal to him. The missionary was poor, and Abdoulaye wanted a comfortable life. He was confident he possessed the necessary skills to be successful and live independently. He chose instead to pursue a career in journalism and communications, continuing to live for Christ wherever he went and witnessing to those around him every day. After graduating, while reading the Bible with his friends, Abdoulaye felt convicted by God to pursue theological training. It was time to answer God’s calling on his life. Along with one of his friends, he entered the Bible Institute of Yamoussoukro in Côte d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast). For many years, Abdoulaye had prayed to meet and marry a Songhai girl committed to the Lord. He had nearly given up when God answered his prayers. 58
While in Bible school, Abdoulaye met his wife. She too was Songhai, and her parents came from Mali, but she grew up in Côte d’Ivoire where there was more religious freedom. He learned that God can do what seems impossible. Upon graduating four years later, Abdoulaye became a pastor in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. (His friend also became a pastor and professor.) He devoted much time to creating and producing a radio program called Muslim, My Friend that included French-language Bible studies, testimonies, and worship programs for radio ELWA. This program drew the station’s biggest listener response and was closest to Abdoulaye’s heart. People appreciated his understanding of what it meant to be Muslim and his candid answers to their questions about Christianity. When the Radio ELWA transmitter station in Libya was destroyed by war, Abdoulaye was asked to produce a program called Defi de l’Afrique (Africa Challenge) for Radio Evangile France. The program trained and encouraged Africans in vital and practical topics of African life such as health and leadership. 59
The program was pioneered in Nairobi, Kenya, in English, but Charles Guillot, the International Director for Radio Evangile France, wanted to see the program produced in Africa, for Africans. Abdoulaye accepted, and Africa Challenge was produced in West Africa in African French. Over time, this program would air from fifty stations in various French-speaking countries across Africa. Now married with children, Abdoulaye kept busy by producing Africa Challenge, pursuing a Master’s degree in Radio Journalism and Communications, and teaching at the Evangelical Communication Training Centre for Africa. In addition to this, he spent time writing for various Christian magazines. In January 1996, on a layover in Johannesburg, South Africa, Abdoulaye met TWR missionary Stephen Boake-Yiadom. Stephen asked Abdoulaye to join TWR in opening a new office and studio in West Africa for the French-speaking countries in Africa. After much prayer, reflection, and consideration, Abdoulaye agreed, confident God was directing him on this new path. 60
Seeing God’s Fingerprints on Your Life On the first of October 1996, Abdoulaye opened the first TWR West Africa office out of his own home in Abidjan. They converted a child’s bedroom into a studio and lined its walls and ceiling with egg cartons for soundproofing. The private telephone line became the official line of TWR. Production began, with the help of a few other Christian organizations and donated
equipment,
with
programs
aired
from
Johannesburg into West Africa. After a fire destroyed the studio, Abdoulaye relocated and built a new studio. It became clear that broadcasting into West Africa from Johannesburg was inefficient, and staff searched for a new, bigger location. After many false starts and disappointments, they acquired land in Benin, but more delays followed as the team waited for a medium-wave radio license. The process dragged on for two years. In an effort to get the process moving again, Abdoulaye met with the president of HAAC (the group responsible for issuing licenses) for the first time. After a short discussion, Abdoulaye discovered he had a connection 61
with the president. A close friend of Abdoulaye’s from journalism school had married the president’s son. Despite the stalled negotiations, the president invited Abdoulaye to extend his stay an extra few days so he could have his license before the week was over. Abdoulaye is convinced that it was the positive witness of his testimony, even so many years previous, that impressed the president and got the process moving again. It was a miraculous answer to prayer, and confirmation that God had been directing his steps all those years. The first broadcast from the Benin station into twenty West African countries happened in 2008. Today, Abdoulaye records programs in French, Bambara, Songhai, and many other West African languages. Thru The Bible is a five-year Bible study program and is one of the most popular programs they broadcast because people are not well-rooted in Scripture. Abdoulaye writes about this: “This is much needed in Africa, in West Africa, and in Africa in general. You find churches with 62
hundreds or thousands of people, but there is no one trained to lead and teach them. In Africa, the church is a mile wide but an inch deep. People easily accept Jesus but stay superstitious and rely on the old ways. When life doesn’t become easier, they turn to what they know, to the ancestors, to the customs and local traditions, and not to the Word of God. Having people who know the Word of God and can give sound counsel is much needed. “Most pastors have no training. They have a dream, wake up the next day, and proclaim themselves a pastor. They don’t know the Word of God. They give very bad advice because they don’t know the truth themselves. We need trained Christians. This could change Africa and give a solid foundation. If we have many people who are trained, the church will grow and be a tool for evangelism. Then we can help people because we are dealing with the same life problems everyone else is, like depression, jealousy, anger, everything.” Abdoulaye continues to work out of his Ivory Coast offices and studios. In 2012, Abdoulaye 63
struggled to ensure the safety of God’s people throughout the Mali coup and rebel occupation. Despite this, he launched a new counselling ministry using French-language Hope for the Heart broadcasts and counselling materials to reach out to the women affected by the conflict.
64
Chapter Five Speaking Hope through TWR
TWR is a media ministry reaching beyond the limitations
of
geographic
boundaries,
religious
isolation,
repression,
or a
political person’s
disability to share the Gospel of Christ. Speaking fluently in more than 200 languages, TWR exists to reach the world for Jesus Christ.
TWR engages
hundreds of millions of people in 160 countries through more than 2,000 broadcasting outlets. Beginnings More than fifty years ago, TWR aired its first program from Tangier, Morocco, and soon after relocated to Monte Carlo, Monaco. The 100,000-watt shortwave transmitter in Monte Carlo was housed in a repurposed transmitter station built by Adolf Hitler during World War II to broadcast Nazi propaganda. Never used for its original purpose, TWR utilized the facility to transmit the Good News of Jesus Christ to 65
millions of listeners. Fast forward to March, 1973 and TWR Canada opens its first offices in London, Ontario. Now long-time missionary Ray Alary serves as TWR Canada President. Our Partners Together
with
international
partners,
local
churches, and ministries, TWR Canada supports broadcasts in various languages, unique ministry projects, and sends Canadian and national workers around the world. With its ministry partners, TWR is taking the Gospel to all corners of the globe. How Hope is Spoken TWR Canada leverages the best and most appropriate new technology to reach a world desperate for the hope of the Gospel. Through the Internet, solarpowered MP3 players, wind-up and solar-powered radios, shortwave, medium wave, FM and AM broadcasting, including a global network of 13 highpowered transmitter sites and over 2,000 radio stations, plus training materials, discipleship conferences and personal listener follow-up, TWR is reaching the world for Christ. 66
Why Still Use Radio? In developing countries radio is accessible to everyone, while the Internet requires a fee-based connection and a computer or mobile device, and print materials require distribution and basic literacy skills. Radio does not respect political borders and can reach people isolated by war, geography, physical disability, or social pressure. In Africa, 1 in 3 people own a radio. Even in our own culture, radio continues to be an important tool especially in emergency situations where information needs to reach people within a specific region quickly.
TWR Canada Projects: Project Hannah Project Hannah offers compassion, encouragement and hope to suffering women worldwide through prayer, awareness, mercy ministries, and radio programming. The Women of Hope broadcasts share practical advice and Biblical teaching, letting listeners know they are understood and loved—especially by
67
God. First aired in 1998, today the broadcasts are aired in more than 55 languages from hundreds of AM, FM and shortwave radio stations. TWR Canada produces, translates and airs Women of Hope in areas of Africa, the Middle East, and Canada. Rooted in prayer and fasting, Project Hannah has also become a global prayer movement, with more than 40,000 intercessors in over 120 countries praying the same prayer requests in over 60 languages. Ministry teams share God’s love in tangible ways by caring for those who are suffering through prison ministries, refugee assistance, care for AIDS patients and orphans, and much more. Africa TWR Canada actively ministers in Africa by sending skilled missionaries, funding broadcasts throughout
Africa,
building
and
maintaining
transmitters and stations, and providing leadership training resources. Cuba TWR has been delivering Christian programming to Cuba for over forty-five years. In 2009, TWR Canada had a ministry breakthrough with the start-up 68
of program production from a Havana studio. Producing Christian programs within Cuba was previously impossible. Persian-Speaking World TWR Canada funds and broadcasts a daily Christian radio program into Iran. Together with Voice of Christ Media Ministries, Words of Hope, and other organizations, TWR Canada broadcasts two hours daily on short wave radio, and 24/7 on satellite radio and the Internet. On www.PersianVoice.org people can read messages, books and tracts, listen to sermons and worship music. Listeners are encouraged to correspond with and speak to spiritual mentors. Quebec TWR Canada shares the transforming message of Jesus Christ in French with the people of Quebec through the Charles Price 30-minute weekly Living Truth or La Parole Vivante program on radio, television, and by Internet. China TWR Canada has several ministry initiatives aimed at Chinese people in Canada, China, and abroad. 69
In 2011, TWR established a new China ministry office in Toronto as a base for church leadership training for the Seminary On The Air (SOTA) program, short-term missions teams, and the web radio program Radio Organic
Live
broadcasting
in
Mandarin
and
Cantonese. Missionaries TWR Canada is engaging in a renewed emphasis to strategically place more Canadian missionaries around the world. Special Projects TWR Canada has engaged in several special projects, including funding the construction of two critically needed staff houses in Benin, West Africa, a conference centre in Central Asia, a production studio in Uruguay, and delivering media players into the Low German speaking communities in Bolivia.
What Others Say about TWR Billy Graham, Evangelist - Billy Graham Evangelistic Association 70
TWR's ministry is extremely significant in reaching the world for Christ. How thrilled I've been that TWR has been able to put a blanket of the Gospel in so many parts of the world that no one else could reach. And when we travel there, many people are ready to respond because they have already heard the Gospel over TWR.
Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder and President - JAF Ministries No one covers the globe with the Gospel quite like TWR, and I'm thrilled that our worldwide ministry to people with disabilities can be a part of TWR's outreach. My prayer is that TWR's signal stays loud and strong.
Woodrow Kroll, General Director - Back to the Bible TWR has been a pioneer in global broadcasting. When Back to the Bible expanded its broadcast internationally, we looked for a primary partner to take our Bible-teaching ministry to the world. For more than thirty-four years, TWR has been that partner. We thank God for TWR.
Charles Price, Senior Pastor - Living Truth Ministries and The People’s Church Trans Word Radio has specialized in taking the Gospel into the otherwise unreachable, sometimes neglected, and often forgotten regions of the world. I have been a beneficiary on the listening end of TWR many times, and it is also my privilege to broadcast 71
with them into parts of the world I could otherwise not touch. Thank God for their vision, stability, and the long arm of their reach.
Charles R. Swindoll, President - Insight for Living Today, the ministry of Insight for Living impacts the spiritual lives of millions of people around the globe. This is due in no small part to our more-than-twentyyear partnership with TWR. For that, we are deeply grateful. We intend to continue our relationship with TWR...for as long as the Lord tarries.
Luis Palau, Founder - Luis Palau Association TWR is a powerful partner in evangelism. I thank God for TWR.
Ways to Get Involved Pray Prayer is a significant part of TWR Canada’s ministry. Sign up for a monthly prayer guide featuring a different missionary, program, project, or need each month. Subscriptions to the Project Hannah monthly prayer calendar with daily items for prayer, and TWR 72
Canada’s ministry e-updates are also available. These informative prayer tools help you to pray more effectively. Serve There are many opportunities for individuals to serve with TWR as a volunteer, or in the mission field from four weeks to two years to full time. TWR is always seeking skilled professionals in the areas of engineering, journalism, broadcasting, administration, and other related disciplines. Give TWR Canada receives its funding from generous individuals, churches, and organizations who choose to sponsor a ministry project or a TWR missionary. TWR Canada receives no government funding. Get Connected Stay informed by signing up for TWR Canada’s weekly emails highlighting projects, missionaries, and new initiatives. Connect with TWR Canada on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and on the TWR Canada website (www.twrcanada.org)
for
updates and news that can be easily shared with friends 73
and family. People are also needed to coordinate local events and TWR presentations across Canada to help share the work of TWR.
If you would like to partner with TWR and become a global Gospel ambassador, like those featured in this book, helping to bring a lost and hurting world from doubt to decision to discipleship, please contact TWR Canada.
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TWR Canada Home Office Phone: (888) 672-6510 Email: info@ twrcanada.org Mailing Address: P.O. Box 25324, London, ON N6C 6B1
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