Colombian Christian Mission

COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
In the jungle and prairie of Southeastern Colombia.
Volume 8, Issue 2 February, 1980

RADIO PROGRAM UPDATE

"Amanecer con Dios" is beginning its third year of operation. From the meager and halting beginnings that were to form the roots for the present day program, we have seen and learned a lot about the radio ministry. Yet the basic format and purpose have changed little. It is still a 15 minute daily program aired at prime time. We still present the program live for lack of sufficient and compatible equipment. We have tried to give it a "Colombian voice" and avoid the foreign image. Yet I often do the program so as to the be able to teach the national brethren how it should be done.
The month of January is my month. My day starts at 5 a.m. when the alarm goes off. I climb out of bed and try not to wake the rest of the family. I dress, grab a snack out of the fridge and review my message for the morning. About 5:30 a.m. I head for the radio station. It is still dark. There is no bus service until 6:30 so I walk the two miles to the station. It takes me about a half an hour. It is a pleasant walk in the cool of the morning. Shortly after I leave the house the sun begins to peek over the horizon. By the time I reach the radio station the sun is painting the sky in crimson and orange in the beauty of a tropical sunrise. It is about ten minutes before the air time when I arrive. This gives me time to give instructions to the control operator and take my place in the sound proof microphone studio. Our opening announcement is recorded then I pick up the mike with an announcement. Then comes a popular style Gospel song followed by my five minute evangelistic thought. We close with more music and an announcement for the correspondence course. I usually chat with the announcer for a few minutes and then pack up my records and notes to leave. By 6:45, when I leave there is usually bus service. I catch a bus and head back up to the house where Jeanie usually has breakfast waiting.
In the time the program has been on the air it has really helped to give us entrance in many new areas. We can travel just about anywhere in the prairie and mention the program to get a red carpet welcome. We have made many promising contacts in the nearby towns through it. There have been several families baptized here in town and in the country as a result of radio program contacts. We have constantly considered cutting the program because of the expense involved. Yet every time we analyze our program, we decide that the radio program is a keystone that carries its own weight. Phil has been making plans for continuing the program when we leave for furlough, later this year. We have also been encouraged by those of you who have shown a special interest in this type of ministry. So Amanecer con Dios will continue to be aired five times a week on FM, broadcast, and short wave frequencies to carry the gospel message to places far and near where we currently have little access.


FURLOUGH TIME FOR DALE AND JEANIE

Sometimes it seems like a missionary's life as an endless cycle of packing, moving and unpacking. It seems like only yesterday that we were arriving to start a new term here in Colombia. Mark Stringers year of furlough came and he left. Yet it seems that we barely had time to get accustomed to his absence when he was arriving back again. Even then we were still telling that it would be a year yet until our turn came. Then came the busy Christmas season (my wife fed 193 meals to visitors during the months of November and December last year) and before we knew it, February was rolling around. Already we have to start making plans for a furlough that is still over six months away. The preparation of a brochure and a slide program; all of which must be ready by the time we arrive back in the States; is no easy matter. On top of all of this, we must tie up loose ends here and organize things so that all things will carry on normally in our absence.
We also encourage you to start planning for our furlough. It is not too early for you to start asking preferred speaking dates. This is especially important if you would like to have us visit with you on more than one weekend. As on our previous furlough, preferences will be given to those churches that supported us during this term here in Colombia. We plan to be back in the States and available for speaking dates by the third weekend in September. (September 20, 1980) We will be available for approximately 11 months. You may write to our forwarding agent to reserve a date. We will be anxiously awaiting these visits with you in this upcoming furlough.