2008 May News Letter

Mark in the USA for two weeks: Some of you may have been surprised to see me the States at the beginning of March. The reason I was there was to attend Human Resources meetings at the TWR office in Cary, North Carolina. While I was there, I decided to add to the trip and visit family in Indiana. (It was a blessing to be with our daughter Rhonda, and her husband, Scott. I also visited my folks, John & Helen, and my brother Joel, and his wife, Barb.) Recently, I have been asked to help in the HR area in the Africa region, so it is something new for me. TWR is trying to get this area going again, which has been allowed to slip over the last several years. Another area which is closely related is the recruiting of new people to work within TWR. Since very few new people have joined TWR, it has led to a critical shortage of staff. Presently, we have a need for 11 people in Africa alone, the most critical being people to help with our computer systems and engineering areas. We also have a big need for someone to help teach our MK’s in Benin, where we have just started a new transmitting location. They range from kindergarten to sixth grade. You can look up these needs at the following two web sites:
http://www.twr.org/administrative/urgent_missionary_administrative_needs_africa
http://www.twr.org/get_involved/urgent_missionary_technical_needs_africa
If you are at all interested in missions (long or short term/young or old) I would encourage you to look at the sites. It could change your life!

New Transmitters: While I was in Indiana, I dropped in to see the HCJB Global factory where they are getting the HC100 shortwave transmitter ready to ship to us in Swaziland. You may remember that this transmitter is going to replace our old 100KW transmitter as soon as the funds are donated for it. Someone had mentioned to me that I should ask HCJB about a medium wave transmitter that they might have, as it may be a possibility for replacing our 42-year-old, 50KW medium wave transmitter. Lo and behold, they did have a Harris transmitter sitting on the floor which had not yet found a home.

Donors in Canada were made aware of the opportunity and it is already paid for! So, now we have two transmitters which will be coming our way as soon as the shortwave transmitter is fully funded and both can be made ready for shipping! In the meantime, we have started working to get the transmitter site ready. There is a possibility of a work team coming to help us the first part of August. Quite a few building changes need to be made which they can help us with.


Our old MW transmitter has an interesting story behind it. This machine was purchased in about 1971 at an auction and has served TWR Swaziland well for 37 years. To our knowledge, the transmitter was first used on a pirate radio ship in the North Sea. Authorities seized the ship and confiscated the equipment and eventually auctioned it, with TWR being the highest bidder. Information about the history of the transmitter, along with pictures, may be found at: http://www.northernstar.no/chapter7.htm where a transmitter history buff has collected information and posted it on his website. It is probably the oldest transmitter of that vintage which is still in daily use today. Time to replace it…don’t you think?
Cost wise, it is estimated that the return on the expense could be realized in almost two years! Swaziland receives its power from South Africa, and the cost of electricity is going to increase considerably, due to huge problems South Africa is having with their power system. Our savings, using present costs, will be a yearly savings of $7,000 for electricity and $3,000 for tube costs alone. This is due to the higher efficiency of the newer MW transmitter.

Here is something we received from a person in jail in South Africa. Karen, one of our staff members, has been corresponding with him.
"Dear Mrs. Barkhuizen, I know that it is through God’s power that TWR took notice that we are constantly surrounded by sound. What sound? The sound of the Gospel. Now I am listening to my favorite programs being transmitted from the TWR stations without any worries of where I’ll be able to listen to the next program from. What a perfect gift you sent me Karen! Thank you so much also for the two books, one by Sam Gordon and one by Dr. Richard Bennett. The wind-up radio arrived safely. I’m blessed and I’ve gone on to understand that life is a miracle and I’ve started smiling and having fun again here in prison because God is watching and protecting me. I’m counting my blessings because I have so much to be thankful for. I am overwhelmed by your support and I’m spending time praying and listening to my favorite TWR programs. Already, I have started a listener group in my section and in the near future I am planning to engage other inmates from the other sections with the permission of the Section Manager. I believe that God will make it possible. I will keep you up to date on all the progress I have made in spreading the Gospel of God.”

Isn’t it great how God is changing lives through the hearing of His Word? Please keep upholding us in your thoughts and prayers!