Clarence was very excited by the letter. Using recorded discs meant that a program did not have to be broadcast live! All the musicians and speakers involved in the program would not have to be assembled in the studio at Quinta Corston. Instead the disc could be broadcast simply by placing it on a turntable. Clarence wrote back to Mr. Fuller immediately, accepting the offer and suggesting that HCJB and Mr. Fuller split the cost of broadcasting the program.
Later that year Clarence received more exciting news. A used 5,000-watt (5-kilowatt) transmitter was available for sale in Chicago for ten thousand dollars. Clarence immediately got in touch with the board of advisers for the radio station, explaining that such a transmitter would allow them to reach a much larger audience around the world with their radio signal. The response of the board of advisers was encouraging. “If this transmitter looks good and you can find the money, go ahead and buy it,” they wrote back.
Now Clarence had a reason to return to the United States. In early 1938 the Jones family packed up and headed for Guayaquil. Clarence had booked passage back to the United States on a cargo vessel that had several passenger cabins aboard. When he booked the passage, Clarence had not realized that it was the vessel’s maiden voyage. As a result, everything possible was done to make the twelve passengers traveling aboard extra comfortable for the journey.
This time the ship was not headed for New York City through the Panama Canal but was headed for San Pedro, California. When the family reached San Pedro, waiting for them on the dock was Katherine’s father. They all enjoyed a tearful reunion. During the six years she had been in Quito, Katherine had convinced herself that she would never see her father again. And now here they were, all standing together on the dock in San Pedro.
Following their reunion the family went and ate a hearty lunch, and then Adam Welty took Clarence to a used-car lot and arranged for him to buy a 1935 Ford. “We need something to get seven of us all around the country,” he told his son-in-law. Clarence was surprised and delighted by the comment. His father-in-law was planning to itinerate around the country with them.
The first stop Clarence made after arriving back in the United States was a visit to Charles Fuller in Pasadena, California. The two men talked late into the night about upcoming Old-Fashioned Revival Hour shows and the impact past shows were having in South America.
From Southern California they all set out to travel around the country. They had little money to spare, certainly not enough to stay in hotels along the way. However, Mr. Welty came up with a plan to take care of their accommodations. Just before dark each evening he would have Clarence drive around as he looked at names on mailboxes. When Mr. Welty saw a German name that he recognized, he would ask the people who lived in the house if they were German Mennonites. Most of the time they were, and they had heard of Adam Welty and his mission in Lima, Ohio, since the Mennonites supported the mission. Once the connection was established, everyone was welcomed into the home, given a good German dinner, and put to bed on mats on the living room floor. Often one host would arrange a place for the Jones family to stay the next night.
Everywhere that Clarence went, he talked about HCJB—what they were doing and how much farther they could reach with their radio signal if they had a stronger transmitter. All across the United States he met with others involved in broadcasting Christian programs over the radio. As Clarence soon discovered, his time working at the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle was now providing him many wonderful contacts along the way.
Even though he prayed hard and gave all his effort to itinerating, by the end of 1938 Clarence had raised only one-third of the money needed to buy the 5-kilowatt transmitter. It was hard for him not to get discouraged as they headed on to Lima, Ohio, to spend their last two weeks in the United States with Katherine’s family.
When they arrived in Lima, a telegram was waiting for Clarence. It came from a well-known Christian businessman named R. G. LeTourneau. Excitement welled in Clarence as he read the telegram: “If you want to see me before sailing, come!”
Clarence suddenly felt a surge of hope. R. G. LeTourneau was a prominent Christian businessman involved in inventing, building, and marketing large earthmoving equipment. He had been very successful in this and now gave 90 percent of his income to Christian work, much of it to the Christian and Missionary Alliance and the Christian Business Men’s Committee.
Clarence had no idea how LeTourneau had heard of his plight, but he chartered a small airplane the next day and flew to Peoria, Illinois. His father-in-law went with him, and the two men prayed much of the way there.
When Clarence and his father-in-law arrived in Peoria, LeTourneau welcomed them warmly. “Sit down and make yourselves at home,” he said. “I have heard a lot about the work of HCJB. Tell me what you are up to now and what you plan to do next.”
Clarence launched into a summary of the work of Radio HCJB, including their ability to reach over ninety million people with the gospel. “But my vision is bigger than that,” he concluded. “With a 5,000-watt transmitter we could send a signal around the world!”
“Interesting,” LeTourneau replied. “What I would really like to sponsor is someone who would build a radio station in the Philippines to reach into Asia. If you agree to do that, I’ll underwrite the entire cost of the project.”
For once in his life, Clarence did not know what to say. Here was a man willing to hand him a radio station on a platter, only it was in the wrong area of the world for Clarence. Of course, Clarence had a plan to reach around the world with a network of radio stations, but a small voice in his head warned him that it was not yet the time to branch out. Clarence could not ignore this warning, which he was sure came from God, even if it meant giving up the backing of an influential and wealthy patron like R. G. LeTourneau.
The men talked on for a little longer, and then Clarence stood up. “I’m sorry, Mr. LeTourneau, but my call is to South America. As far as I can see, we still have a long way to go on that project. You will have to find someone else to start a radio station in the Philippines.”
“I might do that,” LeTourneau responded, “but in the meantime I would like to do what I can to help you. How much more money do you need?”
“I have raised three thousand dollars, and we need ten thousand, so we still need seven thousand dollars,” Clarence said.
LeTourneau pulled a checkbook from his desk drawer and quickly wrote a check. “Keep in touch, Clarence,” he said as he handed it over. “I expect to hear of good things happening in South America.”
Clarence glanced at the check. It was for the full seven thousand dollars! Now he did not have to return to Quito empty-handed. He could buy the 5-kilowatt transmitter right away.
Instead of flying back to Lima, Clarence ordered the chartered airplane to fly to Chicago, where he met with the man selling the radio transmitter. Papers were hastily drawn up to sign for the sale, but as Clarence lifted his pen to sign the papers, he heard the words “don’t do it” in his head. This was the last thing he had expected to hear, but he instantly recognized the words as a warning from God not to go ahead with the purchase. Instead of signing the papers, Clarence put down the pen and turned to the seller. “I’m sorry to have gone this far with the deal, but I’m afraid I can’t go any further. I just don’t feel free to go ahead with this purchase.”
As Clarence shook the man’s hand and walked out of his office, he wondered what had just happened. He had come to the United States to buy the transmitter for ten thousand dollars, he had a check for that amount in his pocket, but somehow at the last minute he felt it was the wrong thing to do. He could not explain it to himself, much less to his father-in-law or to Katherine.
A week later the Jones family was in Boston preparing to return to Ecuador. While in Boston Clarence received a phone call from John Meredith, a member of the advisory board. “Did you end up buying that transmitter?” John asked.
“No,” Clarence replied. “I have all the money, but I just couldn’t sign the sale documents.”
“Great!” John’s voice rang on the other end of the line. “It’s a heap of junk!”
“How do you know that?” Clarence asked.
“My nephew Clarence Moore and another amateur radio operator took a look at it, and I’ve just gotten off the phone with Clarence. He told me the transmitter is obsolete. There’s no way to update it. It’s bound for the scrap heap.”
“Really?” Clarence said as he put the pieces together in his head. No wonder he had not felt free to sign the papers for the sale!
“Yes, these boys are sharp. I think you should meet them,” John replied.
“I’d like that,” Clarence said. “Is there any way they could come to Boston before I leave?”
“I’ll do my best to get them there. I have a feeling they’re part of God’s plan in this whole thing,” John said.
After the phone call Clarence told Katherine and her father what he had just been told.
“Thank goodness we didn’t return to Quito with a pile of junk!” Katherine exclaimed. “And who knows what God will do now.”
Clarence certainly did not know what God would do next as he sat waiting the following evening for the two young men to arrive. It was New Year’s Eve, and somehow Clarence Moore and Bill Hamilton had made it to Boston in less than a day to meet with Clarence. As he waited for them to arrive, Clarence sat in a hotel coffee shop reading the newspaper. So much of the international news concerned Germany. With each passing day, the German leader Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party seemed to be getting more aggressive with the rest of Europe. Some commentators were saying that it could only lead to war if something was not done to try to defuse the situation.
Finally Clarence and Bill arrived at the coffee shop, introduced themselves, and shook hands with Clarence. Not wanting to waste anyone’s time, Clarence got right to the point. “For the past year I’ve been trying to raise money to buy that 5,000-watt transmitter you men looked over. God has provided the money, but I didn’t feel I should go ahead with the purchase. Now you tell me it would have been foolish to go ahead. But as far as I know, it’s the only piece of equipment like it on the market today. So what do you suggest we do next?”
Neither Clarence Moore nor Bill spoke, and in the ensuing silence, an idea came to Clarence Jones like a bolt of lightning. “Could the two of you build us a new 5,000-watt transmitter for ten thousand dollars?” he asked.
Bill shook his head. “Impossible,” he said.
But as the two young men discussed the idea, a hopeful grin began to creep across each of their faces.
“I think we just might be able do it,” Clarence Moore finally announced. “Of course, lots of details would have to be worked out.”
Clarence Jones reached out and patted them both on the back. “With God’s help, I know you can,” he said.
It was amazing how quickly the details came together. Clarence Moore, who was a high school teacher and Mennonite pastor, took a leave of absence from both jobs to oversee the mammoth project. And when Clarence Jones appraised R. G. LeTourneau of the situation, LeTourneau welcomed the change of plans and offered a corner of his manufacturing plant in Peoria as a workshop in which to build the new transmitter.
By the time Clarence boarded the ship early in the new year for the trip back to Ecuador, he was confident that Clarence Moore and Bill Hamilton would deliver a new 5,000-watt transmitter to him in Quito in twelve to eighteen months’ time. He looked forward to progress reports from Peoria.
Chapter 14
Reaching the World
The news from Clarence Moore was even better than had been anticipated. Clarence had apparently been able to work out a way to double the wattage power of the transmitter for very little extra money. He had explained how to do it to R. G. LeTourneau, who in turn had provided the additional money needed to double the wattage.
