Sharing the Gospel "Face to Face"

Hirla Harish imagines that he is talking face to face to someone when he is recording his radio broadcasts.

Hirla Harish sits in a recording studio in Maharashtra, India, more than 400 miles from his home in Rajasthan. The recording studio is one of the few places that can block out the hustle and bustle of India just outside. The only other person Hirla can see is the audio technician in the control room, separated from Hirla by a large glass window.

When Hirla begins to speak into the microphone, he looks beyond the technician and the soundproof walls into the faces of the thousands of people who speak the Bhil language. He knows that they have probably never heard that Jesus loves them, and he is now speaking directly to them.

"When I am preparing the messages, I don't think about being in the radio studio," Hirla says. "In my mind I am not broadcasting, but talking to people sitting in front of me. I am talking to them face to face, having a discussion with them."

Hirla began recording Bhil language broadcasts for GFA Radio in 2006. He learned about the radio ministry when he was a Bible college student seven years ago. One of his teachers was a GFA Radio broadcaster himself and constantly encouraged his students to pray for the broadcasts. The teacher also read letters he received from listeners.

"I thought about the thousands of people who speak the Bhil language and how helpful it would be for them to be able to hear the broadcasts," Hirla said. At the time, there was no broadcast in the Bhil language, so Hirla prayed. "Lord, make me a radio programmer," he cried out to God. "I can do that for my own people, the tribal people."

Hirla graduated from Bible college without telling another soul about his prayer, and did not think about it much himself after that day. Several years later, leaders from the radio ministry contacted him and asked if he would create a Bhil language broadcast.

"I was so happy, and then I remembered my prayer. God had answered my prayer," he said.

Translating the Message

Hirla Harish translates scripts from Hindi to his native Bhil language, then writes them out on plain notebook paper, which then serves as his script in the studio.

Before Hirla can sit in front of a microphone and share God's Word with the Bhils, he spends hours preparing for the broadcast. For some of the broadcasts, he receives a Hindi-language script, which he translates into Bhil. The translation work is a delicate balancing act, because the two languages are vastly different. Bhil is a primarily oral language with no written alphabet. Many Hindi words have no Bhil equivalent. Hirla often turns to the Lord for guidance.

"I will just kneel down and pray asking the Lord to please help me," Hirla explained.

He has learned to do what he calls a "thought-to-thought" translation to convey the meaning in the radio broadcasts. For instance, there is no Bhil version of the word "discouragement." After pondering the script, Hirla decides to describe the feeling as living in a "peaceless condition." Another word he finds problematic is "heaven," because there is no concept of such a place in Bhil thought. Hirla instead uses Bhil words and phrases related to high places or the sky.

He also writes his own scripts that touch on culturally specific issues that the Bhil people are dealing with. He has taught Scriptural solutions to common problems such as marital discord and family problems, how to keep children from being led astray by society, and the dangers of witchcraft, commonly practiced in Rajasthan.

His scripts are handwritten on the simple white, lined notebook paper that so many students use in school. He carries these scripts into the studio and reads directly from them.

Are They Hearing my Message?

Hirla Harish prayed for a Bhil language radio broadcast when he was just a Bible college student. Now he is providing this important broadcast for his people.

Hirla was frustrated when his first few programs didn't draw much of an audience. So he began spreading the word. Now the program has a large number of listeners, although it is hard for him to gauge an exact number.

GFA Radio broadcasts, currently in 103 languages, generate more than a million responses each year. But very few of these letters are from the Bhil broadcast listeners. That's because the majority of the Bhils are illiterate, and there is no effective postal system in the area where most of them live. Hirla relies on word-of-mouth feedback to gauge his broadcast's effectiveness. People often stop and tell him how they were blessed by listening to the program.

As Hirla's ministry grows, these radio broadcasts will greatly multiply the number of Bhil people who can hear the Gospel. With his radio voice, he is able to talk "face to face" with those who have never heard about Jesus.

Started in 1986, GFA Radio today airs evangelistic programs in 103 languages on the Indian Subcontinent. Click here to read about the impact of GFA Radio.

Read about how a radio broadcast grew into a church.

Read about the millions who have responded to GFA Radio programs. Read some of their stories here.