Now to the task of editing

Well we have all made it back safely to the states. The media man team was reunited with the lovely ladies of film just this last Thursday. After sharing a few brief stories and a great welcome home meal at Zio's, the team is now taking on the task of editing the footage together from our trips. We are very excited to share the stories that we have captured and let others see what God is doing in Africa and Central America.

We are all very excited to see this project come to full fruition, but we know that it will take a lot of concentration and work on our part. We are praying that we stay focused on the work that is set before is, with only a week to edit. We pray that God give us creativity. That the right people come into place to help continue this project, and that the people who need to see this documentary will. But most of all, we pray that God's heart and glory is revealed through every bit of footage that is put before the eyes of those who view it.

We will try and keep updating as the week goes on.

God bless

P.S. Please join us in praying for Mandy's back, it has been bothering her lately.

Team CAMT's first blog with team Guatemedia on 5/11/10

After driving for 11 hours into the Guatemalan jungle the day before, the team was on their way to go see how the water filters they were going to be building worked. It was a 3 hour drive to the small village where we were headed, and not an inch of it was paved. So naturally it seemed like a great time to shoot a video update.

The media man team has emerged from the Jungle

Hello all!!! Yes it is true Mike and I have finally made out of the Guatemalan jungle and are now in Belize with the team here. We saw some amazing stories in Guatemala while we were there. The team worked really hard and built 24 water filters for the local villagers of Ixcan (said ish-can). The locals were really impressed with the hard work that the team was doing, especially since the team is made up of 7 girls and 1 guy. (Were praying for you Jeremy)

More than anything it was just really awesome to see the relationships that were built with the local people of Ixcan. The president of the village even invited Mike and myself to come back to visit. We don't even have to bring our media equipment, he said.

The love of God has been evident all throughout our trip. The first night we arrived in Guatemala our contact shared with us the story of when Jesus healed the blind man by taking mud, mixing it with His own saliva, and putting it into the mans eyes. We are the mud in that story, he shared. Mud alone can do nothing, but when mixed with the saliva, the very essence of God, the mud was used to heal the blind man. This project is just normal people reaching out to other normal people. Nothing special about those involved, but when taken into the hands of Jesus, Miracles take place, blind eyes are opened, and light is shone where previously it was dark.

We have started filming here in Belize and have already seen some amazing stories taking place. We look forward to the days to come and we pray that it will quit raining on us so that we can film the work that is being done here.

Until next time, this is the media MAN team!!!

God bless

Update from Dominion Farms

Hello, all! We're finally here and getting settled in to the guest housing at Dominion Farms - which is incredibly nice.  One of the ladies cooks our meals for us and I can definitely say that all of our expectations have been met and exceeded in that regard.  The farm itself is beautiful.  After taking a tour via van/truck on Friday morning,  we proceeded to attempt to ride the bicycles that had been purchased for us.  Unfortunately, 4 of the girls were entirely unable to reach the pedals, and so their bikes had to be exchanged.  Now we all have bikes that work - provided we can get more comfortable riding them :) For some of the team it's been a while since bike riding was a common activity, but the skill seems to be coming back nicely.

This morning we attended the village church.  Mandy and I shared briefly before the sermon, and the entire team enjoyed some amazing worship before introducing themselves to the congregation.  I continue to be amazed, not only by the differences, but by the similarities in Kenyan Christianity and the churches I am familiar with in the states.  I think we are all realizing how much influence the American church has on the way the world views Christ and Christianity - in everything from theology to attire and style of preaching.  Even during our time here, our team has been exhorted to be extremely mindful of the example we are setting.  Not only do our words and attitudes matter, but our actions will be imitated and discussed long after we leave.  Side note - saw an MOG t-shirt today - just a little bit of ORU in Kenya :) 

Slow internet means small pictures, but I promise the rest are worth the wait!

Here we go...

While the guys are safely (and happily) settling down in Guatemala, Mandy and I are spending the night in Minneapolis and then heading out to Nairobi (via Amsterdam) tomorrow.  Our flight out of Tulsa was significantly delayed and so Delta issued food/hotel vouchers for our team, both Kenya teams, team Uganda, and the few others who waited out the entire 7-9 hours in the Tulsa airport.

Keep us in your prayers - teams are getting along really well, and we're going to make the most of this opportunity to get some good REST before the long journey to Kisumu.

20 more days!

You know you might be on the media team if...

preparation for missions looks like this.

To all who may be following us, either on facebook, on our blog, or via email: WELCOME!  We deeply appreciate all of the work, finances, and prayer that has gone into getting us this far.  That said, we're finally getting ready to go on the field and will be needing your support yet again as we travel and seek out the stories that the Lord would have for us to share.

Let me take a moment to share a little bit of history/vison with you all :)  

I'm graduating in 11 days with a degree in Mass Media Communication, emphasis in Multimedia Production, and an abandoned degree in Government/Prelaw.  They say that the average number of times that a college student changes their degree is somewhere around 3 - I jumped the gun and changed my intended majors from engineering/music to media/government the summer before I came to ORU.  While I'd like to say that my own prescience enabled me to be where I am today, I can only stand in awe of the work that the Lord has done in my own life to bring me here.  Thanks to prayer, some Jesus-heart-work, and a lot of Godly counsel, I was in the right place at the right time with the right skill set when ORU Outreach began forming its first media missions team last year. (that's last year's team below)

Since it would take pages to tell of the experiences we had in preparation alone, I will forego the preamble and get right to the point.  Last year's trip solidified in my own heart and mind the place that media has in the Kingdom of God and helped me to realize that, far deeper than the sensory overload and visual stimulus, media ministry is intercession.  It's not just communication for communication's sake; it is not merely images of desperation designed to induce a financial response; media missions is becoming the bridge between worlds providing a vehicle through which the Lord can move.

That being said, just like there is no shortcut to living the Christian life, there is no shortcut to producing "Christian" media.  We cannot simply include the name of Christ and mention His gospel, hoping that somehow someone will respond.  Our work reflects our Savior, and therefore we work with excellence; our salvation encompasses all areas of life, and therefore the stories we tell may range from the miraculous to the mundane. 

We are different, though.  We carry a hope that gives significance to every action and promises that justice and mercy are not mutually exclusive. We understand that redemption is offered to every person, nation, and situation on earth.  We realize that we are not alone in this world and that the Love of our Father can overcome every pain and tragedy that could ever be known.

That is why we are different; that is why our stories are different; that is why we go.

Please continue to pray for the entire team as we finish classes this week, finals the next, and then have a week of training before leaving for our respective destinations.  Mandy and I will be flying to Kenya on May 10 and visiting the two teams (Dominion Farms, Disciples of Mercy) there, while Adam and Mike will be leaving a day earlier and staying with teams Guatemala and Belize.

Love you all so much - can't wait to share our stories with you!

meet the team :)

2009 Overview video