Busy mother and wife Roxana Bravo, a native of Peru who has lived in the U.S. for 19 years, worked in the tourism and child care industries before she found an unexpected calling as a Christian broadcaster.
Bravo’s route to Lewisville, Texas, where she now lives, was somewhat circuitous after she met her husband-to-be more than 25 years ago when he was visiting Peru. Although she was reluctant to leave her home country, she followed her husband to California, then Texas.
“Now, as the years have gone by, I realize it was necessary for me to leave my country in order to have a real encounter with Christ,” Bravo said.
For the past eight years, the family has been active in El Camino Church (Companerismo Biblico El Camino) in Lewisville, where Bravo is involved in the praise and creative arts and women’s ministries. Pastor Felix Cornier called Bravo a “great asset to the church and a blessing” who is “always ready to help.”
In August 2020, when things were shuttered by COVID-19 Bravo was bolstered by the Lord and encouragement from others to start a livestream and internet radio program, “Caminando en Fe” (“Walking in Faith”). During the program on Radio PM 24.7, she interviews Christian leaders about matters of faith that she hopes will impact the lives of her listeners.
Cornier, a frequent guest, noted the program has a wide reach. Most recently, the pastor discussed Christian ethics on a November broadcast. Other topics include doctrine, church polity, faith and culture.
Q: How did “Caminando en Fe” begin?
Bravo: I started by making 15– to 20–minute videos, which I began sharing on the radio in August 2020. That October, I decided to extend the program to one hour and [broadcast] it simultaneously on the radio and on Facebook.
The topics are of a Christian nature. I try to choose topics that many people do not dare to ask for fear of being judged or about which they still do not have very clear answers. Our approach is simple.
I thank God that He has given me people [to interview] full of wisdom, but above all, who are willing and available to help and go the extra mile by sharing the Word, thus obeying the command of our Lord to go around the world sharing the good news, making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The programs are every Saturday at 8 a.m. so I would have more time to take advantage of the day in extra activities such as volunteering.
Q: Tell us about your radio career.
Bravo: It all started in a fortuitous way. At the beginning of 2020, a very dear friend and sister in Christ proposed that I do a program with her. The idea did not seem bad, but I was not sure if I was the right person, so I told her that I was going to think about it. After about two weeks, I decided to help her, but since I hadn’t given her an answer, she had already proposed the project to another person. I was very happy about that because I knew she would do very well.
Then the pandemic came and with the closure of the churches, I was left thinking (about) what I could do to remain in communion with the sisters, (such as) share devotionals or Bible studies with the ladies with whom I had been meeting. I thought about Zoom, but not all the ladies are very skilled in the technology.
I then remembered the radio, and through my friend I was able to contact the owner of the station. I asked him for only two hours on the second Saturday of each month to have the broadcasts, but he encouraged me to do them weekly. I was reluctant, but God reminded me of the Bible studies I had led every Friday before the pandemic, and that gave me encouragement to do so. On May 2, 2022, I will celebrate two years with Radio PM 24.7.
Q: Who listens to the program?
Bravo: I hope in the Lord that those who hear are those who need to listen, who need prayer or a word of encouragement in life, who have a thirst to learn and want to apply what they have learned. I always ask [for the Lord’s guidance] because I would not like to further confuse a world that lives totally confused and ignorant of the truth.
Listeners come from the United States, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Canada, Brazil, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
I want to add that it is not easy to do this, that many times it scares me a little to do the program, especially on the radio since [the station] is not Christian but a secular station. I accepted the challenge to do the program because, even though there are spiritual needs in the people of God, they have the opportunity to hear the Word and choose obedience. Nonbelievers do not have the same opportunity. With nonbelievers, those of us who claim to be children of God must act not with our strength or with our wisdom, but with the strength, the wisdom and the grace of God. How can they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher (Rom 10:14)? We have a great responsibility.
Q: When did you begin to follow Christ?
Bravo: I think I was always His, but I didn’t know it. Despite being in a family who belonged to the traditional church, we were never practitioners. Since we were little, we were surrounded by Christian people. We grew up with the 700 Club and cartoons like El Super Libro. We even attended an evangelistic event in a stadium … in Peru. Our parents raised us with a very solid moral foundation and in the fear of God, but as the years went by, like every adolescent, I began to move away a little and without realizing it, I became an atheist.
Little by little I began to immerse myself in loneliness and depression, but God’s unconditional love saved me. I remember that wherever I went there was always someone who spoke to me about Christ. One day when I was traveling as a land hostess [for an airline] attending to a passenger, she began to tell me about Christ. I thought: Well, here too? It was unbelievable. It was like God was always looking for me and I couldn’t hide from Him.
I remember the day I met my future husband. It turned out that he was a Christian! I could not believe it! I did not understand what was happening. On the one hand, I said I did not believe in anything but very hidden in my heart, I needed to believe in someone. I wanted to fill my emptiness, to be free because I felt like a prisoner in a dark world. … It was not until March 2005 that I had a real encounter with Christ. That day I couldn’t take it anymore, and I totally surrendered at His feet.
There began my beautiful adventure with Christ, a long story full of ups and downs like everyone else’s, of pleasant and not-so-pleasant situations, but with the total assurance that the Lord will not leave me alone. His Word tells me that in this world I will have afflictions, but to be of good cheer because He has won and He will be with me all the days of my life.
EDITOR’S NOTE —This article was written by Jane Rodgers and first published by the Southern Baptist Texan, newsjournal of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
