Radical Womanhood

Bahamian Hospitality

I just returned from a week-long trip to the Bahamas to film a story about a church that sent its one and only pastor to the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors College last year. It's an unusual twist on the SGM Mission Presentation because I'm not aware of any other church that sacrificed so much to send their beloved pastor away for nearly a year. The footage looks amazing (how could it not in a place like Nassau?) and I'm eager to start cutting this piece together. 

In the meantime, here is another round of travel highlights. Peter Bang is up first, showing off his Bahamian meal of conch salad and conch fritters. Next is a picture of the cruise ships that dock in the Hilton's backyard -- we saw different lines cruising in every day. (This picture was taken from the hotel beach.) The third picture is senior pastor Cedric Moss and his wife, Alexine, during one of our sunset beach shoots with them. The fourth is the pink governments buildings near Parliament Street. Following that is a photo of Cedric and Alexine Moss with their friends, Lynden and Shelly Nairn. Lynden was one of the men tapped to form the lay leadership team while Cedric was at the Pastors College. 

The next photo is of the extravagant Atlantis resort on nearby Paradise Island. The place is ginormous. We walked for about two hours, just checking out the seemingly endless marine displays. I caught this shot of a manta ray gliding overhead and a close-up of the venomous lionfish. 

It was hard to leave island life, but we managed to do it. 

Bahama Pictures

We've been in Nassau since Tuesday and have enjoyed wonderful Bahamian hospitality from our friends here in Kingdom Life Church. Below are some shots from our trip. First up is Peter Bang recording some ocean sounds. The second photo is Mike Hartnett shooting on an EX-1 camera. The third shot is a self-portrait with David Altrogge, the assistant director. The fourth shot is Drew Painter filming at Her Majesty's prison, Fox Hill Prison. The fifth shot is from our dawn shoot. Next up is Mike Hartnett filming pastor Cedric Moss at the beach. And the last shot is a surprise visit from a ray.

We're off today to shoot some more exterior images during the Bahamian Labour Day holiday. Hopefully, I will be able to post more images of our Sovereign Grace Ministries Mission Presentation shoot before we depart in a few days.

End of Summer Ministry

I was very blessed to attend the Revive Our Hearts ministry retreat over Labor Day weekend at Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs, CO. What a gorgeous property! We were inspired by the stunning views and incredible weather. Nancy Leigh DeMoss gathered many long-time friends for a weekend of refreshing prayer, teaching, and worship. We were all blessed to be present for a series of mini-concerts with worship artist Damaris Carbaugh. It was the first time I had ever heard her. Her voice is tremendous, but her heart is more impressive--how tenderhearted she is toward God's work and presence! I enjoyed meeting Damaris and her husband, Rod, who had the best one-liners over the weekend. (Rod, standing at the buffet line with plate in hand: "I follow Paul's example who said he should buffet his body." heh)

I enjoyed our many spontaneous hymn sings, as well. It is one of the few weaknesses, in my humble opinion, of being in a church where praise and worship songs are the dominant form of worship material -- few people I know in my church can sing four-part harmony. But what a wonderful sound when you hear it acapella! So I thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by skilled singers who knew marvelous harmonies.

We also had a chance to take the train up to the summit of Pike's Peak. It was a gorgeous ride all the way up, but the clouds rolled in almost as soon as we arrived. Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience to chug up the side of a mountain. Pike's Peak stands at 14,110 feet, and the journey to the summit was the inspiration for Katharine Lee Bates, who penned the lyrics to "America the Beautiful" back in 1893.

I have more pictures than I can possibly post, so I'll just go ahead and explain what I have here. The top photo is of the lodge at Glen Eyrie where I stayed. The second photo is of the beautiful landscape there. The third photo is Damaris singing. The fourth photo is of Byron and Sue Paulus (Life Action Ministries) on the train to Pike's Peak. That's followed by a shot of Nancy DeMoss on the same train. I'm next, shown on the summit, along with the group who attended this retreat, followed by a summit shot of Sue Paulus and Holly Elliff (whose husband, Bill, appropriately enough, pastors the Summit Church in Little Rock, Arkansas). Then Nancy is joined by Kimberly and LeRoy Wagner at Sunday brunch, followed by a shot of an evening hymn sing by the campfire, led by FamilyLife's Bob Lepine.

While I was in Colorado Springs, I also had the opportunity to visit awhile with Candice Watters of Focus on the Family's Boundless webzine. The last picture is of Candice, her husband, Steve, and their son, Churchhill.

It was a great holiday weekend!

Ethiopian Highlights

There's an ugly rumor circulating that while I was in Ethiopia, I aged another year. That would be entirely untrue. In fact, I became eight years younger. I celebrated my birthday in Ethiopia and I intend to stay on their calendar. As far as I know, Ethiopia is the only nation in the world that still uses the Julian calendar, which means they are celebrating the millennial year of 2000. Ethiopia also uses a biblical clock, meaning that 6:00 a.m. is the beginning of the day, noon is the 6th hour, 3:00 pm is the 9th hour and so on.

We celebrated my new and improved birthday by eating at the Addis Sheraton. I had read this was a world-class hotel, but I didn't think it would actually be so sumptuous. It could grace any city in the world and still be luxurious. I was stunned when we arrived and toured the premises. I couldn't imagine staying there, though--coming and going through the considerable poverty to reach the guarded gates of the hotel. It was surreal to encounter it, though we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and were glad to be there.
 
That meal wasn't the only culinary highlight of our visit, however. On our last day in Addis, two of the guys from our church there took some of us out for coffee and an evening at the Ethiopian Cultural Center. We ate traditional Ethiopian food, watched an Ethiopian band and dancers, and then enjoyed an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, complete with incense. Solomon and Yared were our amiable hosts, explaining the customs and laughing graciously at our mistakes.

Though I don't miss the pungent scent of the incense, I do miss the smooth taste of Ethiopian coffee. It definitely was one of my highlights! Fortunately, whenever I crave Ethiopian food or coffee, I do not have to go far. I've been told the Washington, D.C. area contains the largest concentration of Ethiopian people outside of Ethiopia. Injera, anyone?


(Photos: The video crew--me, Drew, John David, David, and Andrew--gather for dinner; the Addis Sheraton; a coffee ceremony; Solomon and Yared.)

Farewell to Ethiopia

Lord willing, we will be departing Ethiopia today. We leave with many fond memories of Addis Ababa and the two churches here that are part of the Sovereign Grace family. The first church, Covenant Life Church of Addis Ababa, was started here five years ago with a handful people. This past Sunday, they celebrated their fifth anniversary with approximately 1,000 people in attendance. A few weeks ago, they started a second church in the north part of the city; after only four meetings they have 300 coming each week to their Bible study outreach on Tuesday evenings. What's remarkable about this is that this is the only Protestant church in the area. As one of the pastors explained to me, Ethiopia grants freedom of religion as long as you register with the government. As a result, there are approximately 350 witches registered in the north Addis area.

During our trip, we visited many different religious facilities and some granted us permission to film. The Coptic Orthodox church is the dominant religion here, but Islam is growing. During one visit to a mosque, I stood outside with our guide while one of the crew went inside (women are not allowed in the mosque, or perhaps it is just non-Muslim women--it was hard to discern the answer). While I was standing there, a girl of about 8 or 9 approached me and apparently rebuked me for not having a head covering or dress. I couldn't tell what she was saying, but her gestures made it clear enough. After that, we thought it would be better when we visited the Muslim quarters of the city if I stayed with the van. The cameras were provocation enough.

We learned that Ethiopians are more private than Americans. They do not welcome being photographed out and about on the streets or in crowd shots. We had to ask permission wherever we went, which is not a problem, and we also had to be prepared to compensate them for it. It's a bit disconcerting to step out of the van with a camera and immediately be swarmed by outstretched hands. But I can't say I blame them. So many camera crews come and go, documenting their growth and misery alike. It's only right that they ask for something in return.

We often had the opportunity to mix missions with videography--praying for the children we met or investing in some small way in their lives. In a previous post, I mentioned meeting a girl with an eye infection. It felt so lame to write about it and not be able to do anything for her. So in God's wonderful providence, one morning in our hotel we met a man who was here with a  medical team to treat eye infections and prevent blindness. He told us that it was likely this little girl had a common infection that leads to blindness. If memory serves, he said their team treated more than 4,000 people in the three weeks they've been here and it's barely putting a dent in the need. He arranged for a doctor to give me a prescription for the antibiotics she needed. Aman, the pastor here in charge of the outreach to her neighborhood, assured me he would get this medicine to her and let me know all about it. I was glad to be able to do one small thing while I was here--and in fact, I was challenged by the example of the guys on my video team who spent the week in their off-hours investing in a group of young boys who waited for them by the hotel entrance each day.

Though we've had a number of challenges since we arrived, we have seen the faithfulness of the Lord and His grace extended to us through the churches here. We have received generous hospitality and care from them and we will miss our new friends!

(Photos: The pastors and their wives at the anniversary dinner; an Orthodox icon; a Coptic Orthodox church; Muslim women taken through the window of our van; me with Menen, one of the women in the original Addis church who took care of us so well!)

'Of Course!'

Wherever I have gone in Addis Ababa, I have been asked if I like the city. I do! There's a crazy, frenetic energy to Addis (especially the way traffic flows here), but there's also a genuine warmth. People will meet your eyes and greet you in a way that doesn't happen in the cell-phone-gabbing, self-absorbed atmosphere back home. Some of the people I am traveling with were in Addis five years ago, and they can't believe how much the city has grown since then. I am told it is the fastest-growing economy in Africa that's not based on oil.

The guys on the video crew have learned a number of Amharic words (the language that is spoken here), but I've only mastered "e'shi," which means "okay." However, we have grown fond of the Ethiopian way of answering in the positive during a conversation in English -- "Of course!" You have to say it with a rising inflection and draw it out a bit to say it like they do here.

When we were shooting in the Somali neighborhood I mentioned in the previous post, I encountered the little girl standing in the photo on the top left. She had an obvious eye infection (which isn't easy to see in this photo). Her left eye was practically closed. So we prayed for her, asking God to heal her. Some of the people here literally have nothing. Getting enough to eat is the big order of the day. Medical care is beyond their reach. So poor Christians must pray for healing and not look to any doctor to help them. As a result, their faith is often rewarded with amazing accounts of healing. I felt so helpless to offer this little girl any medical relief, but I could offer something far more significant by praying for her.

What's surprising to me is how much joy and happiness exists even in these deprived conditions. The little girl standing with Drew, John David, and David in the picture top right hung around as much as possible. She always smiled her shy little smile while invading our personal space. It's hard to walk away from such appeal. Seeing the kids in poverty is hard. You just want to scoop them up and take them all home. No wonder we keep seeing so many couples with their newly adopted Ethiopian children in our hotel.

Yesterday, we interviewed pastors Mo Adugna and Wondy Getahun in the Entoto Mountains overlooking Addis. It's hard to see in this photo, but the city is sprawling in the distance behind them. We were surrounded by eucalyptus trees. I don't think I've ever seen a live tree--just the dried ones among home decor collections. The live ones are fairly redolent, too.

In the afternoon we did some shooting on the street, which attracted a number of hopeful people who thought we might be able to give them lots of money because of our camera. I was concentrating on my shot list when I heard John David and Andrew say goodbye to someone.Then I saw John David pull the shirt off his back and give it to his new friend, who smiled broadly and clutched his new treasure to his chest. The guys on the crew have been incredible about reaching out to people here, spending time with them and giving them little gifts. They spent their first day in Addis befriending a group of young boys and ended up buying shoes for them. Now every time we pull into the hotel parking lot, these kids appear as if out of the mist, running and waving, eager to catch the attention of the guys in our van.

There's so much more to say, but few words flow at a late hour. We've got several more days in Addis, so I hope I can post more photos before we go.

Update: The comments function is open, though it may take me awhile to moderate and publish them.

AH-dees AH-ba-ba

When we landed Friday night in Addis Ababa, we had narrowly missed being caught in a civil war. Our flight had landed earlier that afternoon for a refueling stop in Khartoum, Sudan. I had hoped to get off the plane and take a picture of my feet on Sudanese soil, for I figured I would never get a chance to go back. Instead, we were warned to stay in our seats and not take any photographs.

The next day, Darfur rebels attacked Khartoum and the airport (and air traffic control) were closed, taken over by the Sudanese military. Suddenly the airspace over this vast nation was also unavailable to passing commercial flights. We knew nothing of this until we received an email from Doug Hayes, executive director of Covenant Mercies, who was flying to Addis to meet us for a video interview. His plane had been held in Amman, Jordan, until further notice.

Ignorant of this problem, we found that our first reaction to Addis upon arrival was dizziness and confusion. Addis Ababa sits at about 8000 feet--high enough to notice the thin air when you land or try to move quickly. Thus, the dizziness. The confusion came about when the Ethiopian Customs agents politely refused entry to our video cameras. We needed to obtain a special permit from the Ministry of Information to bring in our gear and there would be a small fee. Of course, this office wouldn't be open until Monday, so without our cameras, we enjoyed a restful weekend. All the needed paperwork was processed smoothly on Monday morning, however. By Tuesday, we had everyone and everything we needed to proceed with our filming.

We spent Tuesday with Doug and Aman, a pastor at our church here in Addis, Covenant Life Church. Aman coordinates the child sponsorship program that the church runs in conjunction with Covenant Mercies. We visited a poor neighborhood composed mostly of Muslim Somali refugees, where more than a dozen children are currently sponsored. (The older girl in the picture at left is one of the children in Covenant Mercies' program.) I think we met nearly every person in the neighborhood--our cameras always draw a curious crowd here. In general, people are very respectful. It's polite to acknowledge everyone you meet with a small bow. Close male friends will bump chests three times and close female or male-female friends or family will air kiss each other three times in a left-right-left pattern.

I have so many other observations about Addis (I believe the correct pronounciation is what's shown in the title), but the photos are taking a long time to upload, so I'll call it quits for now. Lord willing, more photos will be added in the near future.

Photos: Khartoum as seen from the airplane; a view of Addis taken from the Ministry of Information; a family of a child sponsored by Covenant Mercies (mother, toddler, sponsored child, and grandmother).

Ministering in the Land of the Reformation

We've just concluded our last day in Germany. Today we went from the city of Hamburgers to the city of Frankfurters. I kid you not. We saw the signs and we laughed. (We are rather easily amused. And speaking of amused, check out this rollerskate of a car. It is the perfect urban vehicle. Why parallel park when you can perpendicular park?!)

I really like Hamburg. It wasn't anything like I expected. When I arrived, I read it was the Venice of Germany--and with the port, lakes, and canal system, I can understand why. There is a lot of waterfront acreage there! Hamburg is in the top ten of my favorite cities. (It might rank higher if I spoke German, but that's my issue and not Hamburg's.) God gave us glorious weather. Everyone kept saying it's not like Germany. We were quite grateful.

Our host, Wolfgang Wegert, was excellent company, as well. He must be an incredibly busy senior pastor, but he was so genial--it seemed like he had all the time in the world for us. One night he took us out for a steak dinner and the waitress stopped him to say hi. We later found out it was because of his TV show. His Sunday sermons from the Arche church are seen throughout Germany and into other parts of Europe, reaching somewhere between 50,000 to 100,000 people each week. He gave us an incredible interview in English, so I can only imagine how powerful he is while preaching in German.

This weekend, Arche church is hosting a Bible exposition, the largest of its kind in Europe. I was able to see a bit of it while it was being set up. Incredible! I saw one of the original clay jars that held the Dead Sea Scrolls and a Bible from the early 1500s, from the time of Martin Luther. I wish I could have seen the rest of the displays.

Tonight we flew into Frankfurt, in order to connect here and fly out to Addis Ababa in the morning. We saw a little bit of the historic town center tonight and the commercial district on the way into town.

During dinner, we had a serious conversation about what we were learning during our personal devotions and other small group-style spiritual fellowship. Our earnest conversation caught the attention of four businessmen at the next table. One was an evolutionary biologist from the U.K. and a huge Richard Dawkins fan. His other colleagues were from the Netherlands, Poland, and Scotland. They were stunned to hear young men so passionate about God and the Bible and couldn't help but interrupt us to talk about it. The biologist was alternately intrigued and irritated. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that we actually believed in God. But he was not the least bit rude. In fact, we were honored by his persistent interest in us. The guys did a great job of presenting the gospel and drawing attention to God's Word. We left that restaurant rejoicing in the opportunity God gave us, and eager to pray for these men. It was, however, a sober reminder of how much of a culture gap exists in Europe when Bible-believing Christians are such a novelty.

(Photos: On location in Hamburg; a popular urban car in Hamburg; Wolfgang Wegert with one of the Dead Sea Scroll containers; a Bible dating from the early 1500s.)

Touring Hamburg

We spent the day capturing footage of Hamburg and its residents. This really is an attractive city. We are slowly adapting to the culture, too--learning a bit of what's on our menus in German and how to read the parking signs. By the time we have to leave, I figure we will have learned enough to cease being a public menace.

This is a small collection of snapshots I took while we were shooting today.

The top photo is the Rathausmarkt, which is the Hamburg City Hall and the plaza in front of it.

The second photo is of a restaurant on the Deichstrasse, one of the oldest streets in Hamburg. It dates from the 1300s, but most of the original buildings were destroyed in a 19th-century fire. So these are largely the reconstructed buildings. But they are still quite attractive. The third photo is the collection of Deichstrasse buildings that face the canal.

The next two photos are from the tower of the St. Michaelis Church. We went up there to shoot the city skyline in the late afternoon sunlight. One photo is of John David Maresco, enjoying the view. John David is the newest member of our team and may well be the hardest worker. He cheerfully carries all of our heavy gear--and my bag, too. All of the men on the team are gentlemen, but John David never lets me slide into being "just one of the guys."  How encouraging it is to receive this gentlemanly courtesy!

The last photo is of the Hamburg skyline, facing the Aussenalster Lake, which in this beautiful weather is dotted with sailboats.

It's all "sehr gut" (very good) as far as we are concerned!

Hamming It Up in Hamburg

Maybe it's the jet lag, but we've laughed a great deal since we arrived in Hamburg on Friday. Of course, we've been working the whole time but we've certainly found a lot to amuse us.

I think it started with our rental car. First, it should be noted that Germans have a keen sense of design in everything. We were duly impressed with the lighting, color scheme and overall space design of the rental car counters at the Hamburg airport. That was the first clue we weren't in Kansas anymore, so to speak. The second rude shock was the realization that none of us could speak German--quite unhelpful when you are trying to read road signs. Eventually, hard-won experience taught us the words for key concepts such as "one way" and "exit." But the first ten minutes in the rental car were the longest we've yet to experience in Germany--and we hadn't even left the rental car lot. I think my nonstop giggling made it seem even longer because we honestly couldn't communicate with anyone. It's amazing that companies will just hand you the keys to an expensive vehicle and wave bye-bye to you without even the most rudimentary explanation of traffic signs and laws. But praise God for GPS devices! I have no idea how I ever managed international travel before they were invented.

We are here in Hamburg to interview Wolfgang Wegert, senior pastor of the Arche Church, a Sovereign Grace Ministries associate church. He is a fascinating interview subject. He tells stories with such alacrity and wit. We already interviewed his son, Christian, who is a student at the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors College this year, and Christian's wife, Verena, before we left Gaithersburg. Wolfgang has a fascinating personal history that spans World War II, the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the reunification of Germany. He has been a pastor for more than 45 years. We interviewed Wolfgang on Saturday and then filmed the Sunday meeting at Arche church. Afterward, we joined Wolfgang's family for a cookout.

On Monday we will be shooting around the city. I am looking forward to seeing more of Hamburg. It blends both modern design and historical facades in its architecture. One of our favorite places so far was an organic restaurant featuring "bio food." It was like eating Whole Foods cuisine in an Apple Store designed by a Helvetica fan. (Shout out here to Matt Wahl, SGM's creative designer: This place screamed you! It's what we all thought as soon as we walked in.) My picture doesn't do it any justice, but I've never seen a restaurant with this much attention to design detail in the decor (menus, placemats, napkins, wall art, furniture). And major props to Hamburg restaurants--so far, they have all been far quieter than their D.C. counterparts!

(Top left: Silliness in a self-portrait. Top right: The film crew poses for their new CD cover--Drew Painter, Andrew Gallo, David Altrogge, and John David Maresco. Middle: Arche Church. Bottom right: Gertrude and Wolfgang Wegert. Bottom left: The bio restaurant.)