July 2008 - New Exciting Ministry News -

Greetings from Guatemala:

I will try not to make this too long, but some wonderful opportunities have presented themselves to the ministry here, and we are going to need your help. The first quarter of this year really did not produce any news, more or less business (ministry) as usual. We did receive an international team of missionaries in April and will receive more groups later this month. However in June, after seeking direction for the ministry, we have been presented with an opportunity to start a local Christian TV station here in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. The exciting part is that we would be the first and only Christian TV station here! We have already obtained the permissions and are partnering with CTNi for the content and programming.

So what’s the next step? A fundraiser! We have begun a campaign to raise the money needed to begin the transmission. We had a week long marathon and rose just over $1,000 USD locally, and that’s when we realized we would need outside help to start this ministry, the technology here is more expensive than it is in the USA or Europe. A local company has a microwave system (studio to transmitter link) in their warehouse that we may be able to use, that would be a huge savings for us.

So What do we need?

In short, we will need a computer for editing video, a computer for control, a 4 channel video mixer, a 10 foot satellite receiver, and a DVD player. That will get us started, but of course in the future we will need a camera, and a studio (live) desk or some sort of live set. There is also a piece of land in front of us that would be perfect location to install the satellite dish and covert into a parking lot, currently every one just parks on the grass in the back yard, but it has become somewhat of a mud hole with all the rain we get! We also need to see the finish of a new studio construction project. We have seen a lot of support, but we have taken this as far as we can here in Guatemala, now it is time for your help and for you to be a part of what we are doing here!

Bottom Line –

Would you please consider partnering with us for this TV project? If you have ever been blessed by watching Christian TV programs, imagine living in a city where the channel just did not exist. For such a small price we can impact the community and the city of Puerto Barrios. Shofar Ministries has over 10 years of ministry here and has the respect and trust of the local pastors and churches, I can not think of a better way for this ministry to give something back to the community that has supported us for so many years. Please pray how you can help. Below is a list of current projects and the costs:

$5,000 for equipment to start the TV channel. (not including camera or studio furniture)
$5,000 to buy the land in front of us for the dish and a parking lot.
$10,000 is needed to finish a building project for the new TV studio, and conference room.

You can give on our website with your credit or debit card, http://www.shofarstereo.com/ click on DONATE on the left side bar. please contact me directly for bank info if you care to send a check, or wire transfer, my direct e-mail is paul@tonetti.us and I have a Vonage line here in Guatemala, it is a Florida phone number, and you will only be billed for calling to Pensacola Florida, it is +1 (850) 932-8086 please leave a message, I check messages daily as I am not always in the office.

Thanks for your time,
-Paul Tonetti
Director – Shofar Ministries