So What Does SonSet Solutions Do Anyway?

     Have you found yourself asking this question every time you hear from us? We talk a lot about what I am doing at SonSet Solutions. But we haven't talked a lot about what SonSet Solutions does. The name SonSet comes from John 8:36 in the Bible, which says, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." But the word "set" can also refer to technology, like a "TV set". So you might say that we make technology for the Son. But wait... Our name also includes the word "Solutions", which suggests that we provide solutions too. Put it all together and what do you get?

"SonSet Solutions provides technology-based solutions to advance the Gospel worldwide."

     SonSet Solutions has its fingers in a lot of technology areas, but here is a quick overview. Our rich history in radio technology has allowed us to plant more than 450 Christian radio stations worldwide. We have designed and distributed more than 44,000 solar-powered, fixed-tuned SonSet^® radio receivers for areas of  the world where electricity is scarce. We also are helping ministries monitor clean water systems in remote communities to ensure the liquid water and the living water continues to flow. Media will be used to create evangelistic tools that can be used on mobile technology to share the gospel. Here is our new video to explain more about some of  these ministries.

     Thanks for being part of the team! #PartnersForGlobalImpact

Doug (& Ruth)

Faithfulness

Hank (standing) with Ray Rising

Hank and I had the privilege of interviewing Ray Rising this week. Ray came to help us with the Global Impact Celebration at SonSet Solutions last weekend. He is hoping to raise the funds to send 1,000 SonSet® radios to Radio Logos listeners in the Peruvian jungle. Ray is helping several radio stations in Peru reach further into the Amazon jungle region of South America.  

Ray's faithfulness to the call of God has impacted me often. He was captured by the FARC guerillas in Colombia and held for more than two years. He later discovered that the man who had ordered his capture was in a Colombian prison. Ray visited him in prison and gave him a Bible. In spite of the horrific experience at the hands of his captors, Ray has returned to South America and continued in ministry.

I'm not sure I could do that... return to the field after such a tramatic experience. It would be so easy to say, "I've suffered enough for Jesus", or "I feel the Lord is calling me back home now". Somehow we think that if I just give enough to the Lord and then He will be happy and let me live a comfortable life. I'm not sure it works that way. What if God gives us trials in order to prepare us to do even greater works for Him? What if our trials are building blocks that purify us and make us more like Jesus?

I hope that I can be as faithful as Ray Rising. I would like to hear my Lord say to me some day "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Wouldn't you?

Doug (& Ruth)

Global Impact Celebration

Have you been wondering what it is that SonSet SonSet Solutions does exactly? We provide technology-based solutions to advance the Gospel worldwide. Still not sure what that means? Well, we create technology to help ministries worldwide be more effective in communicating the gospel. That started out as being radio technology, but we are branching out into some new areas as well like solar powered applications, remote monitoring  systems, and media content for mobile devices. 

On Aug 29th you will have the opportunity to see first hand some of this technology. From 2:00 - 4:00 pm we will be hosting an Open House in which we will have lots of our technology on display for you to see, touch, and experience. It will be an interactive time for the whole family. At 4:15 we will have a short ceremony to dedicate our building in honor of Clarence Moore, former HCJB missionary, creator of the popular ham radio antenna known as the cubical quad, founder of Crown International, and donor of  the building that we now reside in.

This would be a really great time to learn more about our ministry. The address is 2830 17th St. Elkhart, IN  46517. Hope to see you on the 29th! If you can't make it, check out facebook.com/sonsetsolutions for updates about our ministry. 

Doug & Ruth

What's In the Wind?

     One of the projects we have been working on for SonSet Solutions is a new promotional video. So last week, a colleague and I packed the car full of gear and headed off to Chicago to interview one of the board members of SonSet Solutions. His office looks across the expressway, right at US Celular Field, the home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team.

On the Roof to See the Antennas

     I have not been in Chicago a lot. I know that is called the windy city, and it certainly was windy that day, especially on the roof of a 20+ story high rise. Why the roof? Well, our subject for the interview is not only interested in the technology solutions that our mission provides to partner ministries, he is also involved in technology research himself. So he just couldn't resist taking us up to the roof of the building to show us the antennas that monitor the radio spectrum around the city of Chicago. We then returned to his office where we talked about the future of the internet, communications, and mobile devices.

     So many times we use the technology in our hands without giving it a second thought. In fact, it's pretty hard to remember what life was like before desktop computers, cell phones, tablets, cable TV, etc. etc. I have lived in a generation that has seen this amazing growth in technology. But many experts tell us that most of the world will not experience technology that same way. Most people in developing nations will skip right over wired telephones, "standard" cell phones, and desktop computers, and they will jump right to mobile devices. What we have seen happen in the last 30 or 40 years will occur in a matter of a few years for them.

The Chicago Skyline from Our Rooftop Perch

     That is why I am so passionate about finding ways to communicate with people who are using these new tools of communication. Our friend is monitoring radio spectrum usage in downtown Chicago with an eye on the future. We need to be looking at how we communicate the gospel with an eye on the future too. Mobile technology will soon be the way the world communicates, and we want to be ready for that day.

Doug (& Ruth)
    

The Call

You don't hear much about the "call" to missions anymore. That was much more of a thing when I was young. We were often asked about our call to missions 25 years ago when we were headed to Ecuador. I was reflecting again on our call to missions this past as I prepared a devotional for several engineering students who were spending their spring break to intern at SonSet Solutions.

One of the Churches We Helped Plant in Ecuador

Paul talks about his Macedonian call in Acts 16 and the need for people to tell others about Jesus in Romans 10:13-15 where he uses words like "go" and "sent". Jesus talks about the fields that are ready to harvest in Matt. 9:37-38 and of course, the great commission in Acts 1:8. But frankly, few of us get a call like Paul did. For me the call came over the period of a several of years.

First, I became aware of  the need for missions. I had been a good witness to my co-workers I think. But it wasn't until a missions trip to Mexico that I really experienced the white fields of harvest. Witnessing to my co-workers yielded little fruit during the 9 years that I worked in the US. But I saw several people come to know Jesus in a little Mexican church through my simple preaching and translation of the God's word.  People here were ready to follow Jesus... they just needed someone to tell them about Him!

Second, God began to put a dis-satifaction with the status quo in my life. I was working for defense contractors as an engineer at the time, pushing the envelope in radar development. We had the latest technology and were doing things that had never been done before. They were exciting times. But I was increasingly unhappy and uneasy. A growing fear of becoming too complacent in my comfortable world made me long for something more.

Thirdly, God produced in me an intense sense that what I was doing had no eternal value. We were working long hours at times in our push to stay ahead of our competitors. But what was the eternal value of what I was doing? Was this just "wood, hay, and straw" that would eventually burn up when my earthly deeds were passed through God's quality test by fire?  I began thinking about the bigger picture of life and God.

Some 25 years later, I am glad that I responded to God's call to serve Him. It has not always been easy, but it has been rewarding in so many ways. Do you hear God calling you to serve Him in some way? I encourage you to follow His call.

Doug

Exodus: Gods and Kings.

I took the family to see the movie "Exodus: Gods and Kings" last weekend. The production quality was excellent. The special effects were amazing. Some of the scenes were simply epic! But much like the movie "Noah", it was inaccurate in sevearl places. But that is exactly why I recommend these movies to you!

You see, story telling is a tricky thing. The problem is our tendency to "enhance" the story, or "fill in the gaps" in order for the story to make better sense or increase the excitment. The result is usually a published version that deviates from the original story in many ways. If you have ever read a book and then gone to see the movie, you know what I am talking about. I constantly hear people say "well you know... that's not the way it is in the book!"

So why go see these movies? Because they are the perfect opportunity to discuss with your friends, co-workers, and neighbors how "the book" is different from the movie. You might even get people interested enough in the book that they will want to read some of the Biblical account with you.

I have had many conversations with people who know little or nothing about Jesus and I have often wondered how to steer the conversation around to some spiritual topic without sounding lame or fake or disingenuous. Since Hollywood seems to have discovered that there is a "Christian market" for movies today, why not take advantage of the situation and use these movies to start a conversation. Then at the appropriate time, shift the focus to spiritual things by saying something like, "You know. That's not the way it is in the book...." It's one of the most natural, culturally accepted ways to refocus a conversation today and the best part is that your audience is already interested in the storyline!

In fact, I think the worst thing we can do is dismiss these movies out of hand and leave people wondering why you won't even discuss a story that they know very well is based on the Bible.

What do you think?

Doug