Monday, May 18, 2009

2009 February News Letter


Christmas has come and gone and we are already ending the first month of 2009. My, how time flies! Debbie and I went to Jo’burg to celebrate Christmas with our friends and co-workers, Ray and Sandy Alary. A few years ago their nephew, Chad, came out to work with TWR on some short term tower projects. We were on the tower together when we installed the Benin tower. While Chad was here he met a young lady, fell in love and they decided to get married. We attended their wedding on the 20th of December and then stayed in the city until the day after Christmas. A number of the family came out from Canada for the wedding, so we had a good time with a lot of people around. This helped us, as we were not able to be with our family this Christmas.

Mark’s 40th High School Class Reunion: For some time now we had looked forward to attending my 40th class reunion in India. Our friends, Ray and Sandy, asked if they could come along, since they had never been to that part of the world. It was fun traveling together, visiting the Taj Mahal and some of the touristy places on the way to Woodstock School. This is where I attended boarding school for almost all of my grade school years. Ray and Sandy came to all the class gatherings as well. I thought they would be bored, but they seemed to be fascinated by all the stories and experiences we MK’s had to tell. It was an exciting time for all of us to reminisce. Debbie was reluctant to go because she usually gets sick. This time, however, we all stayed well and even had nothing stolen or lost! Of course, it is always fascinating to see my old stomping

grounds and try to get back some of the old feelings, smells and experiences I had when I was a young guy. Spinning tops were the in thing to do back then, so I stopped in at the shop which carried them. They still had two in the drawer, so I bought one and began to try an old trick of throwing the top down, pulling back on the string and catching the spinning top in the palm of my hand. It took a few tries, but I did it! Thanks to my classmate, Max, you can even see it on YouTube at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioTCq3HYK9M

New Shortwave Transmitter: The new transmitter is now up and running. We have even begun a new broadcast to Ethiopia. Thanks for your support and prayers! Modifications on the building are still continuing though.

Medium Wave Transmitter: I’m pleased that the Medium Wave, Harris transmitter is again looking like it will come to Swaziland. Some of the questions we had concerning it were answered when Steve, our chief engineer, went to the States to attend a training course and interact with other engineers to learn all he could about it. HCJB Global recently told us they are making good progress with modifications we need. Pray that all the final details will come together and it will be shipped soon.

Farming God’s Way: The Farming God’s Way training went very well! We had over 50 attend, which was about the maximum number we could accommodate. The amazing thing was that we did not advertise the training. People just started calling and reserving a place! Part of the training was a practical session in which we planted a small plot of ground using the methods being taught. Now the corn is about seven feet tall and looks wonderful! It will be fun to see what the yield will calculate out to per hectare. A number of people who took the training are also coming back with good reports.

Sad News and Good News: Two couples who are our very close friends, Ray & Sandy Alary and Lee & Lonna Lowell will be leaving this region soon. This is quite discouraging to Debbie and me, as we depend on them in our work, as well as socially. Ray is becoming the new President of TWR Canada and Lee will be taking up a position at our Cary office. Please pray that the right people will be found to fill their shoes. On the happy side of things, a new Africa International Director has been found for our region to take the place of Rev. Stephen Boakye-Yiadom, who passed away suddenly in 2007. His name is Dr. Emmanuel Mbennah, from Tanzania. This is a huge answer to prayer! I will be meeting him this week, but he will not be taking up his position until April first. Please pray for these transitions.

Yes, each year is filled with transitions. My prayer is that God will lead all of us through life’s changes, but we will keep our trust and faith in Him…who never changes!

No comments: