Steve Pester – Farmington, New Mexico … On the Navajo Nation, radio is not entertainment. It’s not background noise. It’s a lifeline. It’s the companion in the quiet hours, the connection to their culture going on around them and news from around the world. Radio is the only signal that reaches the farthest hogans. And because of KDHH, KDHP, and the livestream, that voice is now speaking hope, healing, and Jesus to close to 100,000 people.

Staff members at Dine Adventist Radio (DAR) are pleased to share several recent stories of lives being touched and transformed through DAR’s broadcasts. As you read these accounts, you are invited to keep the listeners in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to continue working in their hearts and drawing them closer to Jesus.

 Every morning in Blue Gap, Arizona, Ruthie reaches for her radio before she reaches for her shoes. She told DAR, “I don’t turn on KTNN anymore. I turn on your station. It gives me such hope and encouragement.”

She listens all day long. The music, the stories, the prayers—they aren’t just programs. They are her culture. They are comfort. They are discipleship. Ruthie asked for a new‑listener packet because she wants to grow. The radio signal is teaching her faith in Jesus.

Near Kayenta, Arizona, a family with kids listens every day. Like many, they’re trying to find a balance of Christianity with their traditional upbringing, and DAR has become their safe place to explore faith without losing identity.

The father told us he listens to Tom Holliday’s programs—sermons recorded in Navajo at the VOP in the 60’s—because “I’ve always had questions … and now I’m getting answers.”

They are getting a copy of the book the Moccasin Trails to Heaven – Steps to Christ for 1st Nations People, from DAR to help them keep walking that journey. This is discipleship happening in real time.

In Kaibeto, Arizona, Millie heard a simple invitation on DAR to visit the Page All Nations Seventh-day Church. She called for Bible studies and a Bible, her first one—ever.

As she grew in faith, she invited her neighbor Helen, a retired flight nurse, grieving the loss of her son. The studies on death and resurrection became lifelines of hope for Helen to one day be with her son again.

Today, both women attend church every Sabbath. They found healing, friendship, and a spiritual home, all because of a simple radio announcement.

Everett, south of Burnside, Arizona, is blind, but he calls us almost every week just to say, “I’m still listening.”

When DAR gave him a GodPod, he held it like a treasure. His fingers danced across the buttons, and when he found the book of Galatians, in Navajo, he smiled and said, “This is where I’m at in my Bible right now.”

He listens to his favorites on DAR—Your Story Hour, Unshackled, and Discovery Mountain—programs shaping his faith day by day. He may not see the radio, but he feels the gospel

Alex lives in Nazlini, Arizona, where he attends the local Nazarene church, not out of convenience, but because it’s the only place nearby where he can hear messages in the Navajo language. Hearing God’s Word in Diné Bizaad matters deeply to him.

He’s excited to begin listening to the New Testament on his new GodPod, and he regularly tunes in to Diné Adventist Radio. For Alex, these broadcasts are a source of strength, hope, and connection in his own language.

Dolores and Emily, two sisters faithfully tune in to DAR from their home each week. For Emily, who relies on a walker and finds it difficult to attend church in person, the radio is her connection to worship, encouragement, and community. Since neither sister can travel long distances, DAR has become a lifeline that brings church to them.

They first discovered DAR at The Ranch album release event in Leupp, where they met DAR editor Kietel and “Navajo Gospel Hour” host, Anita, in person. Since then, they’ve become grateful, loyal listeners. Hearing familiar voices on the air has been a blessing to them, and recently, they received GodPods, something they’re deeply thankful for.

For Dolores and Emily, Diné Adventist Radio is not just a station. It’s companionship and a steady reminder that God meets His people right where they are.

Slim first connected with the Page All Nations Seventh-day Adventist Church through Diné Adventist Radio in Arizona. One day he heard the on‑air invitation to call the station for a GodPod, and he reached out. The Page Church Bible Workers followed up and personally delivered the GodPod to him.

They invited him to begin Bible studies, and while Slim isn’t ready to take that step right now, he is very thankful for the GodPod. He carries it with him and listens whenever he’s away from a radio. When he’s at home or driving, he keeps DAR playing. Whether through the GodPod or the radio, he is hearing the Word of God every day.

Even though he hasn’t chosen to start Bible studies yet, his heart is open enough to keep listening, and that’s a powerful beginning.

“Please pray that, in God’s timing, Slim will feel impressed to walk through the Bible studies and discover the precious truths of our faith,” urges Steve Pester, DAR network manager.

These listeners aren’t statistics. These are souls, for the kingdom, and hundreds more we haven’t met yet.

Diné Adventist Radio is not just broadcasting. It is breaking isolation, giving hope, sharing information for dealing with struggles and lifting up Jesus. Then we have events for listeners and connecting them with the local congregations who invite these listeners to walk through the open doors at our Seventh-day Adventist churches.

This is why we’re here today.

This is why this ministry matters.

And this is why we must keep moving forward.

* Dine Adventist Radio and La Vida Mission are supporting ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church but are not affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

—Steve Pester is the Dine Adventist Radio network manager. Republished with permission from Navajo Waves e-newsletter, April 2026. Photos supplied.