The Forbidden Station
In her angst against a religious radio program, Joab’s wife unwittingly sparks his interest.
Like an eagle swooping down for its prey, my wife grabbed the radio from my teenage daughter’s hands. “I warned you not to listen to that radio station,” she yelled, “but it seems your ears do not function properly!” She threw the radio on the floor, shattering it in pieces.
My daughter sulked off and my wife stomped outside, leaving me wondering what was going on. I had just returned from a business trip, so I had not heard anything about this radio station. Was my daughter listening to an adult program?
It took some discretion, but I managed to get my wife to divulge the station number. Then I secretly tuned in to find out what my daughter had been hearing. To my surprise, it was a Bible study! I could tell why my wife had forbidden it: The program was aired by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. My wife had always had a negative attitude toward Adventists because of a bitter fight she had had with an Adventist friend in high school. Ever since, she had not wanted to listen to what the church taught.
My wife’s biases aside, I found the Bible studies fascinating, and I could not stop listening. Without her knowing it, I recorded the programs on my smart phone so that I could replay them. My wife liked to listen to music on my phone in the evening, and one night she accidentally landed on one of the recordings where the Adventist pastor was teaching on family issues. Like me, she became interested and kept listening to topic after topic until she had heard all of them.
Eventually, my wife confessed to me that she had been listening to the programs, and we decided not to keep them to ourselves any longer. When we started playing the programs for our children during our family worship every evening, my daughter’s eyes widened in surprise. “This is the very preacher you forbade me to listen to!”
“I am sorry,” my wife blushed. “Your father and I have been listening to the messages, and we now believe he is preaching truth.”
As our family kept studying together, we all began to desire to be baptized and become Seventh-day Adventists, but we could not find a church in our area. Contacting the radio station, we learned of a church in Ibanda, 14 kilometers away, but we couldn’t possibly go there every Sabbath. Instead, we began praying for God to establish a Seventh-day Adventist Church in our area.
One month later, a stranger visited us. “My name is Henry Kwizera, and I am a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist sent to plant a congregation in your area,” he told us. Joy bubbled up in my heart. Soon my family would be able to worship in a church every Sabbath!
Calling a family meeting, my wife and I, along with our children, decided to donate a piece of our land for the church soon to be established. Unfortunately, the plot did not have access to the road, so Mr. Kwizera did not think it would work well. Talking again as a family, we decided to buy a more accessible piece of land to donate to the church. We can hardly wait to see the church built and filled with people from our community! Our new congregation already has a good start: My wife and I and our twin daughters have all been baptized, along with three other people from our neighborhood. And to think it all started through a forbidden radio station!
Location
Uganda
Author
Told by Joab Barigye to John Kaganzi, a district pastor in the Ruhandagazi District in Uganda.
How You Can Help
Pray for Joab’s family as they will be leaders in this church plant!
Pray for Pastor John and his team as they continue to preach the Three Angels’ Messages on Messenger FM radio.
Give to the work in Uganda. Needs include church buildings, Bible worker training and support for church planters. Send your gifts marked “Uganda Evangelism” or “Uganda Churches” to:
Mission Projects International
PO Box 151
Inchelium, WA 99138
To give securely online, visit:
www.missionspro.org/donate
Thank you. Your gifts sustain six full-time Bible workers who are bringing God’s last warning to the Ruhandagazi District in Uganda. Thank you so much for your support of these workers!