(March 18, 2011- by Harold Goerzen and Ralph Kurtenbach) In an instant age, nobody wants to be placed on hold for 45 minutes. Nobody that is, except the person whose message to a loved one in a penitentiary is communicated via the airwaves of a Christian FM radio station in Spain. With dozens of family members eager to leave messages for inmates, the wait for callers can become lengthy.
The local pastor who hosted the program, along with other panel members, is well known to those on both sides of the equation as he visits the inmates on a regular basis.
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| John Adams |
John Adams, a veteran missionary with decades of broadcasting experience, was impressed not only by the prison outreach programming but by the significant contribution of the radio station's volunteers. His month in Spain earlier this year gave Adams a glimpse of the station's mission before returning to his work at HCJB Global's Ministry Service Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"They came well prepared and their audience was well defined," he said. "One program, aired late in the evening, was directed to prisoners in a local penitentiary and their families. Those behind bars sent emails to be read on the program directed to local loved ones who would be listening."
As the regional director told Adams, "It may not be the most professional program you've ever heard, but it is meeting a tremendous need."
Even the local mayor said he tunes in to the program on occasion, and he had high praise for the station's practical involvement in such a needy segment of the local population. The mayor made the comments during a recent visit to the station when he was both surprised and thrilled to encounter staff members who had served at Radio Station HCJB in Quito-a station he had listened to on his shortwave radio while growing up in Spain.
Adams was also impressed with the local input on other programs produced at the station with the help of volunteers. "For example, there was the ladies' quartet," he explained. "Not that they sing on the radio, but they come once a week for a live morning show that's also recorded for a later release that same evening. The program moves along smoothly with various features on biblical themes and news of local interest."
"The four of them blend together to present a winsome and tasteful offering of hope and reassurance for the female listener working at home to serve her family," Adams continued. "They host their program in such a friendly, jovial and attractive manner that you can't help but feel that warm personal touch intended for each individual tuned in."
Whether behind the microphone, running the controls or answering the telephones, volunteers "give of their time without fanfare to joyfully serve the Lord Jesus and their neighbors," Adams concluded.
Source: HCJB Global
Colorado Springs, CO 80949-9800
800.873.4859