Religious broadcaster HCJB got its Radio Rasuwa project on the air on Dec. 1, but not without a little blessing.
An HCJB article about the rural Nepal project noted that engineer Ty Stakes fortuitously grabbed an extra coaxial cable as he packed for the journey — just in case.
It turned out to be needed because the station’s studio was not where it had been “planned. Once on-site, Stakes and HCJB missionary Toffer King discovered the tower was not the one they had requested. Using local talent, translations and drawings solutions were crafted at the site. The local welder found himself often busy as well. HCJB’s Global Technical Center in Elkhart, Ind., provided the FM transmitter.
The station’s “market” is the northern border of Nepal and contains an estimated 14,000 souls, including a large number of Tibetan refugees fleeing Chinese control of their country. Most of them are Buddhists, while the native Nepalese are mostly Hindu. There is a small scattering of Christians. But the organization invited all to listen. The station will air 17 hours a day, in the local language. It joins five other HCJB FMs in Nepal. Three more are expected to launch in 2012.
Read the account here.
