Inept seems a harsh description of someone, but this was how some leaders deemed Galo upon his expulsion from their religious group. When he came for counseling at Radio Station HCJB in Quito, he told his story. The leaders prodded and pushed Galo for 10 years to go and proselytize by visiting door to door, but he never could make himself do it. Finally he was put out.
As he and the counselor, Antonio, looked at the Scriptures together, things became more clear to Galo. “With great interest in the Lord he asked me how to be saved,” said Antonio. So they talked on and when Galo was ready, he got on his knees. As tears fell from his eyes, he prayed and received Jesus into his heart at the age of 75.
In the languages of Quichua and Spanish, we seek to connect with Ecuadorian believers and unite the evangelical church via Radio Station HCJB AM in Quito.
Our HCJB FM station reaches out with contemporary music, interviews and brief programs that are contextualized to people’s immediate as well as deeply felt needs. FM repeaters in Ambato, Esmeraldas, Machala and Manta /Portoviejo carry the signal to other parts our host country.
From the city of Guayaquil HCJB-2, La Conexión, (The Connection) reaches much of coastal Ecuador.
Want to witness how listeners have made these stations THEIR stations? Then you’ll just need to visit Misión Compartida in either Quito or Guayaquil. It’s a radio shareathon, sure. But in the Latin American context, a radio sharathon is SO MUCH MORE!
Even if you cannot join us for this radio event that resembles a county fair when country folks arrive to donate chickens, guineau pigs and goats for THEIR station, look at the pictures and try to imagine the revelry, the on-air banter, and the online donations coming from Ecuadorian expatriates in other parts of the world.
The first Misión Compartida was held in January 2000, a radical departure from the mission’s funding procedures in previous decades. “People said it couldn’t be done—that Latinos would never donate to support their station,” said Pederson. “This year (2011) HCJB-AM, HCJB-FM and HCJB-2 raised a total of $390,000 for the ministry!”
Three-hundred-ninety-thousand – well, that’s a lot of dollars! (Ecuador’s currency switched to the dollar in 2000.) We’ll try once more to illustrate that this is an all-out community effort by loyal HCJB listeners, some of whose grandparents were listeners long ago. The piggy banks in the hands of Ecuadorian children who arrive at the donation tables, well those are poignant moments and often someone pulls out a camera to catch a shot of such commitment at an early age.
But you just have to come and see that yourself sometime!
