Hand-Held Radios Distributed in Nasir County

It was a blazing hot morning in Nasir. Fourteen pastors from several villages had come to our Aid Sudan compound to pick up hand-held solar-powered radios that they could pass out to their church members and fellow villagers. A few of them had walked for two days to get there. Our Nasir staff set up some plastic chairs and a table under one of the few trees in the area. As the sun rose, our shaded area became smaller and smaller. I welcomed the pastors and told them about our radio tower and the broadcasts that occur each evening. All of them were already familiar with them, and I was glad to know I was speaking to regular listeners of Good News Radio! I explained how these radios would be a great tool to enhance their ministries. The tower broadcasts Bible stories that allow the people to hear the Word of God in their own language. This gives the pastors opportunities to discuss God’s Word with their villagers and to help them apply it to their lives. The radios are fix-tuned to the frequency of our tower, and they are solar-powered so they are easy to keep charged and ready.


Then it was time for the really fun part. In order for these radios to be used, some assembly is required. In all I was about to pass out 2,000 radios, so I needed to teach these guys how to put them together. For an American, this would be a breeze, but for Sudanese who have no experience with electronics, it was going to be a bit challenging. I showed them each of the parts of the radio- the radio itself, the batteries, and the solar panel. Then I demonstrated how to attach the solar panel, how to open the battery compartment, and how to properly insert the batteries. Then we gave each pastor a radio, two batteries, and a solar panel and went through the instructions again allowing them to practice. Not surprisingly, the hardest part was the batteries. They had to slide open a door and then make sure that one was put in with the positive side up and then the second one with the negative side up. It was quite funny watching them struggle with this, but most of them picked it up fairly quickly.


It was approaching mid-day, and we needed to get on our plane and head back to Uganda. I made sure our compound manager and other staff knew how to help with any issues that might come up and left them with instructions about what information to get from the pastors so that we can track the radios. Then we grabbed our bags and supplies headed back to the plane.

It’s great to know that as I write this, 2000 hand-held radios are making their way into the hands of thousands of people around Nasir town. Please pray that what they hear will transform their lives and bring hope to their families and villages.

Streaming Operational in Nasir

Thursday evening, 8 March, I was in Nasir with my colleague Kerry Henderson. One of our primary goals during our short stay was to get our satellite stream established. Although we have been broadcasting in Nasir for several months now, we have been doing so using CDs burned by our office here in Kampala. Although the CDs were a great temporary solution that allowed us to be on the air in Nasir since last fall, they had several limitations. Establishing the stream from Houston would greatly improve the quality of our programming and allow us to add new programming such as community announcements and national and international news. A few weeks earlier, Kerry had traveled to Nasir with a satellite expert, and they still were unable to get the stream established. So we knew we had a difficult task in front of us.


A beautiful full moon was also rising as we made the one-mile trek to the tower. Our staff in Nasir started the programming at 7 PM using the CD player, and we listened in on a hand-held radio. We decided to unhook everything and connect the equipment receiving the stream. Nothing but static. We knew the stream was being received by the transmitter; it just wasn’t sending it out from the tower. Not sure what the problem could be, we reconnected the CD player. But now it wouldn’t work either! This was extremely frustrating. Not only had we failed to get the stream going, but we had messed up the CD player as well. Now there would be no broadcasting unless we could figure out the problem. Discouraged, we shut down the whole system and turned off the generator. We got out the sat phone and made a few calls to relay the bad news. Then we decided to turn everything back on. When we did, the CD player worked! This was a good sign; at least we could continue broadcasting. Then it hit me- we needed to shut down the system, connect the streaming equipment and THEN start everything up again.


10 minutes later our stream was going out all over Nasir County! At that time, the stream coming from Houston was in Dinka. The people in Nasir are Nuer and speak a different language. As we celebrated, our compound manager looked confused. With his hand-held radio close to his ear, he said questioningly, “This is Dinka language.” I said, “Yes, I know, but tomorrow it will be Nuer!”


Praise the Lord that our Nasir tower is now fully functioning after over two years of struggle. Please pray that many people will be transformed as they listen to Good News Radio in Nasir!

Ethiopian Food!

Nasir is only a few miles from the Ethiopian border, so it should be no surprise that the few restaurants in town serve Ethiopian food. My favorite is in the central market next to a photo studio. A huge poster of Avril Lavigne and the smiling faces of many locals grace the door adjacent to the restaurant. The dining area is dimly lit and has a few plastic tables and chairs. The walls and ceiling are made from large tarps, and it’s absolutely stifling inside. Within a minute of taking your seat, you can feel the sweat pouring off you. There are no menus, but you do get to choose between red wat and white wat. Both are stews made with goat meat; the red is spicy while the white is mild. We made our selections (I always go with the red wat) and we each ordered a cold Coke (which hits the spot on a 112 degree day!). A few minutes later our food appeared on huge metal plates. Spongy flat bread called injera covered each plate and there was a small bowl of stew on top. The Ethiopian lady serving us poured the stew onto the injera. We prayed and dug in. There are no utensils so it’s a bit messy as you tear off pieces of injera and then use it to scoop up the goat meat. To make things even trickier, you are only supposed to use your right hand since the left hand is considered unclean. You also have to be wary of bones. When you find one you spit it out and put it on the table. It might not sound pleasant to some, but all in all, it’s one of my favorite meals and one I always look forward to when I travel to Nasir. I never leave disappointed!