(Sept. 16, 2013 - by Ruth Pike) Bleibend Ist Deine Treu-the sweet melody of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"-rings out in German. Guests spill out of offices onto a patio, plates laden with traditional German sausages and cake. Downstairs, studios are adorned with displays of current radio programs.

Visitors pore over history scrapbooks, filled with colorful photos and QSL cards-collectable postcards exchanged with thousands of listeners throughout the years to confirm their reception of the radio signal.

Friday, Aug. 30, was a special day for Vozandes Media, formerly the German Language Service at Radio Station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador. The radio service held an open house to celebrate 60 years of broadcasting.

August also marked 27 years of missionary service for German radio producer Iris Rauscher. Her desk was stacked high with letters from listeners from across the globe. Postmarks represented countries such as Germany, Japan, Argentina and Paraguay.

Rauscher said when she checked her email recently, she found 120 messages in her inbox. A post-holiday backlog or a symptom of being overworked? No, she was smiling. On Tuesday, Aug. 27, Vozandes Media's partner in Germany launched a new shortwave frequency (7365 kHz) for German-speaking Europeans.

Vozandes Media listeners have responded positively to the improved reception they are receiving from the new transmitter. "For me it's a blessing that we're still ministering to our listeners on shortwave," said Rauscher.

Listeners have also written in to share their congratulations on the milestone. "What a pleasure this morning to listen to your special program on the occasion of the 60th anniversary!" wrote one listener, who got his first QSL card from Quito in 1979. "What a success in the former socialist regime of East Germany."

Another listener who also grew up in the former East Germany responded, "I grew up listening to the German radio program since 1971. If I hadn't got to know your wonderful program I wouldn't have been able to stay on the right track as a Christian…. Fortunately, I could receive the broadcast from Quito which was a gleam of hope."

The German broadcasts began 60 years ago after HCJB Global co-founder Clarence Jones made a request for German-speaking missionaries. A German-Canadian Mennonite couple, David and Anna Nightingale, responded. They thought they were heading for China, but when those doors closed, they found themselves beginning a new ministry in Ecuador.

On Aug. 13, 1953, the German Language Service was born. To German speakers, the station was known as Die Stimme der Anden (Voice of the Andes). In 2009 the language service was registered as a separate entity in Ecuador called Asociación Vozandes Media, continuing as one of HCJB Global's many ministry partners.

Today listeners send in feedback from about 50 countries across the globe. Programs air via the Internet, phonecasts, shortwave and local AM and FM radio stations in Germany, Paraguay and Argentina. Vozandes Media produces programs for German-speaking listeners in both Europe and the Americas.

Listeners include German immigrants in South America and "DXers"-fans who listen to faraway shortwave stations as a hobby. Together with partners, Vozandes Media also transmits programs in Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, English and a number of Ecuadorian indigenous languages, including Quichua, Cofán, Waorani, Shuar and Chachi.

Looking to the future, Vozandes Media staff members plan to maintain personal contact with listeners. "The harvest of our radio programming is the correspondence," said Rauscher. "Radio is just a tool to get in contact with a listener and start a friendship."

She is part of a small, dedicated team that produces programs and corresponds with listeners of different nationalities, ages and backgrounds from around the world. The team includes long-term German missionaries Horst and Sigrid Rosiak and short-term working visitors Jakob Walter, Nina Hettche and Daniel Steigerwald. In the office, the team has a prayer box-a sign of their commitment to praying for and developing friendships with listeners.

Sometimes it's just the simple things like remembering listeners' birthdays and sending them a card or radio greeting. For avid listener Martha Kurrle in Argentina, it meant receiving a radio birthday greeting on her 100th birthday in a care center. She had been listening to the radio station since its early beginnings.

Friendship, however, is much more than birthday greetings. For one listener it meant finding his peace with God. Rauscher's eyes are moist as she shares his story. Throughout the years, they developed a friendship through exchanging letters and birthday cards.

She had the opportunity to visit him and his wife in Germany while on home ministry assignment. He was touched by her warmth towards him even though he wasn't a Christian. Not long after her visit, she received some sad news-her friend had developed cancer.

Moved by his situation, Rauscher wrote him a letter explaining how to become a Christian. Two to three weeks passed when a letter arrived in the post from Germany-a letter from his wife. She said that her husband had died, but had found his "peace with God." At his funeral, Rauscher's letter was read out loud.

"I think the most important thing is having love for the listeners," concluded Rauscher. Ultimately, regardless of hearing the results, Vozandes Media seeks "to be light and salt so Jesus will be proclaimed in [the] German-speaking world."

Sources: HCJB Global, Vozandes Media, Christian Telegraph, Mission Network News