“Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.”
Proverbs 12:20
In July, our gospel radio station, “Nehemiah Trumpet Call” NTC – 97.3 FM, was fire-bombed – destroying our transmitter and severely damaging the building. It appeared to be a victory for those opposed to the Gospel of Christ and its life affirming hat message of hope and reconciliation in conflict ridden South Sudan.
Their “victory” was short lived. An appeal immediately went out in the U.S. And members of the Christian community responded. Within a month enough funds were raised to replace the 500 watt transmitter with one capable of 1000 watts – effectively doubling our broadcast range and the number of listeners! Equipped with invaluable technical support from Galcom International in Canada, William Levi and I were able to safely deliver the new transmitter to Eastern Equatorial South Sudan (with a few “bumps in the road” – literally and figuratively) by the end of August.
Our South Sudanese team on the ground had spent the month prior to our revival repairing and rebuilding the station. Field Director Timothy Levi, himself a self taught radio engineer, prepped the staff in all the technical aspects of properly installing the equipment. They were ready for our arrival. The joy on their faces when they saw the equipment is memorable. They immediately went to work. What a blessing to watch them – Benjamin Levi scaling the 300 ft tower to connect the antenna with only flip flops on his feet – the team working quietly and efficiently, stopping only to pray and problem solve together when the inevitable technical problems emerged. Within 36 hours of our arrival the gospel message was in the air throughout Eastern Equatorial and Northern Uganda. Phone calls started coming in from far and wide from listeners along congratulations from various government officials who see the broadcasts as a stabilizing and positive influence in a land torn by war and rumors of war.
Part of Operation Nehemiah’s values statement reads “We believe that a people's dignity is is enhanced by meaningful work, education and discipleship…the primary focus of Operation Nehemiah is to promote the Gospel that leads to repentance and salvation. This is the fundamental measure of success in all of our efforts.” By this measure, and we are confident in God’s economy, this effort was successful indeed!
Bob Kirkman
Development Coordinator
Operation Nehemiah
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