June/July 2018

WorldListening

Inside this issue

Region Focus: Central Asia, Middle East, North Africa

1 million mark for TWR360

TWR-UK: News Focus

Prayer Matters

www.twr.org.uk

As the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on 25 May, I thought Iwould explain a few things.

We believe that, because of your continued and legitimate interest in TWR’s ministry, we cancontinue to communicate with you as we are currently doing. So our aim is to carry on sending youListening World and other letters you've been receiving from us.

However, please do let us know if you want to change anything at any time by emailingtwr@twr.org.uk or phoning 0161 923 0270.

For your interest and peace of mind, we have made our privacy policy and supporter charteravailable on our website twr.org.uk. Scroll to the bottom of any page and you’ll see the links on theright. These documents explain how we gather, use, manage and protect your personal details andprivacy.

Thank you for partnering with TWR. Thousands of lives around the world are being transformedevery year through our broadcasts, which are made possible by your prayers and gifts. And I thankGod for you and for all our faithful supporters.

Yours in Christ,

From the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Russell Farnworth.

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Broadcasting in the UK:

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TWR’s bank account for the UK is: CAF BANK Limited, PO Box 289, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4TA.Sort code 40-52-40, A/c number 00006887.

Thank you for your ongoing support whichmakes it possible for us to continue reaching out and touching hearts with the Gospel.

Our commitment to you: read TWR-UK’sSupporter Charter at www.twr.org.uk/charter.

Trans World Radio Ltd. is a non-profit-making Limited Company No 782348 and aRegistered Charity in England No 233363.

Address: TWR, PO Box 606, Altrincham, WA14 2YS

Tel: 0161 923 0270Email: info@twr.org.ukWeb: www.twr.org.uk

190 countries

230 languages

One Hope

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Responding to Oppression andRadicalisation in North Africa

The oppression of Christians in Eritrea isn’t widelyrecognised, but that is probably because independentand international media are largely absent from thiscountry in north-east Africa.

That’s the view of Asali Kali Kimbo, an Eritreannative who is host of the TWR radio programmeYouth Bible Study. In an environment wherehuman rights in general are violated regularly,Kimbo said, informants monitor religiousgatherings and many Christian leaders havedisappeared or been imprisoned.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fledpoverty, authoritarian rule and militaryconscription. Many of those have joined thewave of refugees making the frequently deadlycrossing of the Mediterranean to Europe.

Kimbo (not his real name) was an investigative

journalist who fled Eritrea to avoid sharing thefate of another man from his community whowas kidnapped and mysteriously killed. WhenKimbo’s wife and three children tried to followhim, they all died in a boat accident. Even in themost difficult times, he said, God took care ofhim and eventually led him to TWR Africa andYouth Bible Study.

The programme allows him to encouragelisteners living among the persecution backhome. “It reminds them about the sufferings ofthe early Christians and how they survived andresisted the Christian persecution,” Kimbo said.

“It gives them hope to continue to bear theirsufferings with strong conviction … to buildtheir faith by placing their sufferings under thefeet of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Christianbroadcasting is a powerful weapon that helps

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Christians to live in tolerance and endure theexisting challenges they are facing.”

Along with Youth Bible Study in the Kunama andTigre languages, TWR broadcasts programmessuch as Thru the Bible and Megazine MeleketeSelam (Message of Peace) in Eritrea’s mainlanguage of Tigrinya from its shortwavetransmitter in Swaziland.

Programmes like The Way of Righteousness arepart of a strategy responding to rising radicalism in Africa. Africa has the 10 countriesin the world with the youngest populations,where the median ages are between 14 and 22.For youth living with poverty, misery, andinjustice, radicalisation is a temptation.

The Way of Righteousness is a series that uses thestories of the Bible to distinguish betweenreligious rituals and righteousness before God,and has been very effective at explaining theBible to Muslims. While about a dozen languagetranslations are already on the air, TWR wouldlike to produce this programme in the Tigrinyalanguage for Eritrea.

“It is my deepest conviction that prayers andfasting by Christians in countries where there islittle or no persecution would definitely make animpact for the people of Eritrea,” Kimbo said. “Inaddition, Christians should unite and lift theirvoices to the international community abouthow the Eritrean Christians are suffering.”

Region Focus: CAMENATWR’s mission to the world takes in over 190 countries. Wherever you go in the world you canexpect to find TWR’s signature of faithful Bible teaching applied to the local culture in the locallanguage. Here we begin a series of articles in Listening World taking you through each of TWR’s majorregions in turn to see how the ministry looks in each area. We begin, as TWR did, in North Africa.

A Potted History1954 Dr Paul Freed began transmitting Gospel teaching broadcasts from Tangier, Morocco, into Spain. This

may seem contrary through modern eyes, but in the 1950s Spain was under General Franco andProtestants were prohibited from evangelising, owning property or distributing Christian materials. That ministry, known as Voice of Tangier, was the birth of TWR.

1956 Voice of Tangier broadcast to 40 countries in 20 languages.1959 The Moroccan government nationalised all radio stations, effectively ending the ministry from Tangier.1960 TWR moved to Monte Carlo, to a building built under Hitler to broadcast Nazi propaganda, and

began speaking hope to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.1974 Transmissions began from Cyprus to the Middle East.1996 A transmitter in an undisclosed location in Central Asia (TWR’s 10th transmitter) began broadcasting

to some of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Today, one of TWR’s regions is known as CAMENA: Central Asia, Middle East, North Africa. In this edition youcan find out about just some of the programmes that are broadcast in this spiritually needy region.

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The Christian Home programmes offerpractical hope and solid counsel toKarakalpak families in their variouswalks of life.

Central Asia

Today, four of the five countries that make upCentral Asia – Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (all exceptKyrgystan) – appear on the World Watch List ofthe nations with the most widespreadpersecution of Christians.

The region has entered a time of heightenedoppression due to several factors. Extremismand tightening government restrictions onreligious freedom have played a primary role,causing paranoia and a new depth of distrust notseen since before the dissolution of the SovietUnion.

Though large areas of Central Asia initiallyexperienced a period of religious freedom afterthe collapse of the Soviet Union, many considerthis new era parallel to the harsh and fearfulatmosphere they experienced under communistrule. Christians and religious minorities areroutinely subjected to violent church raids,invasive phone-tapping and outrageous fines forsimply possessing Bible materials. Today, manybelievers even fear meeting in groups greaterthan 8-10 people.

The Body of Christ in Central Asia is indesperate need of encouragement, nourishment,and hope. Praise God that programmes likeSprings of Living Water and Spiritual Filled Life aremeeting these critical needs. These programmesprovide spiritual support and discipleship toChristians who are hungry for the renewingpromises of God’s Word.

The Central Asia ministry is one of speaking into silence. Fear of persecution often makeslisteners in Central Asia fearful of makingcontact. TWR receives 1-2 listener letters permonth on average in Uzbekistan. This may seeminsignificant in a country of over 30 millionpeople, but writing to or calling a Christian radiostation may come with a heavy cost. Each letter,which often comes on behalf of a family, theirneighbours and their church, represents manymore listeners.

We have seen God work in the most isolatedareas through TWR broadcasts. This is whatgives us the strength to remain committed tothe work. We know our heavenly Father goesbefore us and is caring for the hearts and soulsof individuals in desperate need of his Word –individuals from whom we may never hear.

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Hope for Syria addresses topics like thepsychological effects of trauma, fear,anger, and uncertainty. It also addressesmedical concerns and provides ongoingspiritual encouragement to its listeners.

Middle East

“Hello. Am I calling TWR? My name is Ibrahim.”

The voice on the end of the line was hesitant,but after he was reassured by a local TWR staffmember, he explained why he was calling.

He and a small group of friends were listeningtogether to Talamatha, a 30 minute, Arabic radioprogramme that gives house church pastors, layreaders, and new believers a deeper knowledgeand understanding of the Bible.

Discussing the Gospel is forbidden in manyMuslim countries, and meeting together for Bibleteaching can put individuals at unthinkable risk.But radio programmes like Talamatha allowthose like Ibrahim to study the Word in thesafety of their own home. “Talamatha is sohelpful for people like us who cannot go tochurch or who live far away from fellowship,”Ibrahim told us.

Radio programmes like Talamatha andDiscipleship on the Air – mentoring programmesfor house church leaders and new believers –are the only source of discipleship many have in

regions of the world where owning a Bible orprofessing faith in Christ can cost you your life.

The Middle East can also be a volatile place togrow up. Ala’s Diary is a 15 minute programmethat addresses the issues Middle Eastern youthface today: peer pressure, dating, addiction,gossip, sexual relationships and more. It providesteenagers and young adults with a safe place toshare and experience community. And mostimportantly, it gives them a place to learn moreabout Jesus and his concern for their lives.

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North Africa

A listener to the Berber Kabyle languagebroadcasts in North Africa contacted TWR to saythat he had shared some Bible verses with afriend, and explained them to him. Our listenertakes up the story. “My friend asked me if hecould borrow my Bible. I gave him my Bible as agift and the broadcast frequency of TWR. Fifteendays later, he came back to see me, accompaniedby five of his friends, and asked that I give themBibles as well.

The leader of our village’s [place of worship] hadlearned what had happened. He told me, “I amgoing to file a complaint against you because youwant to empty our place of worship to fill yourchurch.” I told him, “I am nothing in this business. Ionly do what my Master has ordered me to do.”

He asked me, “Who is your Master?”

I answered him, “My Master is Jesus – file acomplaint against him, if you want.”

My dear friends, every day there are newconverts, and they need your programmes. Knowthat you are our great institute of Biblicalteaching. But keep us on your prayer list. Becausethe fight is tough!”

Amsiggel or “Seeker” in the SousTachelhit language speaks Gospel hopeto the indigenous Sous people group ofNorth Africa, of whom up to 80% areilliterate.

“The good news of Jesus had gripped themso much that they just had to share it withtheir families and friends. Some of themjoined them in their new faith, but manyothers didn’t. Again and again I heardabout rejection, hostility and persecution.If you want to follow Christ in this part ofthe world, you have to be really sincere.All the more it filled me with joy how theLord had been guiding the people.”

From an International BoardRepresentative on her first visit to Central Asia.

Postcard from…Central Asia

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1 million mark for TWR360For the first time since its inception in May 2013, users visited TWR360 more than 1 million times in January this year – a watershed moment for TWR’s multilingual online Bible teaching platform.

“There was a ceiling that we had been aware of for a long time and we wanted to break through it,” TWR360 Marketing and Operations Manager David Creech said. “But we can't do it. God brings those users. God moves hearts. It's notTWR360 doing it. It's how God moves and when God moves. And the timing happened to be that onthe 28th January, the ceiling was shattered.”

While topping 1 million visits in a single month is a strong indicator of TWR360’s broad impact, it’sthe responses from users that reveal how varied and profound the impact can be. One user wrote inArabic, “I am a Muslim and am 17 years old. I want to learn Christianity. I want to know more aboutwho Jesus is and what the Gospel is. Please help me.”

“Comments like that bring tears to your eyes,” Creech said, “Good Bible teaching is where we getthe emotional, heartfelt responses.”

TWR360 aim to continue to build the platform, and have the ambitious goal of having 100 languagesavailable on the site within a year.

No Longer Alone“In one of your programmes, You are Mine!, you said something similar to the fact that God worksthrough the stories of people with handicaps to speak to the healthy ones. And that is what ishappening to me.

I am a great pessimist. I often worry, lose trust, and give up. But God uses your programmes to showme how he sees me. I have worked in a coal mine for 37 years under hard conditions, and there havebeen consequences. I will be 55 soon. Retirement is still another 10 years away, and I wonder whatwill happen to me then. I am alone—no family, no children. What kind of future is waiting for me?

But even in the doubts and worries, your programmes bring me hope. The testimonies along withyour loving and empathetic words are an ointment for my soul. That is why I love your programmes.They make me feel like I have a family. You are there speaking, I am here listening, and the people whotalk about their stories all gives me a feeling of family oneness, understanding, and love."—Czech listener

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If you tune in regularly to TWR-UK you will have noticed that we are buildingup our news and current affairs coverage. Listening World met with ournews team and started by asking them why Christians should careabout what happens in the news.

TWR News Focus:

James - I would simply pointout that Jesus was interested inthe news. There’s a little-knownverse in Luke chapter 13 (verse4). In that verse Jesus commentson the collapse of a tower thatkilled 18 people. This wouldhave been one of the big issuesof the day. Not only did Jesuscomment on it, he used it as ateaching opportunity. It’simportant for us to not onlyread the news but also to thinkthrough what our Christianresponse should be.

Eddie - God is concernedabout what happens in hisworld, which means we shouldbe too. Christians should careabout the news because theycan use it to point to the

promises God has made to theworld, to the hope in the futurethat they have, and thereforethe importance of Jesus Christ.

Dave - A famous writer oncesaid that “to understand all is toforgive all”. But how can weunderstand if we’re notinformed?  In essence, that’swhat journalism is at its best.  AsChristians we need to knowwhat is happening around us sowe can pray, act, and speakGod’s truth into situationsaffecting people in the UK andaround the world.

James, how will yournew programme, TheFront Page, help ourlisteners?

The Front Page is an opportunityfor us to reflect on one of thebiggest news stories of the day.We live in a society now whereit seems everyone wants tohave a say on the big issues andwe want you to be able to dothat with a Christian voice.

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why should we care?Eddie, how can wework out how torespond to the news?

Your response should be shapedentirely by your knowledge ofGod; that means being rooted inhis Word and praying forwisdom. The closer we are toGod’s Word the closer we areto seeing the world as God seesit. Then use that wisdom torespond to the things you read,see, or hear.

Dave, how can weprotect ourselvesfrom feelingoverwhelmed by the news?

In keeping with Philippians 4:8,we need to spend enough time

celebrating the good in ourneighbours – reflecting on theachievements, success anddecency of so much of God’shandiwork.  Let’s not be passivelisteners, readers or watchers;isn’t it better to go outthere and look for goodnews?  From friends, at church,in our communities – and thenshare it.

You canlisten toThe Front

PageMonday toFriday at10pm,

or find theomnibusedition onSaturdayevening at 8pm.

During June and July we invite you to join us in praying for TWR’s ministry in the CAMENA region and (at the weekends) in the UK. You can read more about TWR’s work in the CAMENA region onpages 3-8 of Listening World.

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TWR, PO Box 606, Altrincham, WA14 2YS. Tel: 0161 923 0270, E-mail: info@twr.org.uk, Web: www.twr.org.uk

Prayer is the backbone of TWR – and we are so grateful that you stand alongside us in intercession! God delights to change people’s lives and we are amazed and humbled that He allows TWR to be a part of it all.

Prayer Matters Oral Learners

MONDAYS

TUESDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

THURSDAYS

FRIDAYS

WEEKENDS

Please pray for the people involved in translating The Way of Righteousness into Tigrinya, and for those who will listen to it.

Praise God for over 50 years of broadcasting to the CAMENA region and for so many lives changed.

Please pray for listeners in Central Asia, that they will be encouraged and strengthened by the broadcasts and be

able to remain faithful in difficult circumstances.

Please pray for the young people who listen to Ala’s Diary in the Middle East. Pray that they will find direction for their lives and

encounter the Lord Jesus in the broadcasts.

Praise God for those involved in the technical side ofbroadcasting across the large CAMENA region.

Please pray that they will be aware of His presence in their day-to-day tasks.

Please pray for our news team as they seek to bring news and current affairs to our listeners. Pray that they will have a clear, Biblical worldview

and that all their programmes will be honouring to the Lord.

Please pray for our listeners, that they will know the Lord Jesus better through the programmes they hear.

PRAYER DIARY