Dear partners,

Time has been tight for me recently but I wanted to share a brief update from the last couple of months with what has been happening here.

In July I travelled to Nepal to check on a couple of our existing partner stations. Following a leadership meeting a few months ago we discovered that there are some continuing technical issues which need to be addressed. A partner station launched less than a year ago still needed some final grounding work done for which there wasn't enough time during the initial installation. I was able to bring the needed parts with me and we took care of the need which will help protect their equipment and more importantly their staff during bad weather. This station is really doing well engaging the community and working to become a trusted resource in the city. Through this they hope to start creating new opportunities. Since it is a somewhat larger town and there are already a few supporters in the area and the manager put a lot of effort into getting them to buy into a model that would help build support of the work. They even started internet streaming. It wasn't a significant cost and he wanted to see if it would be useful. The manager discovered several nationals working overseas (more than 1 million work overseas) had found the station and started to listen shorty after he began. Please pray for them as the continue that they would maintain the momentum they have. I also visited another station which was among the first we helped build. As the years have gone on a number of the staff have turned over and the current manager wanted someone to check and see if everything looked to be running okay or if any changes were needed. He also shared an interest in training the staff to use the equipment. To add to the changes this facility has dealt with they have also been in 5 different locations in town over the last 7 years. Most recently they were required to move because a road widening project required the demolition of part of the building they were renting.

Just a week ago I returned from Indonesia where a partner station was able to get back on the air after several months following an antenna failure most likely due to a lightning strike. Due to some miscommunications and the language barrier the first trip taken there to make a repair was led to believe that there was a different problem so the required parts were not available. However the two workers were able to help determine the problem and discuss what materials were needed locally (since I can't carry 12 meters of water pipe on an airplane!) to get everything ready to go. It took a little longer to get the availability of everyone needed lined up to make things possible but in 2 days the needed repairs were accomplished. This partner is working in some key areas. Radio has been a key tool to expand their voice.

On the family side our current visa situation will be changing due to new government rules making it impossible to continue using this option. Another option has been identified which is likely to be workable though we need to do a little further research. If this is successful it will create stability by giving visas good for 10 years at a time. Please keep us in mind as the process is researched further. Also remember the need for wisdom for those of us doing some of the fact finding here as well as for our employer as they decide what works within the realm of the US rules and regulations.

Thanks so much!

t/b King