The Global Village

Radio Luz in Guatemala Soon To Have FM

2011-12-26T17:03:00.000-08:00

Radio Luz 840AM 2.5KW in San Pedro Carchá, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala will soon duplicate its AM programming on its new FM frequency 107.5 mHz.

Its new FM transmitter is a donation of Missionary Broadcasting, Inc., Mobile, AL. The station's circularly-polarized FM antenna will sit atop the station's current AM tower, located on a high mountain north of San Pedro Carchá.

Volunteer communications engineer Joe Christian of Eldorado, Texas (south of San Angelo) will install the transmitter. Radio Luz, owned by the K'ekchi' Baptist Association, has new studios at the Siloé Baptist Church in SPC. A Studio to Transmitter Link (STL) carries the signal from the studio to the transmitter site.

The manager is Agustín Yaxcal, and his assistant is Mario Caz Yaxcal. The AM station went on the air in 2003 and has a large and loyal audience.

RK2 Radio in Paramaribo, Suriname to be Launched in Mid-January, 2012

RK2 Radio, a 500-watt FM station at 90.9 mHz will be launched in mid-January, thanks to the untiring efforts of the PUAS Baptist Church and volunteers John Holland, Robert Warren and Gregg Stirm of Mobile, AL.

The target audience are the 80,000 Suriname-Javanese, most of whom are Muslim. Local volunteers already have prepared many of the programming materials, such as messages and music. The church converted an ugly used 20-foot-long shipping container into a beautiful and functional control room and studio, however small. It is located on the church campus.

The transmitter/tower site is in Commaweijne, about eight miles away. The church had intended to launch the station in late November, but had to postpone going on the air until electricity had been installed at Commaweijne. The American volunteers will return in early January to fine-tune the STL transmission and make adjustments to the antenna atop the station's 100-foot self-standing tower.

Heading up the station are the Pastor Suryanto Tasman and his wife, Esther.

New Low-power transmitter Performing Well in Tocoa, Honduras

Estereo Bethel 97.7 FM in Tocoa, Honduras recently installed a low-power FM transmitter made by Radio Free Berkeley, and now the station's signal has a radius of about 10 miles. The studio/transmitter/tower site is in Taujica, about 7 miles from Tocoa. Listeners in Tocoa are pleased with the strength of the signal and the station's Christian programming. Marcos Ferrufino is the manager.

2009-11-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

MBI Seeks Volunteers and
Funding To Build Church Buildings

MBI Director David Daniell will consult with a group of Baptist pastors in Belton, Texas Nov. 20 about the possibility of a partnership to build new Baptist church buildings in Tabasco in southeast Mexico.

La Iglesia Bautista Cristo es la Respuesta (Christ is the Answer Baptist Church) in Comalcalco is being forced to vacate its current meeting place at the end of 2009. It has leased this building for the past several years—and is now looking to purchase a piece of property on which to build.

The church was organized in the late 90’s after Pastor Eleazar Leyva began promoting home Bible study groups on his weekly radio program, “Christ is the Answer.” Comalcalco has a population of 180,000.

It has an average attendance of 125. Children and adults worship together and then break up into age-graded classes.

Forrest Daniell & Associates of Daphne, AL is designing the new worship center pro-bono. Missionary Broadcasting is recruiting US churches to partner with Mexican Baptists in its construction. It is designed to accommodate 300 worshipers.

Meanwhile, in the ranchito (small rural town) of Francisco I. Madero, Tabasco, the Misión Bautista El Vid Verdadero (The True Vine Baptist Mission) is seeking a partnership to roof its worship center. The lay pastor-missionary, José del Carmen, was the contractor of the Radio Reflexión construction project. About $2,200 dollars is needed to purchase trusses and laminated metal roofing. US volunteers are being recruited to work side by side with Mexican brethren on this project.

FM Station in Honduras Seeks to
“Beef Up” Its Signal and Coverage Area

Computer equipment and new programming materials have been shipped recently to Stereo Bethel, 97.7 FM in Tocoa, Honduras.

The computers and new audio equipment will help the station inaugurate automation and permit the station to produce new local spots and programs while it is on automation.

A new coaxial cable—connecting the control room and transmitter to the antenna atop the 140-foot tower—and a new linear amplifier will help boost the signal and coverage area.

Marco Ferrufino is the manager. “Listeners are thrilled with the programming,” says Ferrufino.

Radio K’ekchi’ FM in Guatemala Seeks
To Repair Short-Wave Transmitter

Volunteer Engineers Vernon Ayre and Adair Park will travel to Guatemala in early 2010 to repair Radio K’ekchi’s short-wave transmitter to expand its coverage to remote villages.

The short-wave station was launched in March of 1988. In 1995, it began transmitting also on the FM dial with 500 watts and with only limited local coverage.

“Attempts to repair the SW transmitter have met with disappointing results, and of course, everyone is very frustrated,” says MBI’s David Daniell.

Technical Difficulties Force Radio Buenas Nuevas
in Guatemala Off the Air for Two Months

Radio Buenas Nuevas (Good News Radio) that ministers to the Quiché near the tourist city of Chichicastenango has been off the air for two months due to a faulty transmitter.

The manager, Juan Conoz, is shipping the aged FM exciter to the United States for repair. Volunteer engineers will determine whether it’s more cost-effective to purchase a new one than to repair this unit.

The station evangelizes and disciples listeners and sponsors literacy classes and workshops for Quiché women to upgrade their skills in making clothing articles for tourists who visit Chichicastenango.

Late Season Hurricane in SE Mexico
Leaves Thousands Homeless

Christian station Radio Reflexión 89.7 FM in Tecolutilla, Tabasco is mobilizing relief efforts and offering words of encouragement to the thousands left homeless this week by Hurricane Ida in southeast Mexico.

The cities most affected by the storm were Cárdenas, Huimanguillo and Paraíso. Homes were flooded and 79,000 persons are seeking shelter in relief centers. Some have chosen to remain in their flooded homes to protect what possessions still are salvageable. Some small towns are completely cut off by the flood waters. Trapped residents are butchering their farm animals for food

Radio Reflexión has established three collection centers in Villahermosa, Cárdenas and Comalcalco. Food, water and clothing is being sought for the refugees.

“Please pray for us as well as the churches and pastors who are mobilizing help—and for Radio Reflexión as we offer words of comfort and hope to our listeners,” said Eleazar Leyva, director of the station and president of the Fraternity of Baptist Churches in Tabasco.

Donations should be mailed to Missionary Broadcasting, Inc. 7401 Wesley Ct., Mobile, AL 36695. Checks should be made out to Missionary Broadcasting, Inc. or MBI. All funds will be channeled immediately to Brother Leyva.

2008-11-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

Baptists in Mexico and Central America use a variety of methods and ministries: personal evangelism and discipleship, home Bible studies, cell groups, mass evangelism, mass media as well as inexpensive tactical media, Christian education, student work, Christian literature and book stores, appropriate agriculture, water well drilling, medicine and other forms of social work and theological education.
Radio broadcasting is seen as one of several powerful tools to evangelize and educate. Its strengths lie in inspiring and educating, reinforcing and amplifying existing personal moral values, projecting a pleasing public image of Baptist Christians, promoting events and moving the listener to higher levels of communication such as personal visits, group dynamics or personal study guides.
MBI believes much can be accomplished by combining the resources of locally-owned and operated Baptist radio stations with those of local Christians and volunteers from the United States when indigenousness and local initiative are respected.
The effectiveness of Baptist-owned and operated radio stations is enhanced when their programming promotes and participates in community service, social work projects, puppet shows, music concerts and other ministries that authenticate the proclamation of the Gospel. The use of national and North American Christian volunteers can facilitate the execution of these projects.
MBI provides quality radio programming materials in Spanish--such as spots, Bible dramas, contemporary Christian radio drama, lay training and discipleship programs-- to Baptist radio stations in Central America.
MBI also recruits volunteer broadcast engineers, construction workers, educators, lawyers, computer graphic artists, musicians and others to collaborate with Baptist radio stations in Mexico and Central America in short-term mission projects.
Most of the 20 locally-owned and operated Baptist radio stations in Middle America minister to indigenous people groups in their own languages—such as the K'ekchi', Quiché, Cakchiquel, and Tzutujil—all in Guatemala—and the Miskito and Garífuna en Honduras. Only seven broadcast exclusively in Spanish.
In Guatemala, several of the Baptist radio stations have formed the Association of Indigenous Baptist Community Radio Stations. Representatives of these stations meet monthly to discuss matters pertaining to programming, management, engineering and legal needs.