Greetings!
It's easy to forget how much people rely on radio in the Islands. TV and books are rare, and often there is no newspaper. Many times radio is the only way people get information.
Here are some recent stories that remind me of just how powerful radio is for the Lord's work in the South Pacific.
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Solomon Islands Gud Nius Redio FM88.3 |
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I (Graham) was in Honiara recently. I was told about a work team from Solomons Telekom that went to a small island to install a new tower. They climbed the local hill (about 100 metres) with their equipment and were surprised to find a leaf hut at the top. (Leaf huts are usually built on village plantations to shelter workers from sun and rain. But there was no plantation on top of the hill.) Soon, a group of boys came climbing the hill with a portable cassette recorder. They told the Telekom workers that the top of the hill was the only place to hear Gud Nius Redio from far away Honiara. So the villagers send them up the hill to record the programs, and then they re-play them down in the village at night.
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Papua New Guinea Laif 92FM
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Tony Dua (Station Manager) emailed . . . "Wewak
is not much like of a town but some people often travell here from Port
Moesby or Lae for business or personal trips and to their surprise they
listen to Laif FM while driving or staying at their hotels, They are
often amazed by the style of programs that suits them as well as the
music. Some people they buy those blank tapes and record all the
programs for laif FM and take it back to where they came from so others
can also listen too. . . There
was another pastor told me some youths came all the way from Rabaul and
stayed with hime and recorded all our daily programs and took it back
home. apart from all this, I hear there are many young people who do
that too..."
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Kingdom of Tonga Letio Faka-Kalisitiane 93FM |
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Willy Florian (Station Manager) emailed . . . "A
mother with cancer, struggling to survive, giving up hope and the fear
of death within her, tune in to our Radio. The message that the radio
host was sharing is Jesus raising Lazarus from John chapter 11. The
Lady grap the phone and call us and begun praising God on-air,with
tears from her eyes, saying that if God is 4 day late He is still in
time. She comes to really know Jesus as her Lord that day. PRAISE GOD
FOR CHRISTIAN RADIO IN THE ISLAND"
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And here is one of my personal favorite radio stories from the Islands |
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A young woman phoned to make a music dedication. Our host put her on air and asked a question. She said, "Just a moment. . ." and went away from the phone, leaving our host to wonder - is she coming back? And what should he say to the
listeners to cover the unexpected gap on-air? After a few moments she did come back. Our host asked "Where did you go in the middle of talking to our listeners?" The caller answered, "I had to ask my family the answer to your question." "Isn't your family there with you?"
our host asked, to which the caller replied "We have no radio in the
house so the family is sitting outside, listening to your program in
the car!"
[ read more testimonies ]
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