2007 December News Letter

Merry Christmas! I’m sure it is getting colder in North America, but here in the southern hemisphere it continues to warm up as we pull into the summer months! No chance of a white Christmas here, but we do hope for a cool front to cool down Christmas day a bit!

As I look back over the past three months, it seems like a lot has happened. Some of it is not so positive! Please pray for each of the items below. We don’t feel like the sailing has been all that smooth lately!

Schumacher family: Our neighbors, Doug and Madeleen Schumacher, a South African couple, have been through the wringer! It started with a phone call in the evening, as Debbie and I were entertaining some guests. Debbie took the call. It was Madeleen on the other end saying, “I have a big snake in my house and Doug is at the office making a phone call. Can Mark help me?” I grabbed some “snake” tools and ran over, just as Doug was arriving home. When we got inside we realized this was BIG trouble! The snake was under a chest in the dining room and part of the middle of the snake was protruding out from under the edge. I realized that I needed to act quickly before it pulled its body all the way under. I quickly jumped on the piano bench and then onto the chest and drove a shovel into the snake’s back. Once its head appeared, a second shovel did its work. The snake was almost 9 feet long and was the dreaded Black Mamba, a very poisonous, fast, and aggressive snake. It can out run a man and often moves with its head a yard off the ground. When Madeleen started to piece events of the last three days together, she realized that the snake was in the house for the last three days and they didn’t know it! The next event came three nights later when thieves broke into their house while they were sleeping and stole quite a number of valuable items, including a computer they had bought from a friend just three days prior. Two weeks later, a second attempt was made on their house. Fortunately, the house alarm was set properly this time and the intruders ran off when the siren sounded. The fourth tragic event happened when the Schumachers pulled up to a gate at a house in Johannesburg a few weeks later. Armed men held them up and forced them into the back seat of their car and drove around for almost an hour. All during this time they expected the worst… rape and death! They pleaded for their lives asking that they take their car and belongings, only to let them go. While this was taking place, we were informed and praying desperately that the Lord would spare their lives! Eventually, we received a call saying they were dropped off and had called from the home of a family who had taken them in. They were not hurt physically, but it will take awhile for the emotions and memories to heal. Please pray for Doug and Madeleen as they recover from these traumatic experiences!

Swaziland Security Upgrade: Recently we have experienced two break-ins at the transmitter site, as well as other attempts to our houses. Because of this increase in attacks in the last couple of months, I feel it is necessary to upgrade our security systems in our missionary staff housing and at our transmitter site. This will cost around $5,000. The money is not in our normal operating budget, so I am hoping God’s people will rally to help us. If you would like to help with this project, please inform TWR that you would like to donate to the “Swaziland Security Upgrade Project.”

Systems Administrator Resigns: The second thing to hit us has been the resignation of our systems administrator here in Swaziland. Since we are a technical radio mission we depend heavily on computers to do many critical tasks, which include playing out the Good News to our listening audience. We have been very short on computer people around the world, so it is a huge challenge to figure out how we will continue to meet our computer needs. Two men came for a week from our Cary, USA, office to assess the situation and try to configure things so that more can be done remotely. Although this is a help, it is not an answer to our computer needs. Please pray that someone will be found who can help us. TWR desperately needs computer people to join our world wide team.

TWR President and COO Resign: Recently we were given the news that our President, David Tucker, and COO, Samuel Chiang resigned. The chairman of the board and previous president, Tom Lowell is taking over the running of the mission until new leaders can be found. If you would like to read more about this, please go to www.twr.org where you will see more details. In the mean time, please pray for Tom Lowell as he carries the huge responsibilities and heads up those looking for new leadership.

Benin Transmitter Site: The Benin transmitter project in West Africa continues to be delayed. Recent news is that the last two containers have been released from the port. One arrived on site and the other one is waiting to be transported by rail from the port city. Now that these two containers have been released, a new on air date can be set which will have a much greater chance of being met. Each month that we are not on air, it costs TWR Africa a fair sum of money and cuts into an already difficult budget for 2008. The Cox family, recently arrived missionaries in Benin, just reported that all five of them have come down with malaria! Chuck Saunders also just came down with typhoid fever! Benin is not an easy place to live. But, we know that in view of eternity, it will be worth it all. Please continue to pray!

I know this letter hasn’t been as positive as others. I’m trying to be honest with you. Will you pray for us? With God’s help we will continue to fight the good fight of reaching people with the Good News of Jesus and the salvation He has provided. Isn’t this what Christmas is all about? What better gift than the gift of salvation?

2007 September News Letter

We are back in Swaziland! It is great to be back and in our own home after sleeping in 45 different beds since April 1st. Debbie especially enjoys being in her own kitchen where she knows where to find everything! Our house was well taken care of by our neighbors, so it was great coming home again. But things didn’t stay static over four months. The major change has been the sudden death of our beloved Rev. Stephen Boakye-Yiadom, our International Director for Africa. We got the news the morning of our 28^th wedding anniversary on June 2^nd. To fill his shoes temporarily the president of TWR, David Tucker, is assuming his role. Please pray as a new person is selected for the future. Also, the trickle-down effect is felt by us all, as change is inevitable. Our continued desire is to carry on his rally cry, “Africa Needs Jesus.” Pray that we will be faithful servants of our Lord in whatever capacity we are asked to serve.

As we left the USA we handed our Honda Civic hybrid over to Pat Michael to sell for us. His email address is: skmi@msn.com if you are interested and it still hasn’t sold. We ended up driving a total of 12,000 miles, leaving the car with 49,000 miles on it. It performed wonderfully for us and we were so thankful for it. I enjoyed the experience of driving the latest technology! It was a lot of fun and made us feel real ‘green’ and got us around at less than 7 cents a mile for fuel costs. Thanks again to Pat for all his help!

Peter, our son, drove up to visit us from Texas three weeks before we left Indiana. We had a small celebration for him, acknowledging his accomplishment of graduating from LeTourneau University. He is enjoying his new job in the computer department at LeTourneau and is involved in a good church in Longview. He also decided to replace his 20 year old car which was bought (or more correctly ‘donated’) from his cousin for one dollar, with a new Honda Fit. The one dollar car was beginning to cost a lot in repairs, so we think his decision was a wise one. Our prayer is that he will be able to eradicate the school and car loans quickly.

Our Blosser family reunion was a great success in Virginia! Although my father has difficulty walking now, he was able to make the trip, attend a big one-day family reunion on my mother’s side and then the week in Virginia with our immediate family. Everyone but Peter was able to attend. That made 20, including the first great-grand daughter to my parents, Miranda, who was only four

months old. As you can see, I found I needed to hone my baby handling skills just a bit! Of course we were able to spend some quality time with Scott and Rhonda. Our hopes of being grandparents at this point rest with them, but since they want to wait until Scott has gotten his doctorate in Astrophysics, it is a few years away. So we have some time to develop those skills.

The last celebration was a birthday party for Debbie’s mother’s 90^th birthday, which was held on August 5th. It was a fun occasion as a number of people on Debbie’s side of the family, whom we wouldn’t have seen this time, attended. Mom Rupp gave a little speech and a family friend took video and sent us a copy. What a treasure to be remembered! Mom’s memory is beginning to slip, but she has a good sense of humor and will often excuse herself by saying that since she is 90 she has the right to forget a few things!

The new Benin transmitter project in West Africa is moving again! The transmitter has arrived and will be installed soon. There are a few more containers to arrive so the job is still a ways to completion. The projected on air date has been moved back to the first of January, 2008. Challenges continue, but the Lord is working them out one by one. Keep praying that God will give the victory to reach this very dark part of Africa!

Another project is beginning to take shape. We have been praying that we will be able to replace our 30 year old Continental 100KW transmitter, as it is giving us a lot of problems. I talked to our friends at HCJB Global in Elkhart, Indiana when I was there in July, as they have a HC100 sitting on the floor waiting for a home. Since we have two of them already it would be a perfect fit. The big question is where will the half a million dollars come from? I believe God will make a way through His people. If God lays it on your heart to help, let me know by email.

We praise the Lord for a wonderful furlough, safe travel and the opportunity to see so many of you. Thank you for your prayers and hospitality during this time!

2007 June News Letter

It hardly seems possible that some of the events we were so looking forward to are now already history! We arrived safely in the USA on schedule, April 1st, starting our furlough. Pat Michael (Rhonda’s father-in-law) was able to find a Honda Civic hybrid on E-bay for us. It is a 2003 and only had 36,000 miles on it. So far it is getting us around the country at an average of 43 miles per gallon! With fuel prices at over $3.00 a gallon we are very glad to be driving it! Our plans are to continue to travel around the US & Canada (including a trip to Alaska by plane) and return to Swaziland on August 10th. Pat will then sell our car. Hopefully, it will sell quickly and we’ll be no worse for owning it. We are so thankful to Pat for all the help he has been to us. My brother, Joel, has also helped to provide a place to stay as we zip in and out of his home. Many of you who we have visited have also helped us on our way and we are so thankful to you all!!
Peter’s graduation was an event we wouldn’t have wanted to miss! We were proud to see him pick up his diploma in Computer Science Engineering. Also, we were very happy to see him start his first full-time job in his field of study, right there at LeTourneau University, where he had been working part time. It is a wonderful opportunity for him. He moved out of the dorms about a year ago, so was all set to go, graduating on Saturday and starting his new job on Monday. He seemed to have enough computer items in his apartment, so for a graduation gift, we bought him Ukitchen things to develop his culinary arts! He claims to enjoy cooking and not eating out too much…that should help his budget and keep him in better shape!

We also had the pleasure of being with our daughter Rhonda, and her husband, Scott from time to time, as well as Debbie’s mother and my parents. Rhonda was able to join us for Peter’s graduation, while Scott was in Germany on his research project. We look forward to a big family reunion in Virginia in July with the immediate Blosser family and then a time of celebration for Debbie’s mother, who is turning 90 in August. If you are in the area, we arehaving an open house on Sunday, August 5th from 2 – 4 pm at the Woodcrest Nursing Home in Decatur, IN. If you aren’t able to come but would like to send a card, her address is: Ruth Rupp, c/o Woodcrest Nursing Home, PO Box 421, Decatur, IN, 46733.


The new Benin transmitter project continues to progress, but at a slower pace than we had expected. The transmitter has left the factory in Canada and should be on a ship headed to Benin soon. We stopped by the Kintronics factory and saw the boxes which are ready to be shipped to TWR Cary, containing the antenna tuning parts which will connect the transmitter to the tower. We also got word that the Paul Cox family has arrived in Benin. Please continue to pray that the equipment will arrive soon and the station will go on the air in the next few months.

Some of you have mentioned that you could not see the water coming out of the tower leg in our last letter. Here is another picture which will solve the mystery. I told you, you had to look carefully!
Your friends on furlough from Swaziland,

2007 March News Letter

We had a great three weeks with Peter over Christmas vacation. It was his last visit before he graduates from University. It was fun to relate to him more as an adult than as our little boy. He seemed to have matured a lot over the last few years. I got sick just before Christmas, so was in bed for a few days, but recovered enough to do a number of projects with him. I found it rather neat, because we were able to give each other advice on how to do things and work off both our strengths instead of him doing just what I told him to do. I’m sure in a few years I’ll find myself being the ‘go-fer,’ handing him the tools, while I watch him engineer the job. It will be interesting to see how God works in his life as he enters the work force this year in May. TWR asked him to consider a one-year short term here in Africa helping out in our computer department. He seemed very interested, but felt that he needed to work off some of his school debt first. Pray that he finds just the right job to use his computer skills.

On April 1^st we will be starting a four-month furlough. We are now actively looking for a fuel-efficient car to purchase. We plan to do a lot of driving to visit and share the work God has called us to do with Trans World Radio. It has been fascinating to see the Lord at work in and around us.

The latest project I was involved in was replacing a 40-meter (120 foot) tower on top of a mountain near the capital city of Swaziland, where we have an FM transmitter and antenna. The tower is not ours, but we work together with another company and borrow space on the tower.The old tower was done using unconventional methods and therefore I felt it was unsafe, so pushed to have it replaced. There was already a tower base about a meter (three feet) from the old tower, so we decided to use it. I’d never put up a tower so close to another one before, so I wasn’t sure what snags we’d run into. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how fast it went. Once the new tower was up, it was easy to reach over to the old one and remove our equipment. It also made it easy to take down the old tower, as we could use our new tower as a crane to remove pieces of the old one. As we started to take it down, a number of things surprised us. First, we found that the hollow legs were full of water! If you look carefully in the first picture, you can see water coming out of the cut leg. Secondly, as I was disconnecting a bottom guy wire and I pulled on it just a bit, it literally pulled apart in my hands! This meant that a strong wind could have toppled the tower!! We were doing the job just in time!

Work continues at our new Benin site in West Africa. We have had to push back the proposed on air date because of delays, but that is not totally unexpected, as many things are beyond our control. Presently, three containers are being prepared to be shipped; one with the MW transmitter from the Nautel factory in Canada, the second with a generator, and the third with antenna parts and other miscellaneous items. There is such high interest in broadcasting from Benin, that our proposed broadcast schedule is already full! Please continue to pray for this project to move ahead smoothly. TWR is putting its foot into a very dark part of Africa, so we are not surprised to see some resistance from the evil one.

Here are a few listener letters you might enjoy:

“I come from another religious background and my family hates Christianity. But my wife and I secretly read the Bible to our children each evening. We became Christians through your programs. Though times will be tough, we believe God will strengthen us.” –Tanzania

“My family has rejected me since they found out I am HIV-positive. I’m a Christian, yet my life has become a heavy cross to bear. But today something has changed – God is answering my anguish through your counseling and education program. My hope is renewed.” - Africa

Mark's New Hobby

Here I am ready to go in my new bee suit which Debbie helped me put together after getting some instructions from my friend and co-worker, Klaus. He got me into this bee business!The helmet was the most fun to make. The netting is glued onto the helmet and the bottom zips on to the overalls. Bees don't like dark colors. That's the reason everything is white.The contraption to catch the bees is made up of a funnel made of wire and netting. The end of the funnel pokes up into the holding area where the bees are trapped.Here is one of the 10,000 bees coming out of the top of the funnel. Each one had to walk through. It took about 3 hours.

Then we closed up the box, taped it up and loaded it into my car. We kept our bee suits on while we drove home as there were a number of bees which got out and were flying around in the car. People along the way gave us funny looks, wondering what planet we had come from. We also took some of the bees nest (brood) along and put it into the hive, just in case we didn't get the queen. They will produce a new queen from the brood if needed. Some sugar water was also put inside the hive to make them feel at home and help them get going. Then we opened the box and dumped them onto the cardboard in front of the hive. After some time they accepted their new home. If all goes well they'll be busy little bees and I'll collect honey in 6 to 12 months. I've found a neighbour down the road who has a number of hives and wants me to collect the honey... provided we leave her some. So that's my next little project to do with Peter while he's home for the holidays.

December News Letter

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Christmas is a wonderful time of the year in which we remember Christ coming to earth to complete the process of God buying us back into his family. And that is the reason Trans World Radio exists today!

Two close friends and co-workers, Ray and Isac, just returned from a trip to Angola where they met with many listeners. Many people in Africa aren’t able to write letters to TWR, so it is important to make periodic trips to find out if people are really listening. In fact, in Angola a mail system is almost non-existent. They asked how letters get from one place to another and the answer was that they are hand carried from one village to another by a series of travelers going in the direction of the intended village…not by any official postal system. Where postage is used it is very expensive. No wonder few letters are received from our listeners.

Ray often asks listeners how they would feel if the existing programs were discontinued. He was surprised at the answer of one man who stood up and with his finger pointing for emphasis exclaimed, “It would be crime to stop the broadcasts!” He then proceeded to explain how dependent they are on these programs for their spiritual food and how many people are coming to the Lord and lives are being changed. If we are serious about the importance of reaching people for Christ, then to stop the programs would be a crime.

Another man stood up and told how he had one radio which was used every day to listen to the “Thru the Bible” program with at least 75 people listening daily. He pleaded for another radio, because the volume wasn’t loud enough for everyone to hear. Another man stood up and said that he knew the “Thru the Bible” program was a series which lasted for five years. His question was, “What will happen after two years when it comes to the end of the five-year period?” He then pleaded that we please continue the program after that. This man was looking two years down the road, anticipating what might be happening and making his plea now! Another old man stood up and said, “If you stop the programs now, I think I will die!”

One of the first things which must be done when visiting a district in Angola is to report to the authorities, so they know you are in their area. Isac knows this and makes sure it is done properly. When he walked in to see the head man and introduced himself, the man responded by singing, “Trans World Radio – Swaziland!” He recognized Isac’s voice and realized a person from his favorite radio station had come into his office! He then hugged Isac as if he were his closest friend!

I must share with you this one last exciting story! About a month ago, Isac read a letter in our staff meeting from a priest. In the letter, the man was asking penetrating questions about God and the messages he was hearing over the radio. We could tell that he was searching and wanted to know more and had not met Christ personally. Somehow he was told that Isac would be visiting Angola, so he made a great effort to make it to a meeting place where Isac and Ray were spending a day or two in the real African bush. Isac and the local “Thru the Bible” producer spent some more time with him explaining the way of salvation. As a result, he accepted Christ. What a change came upon his face! It so happened that Isac took a picture of this man just before and then another one the day after he had his heart changed. Can you believe this is the same person? As this man was leaving, he told them that he did not know what would happen to him, as he may be thrown him out of his local assembly. But, he said, it didn’t matter what they did to him, because it would be impossible for them to throw Jesus out of his heart!

My friend, if you are reading this and you really want to give a Christmas present to Africa which will make a real difference, get involved in some way to get the Gospel message out to them. It is the only Christmas present which will make an eternal difference! TWR doesn’t just give this gift at Christmas time, but all year ‘round! It is a privilege and honor for us to be in this work, and many of you continue to make it possible with your prayers and financial giving. Thank you!!!

This Christmas our son, Peter, will be visiting us one last time before he graduates from LeTourneau University in May. We look forward to his visit with great anticipation! He’ll be coming on December 16^th and leaving on January 6^th.

On April 1^st we will be starting a four-month furlough. We look forward to seeing many of you. Please contact us by e-mail if you would like us to stop by for a visit. We are making up our schedule now. We’ll be in need of a small car with good fuel economy to travel many miles. If you know of one we could buy for a good price or borrow, please let us know.