Haiti

Father, it’s been a long time. We’ve prayed for years for engineers, technicians, and radio and TV program producers. We praise You for the wonderful staff of Haitians You have given Radio Lumière over the years. We also pray that You will send talented missionaries and volunteers to assist and train them. Amen.

Paul Shingledecker, Retiree, Haiti

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SPECIFIC NEEDS

Volunteer

Missionary

Radio Lumière Network

 

 

Engineer Technician

Program Designer/Trainer

Program Producer/Announcer

Student Engineering Volunteers

Student Volunteers for Stereo 92

Television Program Designer/Producer

Radio Lumière: Mouthpiece of the Gospel

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By Pastor Varnel Jeune, Director of Radio Lumière

In the family of God, I see the role of Radio Lumière (French for light) as a mouthpiece that spreads the message of truth across the nation of Haiti. We rejoice especially in the increased number of unsaved who actually came to the station to give their lives to Christ, among whom were several young prostitutes, thieves, and even murderers.

Recently I was visited by Jean Alexis, the pastor of a large church in Florida. Pastor Alexis was a former voodoo priest. He wanted to use his magic to kill a Christian sister who lived near his home. Her radio was always on as she listened to Radio Lumière. Jean Alexis—and everyone within hearing range—was constantly exposed to the messages, songs, and Bible studies. He was furious that business was so bad because of Radio Lumière. Then one day he overheard a message that said, “Satan has no power over the children of God.” He realized he would never be able to destroy the sister and immediately gave his life to the Savior.

A few weeks ago, a young man came to the station to give his testimony. He used to be part of a gang in Port-au-Prince whose express goal was to kill every policeman they met. Then one day this young man took three shots to his right leg, requiring amputation. While lying in a hospital bed, he heard the message of salvation on his roommate’s radio that was tuned to Radio Lumière. He gave his life to the Savior, and he is now the choir director in a church in Port-au-Prince.

This has been happening all year with many testimonies of people with wicked lives that have been completely changed by the message of salvation, pardon, and hope from Radio Lumière. Please pray for the ministry of Radio Lumière and support it so that this light, planted in 1959, will continue to burn brighter, farther, and stronger during these troubled times in Haiti.

GIVE: Radio Lumière needs your help to stay on the air. You can give to this ministry online atwww.wgm.org/radiolumiere.

GO: Radio Lumière is now fully staffed by Haitians, but volunteers are needed to serve on a short-term basis. Visit www.wgm.org/go for a list of available ministry opportunities.

To France, Russia, Australia, and Beyond

An excerpt from...

To France, Russia, Australia, and Beyond

By Paul Shingledecker, Retiree, Haiti
July-September 2014


If you had asked me 15 years ago what audience Radio Lumière was trying to reach, I would have told you, “The Radio Lumière Network covers 90 percent of the island of Haiti with Christian broadcasting.”

That was before we got on the Internet. For years it was just a dream to “stream” our network signal so Haitians in the U.S. could hear it too. It was a dream because we didn’t have either the equipment or an adequate Internet connection to make it happen. Still the dream was there—a creative dream to reach more people for Christ.

One day the chief engineer, a Haitian, decided it was time to try it with what we had. Sure enough, it didn’t sound too bad. We had lots of drop outs and buffering, but we put it on our website and people started listening. From those humble beginnings, we now have a much more robust signal and listeners all over the world. At any moment, 500 to 2,000 people are listening 24/7. We’ve logged listeners from as far away as Australia, Africa, and even Russia. Here’s a note from director Varnel Jeune’s recent newsletter:

“I received an email this week from a small group of brothers and sisters, Haitians, living in Moscow, Russia. They spoke of the fact that religious liberty is very limited there. They say they meet every Sunday semi-secretly in a basement. There they listen by way of the Internet to the worship services broadcast by Radio Lumière and this becomes their church! 

“One day the staff came to me and said they wanted to stream our signal over the telephone. I thought, ‘Who would want to listen to radio on the telephone, what with the poor audio quality and all?’ But a little company, Audio Now, in Washington, D.C., streams stations like ours to anyone who wants to call in. To my surprise, it caught on. Recent statistics show 1,541 calls in the U.S., 71 in France, and two in the Dominican Republic! The average listening time is over 30 minutes per call. Another 1,600 people around the world heard the gospel in Haitian Creole!”

ACT: Go to www.radiolumiere.org and click on Listen or call 712.432.6363.

MORE: Radio Lumière has an Android app. Look for it in Play Store under Radio Lumière.

Radio Lumiere

An excerpt from...

Radio Lumiere

Partnerships for Christian radio
By Paul Shingledecker, Haiti
January-March 2014

One of the all-time challenges in missions is to nationalize the ministries we start. How do we not only get people saved and churches planted, but also ensure that these churches grow and reproduce?

One important tool in nationalization is partnerships. My wife, Pat, and I went to Haiti in 1980. World Gospel Mission was planting churches and evangelizing the Central Plateau. Our job was to support that ministry with radio broadcasting on Radio Lumière. A number of years later, all of the ministries were turned over to the national pastors and the missionaries began to leave. The nationals were capable and ready to go on their own.

But what about Radio Lumière? By then it was a network of nine radio stations, four mountaintop relays, and five regional studios. Not only was it highly technical, but it also cost a lot to operate. The national pastors valued it and wanted it, but they didn’t have the resources to keep it going.

Enter partnerships. WGM, World Team, and several others have continued to partner with the national church and Radio Lumière to keep it on the air. Pat and I didn’t leave Haiti when the other missionaries did. For another 16 years, we worked alongside our Haitian counterparts, partnering to continue to build and develop the radio ministry. We trained Haitians so they could take over.

Today Radio Lumière is owned by the Haitian national churches and entirely in their hands. They are totally responsible for the operation of this vital ministry to the Haitian people. Does this mean the partnership is over? No, there are still areas where they need our help.

1. Technicians: WGM still partners with Radio Lumière by sending missionary technicians and short-term volunteers to help fix and maintain equipment. Contact recruiting@wgm.org if you are interested in finding out more about partnering in this way.
2. Prayer: The ministry of Radio Lumière depends on prayer. Pray for the staff and their families. Pray for their safety and for wisdom and anointing as they work. Pray, too, for the installations—the transmitters, the generators, and all the other equipment—that they will function properly and not be damaged and that God will protect from vandals.
3. Finances: Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and the Radio Lumière budget is nearly $500,000 a year. You can help keep Radio Lumière on the air with a donation. You can give online at www.wgm.org/radiolumiere.

What is a partnership? It’s coming alongside our national brothers and sisters, working together for the kingdom’s sake.

ACT: Can you partner with Radio Lumière? Take time this month to follow up on one of the ways Radio Lumière still needs partners.

God Works Miracles with Radio Equipment

Do You Believe…That God Works Miracles with Radio Equipment?
By Leon Amstutz, Volunteer Consulting Engineer
October–December 2011

I’ve been helping Radio Lumière in Haiti for over 30 years with various engineering projects. I was in Haiti in January 2010 when the massive earthquake struck. I was thrilled to go back in April 2011, but I sensed I was on the front lines of a great spiritual battlefield. We struggled with broken-down vehicles, lack of parts, missing documentation—more obstacles than I had ever faced before.

Signal coverage had been irregular since the earthquake. As I worked to diagnose and repair the two main transmitting antennas, I found many serious problems with the antennas, connectors, and transmission lines. My goal was to replace all the jumper lines with new cable and coaxial connectors. (For you non-radio engineers, these connectors attach the cable that carries the radio signal from the transmitter in the transmitter room to the antenna up on the tower.) In the process, we installed five new connectors, but we couldn’t find the last one needed to finish the project. We had begun with six, but the sixth was nowhere to be found. We hunted everywhere. It looked as if I wasn’t going to be able to complete this very crucial project.

On Wednesday, I asked the Radio Lumière staff to pray.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I hurried to the Radio Lumière staff—who had gathered once more to pray—and told them about finding the two connectors. They immediately praised God for this answer to prayer. Does God answer prayer in ways we can’t explain in natural terms? I must testify yes!

Please keep the Radio Lumière technical staff in your prayers as they fight these battles every day. The enemy knows the importance of the radio and fights it ferociously. But our God is more powerful!