The good news is: As of this writing, more than two million Americans had received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to immunize from Covid 19. The United Kingdom and Russia were the first countries to begin vaccinations in early December.
The bad news is: the virus has mutated, and now there’s a variant that spreads more quickly. In addition—travel over the Christmas holidays will likely lead to more spread.
The good news is: The variant, as of this writing, is not thought to cause a more severe form of Covid. And people continue to be vaccinated.
The hope and prayer is: The vaccinations and general course of the pandemic will enable all of us to return to a mostly normal life soon rather than later. And we pray the New Year will bring us something more pleasant to talk about.
In the meantime, our reporting team of Kelly Ann Monahan, Marcy Bryan, Doug Poling, and Paul Ladd will keep you informed.
Happy New Year!
The Pacific Rim and Southwest Asia
The Pacific Rim, the Indian subcontinent and southwest Asia provide the reasons Your New Life Station broadcasts the International English Hour. The Pacific Rim is that part of the Eastern Hemisphere that encompasses English-prevalent countries of the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand. Additionally—English is widely spoken in Indonesia. And English is the official language of government and commerce in the southwest Asian countries of India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In Japan and countries of the Middle East, many speak English as a second language.
Your New Life Station’s broadcast schedule makes use of Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), a 24-hour system also known as Greenwich Mean Time. Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behind UTC; Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind. When some parts of the world return to daylight saving time for the warm weather months, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) is four hours behind UTC, and Central Daylight Time (CDT) is five hours behind. Outside the U.S.—most locations are on standard time all year rather than daylight time. Karachi is five hours ahead of UTC. Mumbai and New Delhi are five-and-a-half hours ahead. Manila, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lampur are eight hours ahead. And Tokyo is nine hours ahead of UTC.
You can use our listener website www.knls.org to hear the English Hour if you’re not into shortwave radio. You can also access the broadcast through the KNLS app on your mobile device or through Google or Safari. If you listen via shortwave radio, you can access knls.org to get our broadcast frequencies.
The English Hour is the Asian continent’s source for the music of our time and the message of all time. We work to provide a geographical balance in the topics we feature as we take listeners from “Alaska to Asia to Africa to America.” Our Eye on the World stories often show the interdependence of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Since our target audience is mostly non-Christians, our content is different from a typical Christian format station in America. While we provide our share of positive, uplifting content, some of our programming also provides an honest look at the dark side of life on Earth. Indeed, some program segments and music selections may raise questions that a thoughtful truth seeker will ask. And other segments, such as the Bible or Christian lifestyle lessons, serve to answer those questions.
Music to Love
Music is a universal language. Probably 80 per cent of the world’s pop tunes are sung in English, and are enjoyed by people everywhere, many who are themselves not proficient in English. The English hour features your favorite songs from today’s best music. International pop charts show that your favorite music is also the favorite of people who are culturally diverse—whether in Nairobi, Sydney, Singapore, or Jakarta.
The songs are pop, rock, r & b, and occasional hip-hop and country music that crosses over to the pop charts. The English Hour generally features music by artists from the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. But music artists from all over the world have found their names on or near the top of international pop charts.
In January, Your New Life Station’s listeners will hear new music from Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes & Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Swift.
News to Know
The English hour features reporting about topics of current interest. Marcy Bryan reports about entertainment, business, and news about religion and social issues. Kelly Ann Monahan has the latest developments in medicine, science, and computer technology. Paul Ladd provides special reports about diverse topics, religious and secular. Doug Poling provides commentary on the news from a Christian perspective on Today’s News & the Good News. And Adam Holtz, Jonathan McKee and Kristin Smith of Focus on the Family provide Plugged-in reviews of the latest movies, music, and computer games.
In January—they’ll continue to rate, for family friendliness, the numerous movies featured on streaming services as theatres struggle to reopen across the world. And Kristin Smith will comment on new music by Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber, and Taylor Swift
Upcoming Reports for January 2021
Warner Brothers released Wonder Woman 1984 in theatres and on HBO Max.
Is this a trend that threatens the long-term outlook for the big screen? Marcy Bryan reports.
Marvel Studios will produce another Black Panther movie. But Chadwick Boseman will not be replaced. Marcy reports about that, too.
And Marcy updates us on the charitable work done by various celebrities.
We’re all invited to contribute to Google’s Street View. Kelly Ann Monahan tells us why and how.
Rats—yes—rats are being trained to detect unexploded mines in Vietnam. Doug Poling reports.
Many of us who normally attend religious services have stayed home during the pandemic. Doug gives us a what’s-in-it-for-me reason to resume attendance once the pandemic permits.
Does a prayer have to be long-winded to be powerful? Paul Ladd and author Jeff Kirby discuss what is commonly called The Lord’s Prayer.
A Message to Live
This is what we’re about and why we’re on the air and on the internet. Our mission is to present the lessons of the Bible, including and emphasizing the Good News in an interesting, non-threatening way.
Ongoing Series
All God’s Giants with Larry Souder
Andy Baker’s Prayer Lesson
Author’s Journal with Wesley Paine
Believer’s Hall of Faith with Bill Young
Creation Moments with Paul Taylor
Deuteronomy with Phillip Camp & Paul Ladd
Eye on Religion—Bible archaeology emphasis with Marcy Bryan
Family Minute with Brit Ryan
First Person with Paul Ladd
God’s Money with Steve Maganelles
God’s Passion for Humanity with Bill Young
Groundwire with Sean Dunn
Hope in Conflict with Larry Souder
Jim Daly commentary
Joy of Peacemaking with Larry Souder
Life Stories with Joe Norris
Living with Conflict with Greg Taylor
Profiles of the New Testament with Bob Borquez
Profiles of the Old Testament with Royce Kessler
Promises with Royce Kessler
Refiner’s Fire with Paul Ladd
The Big Picture with Steve Diggs
The God Who Makes Himself Known with Bill Young
The Journey with Greg Taylor
Today’s News & the Good News with Doug Poling
True Stories of the Bible with Bill Steensland
Unforgettable Conversations with Larry Souder
