About Us
It may help to know a little about the author....
I don't want to take centre stage on this — but my feeling is that credibility is better established when we state where we are coming from. It helps provide vital context to the discussion while providing a basis for assessing the credentials of the author. Secrecy cannot do that....
So here is a little bit about myself...
My name is Frank Gray and my "adventure" began when I boarded a plane for Laos in January 1969. I went armed with a degree in Engineering Science and was on my way to work at Lao National Radio in Vientiane under the auspices of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). It was part of a British Government aid programme through Colombo Plan and my basic assignment was to provide training to technicians at LNR
That lasted two years and led to my returning again in September 1971 to work as an associate with C&MA. My assignment was to develop the work of the recording studio, making radio programs for broadcast from Manila via shortwave in Lao and Meo (= Hmong) and other media products as appropriate
This proved to be a period of great learning for me personally. I worked hard to come to grips with the cultures of that country, to understand the needs of minority peoples, to witness at close range the impact of the war in Vietnam that spilled over into Laos; to assess the impact of media upon Lao and Hmong people in particular — and a lot more...
After being forced to leave Laos in May 1975 my wife and I went to USA so that I could study in the Communications Program at Wheaton College Grad School. It proved to be a wonderful time for reflection and study, sifting through the experiences of the past six years and evaluating them in the academic environment
Upon graduation I was caught up in refugee ministries among the Hmong and Lao working with John Lee out of the US offices of FEBC in California. This resulted in the establishment of the Hmong Alliance Church in November 1978 and enabled my moving full-time into FEBC in early 1979 where I assumed the responsibility of General Program Director. This led to our family moving to Manila, Philippines in 1982 where we were based for the next 9 years