BANGLADESH - A blind listener became the first to be baptized
One of IBRA’s coworkers in Bangladesh tells of the first baptismal among their listeners. A man who has regularly listened to the Christian program contacted the radio station by phone. He spoke with one of IBRA’s staff members who explained to him more of what faith in Jesus entailed and sent him some information. Since he is almost blind, his nephew read for him. To be able to listen to the Bible on his own he received the New Testament on tape. The result was that he decided to become a Christian and was baptized in June. Since then the man has started a house church which meets every week in his home.

CONGO - Fire in the studio in Bukavu
On July 22 a serious fire happened at the IBRA studio in Bukavu, Congo. A night guard discovered the disaster and could partially extinguish the fire, but the studio was so badly damaged that it has to be re-built to be functional. This is being done as quickly as possible. After what has happened please keep the personnel and the work in Bukavu in your prayers.

ETHIOPIA – “Your programs are our church!”
"My friend and I, who both are kindergarten teachers always listen to your radio programs. The area in which we live is an isolated agricultural district where there are no other Christians. Your programs are our church! We listen to the programs and are very interested in what you say. Don’t forget to pray for us. God bless you."
Listener letter from a woman in Ethiopia

April 2007

SOMALIA - Web Radio started in Somali
On March 1st IBRA's Somali production team in the Codka Wadada Nabada studio (Voice of the Way to Peace) launched the website www.codkanabada.org which gives the public the possibility of listening to the programs on a computer. There is also information about the programs, sending times, contact information and Bible teaching. All this in the Somali language. The Somali people are, because of years of unrest in their homeland, spread all over the world. But even in exile they are interested in keeping in touch with Somalia and their country men. This is evident by the large number of Somali web sites in spite of the fact that access to the internet in Somalia is relatively small. Therefore the IBRA's program producers have great hope that their website will be visited by many visitors and listeners who live far from Somalia's borders. There is a future plan to put the Bible in the Somali language online. This is important since it is difficult and many times dangerous to distribute Somali Bibles. In this way the world's Somali will be able to read the Bible in their own language without having to own one or carry one with them.

AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN - New website for broadcasting in Pashto
IBRA has just launched a web site www.pashtozeray.com for programs in the Pashto language which is spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
We have decided to keep this website very simple with few pictures or animations since we know that many of those in our target group do not have access to "broadband". It would take too long to download a site with too many extras. We have placed on the site several program series in the MP-3 format, which can either be listened to directly or downloaded to their own computer. The whole New Testament is also on the site, which is a great asset since many in the area do not have their own Bible.

CONGO - The studio is dedicated in the volcano affected Goma
In January this year we had the inauguration of the new, long awaited IBRA studio in the city of Goma in the Congo. In January 2002 the volcano Nyiragongo erupted and large parts of Goma in eastern Congo was buried under lava. IBRA's studio in Goma was destroyed and since then there has not been a functioning studio. With very limited resources the IBRA co-workers still continued their faithful work of broadcasting the Gospel to the city while at the same time they worked to build a new studio. It has taken a long time, but on the 13th of January the inauguration was finally held. This new studio has been built in the outskirts of town on property owned by CEPAC, the national Pentecostal denomination which is one of the two denominations which IBRA partners with in Congo.
The buildings contain one studio for radio production and broadcasting and a larger studio for music production. There is space for teaching and meeting rooms plus administrative areas. Now the media work in the region has received a big, important step forward.

SAUDI ARABIA - I have become a Christian through your programs.
A Saudi Arabian TV viewer who has watched programs on the Christian TV station, Al Hayat (The Life Station) which IBRA sends to the Arab world wrote this letter to IBRA's follow-up office: "I found answers to my questions through this TV station. I have become a Christian and my love to the Lord Jesus strengthens my faith. Before I found the Life Station my information about the Christian faith was very superficial. We were taught that Christianity is a religion about killing and worship of the cross symbol and perverted. I was raised hating this religion. But the Lord showed me the truth and the light which is Jesus Christ."

February 2007

NORTH AFRICA - Miracles, signs, & media
A few of IBRA's follow-up workers in a land in North Africa recently meet a man who is a living example that the Holy Spirit can use both miracles, radio, and TV to bring people to Jesus. The man had been raised Muslim and was prepared to carry out a Jihad in the name of Allah. However, after having committed a terrible sin, he began to have difficulty sleeping as he struggle with himself. During these nights he began to listen to Christian radio programs, but even so didn't depart from his beliefs in Islam, but continued faithfully to pray at the mosque. One day at work, he was injured in an accident with a forklift. The collision was so bad that he feared for his own life. Lying on the ground, he began to recite the "shahada", which is the Muslim confession of faith. At that moment he heard a voice that called to him "give your life to Jesus". The result of the experience was that he began to seriously seek Jesus. After having watched Christian programs on satellite TV he gave his life to Jesus and was saved.

INDIA - The work is being developed in the marathi language
In the Indian state of Maharashtra, IBRA has, since 2004, worked in the marathi language. Marathi is spoken by about 75 percent of the people in this state, which is about 80 million people. In other words there are great possibilities to reach an enormous amount of people with the gospel through the radio programs. This is what motivates the workers at "Beersheba Ministries" which is IBRA's local partner in this work. Recently they finished a new department for the radio work with an office for administration, follow-up work and a small studio for production. There are plans to increase the number of transmissions from two to four per week, to start a web page, and perhaps even to send on a newly started local FM station in the city of Latur. However, there is still some planning to be done and above all the economics to be able to put the plans into working reality. Please pray that the work can continue to grow and expand and thereby be able to serve more and more of this states large majority of unreached by the gospel.

ALGERIA - Recorded testimony is sent on satellite
Newly recorded personal testimonies by Algerians who have come to faith on Jesus have been recorded by co-workers in the country and will be sent on the satellite TV channel "Al Hayat" (Life Channel). The testimonies are in the Kabyle language, but are translated on subtitles to Arabic so that the whole Arab world can be blessed through these testimonies. Every testimony is between three and eight minutes long.

EDUCATION - Development of teaching courses
Early in January some of IBRA's cooperative partners meet to go through and develop the material that is the basis for the training that IBRA has used for a long time to train co-workers. The training that was on the agenda is called "Training of Trainers" (ToT), and is a system that means that one educates people so that they will have the ability to pass their knowledge on to others.
About nine years ago it became apparent that there was a need to better the knowledge that some co-workers had. IBRA's work is growing and therefore there is a need for more producers, technicians, and follow-up workers. For example, ten capable co-workers could fairly quickly become 100 capable co-workers by the ten each teaching ten others and thereby giving them part of the experiences and knowledge they have. In this way IBRA has trained many more co-workers than would have been trained without ToT.
One of the reasons for the meeting in January was to share good ideas, experiences and thereby to further develop the training concept. It was also to prepare for the expansion of the concept to be able to teach in French and eventually Spanish, besides English and the recently added Arabic.
Today more than 200 persons have taken part in the ToT, and how many more they have trained is almost impossible to know.

THAILAND - Program gives will to live
"I like your program. It gives me encouragement and power to will to live. We fight (argue) every day in our family. It would be wonderful if we could just live together with forgiveness.
I have no happiness in my life. I have thought about committing suicide to get rid of all my problems. But when I listened to your program, you talked about that happier days will come in the future. That gave me the will to keep on struggling. And when I look at people around me they have more problems than what we in our family has. I will try to 'sew the good seed' today. Now I feel much better after having shared things in my life with you."
Pranom from Chantaburi Provinsen

For more information, please contact:
info@ibra.se

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