TWR Upgrades Bonaire To Most Powerful Station in the Western Hemisphere
TWR President Lauren Libby will join ministry staff, board members, supporters and invited guests on the little island of Bonaire to celebrate the launching of a 450,000-watt transmitter, which Libby describes as “a big voice for Jesus.” When the transmitter at Shine 800 AM – the new name for the TWR Bonaire station – is switched on at 4:30 p.m. EST today (Jan. 30, 2018), the potential audience for gospel broadcasts to places like Cuba, Venezuela and Brazil will double to 100 million. (pictures at left TWR’s John Summerville with lead engineer Daryl VanDyken).
“We expect many surprises to happen as a result of this historic event,” said Annabel Torrealba, TWR director for north and central Latin America and the Caribbean. “I see it as the beginning of great things that will happen for the Americas. We give God the glory!”
Since 1964, TWR has been broadcasting gospel programs from Bonaire, but in recent years, appeals for a stronger radio signal have grown louder from across the region. Listeners on the edges or outside the existing broadcast footprint have received an inconsistent TWR signal or nothing at all.
A Cuban listener recently wrote, “Two months ago, we moved, and in our new house, we cannot hear you – the signal arrives very poorly. We regret the move because of this inconvenience. Do you know if the signal will be improved this year?” A TWR representative responded with the good news: He will be able to receive a clear signal once the new transmitter is switched on today.
Although TWR’s national partner ministry in Venezuela and would-be listeners in areas unreached by the Bonaire broadcasts have long hoped for a stronger signal, the need is even greater amid the country’s political and economic crisis. Gabriel Fernandez, director of RTM (the Spanish translation of TWR) Venezuela, said many local radio stations that carried RTM programming have been closed by the government, making Shine 800 AM’s upgraded coverage of the entire country especially critical.
Fernandez planned to attend the launch event today, but his airline ticket was canceled after a Venezuelan presidential decree banned travel to Bonaire, located roughly 50 miles off the coast. Several of Fernandez’s TWR colleagues – Torrealba, Alberto Gonzalez of Cuba, Esteban Larrosa of Uruguay and Jehiel Ortiz of the Dominican Republic – will be on hand. The four, all well-known radio voices across the region, will collaborate on a live broadcast from Bonaire on Feb. 1 to highlight Shine’s expanded reach.
Bernard Oosterhoff, station director of TWR Bonaire, said, “This week we welcome over 50 guests from around the world and many local guests to dedicate the new transmitter to the Lord. A project of nearly five years has come to an end. God provided all the skilled people and means to buy and install the new transmitter, and we praise him for that.”
Friends of TWR – including the many who prayed for, donated to or volunteered their hard work to the $3.8 million transmitter upgrade campaign – can participate in the celebration without making the trek to Bonaire. The event will be livestreamed on TWR’s Facebook page today, Jan. 30, beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST. Join in at twr.org/bonairelivestream2018.
TWR Bonaire towers at night…
