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Summer 2004 Temptation Island In Belize, Lighthouse Christian Radio Broadcasts Light in the Darkness |
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With plans to broadcast twenty-four hours of Christian programming from San Pedro, a small resort town in the far south of the island, the “Lighthouse” will stand on the unchanging, immovable Rock of Deuteronomy 32:4: “...His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.” The station’s director, Clive Welsh, says he can hardly wait. A missionary with Saving Grace World Missions and a Belizean himself, he knows the four-mile-wide, twenty-five mile long strip of land is inundated with tourists. Trying to fulfill every whim and desire, they seek satisfaction in all the wrong places. By day, the white, sandy beaches and turquoise waters are teeming with sightseers; some enjoy diving and sailing while others just relax in a hammock. But by night, the bars and dance clubs open for those wanting to experience “Temptation Island,” as FOX Network called it in 2001. The promiscuous TV show flew couples in, only to separate them and “tempt” them with attractive singles and other vices. While the locals are used to this type of mass tourism, they must now deal with the aftermath of commonplace immorality, along with other exploitive effects that tourism brings.
“The island needs to hear the Gospel,” Welsh said. With a heart for the Belizean people, he has been trying to get the station up and running for months now, dealing with many difficulties. But building the work from the bottom up has proven to be hard, riddled with misunderstandings, administrative problems, and complications with the city. The town is home to only a handful of churches, predominately Roman Catholic. One Catholic parishioner lamented over the dying attendance at last year’s annual men’s mass and women’s prayer nights in honor of St. Peter, the town’s patron saint. In a column entitled “Twenty Five Years Ago,” the author wrote: “Twenty five years ago we used to fill up the church and had some standing room only. I reckon there used to be about two-hundred and fifty men at mass. Just a few years ago we garnered some one-hundred men and we thought that was poor. This year there must have been between forty to fifty... Even the ladies who participate in the nine-day novenas of prayers have complained that it is the same five ladies who attend mass every night.”
Though the station isn’t completely new to the island, it has been off the air since changing hands in September and is missed by the locals that depend on it. It was established by a pastor three years ago in San Pedro as Radio Emmanuel 101.3 FM, a Spanish channel that operated only part-time. The mostly automated station will be run in a brand new apartment building by a small staff of Belizeans. “It’s also an opportunity for people to see it,” said Welsh about the station’s location. He wanted it to be in a place where the staff could minister to the people and where Christian literature would be accessible. It was previously run from a more remote location. The programs will be broadcasted at five-hundred watts, reaching all of San Pedro, Caye Caulker, and parts of Ambergris Caye. Welsh also desires to reach the northern part of the island, which nearly brushes the southern part of Mexico. Story by Naomi Ulici Photos by istockphoto.com PRAYER REQUESTS & PRAISES:
E-mail: clivish@aol.com P.O. Box 653 Belmopan, Belize Central America Tel: 011-501-609-7376 Placentia, CA 92870-1717 714.993.4801 x111 information@sgwm.com There are several convenient ways to support the work that God is doing through SGWM: 1. You can use your credit card or automatic debit from your checking account by emailing or calling the contact information noted above, or, 2.You may mail your tax-deductible gift to:  Saving Grace World Missions 1057 E. Imperial Highway Ste. 223 Placentia, CA 92870-1717 Please check back soon as we will be adding a link to enable supporters to donate online!
Saving Grace World Missions. When giving please designate in the memo section the mission that you would like to support: Uganda, Kenya, Belize, England, Mexico or our Home Office – which equips our missionaries, both present and future. Thank you for your interest in supporting Saving Grace World Missions
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©2003 Calvary Chapel Saving Grace
