APRIL, 2001 . . . . .The Mission Committee is continuing to modify the list of missionaries who receive regular support from Union PC. Some missionaries retire or leave the field to pursue other interests and some others change the focus of ministry in a way that does not conform to the criteria the Mission Committee uses to evaluate mission projects.

Recent additions to our support list are: David and Giselle Russell who serve with HCJB Radio. They lived in Ecuador for a number of years but recently realized that they needed to be based in the States in order to provide ongoing support to Giselle's mother. In addition to David's technical work, Giselle, a nurse, travels with a group of doctors to provide health care to remote villages in Ecuador. Giselle returned in mid March from her most recent trip. Here are a couple of excerpts from a recent email.

"In October, 2000, Giselle and I transferred to Elkhart, Indiana, where our mission has a staff of around 30 technical people. Our focus is on helping partner ministries establish Christian radio stations in their areas of work throughout the world. We receive new requests for help at a rate of nearly one per week. Last year we were directly involved in radio projects in 54 different countries. We are inter-denominational and have had the privilege of supporting a wide variety of Christian groups in their evangelistic efforts.

My particular area of expertise involves using satellite technology to deliver programming to stations and to help share resources amongst networks. it is a very exciting time to be involved in missions. There are many new doors of opportunity that are opening. Radio is just one of the many tools that God is using, but it is what the team here at HCJB knows how to do.

Please pray this week for substantial progress with four projects that I am working on. These projects involve using satellite technology for delivery of the gospel message either to radio stations for rebroadcast, or directly to people's homes. The projects are in Haiti, Poland, Gibraltar, and the Central African Republic.

In the coming months I expect to be traveling to each of these locations as part of the work to get systems up and running. The African trip is scheduled for the middle of May. The project in Gibraltar is intended to deliver Christian radio programs to the homes of listeners in North Africa. Direct-to-Home satellite broadcasts are a common way for listeners in Morocco to get their news and information.

The attached photo of a Moroccan apartment building might surprise you. Pray that God's word will soon be finding its way into the homes of these people where traditional missionaries cannot venture.

What do the letters "HCJB" stand for? HCJB is not an acronym; it's the call sign for the shortwave station in Ecuador. Call signs for all stations in Ecuador start with HC, just as stations in the USA begin with K or W. Each nation has one or more designated call signs, but most countries outside the Americas no longer use them. Radio Station HCJB went on the air in1931 as one of the very first stations in Ecuador, so the station's cofounders were able to choose the second two letters. They made the letters stand for: Hoy Cristo Jesus Bendice (Spanish for 'today Christ Jesus blesses')."

Email David and Giselle Russell
Visit the Russells' website

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