Nicaragua Felix Relief Project Update

Hurricane Felix slammed into the Nicaraguan east coast in early September bringing damage and devastation similar to Katrina but to an area much more fragile in its infrastructure and buildings. Crops and homes were damaged and destroyed. Thousands were left hurting.

Visiting the village of Francia to assist in the repair the Radio Station that we had helped to establish was an experience that resulted in a project to assist the village with rebuilding the homes that had been totally destroyed.

The scope of the project is to rebuild the 30 or so homes that were destroyed which will cost $45,000-$50,000. Currently there are commitments for about 30,000.

As part of the project a portable sawmill was purchased in order to furnish higher quality lumber and to allow for production of lumber that will be needed for the project. This mill has been delivered and through many miracles has cleared customs.

The local people have been trained and are currently producing lumber with the mill. In addition the first house in the village is complete and the second house is in progress.

A trip to assist the local people with the actual building is tentatively scheduled for the later part of January.

As part of the development efforts being made in the village we are hoping to conduct a series of seminars that will focus on basic business principles, agriculture techniques to help rebuild their damaged plantations and increase production and a seminar on disease prevention and simple remedies.

If you have a desire to participate in this work please contact Steve Dickman:
    Harbert Hills Academy
    3575 Lonesome Pine Rd
    Savannah, TN 38372
    731-925-3098 office
    731-343-9741 cell
    steve@harberthills.org

This project is a joint effort of the Tasba Raya Adventist Ministries, and Harbert Hills Academy. The ASI Southern Union Chapter has assisted in establishing the radio work and the rebuild project. Development of this project has sparked interest from the ACTS organization in putting together additional rebuild help for the wider area affected by the hurricane.

Letter from the President: Nicarauga Radio Station

September 1, 2006

Well we are on the air from Tasba Riya, Francis Serpi. The only radio station in town and really in the whole area. They tell me we are broadcasting more power than most stations on this side of the country. That is hard to believe when we are only doing about 2000 watts.

There is no power out here so we must operate on a generator. I arrived on Wednesday night late. We worked all day Thursday and Friday morning with antenna tuning problems. Those finally were corrected with the Lords help and we got on the air Friday about 11:00 am.

We have had some other technological problems with software and the audio processor and on air board stuff. We are still working to solve the audio problems but through some ham radio phone patches we were able to resolve a couple of things with the software.

Sabbath was quite a day. We did a live broadcast of the Sabbath School program from the church here in Francis Serpie. It was quite interesting with them being new at the radio business and all but it went quite well in spite of everything.

Then near the end of the program I started noticing something wrong with the transmitter. Upon investigation I could not find a good reason for its symptoms. Mike and Diana, the local operators, came in and I was showing them the problem. We tried a few things but could not correct it.

Then all of a sudden there was a flash and pop and we were off the air. The power supply for one of the transmitters had failed. There are two 500 watt transmitters through a combiner for a total of 1000 watts out to the antenna. So we then disconnected the failed transmitter and went back on the air with only 500 watts from one transmitter. We disassembled the transmitter to discover a blown diode. And well as you can imagine there is no place to get one out here.

We attempted a repair process but that was not a success. I told Mike that this was actually good to have a failure so soon so we can address and repair while I am here. Not that I am an expert but I do have some experience so am not afraid to dig in and see what needs to be done. Anyway we are hoping to get the part on monday or tuesday and get the thing back to full power. It may have to wait until I go out on Tuesday or Wednesday and I will try to find the part in Managua and get it shipped back in. I think the part was deffective from the factory or got jostled on the way down here.

Mike and Diana are a little overwhelmed at this point with so much to learn in just a few days. But they are so excited to actually be on the air. Today while we were broadcasting I went out and walked around the village. There was one young man walking down the street with his radio up on his shoulder listening intently. Story Hour and the kids music seems to be a big hit. Of course there are so many children here it is unbelievable. The village people are already talking about how they can use the radio station and don't want to miss anything that is broadcast. They want news, and they have even suggested shutting it down in the middle of the day when most are at their plantations.

One big problem is that a lot of them don't have radios. This is an area of need because these people are so poor that it is subsistence living for most.

Anyway God is good and we have so many things to be thankful for.

Jungle Radio

A few years ago the Lord laid a burden on Mike and Diana Halverson to provide a radio station for the Miskitio Indian population in the Northeastern area of Nicaragua. The Miskitio Indains are isolated and considered as the lower class citizens of the country. During the revolution and communist rule many were forced to flee their homes and cross the border into Honduras.

Political stability has given them the opportunity to come back to their homes but poverty and isolation have taken their toll. These problems along with the scourge of alcohol and family and domestic violence provide unique opportunities for ministry.

TRAC or Tasba Reya Adventist Clinic has been an effective ministry in the area for years. This ministry has created much goodwill and provided for the medical needs of the area in an amazing way. The need for ministering to the broader Miskitio population is evident though. There are areas along the Rio Coco river where the name of Jesus is basically unknown and the devil holds heavy sway. This challenge led Mike and Diana to begin the process of building a radio station to reach into these areas.

There have been countless miracles along the way and God has intervened in the affairs of government and individuals to bring about the end result.

Friday September 1, 2006 at about 11:00 am Cross to Crown Radio began its first hour of operation. Located in the isolated community of Francis Serpi the radio station must provide power for operation from a diesel generator. An antenna hangs on a 200 foot tower and nearby the studios reside on the lower level of building recently completed as part of the station complex.

The community is so excited about this development. On Sunday September 3 at a meeting with local pastors and community leaders the Moravian church pastor expressed his appreciation for the station and said "I didn't know I would live to see the day of this in our community". The local pastors have been invited to come in and record prayers and Bible verses in the local Miskitio language. The churches have been invited to form small singing groups of children and adults to come in and record. Community leaders are being asked to record messages of greetings and local community service announcements. The local health authorities will be invited to use this as a method of community education. There is no programming available in the Miskitio language so Spanish is being used as the programs in Miskitio are being developed.

Health Education Resources

Since we started our motorhome traveling and health expo workshops last May we have been in 22 States and British Columbia. What a blessing to meet so many people, churches interested in learning how to use the health expo panels as a community service.

Since the beginning of the new year and for six months we will be working in the Chattanooga area, parking either at a place prepared for us at our OCI office property, or a nice place at Wildwood where we are also welcome. Our work locally is to use a variety of health programs to get to know people in the community. March 19-21 we held four simultaneous health expos in four different parts of Chattanooga, which is now being followed by an Eight Weeks to Wellness series for two months in 3 locations, then cooking classes, ending with a month of evangelistic meetings in the Chattanooga Convention Center.

A few weeks back we spent a week in Michigan teaching the Andrews University Community Nutrition students how to do health expos, and after we trained them we all put on an expo in the University Student Center during the week.

When we arrived back to Chattanooga we spent parts of two days teaching at Advent Home, a school for challenged boys, about 30 of them ages 12-18. They responded very well to our class and are now equipped as a school to hold their own health expos.

Thank you each one for your prayers and interest in our work.

You can contact Charles and Phoebe Cleveland at 5340 Layton Lane Apison TN 37302 or call 423 290-3737

Advent Home Construction: Today’s Homes for Tomorrow’s Leaders

A spirit of service filled the air at Advent Home as staff, students and over thirty enthusiastic volunteers helped construct two new staff homes during work bees on February 5 and 12, 2006. These new administrative homes will help implement Advent Home’s future plans for campus expansion and succession planning.

“We had a lot of skilled workers and got the bulk of the structures completed,” said contractor Doug Crawford. “It went really well.” Noting the cooperation that prevailed, Doug commented, “I didn’t have the stress of costs, time, and customer demands. I was there for service.” The work bees saved Advent Home $40,000, according to Neita Rimmer, project coordinator.

Advent Home’s long-term goal is to serve more at-risk youth. With increasing student enrollment, the campus will need to grow: more student residences, offices and classrooms, and of course, more staff and homes to accommodate them.

With over twenty years’ service as founders and administrators of this ministry, Dr. Blondel and Gloria Senior, plan to ensure the continuity of Advent Home’s mission through its future leaders. Succession planning not only includes careful selection, thorough training and patient mentoring of new administrators, but also involves adequate, attractive housing. The homes now under construction were planned with these future administrators in mind.

As these buildings go up in faith and with the assistance of numerous volunteers, Dr. Senior is encouraged that God will provide the necessary support to complete these residences and carry on and expand this distinctive ministry.