Wavelength - Spring 2016 by Words of Hope

Volume 5 | Number 2

WAVELENGTH

Spring 2016 | woh.org

In This Issue: • Harvest of Hope • Building the Church One Listener at a Time • New Sumbanese Broadcast

WORDS

HOPE OF

Good News. No Boundaries.

A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT It was late afternoon on the island

children. (The men were busy with the rice harvest.) It was a

of Sulawesi in Indonesia. We drove

special meeting of the local radio listener community, and we

out from the city into the countryside

were the guests of honor.

on a golden, sun-lit day, passing miles of green rice fields bordered by

I brought greetings to them, and shared a brief message

darker forests. At last we came to our

from the Bible. They sang Christian songs in their local

destination—a tiny, one-street village

language, and we prayed together. Afterwards they served

that stretched uphill at right angles to

us coffee and cookies, and we talked. The pastor of the little

the highway.

church was present. She shared how much she appreciated the listener community, as it offered a non-threatening way for

A little church building sat by the road. The houses of the village were makeshift, many of them perched on stilts, with

people to hear the gospel for the first time, while also offering discipleship opportunities for more mature believers.

fences of sticks surrounding dirt yards holding chickens, dogs, and pigs. The majority of families in the village were

As I left I found myself thinking, “I have so much in

Christians, resettled there after being driven from their homes

comparison with these brothers and sisters. Why should I have

by persecution. We drove to the top of the street and entered

it so good?” But I was thankful, too, that at least in a small

the last house on the right, climbing a set of stairs into the

way, I could give something back, in Jesus’ name.

combination living, dining, and family bedroom. Inside we found twenty or so people waiting for us, mostly women and

WAVELENGTH Volume 5 | Number 2 WAVELENGTH is published quarterly by Words of Hope to raise awareness of the work being done around the world by our ministry partners.

facebook.com/wordsofhope

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NEWS BRIEFS PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH UPDATE As you may know, Words of Hope’s President David Bast has announced his intention to retire in January of 2017. The Words of Hope board has formed a search committee to seek the next president for the organization. This search team has been advancing its work actively over the past number of months. Initial networking efforts led to a list of 23 people who were contacted and invited to apply. In addition to networking, the position opening was posted in a variety of denominational and national publications. Please pray for the process, the search team, and the candidates. Specifically, ask the Lord to grant a clarity of calling that will be obvious to the individual leader, the search team, and all involved.

CHALLENGES IN TURKEY Words of Hope’s partner radio station in Turkey has been facing many challenges in the last few months. Special intelligence in the country received information about an impending ISIS threat to the station. Thankfully, the prime minister of Turkey has deployed police officers to secure their building and do all they can to make sure that those who work there stay safe. Radio workers have been instructed not to permit strangers into their building, to check their cars for suspicious objects before getting inside, and to avoid crowded areas.

Churches in the region are facing similar dangers. One church near our partner’s studio has had as many as 50 police officers standing guard on Sunday mornings. Worshippers may only enter the building after they have been searched by the police and determined to be non-threatening. Out of fear, some believers are no longer attending church. One Christian radio producer has even quit her job. And yet, we remain thankful for the ways in which the authorities have been offering protection during this perilous time for our ministry partners. Please continue with us in prayer for the safety and efficacy of our Turkish radio broadcasts.

PRAY FOR IRAN Over the past year, persecution of Christians in Iran has intensified. Many Christians we know of within the country have been threatened, tortured, detained, or imprisoned. Radio continues to be a touchpoint through which many fearful individuals still connect with messages of faith. Due to the sensitive nature of the information regarding these persecuted individuals, we cannot publish their names or the details of their situations. But in the midst of this difficult time, our Iranian director shares the following words of encouragement: “Thank you for continuing to pray for our brothers and sisters experiencing persecution, even when we cannot share specifics. Praise God that the persecution has not deterred yet others from becoming followers of Jesus. Thank you for praying!”

Nasir-Ol-Molk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran

WAVELENGTH • Spring 2016 | 3

of For farmers in Indonesia, the gift of one small radio can make all the difference. An Interesting Crop Early in the morning, before the heat of the day fully sets in, Paku makes his way to the rubber farm. The trees on the plantation stand in even rows, their leafy branches filtering the sunlight and providing shade for Paku as he works below. Paku lives on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. He is a rubber farmer, and every day he goes to the field to tap the rubber trees and collect the latex excreted from their bark. This latex is then processed and sold at market to be made into tires and other products. As he kneels beside the first slender trunk, Paku inspects the series of parallel lines etched into the wood. Then he reaches below the lines to retrieve a coconut shell tied to the tree. It is full of thick, white, latex sap, which he pours carefully into a larger bucket. Next, he creates a new incision in the bark of the tree, just below the cut from a few days before. He pounds a metal spout

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into the tree at the bottom of the lines, replaces the coconut shell bowl, and moves on to the next tree. Behind him, the gooey latex seeps slowly out of the bark and drains into its container. It will be ready to collect again in about four hours. Forty-one-year-old farmer Paku is married with two sons. His wedding ceremony took place inside a church building, and on that day, the local pastor gave him and his wife a Bible, challenging them to read it together. But that was eight years ago, and Paku has not set foot in a church or touched a Bible since his wedding day. Paku’s wife, Ati, regularly reminds him to return to church, but he never listens. “He is a hard-hearted man,” she says.

Radio Listener Community One day, seeking Christian encouragement, Ati joins a listener community in their village. Led by the same local pastor

who performed their wedding ceremony years ago, this listener community is a place where believers and seekers gather together to listen to Christian radio programs and discuss the content.

Listeners gather to discuss the recent program.

The programs Ati hears are Batak Toba messages from Words of Hope in partnership with Back to God Ministries International. Listening to people talk about Jesus in her own native language on the radio fills Ati with hope, and she starts attending the group regularly. After several meetings, the pastor gives Ati a small radio to bring home with her so she can listen to the programs more often.

Returning from the listener community, she shows Paku her new radio. Always quick-tempered, Paku snaps at his wife, assuming the worst. “Where did you steal this radio from?” he accuses her. Ati begins to cry, hugging the radio to her chest. “I was given the radio by the pastor,” she says. “He has given every member of the community a radio so that we can all listen to the Christian messages.”

Beginnings of Change Softening slightly, Paku agrees that Ati can keep the radio. But as he trudges to work every morning, he often grumbles to himself. “Every day my wife listens to the radio, from morning to evening,” he complains. “She always listens to sermons and spiritual songs. Sometimes it makes me sick.” At least on the farm with the trees he can get away from the holy chatter his wife seems to love so much. After many months of constantly enduring radio programs at home, Paku is surprised to find himself slowly becoming more open to the things he hears. At first, he only listens to Batak Toba folk songs on the radio. But gradually, to his wife’s delight, he starts to enjoy the Christian songs as well. Time passes for Paku and Ati, and Ati begins to notice changes in Paku’s behavior.

He is kinder, quicker to listen, slower to accuse. One day, Paku listens to a Words of Hope message with his wife, and admits to her that he is curious to learn more.

“I feel something missing if I don’t listen to sermons for a day!” So begins a daily ritual for them of listening to the radio programs and discussing them together. “Now,” he says, “I feel something is missing if I don’t listen to sermons for a day!”

A Full Harvest Many more months go by, and Paku and Ati finally return to the church they were married in to attend a Sunday service as husband and wife. So much has changed in Paku’s life since his wife brought the little radio home. “I am grateful to my wife, my pastor, my community, and of course to the Lord, for his blessings through this small radio,” says Paku. And these days, as Paku makes his way to the rubber farm in the early mornings, he carries the small radio with him so he won’t miss any of the messages. As he stoops to pour white latex into his bucket, he pauses, and turns the volume up just a little bit higher.

DID YOU

K N OW ?

ff There are two different types of rubber: natural and synthetic. Natural rubber is made from the latex found in trees. Synthetic rubber is produced in labs. ff 25 million tons of rubber are manufactured worldwide each year, 42% is derived naturally. ff The country of Indonesia is the second highest rubber exporter, following Thailand. ff The latex produced by rubber trees is white. The black in rubber tires comes from the carbon black that is added as a reinforcing filler. ff Latex is typically tapped from trees, but it can be found in as many as 20,000 different plant species, including milkweed.

A listener community poses for a photo.

ff One latex farmer typically taps between 450 and 650 rubber trees in one day. WAVELENGTH • Spring 2016 | 5

Listener Communities

BUILDING THE CHURCH

...one listener at a time LISTENER COMMUNITIES Words of Hope’s Indonesian ministry partner, YKB, developed the concept of listener communities. Leaders for these communities are chosen from within the local Christian population. They are trained as leaders to facilitate local group discussions and teachings based on the Words of Hope radio programs broadcast in the area. This personal followup method of meeting and discussing together is designed to foster church plants in the various remote areas where the listener communities gather. There are currently 286 distinct listener communities meeting together regularly in the country of Indonesia!

pit .r A M

FINDING A HOME Mr. Apit was banished from his home village shortly after becoming a believer. He fled to the village of Cijankar, where he knew that some other Christians were living. Mr. Apit now uses his new home in Cijankar to host a radio listener community for others like himself who are seeking truth and encouragement. “Pray for us that our faith will be strong,” says Mr. Apit.

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GATHERING TOGETHER Members of the listener community file into Mr. Apit’s small home. They hold banana leaves over their heads like umbrellas to ward off the rain. Mr. Apit graciously serves food to his guests—steamed rice, curried vegetables, and eggs. Everyone eats with their right hand as a sign of respect.

LEARNING AND DISCUSSION After the meal, members of the listener community lift their voices in songs of praise to Jesus. The words of the well-known hymn, “How Great Thou Art,” become personal as the people sing in their own language: “Snugguh Besar Kau Allahku.” Discussion of the week’s radio programs comes next. This sort of gathering allows for one-on-one discipleship, while also providing a welcoming space for current unbelievers to voice questions and be embraced by a local Christian community.

CONNECTING BELIEVERS Mr. Apit has helped to connect many individuals to the local listener community. One of these radio listeners is Ms. Dedeh. Ms. Dedeh was also excommunicated by her family on account of her faith, and her home was actually burned down by members of her village. But since fleeing to Mr. Apit’s village of Cijankar, she has been cared for. While she is still looking for reliable work, fellow Christians have provided her with a small home, and she attends the radio listener community regularly. “The Lord saved me,” says Ms. Dedeh, “and I am happy because God gives me strength.”

deh Ms. De

WAVELENGTH • Spring 2016 | 7

NEW SUMBANESE BROADCASTS The population of Indonesia is 80% Muslim and 16% Christian, but the religious climate varies greatly from one island to the next, with some strong pockets of Christianity and others of Hinduism and Animism. Words of Hope currently produces broadcasts in 11 different tribal languages in Indonesia. Words of Hope’s newest Indonesian tribal broadcast goes out to people living on the small island of Sumba, population of 700,000. Many Sumbanese people still follow their ancestral religion, and those that are Christian have mingled their new beliefs with their old. Words of Hope Broadcasts will help to educate Sumbanese Christians in the essentials of the Christian faith, while also attempting to draw new believers to Christ.

Megaliths on the island of Sumba. Photo credit: Asian Development Bank

A Sumbanese woman weaves an ikat rug.

Photo credit: WHL Travel

The Sumbanese are one of the few remaining cultures in the world that construct megalithic burial sites for their dead. They drag enormous stone blocks over many miles, using them to build giant above-ground tombs. Many animals are sacrificed during Sumbanese funerals to demonstrate the departed’s prestige and to accompany the individual into the afterlife. Families often bankrupt themselves in order to show sufficient honor to their dead. Sumbanese people are also known for their gorgeous textile weavings, known as ikat. Ikat weaving involves binding sections of thread before applying dye, then removing the binding to reveal patterns of dyed and undyed thread. This technique is repeated many times before the thread is eventually woven into fabric and the final pattern is revealed.

Words of Hope broadcasts in 11 tribal languages in Indonesia ACEHNESE • BALINESE • BATAK TOBA • DAYAK NGAJU • JAVANESE • MINANGESE • NIAS • SUMBANESE • SUNDANESE • TOLAKIAN • TORAJAN