We arrived on the day TWR dedicated the FM station being turned over to
the capable hands of the Swazis. Terry and I were given a tour of the station,
with Mr. Tom Lowell, president of Trans World Radio.
Work is
definitely not boring.
July- Terry works with Todd Hansz learning how to run and troubleshoot
Trans World Radio's fully computerized and digitized radio broadcasts.
While Terry works on the computer
configuration, Mark climbs up to manually orient the antenna.
September 11 in Swaziland- We gather in the
American Embassy, and host a service at TWR so the community can gather together
for a time of prayer.
Christmas lunch in the forests of Swaziland, before heading back to the
TWR office.
On Christmas
Eve a lightning
bolt struck TWR. The
computers were on protected circuits
and had industrial strength UPS protection, but the strike was either too
strong, or entered in through some loophole and blew out the entire network.
We were in Terry's office at the time the lightning hit and we felt and saw
the blast of power. Then the alarms started their frenzy and the building
went black. Computers are networked together and there was $10,000 worth of
damage to network cards and modems as the strike traveled through the building.
We stayed through the night until 1:30 a.m. on Christmas Day working on damage
control. After our Christmas lunch, and again on Boxing Day, Terry worked
on rebuilding computers and patch panels, and keeping the programs on the
air with bailing wire and band-aids. By the time Terry was done it was time
to go. We headed for a week in Durban to relax and walk along the Indian Ocean
!
November- Thanksgiving at TWR, a time for
healing, mashed potatoes, turkey and stuffing.
On January 10 we departed
for South Africa.
Below: the antennas at the transmitter site,
broadcasting in Africa & to Pakistan, in 54 languages.
