Dr. Roy Ackerle

Little did I realize over a half century ago what the Lord had in mind for our future. On a hot summer Sunday afternoon, in the little town of Artemisa 25 miles west of Havana, Cuba, a radio station had agreed to sell us a fifteen minute slot right before the Sunday afternoon baseball game. We were thrilled to think that a fanatic sports crowd, not wanting to miss the first pitch of the ballgame, would be listening, at least for the last five minutes to a Gospel broadcast.

In early 1960 we acquired a daily 30 minute slot on a station in downtown Havana. By this time we had graduated from a little Wolensack recorder to two large Roberts recorders, and the broadcasts were made in a converted bedroom of our Havana house.

The first blessing from the radio ministry came when a young university student whose name was Silvia was saved while listening to the broadcast. We prayed for her husband, and several years later he also came to know the Lord in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they now live.

In September of 1961 all Gospel broadcasts were taken off the air in Cuba. We contacted stations in Central and South America, and from that time to the present we have been broadcasting the Gospel in Central and South America and the Caribbean. In the latter, the message in Spanish is beamed to all the island of Antigua with the prospect of going world-wide through the internet.

We never know who is listening, as we have learned through our outlet in Oxford, Alabama, where Dr. Bud Grinstead's station reaches into Alabama as far as Birmingham, and with an especially strong signal reaching into the Talladega Federal Prison. There is a group of Latino prisoners in that establishment who listen every Saturday night to the La Capilla del Aire broadcast. They use it as a basis for their own worship service.

One of the greatest blessings we have had as a result of the radio ministry was when my wife Marjorie and I visited the city of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. While we were browsing in a local souvenir shop, the owner of the store handed me a Gospel tract. The tract presented a clear plan of salvation and I asked the man if he knew the Lord. He replied with a definite "YES" (Sí). He asked me if I was a Christian and I told him "YES." He asked me, "How do you know?" I gave him a Scriptural answer. Then I told him I had a Gospel broadcast called La Capilla del Aire, emanating from Cape Haitien in the Republic of Haiti, and it reaches into his town of Puerto Plata. His eyes opened wide and pointing a long finger at me, he said, "You are Roy Ackerle. I never thought I would see you down here on this earth. Seven years ago I was listening to that broadcast and God saved me." These are wonderful blessings we glean along the way as we continue to do what God has called us to do over the past half century.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Richard & Patty Comer -  CENTRAL AMERICA
Brian & Jamie Cone -  THAILAND
Richard & Elizabeth Conrad -  JAPAN