My Office

Knowing that people might be touring the studios and offices today, gave me the incentive I needed to finally get some pictures hung on the walls of my office.

If you click on the picture to see it bigger, you will be able to see items of interest such as: computer training books, autographed bat and baseballs, 1960's era Yankees pennant, old bike wheel, and a microfiche reader for perusing Suzuki Samurai dealer parts books.

Memory Lane

Berni Lusse and Susie Milgate have assembled photo panels with pictures of the TWR of yesteryear.

They are in the studio lobby for the 40th anniversary celebration and will stay there after that.

I have photos of each of these panels on my club photo site. I left the photos at a very high resolution, so if you have Internet Explorer set to NOT auto resize the pictures, you will be able to scroll around and see the individual pictures on these panels.

Sandra has put scans of some of these archival photos on the TWR Bonaire web site, so you can see them full size. There are links to them from the home page.

Bonaire Youth rally

Oops, I hit the enter key prematurely and got some of these pictures out of order. But if you scroll down, you'll get the whole story eventually.

About 90 young people came to the youth rally. They did a great job decorating the building with a watersports theme.

The young people sat on giant driftwood logs, when they weren't standing to sing.

Snacks were available after the rally.
Don't forget, you can click on these pictures to make them bigger so you can identify friends, loved ones, and others.

The next morning when I came in to set up the sound system for church, all evidence of the rally was gone. One would never have suspected that the building had been transformed into a windsurfing beach 8 hours earlier. Rumor has it that some of the cleanup crew was there until 4 am.

(this is the part that was supposed to lead off this story)
School is starting back up here on Bonaire. A few local churches got together and held a youth rally saturday evening at the TWR activities building.

Three local pastors did the speaking and Dennis Martinus organized the music. Here is the band. 

TWR - Bonaire Celebrates 40 Years this Week

The weekend of August 20-22 will be our big 40th anniversary weekend here on Bonaire. We'll have a bunch of special visitors and special activities. I plan to post plenty of pictures here and on my Club Photo site, so stay tuned.
Don't forget that you can click on any of the pictures in my blog to see larger versions of them.

Pelican School is Open

Thursday was the first day of the new school year here on Bonaire, including the new Pelican School that is located in our old office wing. It was funny to see the parking lot full of cars again.

Here is a look at the opening day, get acquainted, party. Looks like mostly Dutch kids, which figures, I guess, since the school is taught in Dutch, and the other schools are moving to Papiamentu in the lower grades. By the way, the guy leaning against the wall at the top right of the picture owns a bike shop here on Bonaire. He is also an international water polo referee.

We put a kitchen in what used to be Scott or Joe's office, I think.

Ivan is putting the finishing touches on the boys bathroom, in what used to be my office.

We put in a back door at the end of the hall to server as an emergency exit and for easy access to a play area that the school may build back there.

Here is a shot from yesteryear when the open office area was being added to the office wing. I have more pictures from the archives on our club photo site. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the open office construction photos.

No Bike Ride Today

Last night was another of our FNL (Friday Night Live) shindigs for the students of the two medical schools here on Bonaire.

While I was (foolishly) playing volleyball with the students, being careful monitor the stresses on my aged knees, I did something to my achilles tendon. I heard a pop sound and felt pain. Grrrr.
I'm going to be good and do lots of rest, ice, and elevation (my foot is propped up on my trusty Cambridge Soundworks subwoofer as I type this) and see if I can't be back to normal soon.

I think swimming might work ok, if I can't ride for a while.

Trans World Radio in Spanish

In the Spanish language, Trans World Radio (TWR) is Radio Trans Mundial, or RTM. If you speak Spanish, or if your church has a Spanish language ministry, I thought I'd help you get acquainted with the Spanish version of TWR.

Here is the home page of RTM. There are also individual pages for:
Brazil
Bolivia
Chile
North America
Peru
the Dominican Republic
Paraguay
Uruguay
Venezuela

Here is the first page of the July newsletter of the Dominican Republic office of TWR. There is a story about a lady who came to faith in Jesus Christ after listening to TWR. There is also a story about the Project Hanna - Women of Hope ministry for women.

If you click on the picture, it will load a version big enough for you to read it. At least it did on my computer. If your computer starts to load the picture very large and then shrinks it to fit your screen, you may need to click on the Tools heading at the top of your screen, and then click on Internet Options, then on Advanced, and then Uncheck "Enable Automatic Image Resizing" under the Multimedia heading. This way the picture will stay big and you can scroll down to read the whole newsletter.


Here is page two of the July newsletter. It has an overview of the last 15 years of the DR office and some prayer requests.


Here is the August newsletter. There is a story about a guy who came to know the Lord at a Steve Green concert on Bonaire, which was part of our 25th anniversary celebrations. Later this month, we'll be celebrating 40 years of broadcasting from Bonaire.


Here is page two of the August newsletter. It has stories about a new producer for one of their youth programs and a profile about Amy Richardson, who was a summer intern at the DR office. Amy maintained an online blog while she was in the Dominican Republic. Way to go Amy!

Sardines

At first I thought it might be a New England thing.... I can remember frequently having sardines and crackers for a Sunday evening snack in my youth.... and Jon Savage is from MA. But it turns out that Bob Lassiter (NC) and Ivan (Bonaire) also are sardine lovers.

They decided to have a Sardine feast one day at lunch and invited the rest of us to join them. As you can see, there were no takers, but it looks like they had a grand old time scarfing down Sardines, baked beans, crackers, Gouda cheese, and Coke. Bob L. says one is supposed to drink Pepsi with Sardines, but he couldn't find any on Bonaire that week.

Ezels

North American visitors to Bonaire are often perplexed by the European style road signs. Can you guess what this one means? If you can't read the sign, click on the picture to make it bigger.


Here's a hint. In this picture, one of those sneaky ezels is preparing to ambush an unsuspecting car.


More "brainless quadrupeds", as the old drivers ed manual called them. But we know better now, right?

Blogging Breakthrough

Whoo, whoo! I've recently added a comments feature and now I've learned how to place more than one picture in each of my posts. Who knows what will be next.

All I had to do was to check out the blogger dot com FAQ. Previously I had to do a posting for each picture, in the reverse order that I wanted them to appear online, which was a pain, and also clogged up the index.

See the following story on the Washington Park bike ride for an example of my new improved, multiple picture blog.

Washington Park Bike Ride

A bunch of us rode our bikes in Washington Park last Saturday morning. I think everyone had a good time and might even consider doing it again sometime. :)

I've posted a bunch of pictures from the ride on our Club Photo site, and I've included two here to whet your appetite. You can click on these pictures, as well as the ones on Club Photo to see them bigger.

The road from Playa Funchi to Wayaka is really nice. Sometimes one can see iguanas sunning themselves on the edge of the cliff by the sea.

If you call ahead of time and pay a small fee, the rangers will open the park early for you. We really appreciated this because it allowed us to ride before the sun got too hot. By eleven or so, the park is broiling hot at this time of the year.

Riding in the park first thing in the morning is also great because the sun makes interesting shadows. During the heat of the day, the lighting is flat and hides the features of othe terrain.

Friday Snorkel Adventure

We snorkeled at Andrea II on Friday evening.  We saw some big fish again and took a few pictures, although the sun was getting too low in the sky for good lighting.  We saw a green flash as the sun set over the hills behind the oil terminal.

This Tarpon came cruising by us a number of times. He is probably about four feet long. 

You can click on any of these pictures to see them bigger.

Tiger Grouper 

I kept expecting these baitfish to form pictures as in Finding Nemo. They were facinating to watch as they moved in formation. 

The late afternoon sun makes nice shadows on the fire coral. 

Here is a four eyed butterfly fish in front of a gorgonian coral. The fish's head is on the right and tail is to the left. 

Thursday Snorkel Report

We did another sunset snorkel on Thursday after work.  This time we went in at Andrea 1 and went as far as Andrea 2.

The water was again quite calm and pretty clear, but not as clear as on Tue. and Sun.  We saw a big grouper that hangs out there, a turtle, squid, eels, some very large parrot fish, some chubby chubbs, and a small shark.  There are some sharks that hang out between Andrea 2 and the Sabadeco pier, that many people have seen.  We even saw one when we went by on the Aquaspace glass bottomed trimiran sailboat.   This was one of the small ones, and he was quite active, swimming to and fro in 10 to 15 feet of water.

The 5 chubbs were big enough that I started wondering about what would happen if they turned mean, as I hovered just a few feet away from them.   Most reef fish are "cute", but these guys had more of a presence.  I guess I've seen too many movies.

 

Tuesday snorkel report

We snorkeled from Oil Slick Leap north to the section where the tourist road hangs right over the water.  We went from about 5:30 to 7 pm.  (sunset time down here)

The water was clear and glassy smooth, because the wind pretty much died that evening.  The part just north  of oilslick was a little blah, but then it got very very pretty.  Probably another one of the best shallow water snorkels on Bonaire.  There were some very small juveniles hanging out within the corals, which were just a foot or two below the surface of the water.    We saw a turtle, and also a sting ray, as well as all the usual Bonaire stuff.  (ie. zillions of fish)

What is especially cool about this snorkle is how pretty the view towards the shore is, both in and out of the water.

New Comments Feature Added

I think I have successfully enabled a blogger.com feature that lets you post comments about my blog articles.  From now on, at the bottom of each article, you'll see a little link telling how many comments have been registered.  Click on that and you'll find a link to let you post a comment.
 
At least that is how I think it works.  I'll give it a try to be sure.  I think I can delete any comments that I find objectionable for some reason.   Whoo whoo, such power!

Outdoor Adventures

Now that cousin Bud Gillan is here visiting us, we're getting some quality time out and about in the nature wonderland that is Bonaire.
 
Saturday morning found me out on my road bike on wet roads, enjoying a rainbow over Rincon, a pig in the road by Dos Pos, and "electric pink" Flamingos on the road at Gotto Lake. 
 
Sandra and Bud saw some HUGE fish on their afternoon snorkel at Andrea II.
 
On Sunday afternoon, we had a great snorkel from Oil Slick Leap south to the dive site marked Barkadera.   I'd highly recommend this as one of the best shallow water snorkels on Bonaire.  On yesteday's visit, the water was very clear, and although the wind was generating chop, there was little current.  I may see if I can drag Bud back there and see if I can get some pictures with our cheapo underwater camera.
 
We then stopped by the beach at Eden Park, the new home of the Bonaire Webcams, and saw a great green flash as the sun set.
 
After that, it was on to China Nobo for some great Chinese takeout, which we ate out at the Willemstoren light house at the South point of Bonaire.  There was a teeny tiny sliver of a moon that quickly set, and then the sky was about as dark and clear as it can get here on Bonaire.  The Milky Way streched from horizon to horizon, showed lots of dark lanes and structure, and a bunch of Messier objects were easily spotted with the naked eye.
 
Topping it all off were a couple of super low slow bright meteors.  One was orangy in color and the other was magnesium white and left a trail. 

Baptism Service

Just as people come to Bonaire to get married in beautiful surroundings, Erica decided it would be a great place to be baptized, while she was here visiting her parents on her schools summer vacation. 

I'd say that she was right.
Baptism is a public testimony that one has put one's faith in Jesus Christ, and the actual process of baptism illustrates a believer's identification with Him in his death, burial, and resurrection.

Here is a shot of Rich Fuller, with the four young people who were baptized. You can click on the pictures to see them bigger.

More scenes from the seaside baptism can be found on my Club Photo site here.

Hooray! I can post pictures again.

The utility that lets me insert pix in my blog seems to be working again.

Here is an image that I sometimes use as Windows Wallpaper. Anyone who has climbed Brandaris to the highest point on Bonaire will probably recognize this survey marker. 


You can click on any of the pictures to see them bigger.
More pictures from some of our Brandaris climbs can be found here and here, and even here if you scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Planet Venus Update

After Venus passed in front of the Sun back on June 8, it moved from the evening sky into the early morning sky. Any early birds out there? Here is the latest on Venus from www.space.com.

"On Wednesday, July 14, Venus comes up in total darkness while shining at its greatest brilliancy (magnitude -4.5). To give you an idea of just how radiant Venus is, it's now over 17 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest of all stars. In fact, it's so bright that you might try spying it on very clear days with the naked eye after sunrise. If you can keep track of where the planet is through sunup, you should still be able to see it as a tiny white "speck" against the blue sky.

As a bonus, a lovely crescent Moon slides well to the north and east of Venus on the mornings of July 13 and 14. By the end of July Venus rises well over an hour before the first glimmer of dawn."

If we have clear skies here on Bonaire next week, I definitely plan to check out Venus at its brightest. In the past, I have indeed been able to spot Venus with my naked eye all morning, until lunch time, once I had an idea of where to look for it. The moon could serve as a good reference point for keeping track of Venus during the daytime next week.

TWR Paraguay Trip Report

In a blog on May 25, (see the archives) I mentioned that a group of women representing TWR's Project Hanna - Women of Hope visited Paraguay. They had a great trip and ministered to a variety of groups of women; ranging from a women's prison meeting, to one with the wives of government cabinet ministers.

Oh, the utility that allows me to stick photos right in my blog doesn't seem to be working, so you'll have to click on the links to see the trip photos, like in the early days of my blog.

And I have no idea how to spell some of the proper names you'll find in this posting. I gave 'em my best guess, but if anyone can help me out, just drop me an email, thanks.

Here we see some of the TWR team with a group of Nee-Va-Klay indian women who traveled 800 kilometers, on very sketchy roads, to discuss the possibility of producing Women of Hope in their language. Erma Hein (back row on the right) has spent her whole adult life ministering to this indian group in the Chaco area of Paraguay.

Here is Peggy Corcoran with two members of the TWR Paraguay team. The young lady on the left produces a kids radio program. Most all of the TWR staff in Paraguay are quite young, which is only fitting, since 41% of the population is under 15 and 60% is under 25 years of age.

The Guarani language version of the Women of Hope radio program has had a great impact in Paraguay. Guarani, the heart language of most of the people, is one of the two official languages of Paraguay. Here is the team that produces the Guarani version of Women of Hope.

I recently posted a picture of a Project Hanna prayer group that I lifted from the Dutch TV show about Bonaire. Here is a Project Hanna prayer group that meets in Paraguay.

That's Not a Sport

Back when our son, Richard, was gutting out his 50 mile training rides and racing bicycles for Bucknell in the dead of winter, we often heard this indignant comment about some recreational activity/sport...
"________'s not a sport!"

As Lance Armstrong begins his quest for an unprecedented 6th straight yellow jersey in the Tour de France, a new sports legend has been minted in good old Coney Island.

"I think he has proven, once again, that he is one of the finest athletes of any sport in the world," said Richard Shea, a spokesman for the contest.

I think not.... but you can decide for yourself here.

TWR Guam recovers from Storm

TWR broadcasts to Asia from the island of Guam, in the Pacific. Typhoon Tingting dumped a lot of rain there this past weekend, causing mudslides, deaths, and downtime for our radio broadcasts. Guam got 38 inches of rain for the month of June, which was a record. 16 inches of that came on Sunday, with another 5 and a half inches on Monday.

The TWR staff on Guam has been downsized, just like on Bonaire, so when something unusual like this happens, they are really stretched to the limit.

Here is a report from Guam that just came in:

Thanks for praying for us. We went in Tuesday morning to run the morning broadcast shift and couldn't get a single transmitter to run.

We managed eventually to get a transmitter up to run the morning Vietnamese and then it went down and we had to work on it as a big coil was shorting out. We got the next transmitter fixed in time to run the morning Cantonese on it. Then we went through two more transmitters and got them running but never got the last transmitter running for the night shift. After putting in a 15 hour shift and knowing that there wasn't time enough to fix the transmitter in time to get any of the night programming on, we went home for the remainder of the night.

Power was restored to the station around 7 PM so it was out for over 40 hours.

Wednesday morning when we started the morning broadcast shift, our main circuit panel shorted out. We spent the rest of the day working on it and got it back to running just two minutes before the night broadcast shift started. The middle phase in the circuit breaker shorted out to ground. All morning was spent cleaning up the charred insulation and circuit breakers. The afternoon was spent making a new bar for the center phase for the breakers to attach to. A hole bigger than a quarter was blown in the bar and there was just a little on one side still holding the bar together. Doug, who was running the night shifts came in early and worked on transmitter two and got it running.

So now we are back running all five transmitters and have water and power back both at home and at the station. Thanks so much for your prayers. No one was hurt and there doesn't appear to be any antenna damage. Salt water from the ocean and electrical components just don't make a good mix.

Unique astronomy event recorded

About a month ago, (June 8)I wrote an account of our observations of Venus passing in front of the sun for the first time in 128 years.

I've also mentioned seeing the International Space Station pass overhead here on Bonaire, and some of you saw it pass very near Jupiter one evening. (May 12)

Well, a fellow in Bratislava, where TWR has it's European radio program playout center, captured images of Venus and the ISS passing in front of the Sun at the same time!

I've signed up to get an email a couple times a month which tells if the ISS will be passing in front of anything interesting, as seen from tiny Bonaire.

If you would like to know where to find info. about seeing the space station where you live, email me and I'll send you the links to the web sites. (I don't have them in front of me right now)

Washington Park Conquered

I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that the evil roads in Washington Park ate my bicycles rear wheel. (of course, operator error had nothing to do with it, heh-heh)

Well, I took the wheel and hub apart, cleaned up the chewed up metal on the hub with a Dremel tool, and rebuilt the drive side of the wheel with "new" spokes from my stash of used-but-not-forgotten spokes that are scattered all over our storeroom. So, the wheel is not exactly as good as new, but it is rideable.

I drove to the Park last Saturday and rode around the 18.4 mi. loop as fast as I could. By driving to and from the park, I cut my total biking mileage in half and was able to ride much harder in the park.

I chopped my time from an hour and 45 minutes to a little under and hour and a half. Ta-da.

That's probable as fast as I can go, without some serious hill training. I chopped the 15 min. off of the first half of the ride going in to Slagbai. Riding out in the rollercoaster hills took just as long as usual.

I'll probably try another record attempt next December when the weather is cooler. Overheating in the broiling sun keeps me from going faster at least as much as lack of fitness.

Cool Listener Email

Here is an excerpt from an email that Bill Damick from TWR received just yesterday.

"My grandparents were converted and they listened to TWR from Bonaire in Spanish, French and Portuguese every evening. Since I spent a lot of time with them, I listening to each program with an open Bible since I was around 5 years old. Now I am 43, completing a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible, and will always treasure those evenings with my grandparents listening TWR"

This man's email is a real encouragement as we celebrate 40 years of gospel broadcasting from Bonaire and trust the Lord for an equally fruitful ministry in the days and years to come.