Sunday, March 13, 2011
editing the film :)
it's a nightmare - the file management aspects of a full-length film. i thought today might be the real start - nope! i'm going attempt to get the files organized instead.
Friday, March 4, 2011
July 16th 2008 - DAY's FOUR/FIVE, Jounal-Molo, Kenya
Today was a great day. And yet I’m still a little shaken from yesterday. We are staying in down town Molo. Molo is a very busy little town with many people walking around and engaged in one business or another. The police are present (wearing the same uniforms and carrying the same guns) and I walk near them regularly. It makes me nervous. They call us Mazungo’s which in Kiswahili means white men. We started the day with breakfast and I had two bananas and three cups of African tea. I love the tea and have not been missing my soda at all nor my coffee.
The day began with an introductory meeting with myself, Jordi and Lucy. She was very thorough and covered many practical and some very emotional ground. From the rules of the house to the death of her second son, to the founding of the Chazon Children’s Centre and the church they run. Her and Samuel have made incredible sacrifices to do something great for others, they are truly examples of the finest the earth has to offer in the human form.
After the meeting. Lucy walked us around the town we were shown many things - and Lucy has many friends within Molo. We were shown the internet cafe and the supermarket and much, much more. We then hopped on a matatu for a quick ride to the CCC. It doesn’t take you all the way there - rather it leaves you a ten minute up hill walk. Not so bad for me though, it’s nothing since I’m now in shape. Without the weight loss I could have never made this trip. Let alone endured some of the physical challenges I’m currently facing.
We finally arrived at Chazon. I got to meet the kids for the first time and they are spectacular and they ran to greet Jordi and I and we did our best with some newly acquired words in Kiswahili. Their English was fair, we were shaking hands and asking names and even after these spontaneous, glorious introductions were made the children kept coming! Introducing themselves and falling back, but then pushing forward again just to do it again. If nothing of greater significance results from this trip it will not matter, this alone will have been worth it.
Jordi and I stayed and got to play a little with the kids and we met the rest of the staff, we got a tour of the grounds and buildings. In the back of the school building was a large pile of sand. It was purchased with some of the money I gave. It will be used sometime in August to create a cement floor for one or two classrooms. They are hoping I will still be here to help lay the floors, I also hope to be around when that happens. We came back via matatu it’s a very short ride and just 20 shillings. Then the four of us mazungo’s walked to Lucy’s house and met Jemimah. Jemimah is Lucy’s little girl and so incredible - she’s a promise of God and a miracle too. I won’t go into the story right now but it will likely be in the documentary. We have an early morning departure as tomorrow we will be traveling to Nakuru to purchase text books for the school.
Jordi has brought 12,000 shillings from friends for this purpose. I offered 2,000 more and the two Katties went apart from us to purchase story books - I don’t know how much they spent. I shot many photos of this trip. I purchased a very good point and click camera for the Watoto Wa Barka group and because my Nikon lens is more for close-ups I decided to borrow Geoffrey’s camera in advance - I’m pretty sure he will not mind.
It was a good day over-all. It started early for me as I awoke at 1:30 in the morning. Many thoughts were going through my mind. And I couldn’t sleep. I have to admit that I’m being paranoid but I have had an unending fear that at some point all my equipment will be stolen and all will be lost. This was not helped by the kidnapping. I was asking God why am I here? This is beyond fear - I don’t know how to say this - I was ABSOLUTELY certain I would not be coming back with my stuff. Again the stuff was replaceable - the project and the film (that depended on the stuff) - was not. Why am I here?
If the photos I have been taking are gone - if the notes are gone - if the footage I’m shooting is gone - there would be no website - no film - no reason to be here. WHY AM I HERE? I got an answer. He told me I was here to preach. Not the answer I wanted, but in fact if I were to preach (and I lost everything else) the other stuff wouldn't matter. Where am I too preach? What to preach? I already knew that. It’s the subject of my 5th film (I’m only currently working on films 1 and 2).
It’s a complicated study of the bible and churches and their varied opinions about the bible vs. the reality I know (that of knowing God). Laying there I thought even though I’m not prepared to start that film the content of it could be delivered as a sermon. What to preach was clear, but where? It was a comfort to believe this was the REAL reason for being here. I have not preached in a church since 1992. I'M NOT A PREACHER, I’m an artist and where to preach (in the streets?). I got to sleep.
The following morning - first thing when I got in the car with Lucy (on our way to Nakuru) Lucy asks if I have ever preached and would I consider preaching in two weeks at her church. WOW! What and where are settled. I'll be preaching in an Black Penticostal Church in Kenya.
So now I will be preaching in two weeks. I had previously sent notes on the thoughts behind all this to Jarka (a close friend from the Slovak Republic, an IV currently at WWB) and so I hope I will be able to find them in my old Gmail sent items and this should allow me to do a halfway decent job. Lucy and I talked for sometime when we returned from Nakuru about the film, the web site and God - we are clearly all three on the same page. I’m going to church with Lucy and Samuel tomorrow.
The day began with an introductory meeting with myself, Jordi and Lucy. She was very thorough and covered many practical and some very emotional ground. From the rules of the house to the death of her second son, to the founding of the Chazon Children’s Centre and the church they run. Her and Samuel have made incredible sacrifices to do something great for others, they are truly examples of the finest the earth has to offer in the human form.
After the meeting. Lucy walked us around the town we were shown many things - and Lucy has many friends within Molo. We were shown the internet cafe and the supermarket and much, much more. We then hopped on a matatu for a quick ride to the CCC. It doesn’t take you all the way there - rather it leaves you a ten minute up hill walk. Not so bad for me though, it’s nothing since I’m now in shape. Without the weight loss I could have never made this trip. Let alone endured some of the physical challenges I’m currently facing.
We finally arrived at Chazon. I got to meet the kids for the first time and they are spectacular and they ran to greet Jordi and I and we did our best with some newly acquired words in Kiswahili. Their English was fair, we were shaking hands and asking names and even after these spontaneous, glorious introductions were made the children kept coming! Introducing themselves and falling back, but then pushing forward again just to do it again. If nothing of greater significance results from this trip it will not matter, this alone will have been worth it.
Jordi and I stayed and got to play a little with the kids and we met the rest of the staff, we got a tour of the grounds and buildings. In the back of the school building was a large pile of sand. It was purchased with some of the money I gave. It will be used sometime in August to create a cement floor for one or two classrooms. They are hoping I will still be here to help lay the floors, I also hope to be around when that happens. We came back via matatu it’s a very short ride and just 20 shillings. Then the four of us mazungo’s walked to Lucy’s house and met Jemimah. Jemimah is Lucy’s little girl and so incredible - she’s a promise of God and a miracle too. I won’t go into the story right now but it will likely be in the documentary. We have an early morning departure as tomorrow we will be traveling to Nakuru to purchase text books for the school.
Jordi has brought 12,000 shillings from friends for this purpose. I offered 2,000 more and the two Katties went apart from us to purchase story books - I don’t know how much they spent. I shot many photos of this trip. I purchased a very good point and click camera for the Watoto Wa Barka group and because my Nikon lens is more for close-ups I decided to borrow Geoffrey’s camera in advance - I’m pretty sure he will not mind.
It was a good day over-all. It started early for me as I awoke at 1:30 in the morning. Many thoughts were going through my mind. And I couldn’t sleep. I have to admit that I’m being paranoid but I have had an unending fear that at some point all my equipment will be stolen and all will be lost. This was not helped by the kidnapping. I was asking God why am I here? This is beyond fear - I don’t know how to say this - I was ABSOLUTELY certain I would not be coming back with my stuff. Again the stuff was replaceable - the project and the film (that depended on the stuff) - was not. Why am I here?
If the photos I have been taking are gone - if the notes are gone - if the footage I’m shooting is gone - there would be no website - no film - no reason to be here. WHY AM I HERE? I got an answer. He told me I was here to preach. Not the answer I wanted, but in fact if I were to preach (and I lost everything else) the other stuff wouldn't matter. Where am I too preach? What to preach? I already knew that. It’s the subject of my 5th film (I’m only currently working on films 1 and 2).
It’s a complicated study of the bible and churches and their varied opinions about the bible vs. the reality I know (that of knowing God). Laying there I thought even though I’m not prepared to start that film the content of it could be delivered as a sermon. What to preach was clear, but where? It was a comfort to believe this was the REAL reason for being here. I have not preached in a church since 1992. I'M NOT A PREACHER, I’m an artist and where to preach (in the streets?). I got to sleep.
The following morning - first thing when I got in the car with Lucy (on our way to Nakuru) Lucy asks if I have ever preached and would I consider preaching in two weeks at her church. WOW! What and where are settled. I'll be preaching in an Black Penticostal Church in Kenya.
So now I will be preaching in two weeks. I had previously sent notes on the thoughts behind all this to Jarka (a close friend from the Slovak Republic, an IV currently at WWB) and so I hope I will be able to find them in my old Gmail sent items and this should allow me to do a halfway decent job. Lucy and I talked for sometime when we returned from Nakuru about the film, the web site and God - we are clearly all three on the same page. I’m going to church with Lucy and Samuel tomorrow.
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