I wrote a little bit about being at KTIS radio for the fall fundraiser the other day. It was nice, but I didn’t feel like I’d earned my lunch when I left.
So, I went back for the final four hours on Friday morning. I’m really glad I did.
During the four hours I was on the phone I had the chance to go back about 15 years to my call center days. I have actually done call center work on and off since high school, but for serious inbound calls my time goes back to being a representative with USWEST in the 1990’s. The biggest difference on Friday was that not one person said a harsh word to me. Being in the collections department of a phone company you learn new words and combinations of words even if you were a sailor. (It might, in fact, have been good training to be a sailor given some of the interesting suggestions people made to me in that job.)
Friday was blessed. I got to talk to wonderful people. Lonely people who just wanted a voice to pray with, people with not much money who wanted to do what they could to support the Ministry of Northwestern College and the radio station. Some folks were calling to express their love for the station with large gifts. More than once I heard someone talking about how they wanted to share the gifts God have given them with the station because it played such an important part in their life. Others could only do a little but needed to thank someone for the station being there 24×7 for them. I don’t think many people realize how important that voice in the middle of the night is when the walls are closing in and lonliness and depression crowd out all but the smallest speck of light. That light is KTIS beaming into their lives and keeping the hope of dawn in front of them.
I had more than one person increase their donation while we were on the phone. One man doubled his donation “just because God has been good to me and I love Him.” Awesome.
But the personal high of the day was the opportunity to pray with so many people I didn’t know on a personal level. It made me think of the best days I ever had as a Deacon. I was sitting in a chair with a phone headset on, but in my heart I was down on my knees in front of God, holding the hand of the person on the othe end of the line. I was pouring out my heart and lifting them up to God. And it was blessed and wonderful.
I left the station walking on the clouds. I had one of those mornings where the Holy Spirit had reached down and touched me personally. I knew Grace.
And all in the space of four hours just talking to listeners.
Thank you, Jason, Rich, Julene, all the air personalities, all of my other friends at KTIS who welcomed me into the fold to take calls this week. You were gracious and kind and fed not just my stomach but my soul by allowing me to participate.
