Music, mobility and ministry comes to believers in restricted countries.

USA (MNN)–Across the 10/40 Window’s unreached areas, there are open doors for outreach. As people come to Christ, they also need to learn how to worship.

That’s where Operation Mobilization partner “Heart Sounds International” comes in. Heart Sounds’ Frank Fortunato enables local musicians to record their worship songs. “We’re working in a lot of the restricted nations, and we go to a lot of places where it’s difficult for the believers to either get to a recording studio, or it’s dangerous for them to identify themselves as believers recording their worship songs, or they can’t afford it.”

During 1997 the first two projects began in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Projects in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan followed. Other projects took place including projects in North Africa and Sudan in East Africa.

Teams continued to do worship recording projects in other nations including India, Mongolia, and Bulgaria. HSI leaders also did projects in other parts of Africa as well as Central and South America. Soon video became a focus of some of the Heart Sounds International projects. Along with setting up recording studios in various places, video studios were begun in North Africa and India.

Fortunato recruits a volunteer team of recording engineers to take mobile studios in and pave the way for future ministry. “In many of the places where we have gone, where we find that there are musicians who are capable of handling digital equipment, we will often bring in a complete recording studio and leave it behind for them to use for ongoing projects.”

He continues that because of the digital technology advancements, a mobile studio can fit into several pieces of checked baggage. The equipment list includes: monitor speakers, amplifier, synthesizer, 4-track Mini-disk recorder, audio mixer, mastering cassette deck, tape duplicator, software sequencer (recording), notation software,
computer (MIDI) interface, effects (Reverb) unit, microphones, headphones, transformer, adapter plugs, cables, tape, and accessories.

For more details, contact Operation Mobilization, or Heart Sounds at: www.heart-sounds.org.