Letter from Richard McDonald to BESI Team

To All of You and Each of You who are our Wonderful BESI Team,

Kathy and I want to express our great appreciation for your Faithfulness in 2007 and for the recent 16 years of Radio Kahuzi…and for the 35 years of our marriage and beginning of our new life together as young missionaries to the Congo, (formerly Zaire) in 1972.

This year of 2007 has been a wonderful affirmation for us of His Great Love and Sustaining Grace and a tremendous confirmation for us, as HCJB Global and the BESI Team continued to help us, working so hard to keep us in the black and on the field.

They both met with us regularly to systematically follow up, “so that nothing was lacking for us” (Titus 3:) -- especially for our working visit to the States in February and our medical tour in July.

We are so thankful to be part of a ministry that helps others preach the Word, and even reprove, rebuke, and exhort the fellow members of the Body of Christ in such an exciting, but desperate age of Salvation.

We see more and more of our beloved partners called to receive their Crown of Righteousness, because they lovingly looked forward to His Appearing! What a blessing to us who continue on with their remembrance!

Pray for us as we continue to trust the Lord Jesus Christ for the future of this work, as we seek His Grace and Wisdom and Guidance, as surely He has to be raising up the dedicated servants who will come along side, and ultimately continue on after us in this vital ministry. They will have to be able to endure hardship and do the work of an evangelist in power, love and good discipline.

We praise the Lord for doubling our radius of outreach across the heart of Africa, with listeners now calling in by cell phone from as far away as Kinshasa (1,000 miles) from Bukavu, and much further away after sunset from our short-wave listeners.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will empower the pastors and programmers to entrust His Wonderful Truths to others far and wide who can and will teach others, bringing Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel.

Though our radio staff had been reduced to three, the work of Radio Kahuzi has continued to blossom, and 2008 is bringing better and better tools to get the job done.

Lord willing, we will soon receive another thousand GALCOM solar fix-tuned short wave receivers to fortify the outreach further and further into the jungles and mountains of Central Africa and the D R Congo. Over 10,000 have been distributed.

Kim and Jared’s new BLOG is a tremendous treat for us. You can find it at www.radiokahuzi.blogspot.com.

Our team in Bukavu is beginning to receive new equipment to make the transition completely into digital recording, editing, and broadcasting. Please remember to pray for the teachers and training needed.

Remember us in prayer as we have been frustrated with technical details in placing new repeater sites with solar panels and battery storage to power FM Translators / transmitters in distant territories some 500 miles from Bukavu.

Meanwhile, the Lord has encouraged us with many FM radio stations volunteering to rebroadcast our different programs in the four provinces where they are! This has been a real shot in the arm for us, as many of these stations are in the center of present day military confrontations. This gives us the means of giving radios to the combatants and getting the gospel to them in FM as well as short-wave.

Pray for the battered and violated women and children in our provinces that fall victim by the thousands every month because of the lack of control and lack of discipline everywhere. Sadly, today the 12 year old daughter of the coordinator of the seven Kahuzi Radio Clubs and their Health Center at Kazaroho / Panzi is in the Panzi Hospital because she also became a victim two days ago. Please remember her and so many others like her.

Radio Kahuzi has had a unique ministry role in this period of years, for which we trust the Sovereign Direction of the Lord that He will complete what He has begun.

Kathy and I trust the Lord to graciously guide us in this new year as we come home for my eye surgery and hopefully the opportunity to fellowship with some of you that we have not been able to see during these last 16 years or so.

Grace, Mercy, & Peace to you and yours and to us each one in 2008.

Keep Looking UP! And Keep On Keeping ON!!

In His Love, Richard & Kathy McDonald


A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT

We are beginning now to prepare for Richard’s eye surgery in June or July of this year. The medical costs are not covered by Christian Care Medi-Share, which is possibly the only organization that will cover missionaries living abroad, or with any pre-existing conditions.

Richard’s vision has been increasingly poor as the result of a car accident in 1981, which caused torn retinas -- both eyes were repaired in 1983. Last year his doctor found he has rapid forming cataracts, which are rapidly decreasing his vision.

The cost of surgery is $4,000 for both eyes. The approximate cost of airfare for Richard & Kathy is $6,000. We have started a “Medical Flight Project,” and would ask that you prayerfully consider helping as God directs your heart.

Total need: $10,000.

Thank you for your steadfast love and sharing in 2007!

“God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think.”

Keep Looking Up!


Harold Smith, President

Kahuzi Radio Club Partners with Kazaroho Health Center

The Panzi Hospital (presented on CNN and BBC several times this year for their work with Victims of War and Violence) agreed to a unique relationship with the Kahuzi Radio Club near it. The Hospital receives and treats the Very Malnourished after they are screened by the Radio Club Kahuzi for the seven communities near by. During a special series of dinners, the vulnerable adults and children are diagnosed and treated for their illnesses, and the malnourished and moderately malnourished are included in the feeding program conducted by the Kahuzi Radio Club near their Kazaroho Health Center.

For this feeding program, the Food & Agriculture Organization gave seed several years ago that is planted and grown during two or three seasons each year. This grass roots cooperative effort has functioned on its own for at least ten years with Spiritual impact to the families in the Zone.

Happy Anniversary Rich & Kathy!!

Rich and Kathy celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary on the 17th! Happy Anniversary!! We love you!!

An African Christmas!

Dear Friends & Family,

One would hardly know that Christmas is just around the corner. Just a few stores here and
there will put up a few lights and decorations, but nothing like in the States! So, we make our own Christmas in our home. I decorate with the fir tree branches and put the red bows and candles around the branches, which really looks pretty. We’re starting to play Christmas songs in the house and on the radio and that gets everyone moving into the Christmas spirit!

Traditions are part of every society especially at Christmas, and here in Bukavu it is no different. The men have to show their wives that they still love them! And, the way they do that is to make sure that they buy a new “kikwembe” (cloth) for their wife! So, for some men, Christmas is a hard time of year!!!

Finally, Christmas Eve arrives, and the whole town gets settled in with everyone going home to get ready for the Christmas Day church services.

We light our little Christmas tree, if the electricity stays on, heat up our little meal, light the candles, and make lots of coffee to go with the cookies and that special cheese cake that we brought home from the States to have on that special evening.Finally, we read the Christmas Story and remember once again the wonderful, Unspeakable Gift, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that God sent to redeem us from our sin.

Throughout the Congo, churches and Sunday Schools will have a special program on Christmas Day. Usually, that means that one has to find a goat or cow to butcher to make sure that there’s enough meat to go around for the feast after church! The services lasts a loooong time, and this is really wonderful, as everyone wants to sing a special number and recite their memory verses. So, most Christmas Days aren’t over until late in the afternoon.


Each member of the BES radio team will be sharing the time and workload during these days to try to make it through, as each of the team has special responsibilities and duties at the radio and at their church and to their family. It’s a hard, but Blessed, time for our Christian Radio outreach.

This year is an extra special blessing for the Radio Kahuzi team, as HCJB Global upgraded our FM and Short wave transmitters in February to double their power and performance. The Lord has been blessing listeners who are calling in and sending daily SMS (text) messages of Thanksgiving and blessings, as well as, distress messages and prayer requests from all over the Congo and central Africa. Today we had many requests from Rwandans who have come across the border for Galcom radios because they appreciate our different language broadcasts including the Bible in Kinyarwandan. We praise the Lord that other radio stations and NGOs are helping us distribute the Galcom short wave receivers to the far North and South, and to individuals like Lauren Nkunda or the Interhamwe, for now their enemy! One team member going to the East coast for his father’s surgery listened to our programming in Uganda during their stay in Nairobi, Kenya. What an encouragement for us and for them! We are thankful to be able to broadcast Mondays and Fridays into the evening hours until 10 PM with tremendous feedback from new listeners from far and wide, despite the problem of being down to only two team members for the workload.


Please pray for our effort to put ten solar powered broadcast relay sites in three provinces, as the details get “rather strung out” to simplify the telling of it. But the Lord has out done us with the sixteen stations volunteering to relay / rebroadcast some of our best programming on a day-to-day basis. That was a really unexpected shot in the arm for us in Bukavu!!! Above is a picture of the representatives from each of the radio stations that are partnering with us in this effort. Praise Him, it’s the Lord’s Work, not ours. Surely He will complete what He has begun!

We THANK YOU ALL for everything you do to make Radio Kahuzi possible!
Thank you for praying and giving and for your friendship and wonderful memories that we cherish of you all – from years ago or from our two visits to the States this year. It was really special!! We pray that you all will enjoy this Blessed holiday season celebrating the birth of our Lord!

Keep Looking UP! And Keep On Keeping ON!!

With love and Thanksgiving to you,
Richard and Kathy and the whole BESI / Radio Kahuzi Family

Blog Launch

Welcome to the launching of Radio Kahuzi's blog! We hope you'll check in occasionally to see what's new on the field with Rich and Kathy McDonald.

Keep Looking Up!