Fire Destroys Mongolian Christian Radio Station
By Jeremy Reynalds
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA  (ANS) -- The studios of the only Christian FM radio station in Mongolia were devastated by fire last Monday. According to Tom Terry of Mongolia’s Eagle TV (where WIND FM is temporarily housed) the fire apparently started in the control room while a live show was airing.

Terry told me by e-mail that he was on the scene the day of the fire and able to get inside the building. “It appears that the fire started in the control room ... I’m not sure if they were able to save any equipment, but to be honest, it doesn’t look good. The inside of the building looked very damaged from both fire, smoke, and water ... Smoke (was) pouring from the top of the building (and) coming out of the main studios on the top floor. Nine emergency vehicles were on hand, including three or four water trucks.”

Batjargal Tuvhintsengel, the General Director of WIND-FM, was on vacation in Hong Kong with his family when the fire broke out. By e-mail he said that the damage estimates are up to about $120,000. He praised his staff for working so hard to get the station back on the air in its interim home.

WIND FM, which began broadcasting on May 2 2001, is a ministry of the Far Eastern Broadcasting Company in Mongolia. (FEBC). It employs 15 staff and broadcasts 24 hours a day to Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar, home to about one million people.

According to Tuvhintsengel, WIND FM’s programming includes “soft pre-evangelistic programs promoting Christian values to this society that had been indoctrinated by the Communist ideology for 70 years.”

Despite hundreds of years of missionary activity, just a decade ago there were only a few Christians in Mongolia which is a predominantly Buddhist nation. Until 1990, Mongolia didn’t even have any churches. But with the opening of the country’s borders the situation changed. The number of believers increased dramatically and the way was paved for the beginnings of WIND FM..

Although FEBC had been broadcasting since 1994 to Mongolia via shortwave, the organization initiated plans for WIND FM at the request of the Mongolia community.

“The ... station serves the local community in a Christian context and provides programs that address the needs and social problems faced by Mongolian society,” Frank Gray, FEBC vice president of operations said in a press release.

Tuvhintsengel told me by e-mail that listeners are appreciative of WIND FM. He has heard a number of positive comments about the station, including one listener who said “We have been touched by your programming that encourages and gives me hope to live,” and another person who commented, “Wind FM focuses on family and promotes values such as forgiveness and hope.”

The station is also underwriting an effort to reach the Mongol language groups of both Outer and Inner Mongolia. (Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of China).

People wanting to find out more about the station or send a note of encouragement can e-mail windfm@mongol.net.  While WIND FM doesn’t yet have a web site, the Far Eastern Broadcasting Company’s web site is www.febc.org.

Those interested in donating to help rebuild WIND FM can send contributions to FEBC Mongolia Fire Emergency Funds, c/o Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC), Box 1,La Mirada, CA 90637.