Opportunity Knocks

Literally a stone’s throw from our home in Gaoua there is a Christian radio station. The station broadcasts Bible teaching and Christian music in French and a number of local African languages. A couple of weeks ago we were given a tour around the facilities, and we were very impressed with the equipment and the work being done by the folks at the station.

The FM coverage of Radio ESO (Southwest Gospel Radio) reaches all the Loron villages located in Burkina Faso, as well as a number of Loron villages in Ivory Coast. Unfortunately, the high hills along part of the Ivory Coast/Burkina Faso border hinder a clear signal from reaching some of the villages south of the border. Nevertheless, we reckon that at least 60% of all Loron people live within range of the radio broadcasts.

The folks at the station have offered us a slot -30 minutes a week- on the radio for the Loron language. We have contacted Hovare (ho-va-ray), one of the more expressive and gifted Loron Bible teachers, and he is thrilled at the possibility of reaching out to so many people with the word of God. We are planning to use the chronological Bible lessons as broadcast material. We plan to bring Hovare to Gaoua in a couple of weeks time to go over the Bible lessons with him, and then, Lord willing, recording will start around the third week in June.

We believe there is real potential in this unexpected opportunity to spread the Gospel among the Loron people. Little radios from China have become widely available in local markets, selling for as little as three dollars/two pounds each, and more and more people have access to, and are using this medium.

We want to maintain our focus on the translation of the New Testament into the Loron language, and be careful with our time and resources, but as well, we want to use whatever opportunities arise to bring the message of Christ to the Loron people.