The North Winds are Blowing: As I sit down to write this letter to you we are enjoying the visit of 12 friends from Alaska who are touring different parts of the world getting a feel of what it means to be involved in missions. They are part of a new school called "Northwind School of Ministry". The purpose of the school is to prepare young people for ministry, with an emphasis on missions. They are here for five days and during this time they are seeing our radio ministry to Africa. Since they are from an area in Alaska which is one of our home bases, we are showing them around. They have been traveling since the middle of December and have been in the following countries: Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Kenya, South Africa, and Swaziland, and will be going to Israel, England, and Ireland. They have ministered to us and our staff, for which we are thankful, but it has also been neat to share with them and see their interest when finding out the tremendous influence radio can have to such a vast number of people.

"Is radio an effective way to reach people?" This question was asked by the Northwind team. More than ever I'm convinced that radio is the way to reach vast numbers of people for Jesus, which in turn changes lives, families and even nations, giving hope and healing. Here are some examples: 1) A few weeks ago the front page headline in the local paper said that 40% of all pregnant women in Swaziland are HIV positive. In this last year, we have started broadcasting two programs from our local FM station dealing with AIDS. One deals with the prevention of AIDS and the other deals with those who already have AIDS. One listener wrote telling us, "I was going to commit suicide until I heard your program." She received hope when she thought there was none. 2) Today we visited a game park with the "Northwind"

Umm...Are the tires rhino proof?

team and we asked each person we met if they listened to our local FM station, Voice of the Church. Each one responded with an enthusiastic, "YES!" Three asked if we could supply them with Bibles to read. 3) Just recently, a team of four Canadians visited northern Mozambique and they reported in our staff meeting that they attended a number of remote local church services which represented about 3,000 people. Each time they asked if the audience listened to our broadcasts. Just about everyone raised their hand, expressing how TWR was a primary source of their spiritual well being!

Possible New Transmitting Location in Africa: TWR-Africa is in the process of putting in a request to get a license to broadcast from the country of Ghana. This country is located in the northwestern part of Africa. Please pray that this final step in the application process will go through, as it will open up many more possibilities for reaching into this part of Africa. At present, we are using transmitters in South Africa which are expensive and must reach a long way to get to this target area.

New Management at the Transmitter Site: Since my last letter to you I have been asked to take over the management of the transmitter site. It has been interesting to get involved in the running of a transmitting site again. There are many changes taking place and it is sometimes hard to keep up with the changing technology. We have just completed automating the transmitters. Now, IF everything goes right the station could run itself. That's a big IF at the moment though. We still need people to keep an eye on things, because there are so many things which continue to go wrong.

Play-Out Center and Regional Offices Being Built in Johannesburg: Recently, it has been finalized that a new TWR center will be built in Jo'burg. For many years TWR has been using a building for offices which has been too small for the number of people working there. But it has also become apparent that a central place needs to be established where the radio programs can be channeled and then played for the different transmitter sites in Africa. By doing this it will cut down on a lot of redundancy at each transmitting site. There will continue to be a need to have studios where programs can be made. However, these programs will then be sent to this new central play-out location where they will be played and beamed to the different transmitter sites on the continent. Please pray for our co-workers, Chuck and Darlene Saunders, as Chuck is heading up the building process. They are normally based here in Swaziland, but have moved to Johannesburg for the duration of the project. It will most likely take about a year to complete.

Peter Has Been Accepted at RVA: Another big news item is that Peter, our son, has been accepted at Rift Valley Academy, where we were hoping he would be able to do his last two years of high school. Although he has enjoyed his time at Dalat, he seems to be looking forward to a new adventure in Kenya. A big drawing card is that his best friend, Matthew Lowell, will also be starting there at the same time this coming August. Debbie and I plan to go up to Kenya with Matt's parents, Lee and Lonna Lowell, who are also our good friends, to settle the guys in at the start of the new school year.

Please Pray for Peter's Dorm Parents: Recently Peter wrote us saying that his dorm parent at Dalat, Uncle Matt Miner, has a number of tumors around his brain and was rushed to the hospital. Since hearing from him we heard that the doctors have operated and taken three of the tumors out. Tests have shown that it is Melanoma. Today an e-mail came indicating that they also found tumors in his abdomen. Some were removed, but some were inoperable. Unless the Lord heals him, he probably doesn't have long to live. Please pray for Matt and his wife Viviane and their three children! Also, pray for Peter and the other the guys in the dorm as it is has been a shock to them.

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