Liberia (MNN) — Though rebels
destroyed the ELWA Radio Station in Liberia's civil war, the Gospel wasn't
silenced.
The station
eventually found its way back on the air. Their determination to reach the community with the hope of Christ stems
from their purpose: to air the Gospel across the country and West
Africa.
Dee Walker with
HCJB Global Voice says the
station has gradually pieced the ministry back together. ELWA most recently went back on the air in
1997 with a small FM transmitter. In 2000, HCJB Global Voice provided a
low-power shortwave transmitter, again enabling the station to cover the entire
region.
Today, HCJB Global Voice is partnering with ELWA because "much of their equipment was outdated. We committed to provide for them some
training and some equipment. Right now,
pieces of the equipment are on their way to ELWA, and we were able to buy some
computers. What we are trying to help
ELWA to do is to maximize their already-existing ability, so we're moving them
from analog to digital."
Through spoken
word, drama and music, the ELWA team hopes to rekindle hope and help to mend
broken and shattered lives by means of radio through Christian programming.
Right now, the
station airs eight hours of English broadcast per day and 1 1/2
hours of Liberian Language broadcast in Grebo, Kru, Gola, Bassa, Kpelle, Kissi,
Dan, Krahn and Loma. It is supported
almost entirely by local funds.
Walker says their team is
training the ELWA group to help them better share the hope of Christ. The team held sessions on broadcast
production, script writing, and management.
Other training includes the engineering side of the station.
The growth of
the ministry brings with it many challenges. Walker asks that people will "pray for
our team. Our team is growing, and there
is need for infrastructure and development, but we are very cautious. Just pray that God would keep us healthy and
keep the team together. Pray that the governments would be able to keep
security in place so that those of us who are traveling to those places will
feel safe."
