Source:         www.assistnews.net

Date:            July 24, 2007

Why I joined the Voice of Hope radio station in Lebanon after being challenged by George Otis, Sr. to risk my life and that of my family for Jesus

By Dr. Charles "Chuck" Pollak
Special to ASSIST News Service

CHARLOTTE, NC (ANS) -- "Praise God, Chuck..are you coming?" These were the words of the third call from this exuberant former executive of High Adventure Ministries again challenging me to bring my wife Kathy and three year old little girl Sarah to a war zone, to a work at a new radio station the terrorists had promised to blow up the day it signed on the air.

From the CBN website

But this was no ordinary radio station; it was to be the first Christian radio station in the Middle East.the Voice of Hope, broadcasting the hope of the Gospel to that war-torn area from Southern Lebanon. My two other conversations with George Otis, Sr. ended with my refusal to go and help manage this, for what for all the world seemed to be, a doomed radio station.

But this call was different. "Tell me .before you say no again....have you really prayed about this?" No, I hadn't..not really. It didn't make sense to risk my life and foolhardy to bring my family to a radio station whose welcome was death, promised by many militias and terrorists hostile to the Word of God, but who needed His love so badly. "OK...I'll pray and I'll do just what I feel the Lord would have us do."

That's all the Holy Spirit needed and within one month to that day, we landed in Israel, then up to Lebanon to join some of the most courageous Lebanese, American and international staff people we have ever had the privilege to work with. Each one recruited by this man who lived "all in" in reckless abandon for the cause of Jesus Christ.

George had a way of sharing the worst news and conditions with you with complete honesty, challenging all who heard to "pick up their cross and follow Him".and we followed. His vision had each person's gifts and callings all considered and assimilated. His hard-driving personality sometimes rubbed people the wrong way and he wasn't always right. But his desperate love for Jesus, his ability to communicate and irrepressible drive to build kept us all busy.

First, two AM radio stations, then two short wave...a television station.an FM followed and after the most brutal of the many wars we sat under, a major relief effort to bring food and shelter to war victims. There was always something new to start. Many a time Kathy and I answered 2:00 AM phone calls from George in which he would begin by saying, "Chuck..I believe the Lord would have us start a ....."

George Otis in the Middle East

The terrorists made good on their threats. They shelled the stations many times and killed several of our staff members over the years..and finally blew up the Voice of Hope. Each time we were back on the air within hours the staff believing that what we were doing there was much more important than any one of us.

Invariably, George would be there, flying all night from California to be there with us and, if needed to, share our fate. He inspired many well known, brave Christian leaders to come into Lebanon and see for themselves, some of whom linked into partnership with us. With the sound of small arms and artillery fire all around them, they would visit and speak over the air, knowing that some of those listening wanted them dead. So, the station wasn't blown up or stopped on the day it signed on the air, nor the first week, month or year. For over 20 years, the Voice of Hope broadcast the Good News from Southern Lebanon.

For many of us, the experience of believing God for our safety and being part of something at the cutting edge of evangelism helped shape the ministers we are today. George Otis challenged us to trust God for everything to be "all in", radical for Jesus Christ where it counts.

This man of God, the one Israelis called "Ha Mashugga" (the crazy one); his wonderful wife, Virginia and his family paid a very dear price for his service to his Creator. When in the Middle East, George was tireless, running off the plane, working non-stop for 1-2 weeks then running up to the plane to go home. Many times, at the end of our 7:00 AM to midnight workdays planning, meeting and arguing until agreement together, George would look up at me and say "you're alright, kid!"

So, George Otis, former President of High Adventure Ministries and leader of the Voice of Hope has passed away to meet his Lord to truly start a new "high adventure" that will last an eternity, and they'll be plenty others there he'll have brought with him. In a way, I can hear George's voice pretty clearly in my mind: "Praise God, Chuck are you coming?".

Yeah, George, I'm coming, but not now..you'll have to wait awhile...and George....thanks!

Note on the High Adventure website -- www.highadventure.org -- George K. Otis, Sr. beloved friend and founder of High Adventure Ministries and Voice of Hope, went home to be with the Lord on Sunday July 22, 2007. George was a Christian radio pioneer and evangelist He was an author of more than a dozen books, including his autobiography, High Adventure. The founder of the Voice of Hope Radio Network, Otis eventually surrounded the globe with short-wave radio stations.

His ministry in Israel started what would become Middle East Television. He was best known for his energetic enthusiasm and unflagging commitment to reaching the world with the Gospel. His life touched the lives of actors, athletes and politicians like Pat Boone and former president, Ronald Reagan. His lifelong commitment to Israel gave him opportunity to meet with prime ministers like Yitzak Rabin, Menecham Begin and Shimon Peres. He died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Murrieta, California. Otis was 90. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Virginia, his sons George Otis, Jr., and Don Otis and three surviving daughters, Kay Smith, April McCallum and Heather Tayloe.