rural

At one of the evening board meetings with MAFLT partner ProMETA, Judy Musselman gave Mauricio a box of Spanish versions of the Bible in cassette format, some cassette players and some cranks to power the players in places with no electricity nor available batteries.

Mauricio and his wife Rosalia were invited to the small rural village of Abangaritos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, to attend a short weekend mission trip with their local church youth group. Mauricio had to preach that Sunday in San Jose, but decided to be in Abangaritos from Friday night to Saturday afternoon. Very short trip.

Because of MAFLT's involvement in Orality, Mauricio had learned that almost 70% of the worldwide population are oral learners. Mauricio decided to bring some of those Bible cassettes and devices with him, as maybe the Lord had people in that area needing access to the Word but without the possibility of reading the Bible.

His van was already full with his kids and their luggage, plus one more invitee; 6 people total. However, they made room for some of those kits.

They had a great opportunity to share the Gospel, pray, and spend time with some of the families in the area, as well as share some groceries with them. Mauricio preached on Friday night even though electricity was gone for most of the message (fortunately, his flashlight worked well).

The next day (Saturday), some of the sisters from the small church had prepared food for the visiting church team. While talking to them Mauricio discovered that one of those ladies, Maria, was illiterate, depending on one of her grandsons to read the Bible to her out loud when he could. The local pastor was very excited when Mauricio shared that he had a special Bible set using cassettes and devices for Maria to interact with the Bible whether or not she was able to read.

While Mauricio showed them how to use the devices and operate the crank (as electricity power goes out very often in that area), the pastor pointed the second lady in the kitchen named Carmen, saying, "sister Carmen's young son is totally blind, he is a good Christian and the Bible in audio would be a great blessing to him". Carmen expressed great joy when that possibility was offered to her.

Both Maria and Carmen received a couple of devices and tapes of Old Testament portions and the entire New Testament in Spanish. We praise the Lord for this opportunity and pray for more opportunities like this to bring hope to those who are desperately waiting for it.

Radio Project Resources

Radio’s wide reach and low cost provide effective communication in rural and remote areas.  Unlike newspapers and magazines, radio does not require literacy, and unlike television, radio receivers are affordable and accessible even without electricity or telephone connections.  Even in very poor communities, radio penetration is vast - an average of one in five people in Africa has a radio [FAOSTAT 1998 – in 1995 the ratio of radios to people in Africa (not including South Africa) was 1:5].   Furthermore, production is cheap compared to other mass media.

Radio has many uses, from entertainment to education and broadcast of personal messages. In some cases, radio stations have linked people to the internet by searching for, translating and broadcasting requested information on air.  In other cases, expert panels or local officials answer questions submitted by listeners by telephone or email, promoting accountability or extending relevant expert knowledge.  Radio has also been used by minority language or cultural groups to assert their identity and provide a cultural reference point.