For over four decades now, Trans World Radio Kenya (TWR Kenya) has drawn a huge listeners base from Kenya, but unknown to them is that there is a community of listeners in Digodigo ward in Ngorongoro District Tanzania who have religiously been listening to the TWR broadcasts over the years to an extent that they decided to send two of their members to TWR Kenya studios in Nairobi on two missions.
How it started….
In the early nineties, TWR introduced a new program that walked the listeners thru the Bible from the book of Genesis to Revelation. The program was broadcasted through the national broadcaster the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation Radio (KBC Radio) and as years went by, the program Neno Litaendelea (Thru The Bible in Swahili) became the unrivaled and it won the hearts of many listeners within the East African region.
At that time there was a staunch listener Pastor Elisha Kaseli who at the time was working a brick-maker and would stop all he was doing every weekday at 10:30 am. when the program started on KBC Radio. His love for the program influenced many to also listen and in the year 1998 he introduced the program to another young man who had just surrendered his life to Christ. He reaffirmed to him that despite having a Theological training, the biblical teachings he had received from the program were unmatched. That is how Pastor Edilisa Mbaryo was introduced to Neno Litaendelea and other TWR broadcasts on Shortwave and on KBC Radio. After years of listening, Pastor Edilisa received the calling to be a preacher of the gospel of Christ and would later be ordained to serve as the Pastor of International Evangelism Church.
Pastor Edilisa’s love for the program grew stronger and stronger and thus after introducing members of his congregation to the program, they created a Neno Litaendelea listeners fellowship. Through this fellowship they would meet and listen to the program after which they would have a Bible study based on the day’s lesson. Pastor would also use the radio lessons in his church sermons.
As time went by, they were affected by the shift in broadcasting technology that no longer allowed KBC Radio signals to cross over to Tanzania but that was not a big challenge because they could still listen to the program and others thru TWR Shortwave broadcasts.
Fast forward to the bumpy mission to Kenya…
The TWR Shortwave signal begun to face some interruptions and this meant that the fellowship could no longer listen to the TWR broadcasts. Pastor Edilisa took it upon himself to search for TWR Kenya contacts and being tech savvy he was able to find our contacts on Facebook and when he got in touch a solution came in the form of being introduced to the TWR 360 App. Thru the app he was able to listen to TWR programs and so far he has been able to download over 500 programs. Although he was sorted the rest of the fellowship members could not listen to the programs because they did not have smart phones or internet connectivity challenges. The inability to listen to the TWR broadcasts continued to be a growing concern and thus this year they decided to send two of their members to the TWR Kenya offices in Nairobi with two missions.
The first mission was to meet the Trans World Radio team starting with the Producers of Neno Litaendelea (Pastor Geoffrey Wanjala Munialo and Pamela Omwodo) and directly express their appreciation and impact of the TTB program. The Second mission was to present their request to the Trans World Radio Kenya’s Director Dr Bernice Gatere if TWR Kenya can consider partnering with a local community station to air Neno Litaendelea now that the Shortwave signal had gone completely off-air.
On June 29th Pastor Edilisa and Pastor Jacob Kabasea boarded a motorcycle and embarked on the over 500 KM journey from Digodigo to Nairobi. The journey that started at 3 a.m. saw them arrive in Kenya at noon with over 300 KM of the distance covered on a motorcycle on a rough terrain. The determination to fulfill the mission remained unwavered despite the dawn darkness and navigating on a wild rough terrain with occasional fall off from the bike.
Pastors Edilisa and Jacob could not hide their excitement when they finally got a chance to meet the Director of Trans World Radio Kenya and officially presented a letter to the Executive Director detailing the impact of TWR programs to their community and requesting on how Neno Litaendelea can continue to be listened to in Ngorongoro through a media partnership.
“We are very happy and honored to by this unique visit. I have received the request and we will look into it and see how Neno Liatendelea can continue to transform lives in your community.” Dir. Dr Bernice assured them.
They became more joyous when they later finally met Pastor Geoffrey Wanjala Munialo, Pamela Omwodo, Pastor David Mungai alongside other TWR producers and staff.
“Preaching the Gospel of Christ is not an easy task, you face so many battles that can push you to want to give up until you meet listeners like you sharing their testimonies. I encouraged and honored to get to know that I made an impact in your lives and others through the program.” Pastor Munialo shared.
Sentiments also echoed by Pamela Omwodo. “I have really looked forward to this day and I am encouraged by the sacrifice you made to come and say thank you and share your listening journey.” She shared.
Indeed, this was a VIP visit and as the team traveled back home, we were left with very thankful heart glorifying God for this noble reminder that Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. (Colossians 3:23-24). It is only God’s work that can have such impact
The listeners testimony journey will continue…..
Glory be to the God Almighty who is doing great, good and bring joy.