A faithful radio broadcaster, an insightful letter writer, a perceptive pastor, and a coordinating Saviour...

Would you believe it is possible for people from countries all over the world to descend on one little town and work in harmony to accomplish a single goal? While it may seem like a fairy-tale, I saw it first-hand on a recent trip to Spain. I went there to visit one of HCJB Global’s offices and encountered a radio station broadcasting the message of Jesus Christ into the community. That radio station and the Good News it is transmitting is changing lives.

Earlier this month, 11 people traveled together to Haiti for a short-term mission trip. Yes, there is still great need there, even almost 3 years after the devastating earthquake that rocked the small nation in 2010.

International ministry can sometimes seem like a fairy tale. Not in the “happily ever after” sense, but in the “far away land” sense. We know that it is happening, and we see the stories about it, maybe even meet some of the people who live and serve in different countries as missionaries. But do we really understand it? Is it actually real?

Bill George, author of TRUE NORTH, says: "Too many people reach the top only to lose their moral compasses." We've seen that in recent days when a promising congressman torpedos his political career with foolish indiscretions. We've seen prominent pastors who lose family, reputation and ministry for momentary and risky behavior. Too often, successful, talented people feel they're invulnerable to getting caught. They pursue their narcissistic pleasures to the ruin of their moral reputation.

Fffffffffffth… The soft yet distinct sound of the blow gun can be heard in the jungles of the Amazon rainforest. For the animal hit by its dart, death is almost certain. The darts are tipped with curare or “the flying death.” It is also called “Ticuna poison,” for which the Ticuna Indians are known.

It’s nice to have friends like Ken Mikesell. Ken is the president/general manager of one of the finest Christian television stations in the country. TV45 in Orlando has built a huge audience by broadcasting clean, classic general programming like “Father Knows Best,” “Leave It to Beaver” and “The Andy Griffith Show.”

I'm reminded how Jesus told us His followers will be persecuted. No exceptions. In fact, Matthew 6 describes special rewards to those who suffer for their faith. We see it all the time. Just a short time ago, one of our ministry partners was shot and killed in front of his office by enemies of the gospel.

Watch the testimony of lives Changed for Christ through HCJB in Ecuador!

I could hardly believe it. It was the International Luncheon at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville. Our HCJB Global partner in Indonesia was the guest speaker. He told about how he's planted 40 community FM stations in his country. As a result, more than 7,000 listeners are coming to Christ through the broadcasts each year. In addition, more than 1,100 churches have been planted in some of the most unreached places of the country.

One of the (few) advantages of hours on an airplane is the opportunity to slowly read God's Word. On my return from Quito last week, I relished some quantity and quality time in 2 Corinthians 5 and 6. Paul wrote 2 Corinthians to his ministry leaders in Corinth. So his instructions to his team are very applicable to those of us in ministry today.

All is well in Haiti, or to explain the play on words … all is about wells in Haiti! César Cortez, an Ecuadorian missionary with HCJB Global Hands' community development team, is spending three weeks in Haiti, providing strategic assistance to Lifewater International, one of our long-term partners.

One year ago I was having dinner in Colorado Springs with Charles Morris of Haven Today. On the way home I got a call that a massive earthquake had hit Haiti. Later that night, Sheila Leech, our vice president of international healthcare, called and said we needed to send a medical team to Haiti to be the hands of Jesus for all the hurting people. I said, "Let's do it!"

As we began seeing patients for the second week in a row, the team had a feeling of confidence and pride in that no one had died from cholera while we were taking care of them. There had been several patients that had arrived in dire straits and were only saved through quick intervention by the team.

First of all, let me assure you that we are in very good hands, because we're trusting God who is caring for us so that in a week's time we'll be able to embrace you. On the other hand, we are with an organization that has a good track record and has a good understanding of the situation in the country including contacts with the higher leadership of the military who could evacuate us if such action became necessary. God does not want that to happen because we would lose many patients currently receiving treatment and many more who would come and not find the treatment they need. So please keep praying for us but worry less.

Just a short update. We are very tired but very well. Today I asked Samaritan's Purse if we could return to a "normal" work schedule of 12 to 13 hours a day rather than 15 or more. The night shift we are on is 15 hours of work while the day shift is proportionally shorter. It was not so much that we thought it was unfair but rather for the tremendous tiredness that has pursued us.

We thought we had a work routine established, but everything was different.... After the 13-hour shift Monday night we tried to sleep through the day on Tuesday. Some of us had just fallen into a sound sleep when the coordinators from Samaritan's Purse came to wake us saying, "You have 10 minutes to get ready to leave for Bercy to replace the group there because we believe the night might bring an uprising."

This morning was very special to me. At 3:40 a.m. I attended to a little girl whose dark brown body was flaccid and malnourished. She was brought to me by an anguished mother who (despite not being able to communicate with me since I do not know her language, Creole) was able to transmit through the expression of despair in her face and her gestures her desire that I save this piece of her heart.

We have a really great team. All of them are in good spirits. We love each of them. Thanks for praying for us. Departing Quito went very well. Upon arrival all of our suitcases were quickly at hand and we arrived at the Samaritan's Purse base at Titanyen in the afternoon. That night, after our meal, they asked us if we would go to Bercy, some 30 minutes to the north to a rehydration clinic.

At about 4:30 a.m. Xavier, Dora, Sheila and I got in our partner's van with Paul as our driver. We call him "Tall Paul" because he is about 6'3" or maybe taller. He is an excellent driver and very calm and gentle. He is also one of the technicians for the radio station and reportedly very talented with that equipment.

I've been trying to sort out the emotions flying around inside me on this Africa trip. As the expression says in my part of the world, "This ain't my first rodeo." This is the third medical team I've been on, and I continue to feel privileged to be a part of this team. We work long and hard, get dirty and sweaty, endure heat and humidity in the African sun and cram ourselves into tight transport or into often less-than-ideal conditions. Outwardly, our reward is little more than photos, a few tourist trinkets and bouts of diarrhea, dizziness and dirt.

Today we were at the Ellel Medical Center in Saonre (half an hour outside of Ouagadougou). We have seen a lot of women and babies today here at the ACTS Burkina medical center named Ellel. Nearby is a church under construction and an active school.

The beauty of the colors and patterns the Burkinabe women wear is striking and captivating.

This was our second day at the village of Tangsega. An earlier start and the previous setup from Saturday allowed us to see about 143 patients throughout the day. Once things were up and running, the pace of seeing patients was steady and constant in the clinic.

Today was the first day in a new village called Tangsega. Our partners have told us it is not far from Toeghin but we took a very different route that brought us past rice fields and slightly more greenery. We also spent more time on a main road so our commute was slightly quicker.

Today was our second day in the village of Toeghin. However, the first day we saw very few patients because of an important political rally in the area. On day one Jessica McMillan treated 179 school kids for parasitic worms. We were able to take our time and see the village chief and organize everything for the next day.

Throughout Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, women in beautiful dresses and shiny high-heeled dress shoes ride motorcycles for transportation. Many times they ride double with a friend or family member and additional cargo or children. Now dresses and high heels may not be the ideal clothing for motorcycling, but it works. Three-inch heels locked over the pegs on a motorbike don't tend to slip, and somehow the women gracefully straddle the bikes without hiking up their skirts.

The tent with the 24 beds that we that we prepared on the last day together (Friday) with our medical team was ready and perfect. That same night the first four patients arrived, three of them being from the same family. The mother and two children were in serious condition and would not have survived the night without intravenous hydration. God knew they were going to arrive. His timing is perfect. Samaritan's Purse did not let us leave without a debriefing time with pastors from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Friends, we are planning to return today. Dr. Mark Nelson is going to the U.S., and the other three of us are going to Quito via Panama. We have not yet heard from the airline concerning any possible delay. We believe that there aren't any problems. We have cloudy skies but as the day progresses it is getting clearer and the sun is shining.

We had the impression that the hurricane was losing strength and opened a window (diminishing rain and less wind), so we all worked together to prepare a new tent with 24 beds to treat cholera patients at the gate of the Global Outreach base at Titanyen. This tent, damaged by the storm, was fixed and improved. All team members, including medical professionals, helped with sledge hammers and tools to get it ready.

We have been evacuated from Jackson Beach (about two hours from Titanyen) as we prepare for the "Thomas storm" that is approaching. We looked after patients until 1 p.m., even taking one who was in serious condition to the hospital.

A hug from the Haiti team! Thanks to the Lord, we are all fine. Today the work with the medical team was here in Jackson Beach in the tent camps. Most of the tents are empty, but it seems that it is a "honey pot," an attraction that keeps volunteers from overseas coming in. Nevertheless, when our medical team arrived, it began to be populated quickly, and Drs. Nelson and Nina attended to more than 100 patients.

Your prayers about Tropical Storm Tomás or Fidel or our friend Chávez-at at least the probable sources that cause many problems!-are decreasing more and more. Setting all joking aside, thanks for your prayers. Thanks to the support from you and thousands of people around the world, we are able to serve as your representatives in Haiti. This is an incredible privilege!

We are well preparing to go out on a mobile medical clinic. Here in Jackson Beach everything is smaller and more informal and friendly. Yesterday the doctors had a few cases of malaria, but many other patients. In terms of the tropical storm, it's likely going to gain more strength in the coming hours and days. It could reach Haiti by Saturday. Obviously, these are predictions that keep changing from time to time. I hope to have more updates tonight with more photos.

Now that cholera from the point of view of new infections or cases has diminished drastically, we have moved from the Samaritan's Purse base of operations to Jackson Beach where we were originally destined to work from the outset. But because of the cholera reality, we were assigned to more important work. Obviously everything can change very quickly according to the situation as it develops. Samaritan's Purse's operations in Jackson Beach are focusing on the shelter program for temporary refugees, removing rubble and holding mobile medical clinics.

We're wondering what today will bring. There are two storms close to us. One is called Tomas–a hurricane that is heading in our direction– and the other the very serious possibility that there may be new outbreak of cholera. The epidemiologists believe that there's a high risk of thousands of more cases. For now the situation has calmed down, but in the mountains a community was found to have 60 cases that requite IV treatment.

Hospital Vozandes-Quito functions with a very high occupancy, and we have quite a turnover of patients. Being more of an acute-care hospital, our patients stay with us for days and weeks rather than months, and sometimes we don't get to know them all that well.

Gibraltar is one of the strangest places I've ever been. It sits at the far south of Spain, on the straits that bridge the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It's actually a British overseas territory, and on a clear day the hills of Morocco can be seen to the south across the straits. It's the only place I know that you have to walk across the runway to get to it...

Who would accept the daunting task of taking more than a year to upgrade a 50,000-watt "prototype" transmitter for long-term broadcast service on the mission field? At the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., the engineers saw it as a personal challenge and an opportunity to help our long-time radio partner, Trans World Radio (TWR), in Swaziland.

You can imagine that many people are saying, "Merci, gracias, vielen dank, thank you!" This is for you. Thanks once again for a day full of activity. Thanks be to the Lord that the number of cholera cases are diminishing at an encouraging rate. Ian McFarland went with a group of doctors to Cité Soleil and the inseparable duo of Dr. Nina and Dr. Nelson went to Villard where a rehydration clinic has been set up. There were 36 patients there of which 10 received intravenous treatment. I went with other co-workers from Samaritan's Purse to three locations where water purification systems were installed to help stop the spread of cholera.

We are at the primary Samaritan's Purse base in Titanyen where we have housing for everyone, a helicopter base, sports fields, security, Internet access, etc. The mobile medical teams leave from here each day to various destinations. In our case yesterday the HCJB Global team went to a poor suburb known as Cité Soleil. There's a local church there, a clinic, a school and a big place of worship behind 12-foot-high walls. Today Ian and I returned to the same place with other volunteer doctors while Drs. Nelson and Nina went to Villard to treat other patients.

Kim Pau is a Burmese pastor/worship leader/songwriter whom HCJB Global Asia Pacific is helping. Michio Ozaki and I (Ty Stakes)have co-produced his album; a 12 song recording of original Burmese worship tunes by Kim Pau, with tracks recorded and mixed in Singapore, Texas and Arizona. It has been a fun long-distance collaboration. This is one of the first, all original Christian music recordings in the Burmese language. Our prayer is that it will ignite worship and revival in the hearts of Burmese people everywhere.

It happened again today. I wasn't really expecting it, but if I had thought about what God was doing, I might have guessed that this would happen. For all of my life I have earnestly sought to walk close to God. My motto: "Not what I want, but what you want for me, oh Lord."

It's been a banner year for new Christian radio stations in Ghana, the country in West Africa that hosts our mission's regional office. At the end of July, Word FM officially went on the air in the northern city of Bolgatanga, becoming the third new station so far. Bolgatanga …that's a name you've got to love. It just sounds exciting. The locals just call it "Bolga."

The radio planting ministry at the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., continues at a rapid pace. In the past six months, systems and transmitting equipment have been sent to Ghana, Mozambique, Burundi, Indonesia (43 stations now on the air), Latvia, Togo, Samoa, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and others.

This August, I will be joining a medical team going from Quito, Ecuador, to Haiti to help out with ongoing relief efforts in and around the capital city of Port-au-Prince after the earthquake there in January. Specifically, we will be working in a community know as Cité Soleil (City of the Sun).

Our world … and the church … are radically changing. In 1900, 70 percent of the world's Christians lived in Europe. Today only 28 percent of those who say they're Christian live in Europe.

Right now one of the projects I'm working on is with a ministry partner that is sending biblical programming into the Middle East via commercial satellite TV. My job is to help them define the proper equipment to enable them to continue broadcasting the much-needed message of the gospel into this part of the world.

Summer was a great time in Cork, Ireland, as our summer internship program, Eternal Impact, was a great opportunity for three young adults to come to the country and participate in radio training.

It was only 8 a.m. but the African morning was hot and humid with the smell of nearby cooking fires lingering in the air. Eva had walked more than a mile to work, so sweat was on her brow as she arrived, a brilliant white smile etched across her ebony face. Numa, the African grey parrot, greeted her with a "Mornin' Eva!" No electricity that morning, but Eva took it all in stride as she began to sing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." She sings this to praise God for the day, but also hoping Numa will soon learn the tune!

Right now we're planning and preparing for our next trip to Haiti. Our team leaves on Aug. 28, and today we had our first team meeting. We are going to be working with Samaritan's Purse in the Cité Soleil area of Port-au-Prince. A small clinic is there, and we will be seeing patients from the surrounding areas. Security will be a huge issue, but we know that God has opened up this door for us to serve, and we're trusting and praying that our team will have an impact for God's kingdom.

Check out the latest video from Ty Stakes in Asia Pacific!

Let me tell you the story of Helena and Alexander, two children living in the city of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in Central Asia. Alexander and Helena are just like any other children in their country except for the fact that their parents are Christians, and both children love the Lord Jesus.

The office comes alive with new voices many times a year at the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Indiana. Some of us are involved in setting up the testing area and preparing a luncheon for those volunteers who arrive from area churches. They come to help with the testing and packaging of SonSet^® radios.

I am writing this from Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. So far I haven't seen anything that would indicate this is a capital city of anywhere. The streets are crowded with small motorcycles, weaving in and out of the traffic. Brightly clad West African women zoom along, sometimes with two or three to a seat and a confidence that is bordering on suicidal!

The first line of the book, The Post-American World, hit me hard for a variety of reasons. I was expecting this book to be the latest in a string of "doom and gloom" accounts about the U.S. (and, subsequently, Canada). That is why his first line caught my attention: "This is a book not about the decline of America but the rise of everyone else."

Recently I attended a debate at the University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland. The topic was, "A motion to reject atheism," and some of the comments were both enlightening and disheartening. It was pretty clear that neither one of the non-atheists were Christians.

I want you to meet my new friend Mike—Mike Mafa from Soul FM in Botswana. When I met him recently in Johannesburg at the first Africa by Radio convention, the first thing I noticed was his smile. It's impossible to miss! He smiles when he talks, when he sings, when he prays—especially when he prays.

Check out our latest video about ministry in Nepal!

If you need to smile ... below is a note from a Thai club coordinator running a club for kids, held literally in the street. I had told him that our material was really geared for people ages 15-35, but he wanted to try anyway so that he could build relationships with the parents in the neighborhood. He started his club a year ago. The kids that come are ages 5 to 13.

Barb and I are back in Quito these days where we lived for 30 years. Since 1931 HCJB Global has been speaking to the world from its broadcast facilities in Ecuador. For nearly six decades the mission operated a huge international transmitter site in Pifo, Ecuador, with powerful antennas that sent signals worldwide. Programs were produced in the studios in Quito and sent via microwave to the site in Pifo. From there they were literally sent around the world via shortwave.

[Blog entries from HCJB Global staff who arrived in Haiti within hours of the earthquake.] We are all well. Now in sit at a Baptist Mission Hospital on edge of Port-au-Prince up on a mountain. Many hundreds of patients flooding this small hospital with limited facilities. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. I am mucking in with whatever. I helped fix up a broken leg and generally running around to make sure all the medical team have what they need to do their job... Read more...

International ministry can sometimes seem like a fairy tale. Not in the “happily ever after” sense, but in the “far away land” sense. We know that it is happening, and we see the stories about it, maybe even meet some of the people who live and serve in different countries as missionaries. But do we really understand it? Is it actually real?

Bill George, author of TRUE NORTH, says: "Too many people reach the top only to lose their moral compasses." We've seen that in recent days when a promising congressman torpedos his political career with foolish indiscretions. We've seen prominent pastors who lose family, reputation and ministry for momentary and risky behavior. Too often, successful, talented people feel they're invulnerable to getting caught. They pursue their narcissistic pleasures to the ruin of their moral reputation.

It’s nice to have friends like Ken Mikesell. Ken is the president/general manager of one of the finest Christian television stations in the country. TV45 in Orlando has built a huge audience by broadcasting clean, classic general programming like “Father Knows Best,” “Leave It to Beaver” and “The Andy Griffith Show.”

I'm reminded how Jesus told us His followers will be persecuted. No exceptions. In fact, Matthew 6 describes special rewards to those who suffer for their faith. We see it all the time. Just a short time ago, one of our ministry partners was shot and killed in front of his office by enemies of the gospel.

I could hardly believe it. It was the International Luncheon at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville. Our HCJB Global partner in Indonesia was the guest speaker. He told about how he's planted 40 community FM stations in his country. As a result, more than 7,000 listeners are coming to Christ through the broadcasts each year. In addition, more than 1,100 churches have been planted in some of the most unreached places of the country.

One of the (few) advantages of hours on an airplane is the opportunity to slowly read God's Word. On my return from Quito last week, I relished some quantity and quality time in 2 Corinthians 5 and 6. Paul wrote 2 Corinthians to his ministry leaders in Corinth. So his instructions to his team are very applicable to those of us in ministry today.

One year ago I was having dinner in Colorado Springs with Charles Morris of Haven Today. On the way home I got a call that a massive earthquake had hit Haiti. Later that night, Sheila Leech, our vice president of international healthcare, called and said we needed to send a medical team to Haiti to be the hands of Jesus for all the hurting people. I said, "Let's do it!"

Our world … and the church … are radically changing. In 1900, 70 percent of the world's Christians lived in Europe. Today only 28 percent of those who say they're Christian live in Europe.

Kim Pau is a Burmese pastor/worship leader/songwriter whom HCJB Global Asia Pacific is helping. Michio Ozaki and I (Ty Stakes)have co-produced his album; a 12 song recording of original Burmese worship tunes by Kim Pau, with tracks recorded and mixed in Singapore, Texas and Arizona. It has been a fun long-distance collaboration. This is one of the first, all original Christian music recordings in the Burmese language. Our prayer is that it will ignite worship and revival in the hearts of Burmese people everywhere.

Check out the latest video from Ty Stakes in Asia Pacific!

Check out our latest video about ministry in Nepal!

If you need to smile ... below is a note from a Thai club coordinator running a club for kids, held literally in the street. I had told him that our material was really geared for people ages 15-35, but he wanted to try anyway so that he could build relationships with the parents in the neighborhood. He started his club a year ago. The kids that come are ages 5 to 13.

Would you believe it is possible for people from countries all over the world to descend on one little town and work in harmony to accomplish a single goal? While it may seem like a fairy-tale, I saw it first-hand on a recent trip to Spain. I went there to visit one of HCJB Global’s offices and encountered a radio station broadcasting the message of Jesus Christ into the community. That radio station and the Good News it is transmitting is changing lives.

Summer was a great time in Cork, Ireland, as our summer internship program, Eternal Impact, was a great opportunity for three young adults to come to the country and participate in radio training.

Let me tell you the story of Helena and Alexander, two children living in the city of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in Central Asia. Alexander and Helena are just like any other children in their country except for the fact that their parents are Christians, and both children love the Lord Jesus.

Recently I attended a debate at the University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland. The topic was, "A motion to reject atheism," and some of the comments were both enlightening and disheartening. It was pretty clear that neither one of the non-atheists were Christians.

Earlier this month, 11 people traveled together to Haiti for a short-term mission trip. Yes, there is still great need there, even almost 3 years after the devastating earthquake that rocked the small nation in 2010.

Watch the testimony of lives Changed for Christ through HCJB in Ecuador!

All is well in Haiti, or to explain the play on words … all is about wells in Haiti! César Cortez, an Ecuadorian missionary with HCJB Global Hands' community development team, is spending three weeks in Haiti, providing strategic assistance to Lifewater International, one of our long-term partners.

As we began seeing patients for the second week in a row, the team had a feeling of confidence and pride in that no one had died from cholera while we were taking care of them. There had been several patients that had arrived in dire straits and were only saved through quick intervention by the team.

First of all, let me assure you that we are in very good hands, because we're trusting God who is caring for us so that in a week's time we'll be able to embrace you. On the other hand, we are with an organization that has a good track record and has a good understanding of the situation in the country including contacts with the higher leadership of the military who could evacuate us if such action became necessary. God does not want that to happen because we would lose many patients currently receiving treatment and many more who would come and not find the treatment they need. So please keep praying for us but worry less.

Just a short update. We are very tired but very well. Today I asked Samaritan's Purse if we could return to a "normal" work schedule of 12 to 13 hours a day rather than 15 or more. The night shift we are on is 15 hours of work while the day shift is proportionally shorter. It was not so much that we thought it was unfair but rather for the tremendous tiredness that has pursued us.

We thought we had a work routine established, but everything was different.... After the 13-hour shift Monday night we tried to sleep through the day on Tuesday. Some of us had just fallen into a sound sleep when the coordinators from Samaritan's Purse came to wake us saying, "You have 10 minutes to get ready to leave for Bercy to replace the group there because we believe the night might bring an uprising."

This morning was very special to me. At 3:40 a.m. I attended to a little girl whose dark brown body was flaccid and malnourished. She was brought to me by an anguished mother who (despite not being able to communicate with me since I do not know her language, Creole) was able to transmit through the expression of despair in her face and her gestures her desire that I save this piece of her heart.

We have a really great team. All of them are in good spirits. We love each of them. Thanks for praying for us. Departing Quito went very well. Upon arrival all of our suitcases were quickly at hand and we arrived at the Samaritan's Purse base at Titanyen in the afternoon. That night, after our meal, they asked us if we would go to Bercy, some 30 minutes to the north to a rehydration clinic.

The tent with the 24 beds that we that we prepared on the last day together (Friday) with our medical team was ready and perfect. That same night the first four patients arrived, three of them being from the same family. The mother and two children were in serious condition and would not have survived the night without intravenous hydration. God knew they were going to arrive. His timing is perfect. Samaritan's Purse did not let us leave without a debriefing time with pastors from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Friends, we are planning to return today. Dr. Mark Nelson is going to the U.S., and the other three of us are going to Quito via Panama. We have not yet heard from the airline concerning any possible delay. We believe that there aren't any problems. We have cloudy skies but as the day progresses it is getting clearer and the sun is shining.

We had the impression that the hurricane was losing strength and opened a window (diminishing rain and less wind), so we all worked together to prepare a new tent with 24 beds to treat cholera patients at the gate of the Global Outreach base at Titanyen. This tent, damaged by the storm, was fixed and improved. All team members, including medical professionals, helped with sledge hammers and tools to get it ready.

We have been evacuated from Jackson Beach (about two hours from Titanyen) as we prepare for the "Thomas storm" that is approaching. We looked after patients until 1 p.m., even taking one who was in serious condition to the hospital.

A hug from the Haiti team! Thanks to the Lord, we are all fine. Today the work with the medical team was here in Jackson Beach in the tent camps. Most of the tents are empty, but it seems that it is a "honey pot," an attraction that keeps volunteers from overseas coming in. Nevertheless, when our medical team arrived, it began to be populated quickly, and Drs. Nelson and Nina attended to more than 100 patients.

Your prayers about Tropical Storm Tomás or Fidel or our friend Chávez-at at least the probable sources that cause many problems!-are decreasing more and more. Setting all joking aside, thanks for your prayers. Thanks to the support from you and thousands of people around the world, we are able to serve as your representatives in Haiti. This is an incredible privilege!

We are well preparing to go out on a mobile medical clinic. Here in Jackson Beach everything is smaller and more informal and friendly. Yesterday the doctors had a few cases of malaria, but many other patients. In terms of the tropical storm, it's likely going to gain more strength in the coming hours and days. It could reach Haiti by Saturday. Obviously, these are predictions that keep changing from time to time. I hope to have more updates tonight with more photos.

Now that cholera from the point of view of new infections or cases has diminished drastically, we have moved from the Samaritan's Purse base of operations to Jackson Beach where we were originally destined to work from the outset. But because of the cholera reality, we were assigned to more important work. Obviously everything can change very quickly according to the situation as it develops. Samaritan's Purse's operations in Jackson Beach are focusing on the shelter program for temporary refugees, removing rubble and holding mobile medical clinics.

We're wondering what today will bring. There are two storms close to us. One is called Tomas–a hurricane that is heading in our direction– and the other the very serious possibility that there may be new outbreak of cholera. The epidemiologists believe that there's a high risk of thousands of more cases. For now the situation has calmed down, but in the mountains a community was found to have 60 cases that requite IV treatment.

Hospital Vozandes-Quito functions with a very high occupancy, and we have quite a turnover of patients. Being more of an acute-care hospital, our patients stay with us for days and weeks rather than months, and sometimes we don't get to know them all that well.

You can imagine that many people are saying, "Merci, gracias, vielen dank, thank you!" This is for you. Thanks once again for a day full of activity. Thanks be to the Lord that the number of cholera cases are diminishing at an encouraging rate. Ian McFarland went with a group of doctors to Cité Soleil and the inseparable duo of Dr. Nina and Dr. Nelson went to Villard where a rehydration clinic has been set up. There were 36 patients there of which 10 received intravenous treatment. I went with other co-workers from Samaritan's Purse to three locations where water purification systems were installed to help stop the spread of cholera.

We are at the primary Samaritan's Purse base in Titanyen where we have housing for everyone, a helicopter base, sports fields, security, Internet access, etc. The mobile medical teams leave from here each day to various destinations. In our case yesterday the HCJB Global team went to a poor suburb known as Cité Soleil. There's a local church there, a clinic, a school and a big place of worship behind 12-foot-high walls. Today Ian and I returned to the same place with other volunteer doctors while Drs. Nelson and Nina went to Villard to treat other patients.

It happened again today. I wasn't really expecting it, but if I had thought about what God was doing, I might have guessed that this would happen. For all of my life I have earnestly sought to walk close to God. My motto: "Not what I want, but what you want for me, oh Lord."

This August, I will be joining a medical team going from Quito, Ecuador, to Haiti to help out with ongoing relief efforts in and around the capital city of Port-au-Prince after the earthquake there in January. Specifically, we will be working in a community know as Cité Soleil (City of the Sun).

Right now we're planning and preparing for our next trip to Haiti. Our team leaves on Aug. 28, and today we had our first team meeting. We are going to be working with Samaritan's Purse in the Cité Soleil area of Port-au-Prince. A small clinic is there, and we will be seeing patients from the surrounding areas. Security will be a huge issue, but we know that God has opened up this door for us to serve, and we're trusting and praying that our team will have an impact for God's kingdom.

I am writing this from Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. So far I haven't seen anything that would indicate this is a capital city of anywhere. The streets are crowded with small motorcycles, weaving in and out of the traffic. Brightly clad West African women zoom along, sometimes with two or three to a seat and a confidence that is bordering on suicidal!

The first line of the book, The Post-American World, hit me hard for a variety of reasons. I was expecting this book to be the latest in a string of "doom and gloom" accounts about the U.S. (and, subsequently, Canada). That is why his first line caught my attention: "This is a book not about the decline of America but the rise of everyone else."

Barb and I are back in Quito these days where we lived for 30 years. Since 1931 HCJB Global has been speaking to the world from its broadcast facilities in Ecuador. For nearly six decades the mission operated a huge international transmitter site in Pifo, Ecuador, with powerful antennas that sent signals worldwide. Programs were produced in the studios in Quito and sent via microwave to the site in Pifo. From there they were literally sent around the world via shortwave.

[Blog entries from HCJB Global staff who arrived in Haiti within hours of the earthquake.] We are all well. Now in sit at a Baptist Mission Hospital on edge of Port-au-Prince up on a mountain. Many hundreds of patients flooding this small hospital with limited facilities. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. I am mucking in with whatever. I helped fix up a broken leg and generally running around to make sure all the medical team have what they need to do their job... Read more...

Fffffffffffth… The soft yet distinct sound of the blow gun can be heard in the jungles of the Amazon rainforest. For the animal hit by its dart, death is almost certain. The darts are tipped with curare or “the flying death.” It is also called “Ticuna poison,” for which the Ticuna Indians are known.

Who would accept the daunting task of taking more than a year to upgrade a 50,000-watt "prototype" transmitter for long-term broadcast service on the mission field? At the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., the engineers saw it as a personal challenge and an opportunity to help our long-time radio partner, Trans World Radio (TWR), in Swaziland.

The radio planting ministry at the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., continues at a rapid pace. In the past six months, systems and transmitting equipment have been sent to Ghana, Mozambique, Burundi, Indonesia (43 stations now on the air), Latvia, Togo, Samoa, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and others.

Right now one of the projects I'm working on is with a ministry partner that is sending biblical programming into the Middle East via commercial satellite TV. My job is to help them define the proper equipment to enable them to continue broadcasting the much-needed message of the gospel into this part of the world.

The office comes alive with new voices many times a year at the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Indiana. Some of us are involved in setting up the testing area and preparing a luncheon for those volunteers who arrive from area churches. They come to help with the testing and packaging of SonSet^® radios.

A faithful radio broadcaster, an insightful letter writer, a perceptive pastor, and a coordinating Saviour...