winds made tower climbing impossible. At one time, the ground stabilizing wire snapped, endangering the lives of those on the tower and those on the ground, but God protected the workers from harm. Another time the tower was leaning at an approximate 15 degrees and had to be straightened. Finally, the last of the six TV tower elements moved up past the guy wires, past the FM antenna link, and to the top. Bolts clamped it into place. The antenna was finished, but the transmitter, which was already under revision, required hours of pa tient aligning and tuning. The unpredictable time “ off the air” in December, 1962 turned out to be eighteen nights of no telecasting. It was a time of testing, but it was the answer, the proof, for which Bob Clark had been looking. Because of the delay, hundreds of telephone calls and letters were re ceived from viewers. One night, more than four hundred persons called. They were anxious for HCJB-TV to come back on the air. They expressed their deep appreciation for the programs. The telephone calls became such a burden that the mission finally announced in the news paper that the people would be informed when the sta tion would telecast again. Bob Clark has made a map of Quito on which he registers the location of all television sets. His only way of knowing where these sets are, so he can register them, is through telephone calls of owners, letters or by per sonal contact. This step has led to the HCJB-TV follow up program. A file is kept of the names and addresses of all known owners, of the contacts made with them, and of literature or Gospels which had been given to them. Bob is hoping that some day HCJB-TV will have a staff large enough so that its performing artists will be able to go into the homes of these people to visit them personally, to witness to them and win them to Jesus Christ. HCJB-TV does not have a building of its own, but is using the facilities of the radio station, which are inade quate for telecasting. Plans have been drawn for a $20,- 000.00 TV studio but as yet there are no funds for the purpose. Recently the thirty-two piece United States Air Force Band, stationed in the Canal Zone, came to HCJB- TV to give a free performance. The musicians found playing difficult because of lack of space in the small radio studio. Furthermore, no backdrops could be used and there were no wide-angle lenses. Space limitation also presents problems in audience-participation programs. HCJB-TV has purchased a small plot of ground on the slopes of Mt. Pichincha, above the present studio site, where it is erecting a higher tower for better outreach. Students at Colombia Bible College have given $5,000.00 toward the construction of that antenna. Dr. Clarence W. Jones, co-founder of Radio Station HCJB, says, “With satellites like Telstar and Relay beginning to orbit the earth for communication systems, perhaps we’ll see the day not too far distance when HCJB-TV programs will be bounced to the other side of the earth!” Souls have been reached for Christ through HCJB-TV. Definite decisions have been made by viewers who have come to the station to make inquiry. Bob Clark’s wife, Marian, says, “What, at a glance, would seem to be the extremely high cost of television, turns out in a close- up, to be one of the best bargains in the mass communi cations media. If our purpose is to reach people with the Gospel of Christ in an intimate, personal, persuasive manner, then television is a must.” Agreed are the staff members of HCJB-TV. When the Christian public in the United States and TV viewers in Ecuador also find them selves in agreement, the answer to Bob Clark’s dilemma will be solved.
HCJB-TV was off the air only a few weeks when the President of the Republic signed a decree, authorizing a television contract to be drawn up between the Ecuador ian government and the World Radio Missionary Fellow ship, Inc. On May 18, 1961, a twenty-year contract was signed, granting HCJB-TV its permanent license and the liberation of all duty on equipment. From that time on, HCJB-TV made rapid strides. The program schedule was increased to five nights weekly, then six, giving the best spots to Gospel programs with a clear presentation of the Word of God. As the only sta tion in the area, it had an unprecedented opportunity as an evangelical witness. Despite the fact that almost the entire audience is Catholic, with little or no background in evangelical teachings, HCJB-TV soon became endeared to the people. In Ecuador, a television set is very expensive, both be cause of the low economy of the country and because no television sets are manufactured there; therefore, all must be imported. However, within a year, 1,500 sets had been purchased by viewers who realized they could receive only one station, and at that, an evangelical one. One devout Catholic, Mr. Ochoa, bought a set for his home. Various children of the neighborhood gathered nightly to watch the programs. Then suddenly the chil dren stopped coming. Mr. Ochoa became worried and made inquiry, only to discover that now the children had television sets in their own homes! A father told him, “ If you, being such a good Catholic, would buy a tele vision set, knowing HCJB-TV is the only station you can receive, then we figure we can buy one, too.” A philosophy of HCJB-TV is that it considers itself a guest in homes where there is a preponderance of children. Both for their sake and for the sake of its Gos pel witness, HCJB-TV is very careful in its selection of programs. Its schedule includes scientific and educational programs, news telecasts, audience participation pro grams, news telecasts, lessons in speaking English, in strumental soloists, health and social information, and carefully-chosen film series, as well as Gospel programs. HCJB-TV is operated on a non-commercial basis and does not sell time. However, certain commercial estab lishments contribute on a “ help share the cost” basis, which amounts to a total of about $200.00 per week, a fraction of the actual cost of operation. HCJB-TV ran smoothly on Channel 2 for a number of months when it encountered an interference which made reception impossible in downtown Quito. The same wave length had been assigned to the squad cars and electric company mobile units. So, for a better and more widespread testimony for Christ, application was made for a new channel and number four was granted. A complete changeover in the equipment then became necessary as well as the construction and erection of a new antenna. The HCJB engineering staff quickly laid plans and started construction. They were pushing hard when, on November 1, 1962, within six weeks of meeting their goal, an announcement appeared in a Quito news paper stating that a certain commercial establishment was importing television equipment into Ecuador and would occupy Channel 4 by December 1. HCJB engineers realized that they could not legally hold two channels, even though both had been assigned to them, and that “possession is nine-tenths the law.” They knew, too, that the commercial firm did not have its equipment released for customs (sometimes a long-drawn out process), so they surged full-speed ahead to complete the changeover, praying, daily for further miracles from the Lord. Long laborious hours were required to finish the cutting, bolting and welding of the huge antenna, erect ing and tuning it. For a few days lightning and high
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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