I wrote an article about Sudan during my recent visit to this country. This article is featured today, July 30th, on the homepage of Helium.com under the Politics in Africa section. If you would like to read the article, click here and let me know what you think!
When confronted with the needs of countless children suffering from AIDS, poverty and the death of parents, what can one do? Isn’t the need to large and overwhelming to address? Wouldn’t it require too much time, energy and resources to reach out to such a helpless multitude of little ones? Not according to Stephen and Beatrice Njau, founders of El Shaddai Children’s Home. Over breakfast one morning, I overheard a conversation about orphans in Kenya. Inquiring further I met Mary and learned that she was volunteering at a children’s home. As she described the work of El Shaddai, it sounded like the kind of place that we would want to film. Touching base with Stephen over the phone, we scheduled a time to visit…
I just noticed that Paul emphasizes the importance of “one” six times in Romans 5. He repeatedly affirms that it was the offence of one many that caused sin and death to come upon all. Contrasting Adam’s failure with Christ’s perfection, he also states that it was the righteousness of one by which all receive life. As I reflect upon what I’ve experienced and what I’ve seen on this trip, one thing that I want to make sure that I do not forget is the power of one. Short of placing ourselves in the unique position of Christ or of Adam, there is a principle that one life carries unlimited potential, for better or for worse. World history is replete with individuals whose use…
While walking along one day, with my camera hanging from my shoulder, I was abruptly approached by a man who named Henry. Eyeing my camera, he asked if I was a journalist. As I described my work as a photographer and filmmaker, he asked if I would be willing to do a documentary for his organization in a rural town in Western Kenya. Pulling out his business card, I noticed that it targeted the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. Anybody working to help children is a friend of mine, so I sat down to talk with him further. Hearing about the needs of his hometown community and learning that he was a dedicated Christian, motivated me to see what I could do to…
A fortunate turn of events landed us an unexpected opportunity to travel to Sudan. When we started filming for the African Children’s Choir in Kampala, Uganda, they asked if we would be willing to join them the following week to film their work in Sudan. Money raised by the children’s choir has been going to help the people of Southern Sudan since the late 90′s while Sudan was still at war. Having desired to visit Sudan for a very long time, I was thrilled to accept the invitation to take a trip to Sudan. The difference between Sudan and Uganda was immediately noticeable upon crossing the border. Sudan’s roads are not passable for anything but a 4 wheel drive. We drove through streams and…
The reality of immense human suffering tends to be obscured by our distance from it. The greatest divide between us in the West and the worst tragedies of our time is not merely measured by miles but by circumstances so completely foreign to our experience that we can hardly relate. Getting up close and personal with tragic situations, and the people effected by them, can put a personal face on what is otherwise seen as a vague humanitarian crisis. I recently met a young man who did this for me and I would like you to meet him as well. Jeffrey was born and raised in Northern Uganda. He was very young when the Lord’s Resistance Army, known locally as the “rebels”, stormed his…
Capturing a film on the Aids crisis in Africa has opened my eyes to a tragic reality. We are alive during one of the most serious pandemics of world history. According to Susan Hunter, in Black Death: A History of AIDS in Africa, by 2003, over 28 million people had died of AIDS. This number is expected to jump to over 100 million by 2010. Africa has borne the harshest blow of this worldwide crisis. Melissa Fay Greene’s book, There is No Me Without You, describes the amazing story of a widow from Ethiopia who after losing her husband and her oldest daughter, despaired of her life. She came back to life when the local Church asked her to take in a few orphans…
“Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.†(Acts 11:29-30) From the earliest times in the history of the Church, the precedent has been set for churches to care for another, particularly in time of need. Recognizing that the persecution and resulting distress of the church in Jerusalem was stronger than elsewhere, the churches of other cities resolved to send support to them. Certainly these other churches had their own needs. It would’ve been easy to justify that they could not afford to take any of the money out of their own collection to help…
I have met the most unbelievable people staying at Nairobi Backpackers! Its like every time I say hello to someone, I discover another incredible and interesting person! Let me tell you about a few of them: Rob I just met Rob tonight as he was getting off the internet. He mentioned that he was glad he was able to catch up on his work emails. I asked him what he does for a living so he told me that he was leading a trek to the top of Mt. Kilemanjaro! When I mentioned that I was interested in climbing Kilamanjaro, he told me about a local guide who could give me a good deal. He informed me that now is a wonderful time to…
I’ve started working on graphical links to point people to our website and here’s my first one. If you want to use any of the buttons that I create on your blog or website, please just let me know!
Sometimes my life seems like a series of goodbyes. Wherever I go, I become attached and never stay long enough. Our time in Sri Lanka came and went to so fast. As I said goodbye to the children at Samudra Sri, the children’s home, I realized that although I may never see them again, I will never forget them. They did not seem as needy as the Indian children. They were more shy in general and harder to get close to. Maybe we just needed to reach out to them on a deeper level. They really seemed to respond when we did. I had so much to do before leaving tonight but I just had to spend some final time with the kids. I…
These last few days we’ve had the opportunity to travel to the Southern coast of Sri Lanka in order to film and take support photos for the children attending the AED schools at Galle and Tangalle. Two things stand out about this area of the country. First, it is a beautiful area lined with miles of pristine beaches. Second, it is an area tragically struck by the tsunami of 2004. Many homes and businesses still lay in ruins. Driving through this region has helped me to clarify the reality of what these people suffered. Driving by, however, could never teach me as much as what I learned from a man named De Silva. As I climbed out of our van to take a few…
One evening we were on our way to a church in India and I couldn’t find a seat on the bus. As I looked around, I heard a quiet voice call “brother” and looked to find one of the little girls from the orphanage motioning for me to sit by her. As I met Mounika, pronounced like the English “Monica,” and began to talk to her, she immediately walked right into my heart. Her English was better than I had found among any of the other children in India. As we drove, she pointed out the various types of trees and plants that we passed. She taught me about India and told me the Telegu words for things I did not know. She asked…
I was reading Acts 1 this morning and found a story that pertains to what we are doing as Mission Focus. The story is of Matthias, the man chosen by the eleven disciples to replace Judas as an apostle. Many preachers have assumed that it was not God’s will for the disciples to choose a replacement. They generally base this argument on the fact that we hear nothing further about Matthias in the biblical record. It is as though his value as a disciple is dependent on how much we know about him. The worth of God’s servants is not measure by how much we know about them but by everything that God knows about them. There are countless obscure and unknown followers of…
The kids at Samudra Sri are adorable! Samudra Sri, means “Beautiful by the Sea†and is the orphanage that we are filming at here in Sri Lanka. Most of these children lost their parents to the war in Sri Lanka or the tsunami. Others come from poverty stricken situations where one or both parents could not take care of them. We have been interviewing the children and learning more about their stories. What is remarkable is that with all that they have to be sad about in their lives, they are so happy here. The staff of AED seems to really care about them, the place that they live is full of fun and learning and as we talk to them we learn that…
In a tiny little mountain village, outside the town of Paderu, I saw a modern illustration of Jesus’ words. The members of the church had just brought their tithe, consisting not of money but of a portion of their crops. The people of this area earn a meager wage of about a dollar a day. Among the bags of rice there was a tiny little sack sitting on top. It was a small tithe from one of the poorest members of the church. As I looked at the sack I could not help but remember the story of the widow’s mite. Jesus saw the large gifts made by the rich but when he saw a widow give the small amount that she had, He…
I’m having a hard time transitioning from India to Sri Lanka. We’ve been here for four days already but sometimes it seems that my heart is still in India. As I process my pictures of the Indian orphans, I remember each one and all of the joy that our time with them brought. Their sadness when we left still breaks my heart. Gotume, one of the little girls, said, “You leave for Sri Lanka. All the children sad. No games.” I do love the kids here at the children’s home in Sri Lanka. They are very sweet but it seems that they have so much more than the kids in India. They have beds, a beautiful setting, ample sporting equipment and an excellent assortment…
I first met Jwala when she walked into a classroom so that we could conduct an interview with her. As we asked her to describe what her life was like before she came to the orphanage, she began to talk about her parents but then she stopped. A sad look came over her face and although she tried to suppress it, tears began to stream down her face. As she cried and we tried to comfort her, we learned that her parents had died only 6 months before. We already knew that her father had been murdered and that her mother refused to eat and died a month later. What we did not know was how recently this had taken place. A few days…
After a little over a week in India, it finally seems like we are starting to get somewhere with our video project. On the one hand, we’ve gotten a lot of good footage of the various ministries here but on the other, we haven’t been able to start actually setting up film shoots and capturing critical footage. This has been in large part due to our struggle to say “no” on the mission field. Not realizing the amount of time that we would need for filming, Pastor Mekela scheduled our time quite fully. Since any other mission trip we’ve ever taken has consisted of showing up and helping the ministry in whatever way we could, it was hard to break out of this mindset.…
It is surreal. It is unbelievable. It is hard to imagine. We are actually on our way to India! We’re living the dream that God gave us and I could not be more excited! Sure, I’m a bit apprehensive but also confident that everything will work out. Our equipment is new, our team is newly formed and we are new to the whole realm of documentary films. The same God who led us here will give us the strength to do what we came to do. Now that we are on the first leg of our flights, our next task is absolutely crazy. We are going to get off the plane for our layover in New York and make a taxi run to B&H…
Making use of Memorial Day, I hiked up the 8500 foot Tahquitz Peak in the San Jacinto Mountains. I set out early in the morning, allowing me to see the sun slowly creep over the mountains. It was both a beautiful and peaceful hike. I never encountered anyone on my way up but of course on my way down, people were everywhere, making me glad I went early! This picture is of me enjoying the majestic view from the peak!