December 2018
Dear AWR Friend,
December is a month of gifts and giving. What can be more joyous than celebrating Jesus who came to give us a life we had lost forever? Nothing can top such a gift!
But while joy and good cheer abound everywhere, there are people around the world living a life of quiet desperation—a life without hope and without
Jesus. They know nothing of that greatest Gift that can be theirs.
God longs to reach those people, and He promises that if you and I become His voice to guide them, we will not be disappointed, but will be rewarded beyond belief!
Let me share with you three incredible miracles of God’s love as He restored the joy of life to people who had given up on hope—and He did it through AWR:
THE RADIO DIAL THAT TURNED
Ruben lives in Argentina. He grew up in a Christian home, but once he set out on his own to pursue his dreams of becoming a successful businessman, he drifted away from God.
Soon, he was at the top of his game with a thriving business, and everything seemed to be going well in his world. But one day, on his way home from work, he tried to
hail a bus by stretching out his hand. The driver didn’t see him, and Ruben was dragged under the bus. He woke up in the ICU with both legs broken, a collapsed lung and
multiple injuries.
A long and painful recovery followed, but something strange happened that sustained him through those grueling months. While Ruben drifted in and out of consciousness,
he heard a voice telling him that he was not alone, and that he would make it through. A peace came over him then that he had never known before, and he felt hope.
After four months in the hospital, Ruben went home in a wheelchair. He soon realized he was unable to do all the activities he had once enjoyed, and gradually he fell
into a deep depression. “I lost my job, my money, my business and the prestige I’d felt in my community,” he later shared.
“I was a shell of myself, and in my anguish, I decided I didn’t want to live anymore.”
One day, he awoke and decided this was the day he would end his life by committing suicide. As he got a knife to slash his wrists, he listened
to the radio. Suddenly and without warning, the radio changed stations!
Ruben was startled by this, but even more so when he heard a voice coming through the radio—the very same voice he’d heard while in the hospital ICU telling him he
would pull through!
He again felt the peace he’d felt in the hospital. It washed over him now, and all thoughts of suicide vanished.
Amazingly, and unbeknownst to Ruben,
he was listening to the very first test broadcast of one of our AWR stations!
He listened to the station all that day and every day afterward. The messages he heard touched his heart, and Ruben felt a burning desire to know who these Adventists
were. He searched the phone book and called a number he found. It was the local Adventist church. The pastor’s wife answered and invited Ruben to church that Sabbath.
There was just one problem with that: Ruben couldn’t walk and he had no transportation.
“I felt God telling me to walk,” Ruben said. “I cried, ‘Walk? I can’t walk with my legs like this!’ But God gave me the strength and I walked
the whole way! When I got there, the members welcomed me warmly, and as soon as I entered, I felt the same peace I’d felt before.”
That was the beginning of a new life for Ruben. The pastor recognized his talent for sales and encouraged him to become a colporteur, a job at which he soon excelled.
After completing a series of Bible studies, Ruben was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Today, Ruben has been completely healed. He is active in his local church and leads out in a weekly Bible study group.
But the best part is
that he gets to walk all day—something he thought he’d never do again—sharing the saving gospel of Jesus through the books he sells.
“I have not seen God,” he says, “but I feel like I hear His voice through Adventist World Radio. Jesus is real, and I know this today because of the messages shared
through AWR.”
NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON
A few weeks ago, Sammy, one of our AWR technicians, traveled to Namibia to connect four of our regional radio stations to the main studio in the capital city of
Windhoek, which will allow for much greater coverage. He recounts what happened:
“After traveling to the town of Rundu in the border with Angola, I installed and configured the equipment to receive the signal. Then I went to the car to listen
and confirm that the transmission was coming through from Windhoek. Almost immediately, I heard the announcer say, ‘If you are feeling sad, if you are feeling desperate
and thinking of ending your life, trust in God. He will help you.’
I remember thinking at the time that maybe, talking about suicide as soon as we went live in Rundu was not such a good idea. But a couple of days later, when I
returned to Windhoek, the operator there told me, ‘My brother, you will not believe what happened in Rundu after the connection went live.
I received a call from a listener who was about to take his life when he heard those words of hope! We talked, and he decided to give God a chance.’”
Sammy ended by saying, “I wonder what would have happened if the connection had been made just a few minutes later.” God’s timing is always right!
ANNA’S STORY
Anna’s husband had abandoned her and she felt desperation setting in. Sad, discouraged and alone, she had reached the end of her rope and decided to end her
life by hanging herself from the rafters of her home.
She secured the rope, stood on a chair and was about put the noose around her neck, when she heard a voice say, “Turn on the radio.”
Anna looked around, but no one was there. She thought it strange, but once again proceeded to place the rope around her neck. “Turn on the radio!” she heard again,
more urgently this time.
“Am I going crazy?” she thought, and with even more determination, she again tried to put her head through the noose, only to be stopped by the same voice a third time!
Hesitantly, she got down from the chair, reached for the radio and turned it on. At that very moment, Adventist World Radio from Ukraine was on the air, and the message
was on the love of God.
Anna sat and listened carefully, amazed at what she was hearing. At the end of the program, information was given on how to contact the radio station. Anna decided to
write and request the Bible studies being offered. She enrolled in the Bible course and after completing the lessons, gave her life to Jesus. “I’m so glad God intervened
to save me,” she said, “and He used this wonderful radio program!”
What powerful stories! God longs to reach the broken, suffering people of the world. His love for them is so great that He tells us if we help them,
He will consider it as a favor to Himself:
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
(Matthew 25:40)
This month, as we celebrate Christmas and remember Jesus, the Life-Giver – the costliest gift ever given – I want to thank you for your support that gives life to
the radio programs around the world. Through them, we can share the life-saving truth of Jesus. What a privilege! But only by working together is this possible.
That’s why I ask that you please take a moment to click the button below and give today. You will be making a difference!
Thank you for partnering with us in the greatest calling ever—the sharing of God’s love around the world for the saving of souls!
God’s love and His mercy never cease to amaze me. His direct intervention in the lives of the people in these three stories not only confirms his compassion and
immediate interest in the suffering of “the least of these,” but encourages us as we work to broadcast that Jesus is coming soon! Thank you for your part in making these
stories possible.