The Philip B. Petersen Collection Broadcast January 7, 1989

     Amateur radio can often accomplish communications to remote areas of the world when no other means of communication is available.
     I know a blind young lady who became a missionary after completing seminary in California.  She wanted to go to Nigeria in Africa with a sighted person to work among the large number of blind people there.  She planned to travel from Los Angeles with her friend but, due to some problems with her friend's passport, her friend was detained so she decided to travel on alone since her luggage was already on board the aircraft.  The plane went non-stop to Amsterdam in Holland and then she was to change planes to Nigeria taking five pieces of luggage with her, including a special optical reader used by the blind.  Her parents were already apprehensive about her traveling and became much more concerned when a small revolution broke out in Nigeria and the government was overthrown.  For several weeks, her parents were trying to locate their daughter since they hadn't heard from her and were not sure if she ever got to Nigeria.  I knew nothing of this until her parents, who were longtime friends, asked if I could help with amateur radio.  I knew that there are missionaries from various churches who go to Africa and that possibly some are radio amateurs.  I asked the mother is she could get in touch with some of these church denominations and find out if they knew of any missionary radio amateurs.  She did!!  And, two days later, she gave me the name of a missionary radio amateur in Nigeria, his call letters, frequency of operation and the date and times when he would be talking from Nigeria.  I put out several calls but didn't get any reply.  However, the following week, I did contact the missionary radio amateur in Nigeria and, very much to my surprise, he said that he knew the blind young lady missionary.  He said that he happened to meet her at a regional Bible conference they were attending in Nigeria.  He said that she was all right.  In fact, he said that since they were traveling in the same general direction to her final duty station, he took her and her five pieces of luggage and drove 100 miles to his little village where she was a guest overnight.  The following morning, one of the missionary workers drove her 130 miles the rest of the way to her duty station since they would not let her travel alone.
     Was I surprised and happy to hear this good news.  Of all of the millions of people living there, I was able to talk with a missionary radio amateur who had all of this information and looked after her so kindly.  I thanked him and told him I was so glad to hear that she was all right.  I immediately called her parents about the good news that they were so happy and thankful to hear.  Her mother said, "Phil, tonight will be the first time in several weeks that I will get a good night's sleep."  As for me, this is my most memorable and heart-warming experience in amateur radio.

January 7, 1989

** Broadcasts recordings preserved and presented here by Mr. Robert Buss and Mr. Bernie Ricciardi, Phil's friends and fellow Marconi Chapter 138 QCWA members **

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