She Makes a Difference...

A Voice in South East Asia

Marlou Barredo and Susan*

Note:  Susan's name has been changed to protect the ministry.

Born of Muslim parents, Susan* was educated in a Muslim boarding school. One day
 her aunt, who was a Christian, asked her to come to church. When she went inside
the church, she had to remove her head covering. Through the move of the Holy Spirit,
Susan eventually came to Christ. She left the boarding school and stayed with her
aunt. Desiring to know more about God, she decided to go to Bible school and there
she met her husband who was a member of the school's missionary staff. Her husband
was from a Confucian background.

Susan* and her husband started the radio ministry  "The Voice of Zion" in January
1974 in the outskirts of one town. He saw that radio was the most effective means
of spreading the Gospel. Ten years later, in 1984, they had to relocate the radio
station to the downtown area of another place because of some government policy
change regarding radio broadcasts. After operating the radio station in a small
rented garage for the next six years, they eventually moved to an undisclosed location.
There was neither water nor electricity when they first moved to their present location.
Because of God's mercy and miraculous work, the government allowed them to have
electricity connection.  Susan's husband passed away in 2000. Since August 2000
the radio station airs from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. with the broadcast of the Gospel as
 its primary vision. Their old AM broadcast reaches an audience of about 10 million
people. Some of their studio rooms are termite-ridden and badly need repairs.

As one of the radio announcers, Susan, now in her 50's, handles the Miracle Show
 where she prays for radio listeners who send in text messages to the radio station.
To help fund the ministry she acts as a retail distributor of some local herbal
medicines. She earns between 1.5-2.0 million rupiahs (a little over $100) from it
for her food and other needs. Assisting her in the radio ministry are her only son.
A Bachelor in Economics graduate, her son handles the administrative side of the
 ministry. His wife handles the Christian music radio program and also acts as listener
coordinator and as such, she processes letters from their radio audience. Both of
them are presently enrolled in theological school. They need at least $100 each
for their support.

One very unique, if not outstanding, feature of this ministry is that twice a year
the radio listeners would come together for a celebration. The event is held at
the listeners' initiative! Many of those who come are Muslims (ladies come wearing
head wraps). Some 200 to 300 of their listeners attend these semi-annual gatherings.
The event includes singing, entertainment, and food. More importantly, even though
the activity is wholly funded by the listeners, Susan and her son have laid down
 one condition, which is that the Gospel should be preached first before the other
parts of the program take place.

Two years ago, some Muslim students in the area went to the radio station, directing
Susan's son to stop airing the Christian program. God gave him wisdom on what to
 say. He then explained to the students and since then the Christian broadcast has
continued unhampered.

As the popularity of FM stations has risen especially among younger listeners, one
of their major prayer requests is for provisions to upgrade the radio station's
FM broadcast from its present 40 watts which cover a 2-kilometer radius to 400 watts
which will cover at least a 15-kilometer radius. This will mean broadening their
 listenership from 1,000 households to 20,000 households (or about 100,000 people).
This upgrade will require funding of about $1,200.

If you would like to support Susan financially, please designate your gift as 750
VOZ