voice magazine autumn 2015

8
voice life-giving media Autumn 2015 Feba UK’s Magazine www.feba.org.uk YEMEN Extraordinary story from Yemen p3 TIBET Reaching out to all Tibetans p4 AFRICA Technical expertise in demand p6 IRAQ New partner, new project p7 Life-giving media Lasting transformation

Upload: feba-uk

Post on 23-Jul-2016

224 views

Category:

Documents


1 download

DESCRIPTION

Feba's quarterly magazine. Autumn 2015 edition.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: voice magazine autumn  2015

voicelife-giving media

Autumn 2015Feba UK’s Magazine

www.feba.org.uk

YEMEN

Extraordinary story from Yemen p3

TIBET

Reaching out to all Tibetans p4

AFRICA

Technical expertise in demand p6

IRAQ

New partner, new project p7

Life-giving mediaLasting transformation

Page 2: voice magazine autumn  2015

2 voice magazine | Autumn 2015

Keep in touch

[email protected]

@Feba_UKFebaUK

Ivy Arch Road,Worthing, West Sussex,BN14 8BX, UK+44 (0)1903 237281

Feba Radio: A registered charity no. 257343. A non-profi t making company limited by guarantee no. 940492.Registered in England, Registered offi ce Ivy Arch Road, Worthing

Welcome

You’ve probably noticed this edition of voice has less pages than usual. We are making two changes to voice.

Firstly - the next edition will be A5 size, that’s the same size as the prayer diary. This will save us money on postage, so more of the money you give can go to the fi eld. Look out for our new format in October. Secondly - we’re changing the dates we send voice out - it will now be sent in October, January, April and July. (It used to be November, February, May and August) So this edition of voice, and its prayer diary is only for two months: September and October.

For our partners the world changes in many diff erent ways. They operate in extremely challenging situations – in communities traumatised by historical violence, in the aftermath of natural disasters, even in war zones. They may have to adapt the way they go about their ministry, but their purpose doesn’t change and God doesn’t change either. Afno FM is playing its part as Nepal gradually recovers after the earthquakes. Muslim-background listeners are encountering Jesus through the Yemen Project during a time of civil war.

Of course, this transformation isn’t always instant. God often seems to work through our partners’ faithful service over a period of years, just as he has with the Tibetan people group, for example.

We are living through changing times, holding true to our vision and purpose, and trusting in a faithful God. Thank you for supporting us and our partners as we try to play our part in God’s transforming work.

Tim Hollingdale, Support Development Director

In this issue...

All the latest...

Yemen

Tibet

North East Africa

Iraq

3

4

6

7

For all the latest news from Feba UK and our partners, visit our blog (www.feba.org.uk/blog) or fi nd us on Facebook and Twitter.

*Names changed throughout for security reasons

Page 3: voice magazine autumn  2015

Feba UK 3

Yemen

Thankful to be aliveThe conflict in Yemen has deepened the crisis in the country, but God is still at work there, as an extraordinary story from the Yemen Project illustrates …

*ADIL is a Yemeni based in Europe who answers calls and messages from listeners to our partner’s station. Shortly after the coalition bombing began in Yemen, Adil started to receive messages from *Hassan, a new listener. Hassan explained he had started listening to the station after a narrow escape:

‘A few nights ago, I had a dream. A man in white appeared. I liked him and really wanted to listen to what he had to stay. He told me to leave the place where I was, because I was in danger. I trusted him and when I woke up, I left the house. Shortly after, the place where I slept was hit by a Saudi bomb and destroyed.

‘If I had stayed, there would have been no chance of survival. I was disturbed but so thankful to be alive. I decided to start listening to your radio

More news from the Yemen Project

• Live shows: Our partner started a weekly live programme with user phone-in, last year. These shows are proving popular with people living in-country. Shortly after the con�ict started, our partner expanded this programme to three live shows a week. This gives listeners opportunities to share their faith and their reactions to the developing situation.

• Helping local believers: Despite the current con�ict, the Yemen Project is continuing to produce material to reach and encourage persecuted believers and to address topical issues from a biblical perspective.

• Airtime and production: Earlier this year, our partner reduced airtime from 90 to 60 minutes each day, to refocus available funds on increasing programme production using locally sourced content, and to expand the diversity of accents on air.

station which spoke about living a different way.’

Later, he contacted Adil again: ‘I had another dream about the man. He said he is Jesus. I want to know more about who Jesus is.’

A few weeks ago, Hassan decided to follow Jesus. Please pray for him. It is no easy decision to follow Jesus if you have grown up in Yemen. Pray that he will be wise and courageous and that God will protect him.

Page 4: voice magazine autumn  2015

4 voice magazine | Autumn 2015

Tibet

Impact closer to homeGaweylon broadcasts to Tibetans across India, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. But they don’t only reach listeners from a distance...

THERE is a huge Tibetan diaspora community in northern India, and it is here that Gaweylon, our partner, has its base. With their studio established in a predominantly Tibetan area, the staff team are embedded amongst their listeners. In fact, the local community forms a significant part of the station’s audience. So, although the station’s shortwave broadcasts make it possible to reach Tibetan-speakers many miles away, Gaweylon has a profound impact on its own, local community.

Gaweylon’s community involvement includes offering work experience to school-leavers and young students. The training and experience in media gained by the volunteers make it easier for them to find paid employment afterwards, and the placement exposes them to Tibetan culture, fostering a

sense of integration between Indians and Tibetans.

What’s more, Gaweylon draws in locally-based Tibetans as members of staff. Although many of these staff members are not yet Christians, they are in sympathy with the station’s aims and help with educational and health-focused programming. Most encouragingly of all, Gaweylon’s non-Christian team members even see the station’s evangelistic emphasis as something good and valuable. One such member of staff comments: ‘It’s so good to work for an organisation who love to share the good news with Tibetans who don’t know Jesus yet.’

Gaweylon certainly reaches numerous people over huge distances, but the team’s impact is just as profound, closer to home. In the team’s

willingness to serve their community and invest in local people, they are quietly bringing godly change to their corner of northern India.

Gaweylon celebrates its 25th anniversary in November. This is a huge milestone and illustrates the enduring impact of Gaweylon’s work and the faithful service of Anil and his team. Please join us in prayer, giving thanks for the team’s long-term commitment and for the countless lives God has touched through them. Pray also that more listeners will �nd life in its fullness through Gaweylon in the next 25 years!

Page 5: voice magazine autumn  2015

Feba UK 5

ZIMBABWEAfter a great deal of hard work, the studio at Karanda Mission Hospital is now complete and the necessary technical equipment has been installed. Last month Feba Zimbabwe trained the Karanda Chaplaincy Team to provide programme content, ahead of the station going on air later this year. Karanda also has a promising lead for a potential station manager.

NORTHERN PAKISTANFeba’s partner is engaging with an increasing number of people from a particular language group in northern Pakistan, following the appointment of a new follow-up worker. The medium wave broadcasts have been highly eff ective in attracting new listeners, so the new worker is a real answer to prayer, enabling in-depth conversations with listeners, sharing biblical truths in their mother tongue.

EASTERN DRCFeba UK is working alongside local contacts in North Kivu, DRC, to conduct a feasibility study into a potential new community-centred radio station. If the station goes ahead, the plan is to provide education, entertainment and Christian content, addressing the needs of local communities in an area extremely damaged by violence in recent years.

NEPALFollowing April’s earthquakes, the situation in Nepal remains very challenging, and the recent monsoon and landslides have made matters even worse. But Afno FM is working tirelessly to help rebuild communities and individual lives. The people of Okhaldhunga have returned the favour, providing materials for a temporary structure to replace Afno FM’s damaged studio.

News in brief

Page 6: voice magazine autumn  2015

6 voice magazine | Autumn 2015

North East Africa

Wired for soundFeba’s technical expertise is making a difference

AFTER prolonged planning and construction, our partner in northeast Africa recently completed a new media centre. *Dawit, is our partner based in northeast Africa. He explains: ‘The old studio has been used for more than forty years with an analogue system. Now it has moved to a new studio where everything is digital. It has a huge capacity to positively influence communities.’

Radio has become an integral part of their strategy, so a studio installation had to be at the heart of the media centre. The complex includes facilities to produce print media but the organisation is also looking to modern media to reach communities within an aural culture.

Over the 18 months of the studio complex’s construction, Feba have advised at every step, offering wisdom on the purchase of equipment, the layout of the studio and other technical issues. Once the studios had been built and the acoustics refined, there was the small matter of installing the radio equipment itself.

Earlier this year, Feba’s Paul and Richard were invited to northeast Africa to install the equipment for four studios and a large ‘live room’. Not happy with a merely functional studio, our partner wanted to create a technically high-spec facility. This is no mean feat in an environment where quality materials can be very difficult to come by, as Paul discovered: ‘While talking through the acoustic treatment for the studio, we suggested hardboard as a useful material – something usually readily available from timber merchants. After much discussion we eventually realised our partner did not know this as hardboard, but as “fibre board”, and no, they couldn’t find it anywhere!’

Paul and Richard’s efforts were worthwhile, though. Using the completed studio, Feba’s partner will communicate gospel content and engage with social issues that matter to local communities – informing and empowering listeners. Not only this, but the new studio will become a resource used by other organisations in the region, at our partner’s invitation. This will enable numerous listeners to hear an authentic Christian message.

*Michael, our partner’s Media Team Leader, has a clear vision for how the completed studio could make a difference: ‘Thanks to Feba, we have one of the best audio media resources in the north east of Africa. It is not an exaggeration to say that, thanks to this studio, we and our partner organisations now have the ability to impact millions of people, both within our borders and beyond, with the gospel message.’

Page 7: voice magazine autumn  2015

Feba UK 7

Iraq remains a dangerous place to operate, but there are still Christians risking their own safety to share the good news. By coming alongside a courageous new Iraqi partner, Feba is stepping out into some exciting opportunities...

Time to pray

AT THE end of Luke 22, we fi nd Jesus in his darkest hour. As he faces arrest, trial and execution, Jesus goes out ‘as usual’ to pray,

taking his disciples with him and urging them to pray too (v40). Jesus knows the ordeal that lies ahead, for himself and for the disciples. He is committed to following his Father’s will, but is still – understandably – in anguish. At this absolutely pivotal point, Jesus makes time to pray and teaches the disciples to do the same. I can only imagine how he must feel when he comes back later and discovers the disciples asleep!

I fi nd it all too easy to let prayer be squeezed out by work, especially when life gets busy. I’m sure I’m not alone in that. The problem is, that gives us an infl ated sense of self-reliance; we try to solve our own problems and unconsciously shut ourselves off from God’s provision. The result is often that our eff orts are far less eff ective than they could be. We at Feba realise the work

is God’s, not our own. We are stewards of the work (and give our best to honour that responsibility) but nothing more. We’ve been through some signifi cant change recently and it’s been really challenging, but at every step, we’ve acknowledged our reliance on God and he has been faithful. We are very aware of how much we depend on God, and we continue to pray we’ll know his leading, protection and provision as we look to the future.

Jesus, who has everything within his control, made time to pray and receive strength from heaven.

At Feba we strive to follow Jesus’ example: to pray, receive God’s strength, and be reminded of who we really depend on, as we seek to live lives that please him.

Refl ection

look to the future. Jesus, who has everything

within his control, made time to pray and receive strength from heaven.

At Feba we strive to follow Jesus’ example: to pray, receive God’s

reminded of who we really depend on, as we seek to live lives that

Bob Chambers,Chief Executive

FEBA UK has been partnering with Iraq FM for several years, supporting a highly eff ective ministry in a troubled nation. Alongside this, we have now forged a partnership with another radio station, this one in the north of the country. Because of the security situation in Iraq, we cannot be as specifi c as we would wish to be. However, we can mention that this station has a particular strength in presenting the gospel and has also begun to respond more and more to the practical and social needs of

its listeners, particularly of displaced people. The new partner also has plans in place for starting a second community focused station in the north, responding to the large infl ux of displaced people.

‘They and Feba have been getting to know each other over the past year,’ says Johnny Fraser, Feba’s Partner Relationship Manager for the region. ‘We’ve spent time building a partnership before the formalities. It’s a bit like a long engagement!’

The northern station has had a good

relationship with Iraq FM for a while, with both sides benefi ting. The northern project has taken ideas from Iraq FM on programme content and has in turn provided advice on governance and legal structure. By partnering with Feba, the northern station hopes to gain training and technical support, and opportunities for networking, learning and advice from other Feba partners. Feba’s hope is to enable our new partner to increase its impact on a nation which needs a message of good news more than ever.interior of studio.

Iraq

New partner, new project

Page 8: voice magazine autumn  2015

Feba Radio: A registered charity no. 257343 A non-profi t making company limited by guarantee no. 940492.Registered in England, Registered offi ce Ivy Arch Road, Worthing

@Feba_UK

FebaUK

Ivy Arch Road,Worthing, West Sussex,

BN14 8BX, UK

+44 (0)1903 237281

[email protected]