Women of Hope is crossing the 60-language threshold as the radio program, which features practical and spiritual advice, goes on the air in Turkish and Farsi.
Produced by Project Hannah, the 30-minute weekly program is reaching the round number of 60 as it begins broadcasting in Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey, during the first week of September 2012. Soon after, Farsi (or Persian), the official language of Iran, adds number 61 to the Women of Hope linguistic lineup.
“God has answered years of prayers for Women of Hope in Turkish,” said Dawn Siemens, TWR Europe’s coordinator for Project Hannah. “Our prayers were answered as we met the right people to catch and carry Project Hannah’s vision into Turkey with the prayer ministry and with the radio program, Women of Hope, or Umut Kadinlari in Turkish.”
In a format that is attractive yet challenging and presented in a friend-to-friend style, Women of Hope strives to communicate to listeners that they are understood and loved. Project Hannah, a ministry of the international TWR media organization, offers compassion, encouragement and hope to women worldwide through prayer, information and radio programming.
The broadcast to the Persian-speaking world holds particular significance for Marli Spieker, the founder and global ministry director of Project Hannah.
“This is a special milestone in our ministry to women worldwide,” Spieker said. “In my spirit I already see this fountain of hope springing up with the soothing grace and love of the Messiah Jesus in the hearts and minds of these dear women all over this vast region and then spilling over into their families and communities.”
In Turkey at the end of 2011, Siemens said, God connected Project Hannah organizers with a “beautiful team of women, broken, ready and certain that God had prepared them for just this time.”
Spieker also singled out people behind the scenes who made the Farsi broadcasts a reality.
“I thank God for our partners in ministry, those who not only make this a possibility but also have worked, prayed and insisted that we find good producers – godly women of hope to write and present culturally relevant programs that will greatly impact the women of today,” Spieker said.
Women of Hope isn’t likely to remain at the 61-language level for long. Outreach in other languages is always being considered.
Article originally written for TWR's web site.