Training - Day One

Our short film training began yesterday. All I can say is…wow. So much better than I ever expected.

There are ten American students and around eighteen or so Ethiopians, most of them from Addis or nearby Hawassa. And our teacher – holy Toledo. He’s from a big Christian film school in Los Angeles, he’s won two Emmy’s, his first job on a film was running the dailies on Titanic, and he’s currently making a documentary on slavery in Sudan. Our other teacher is from Michigan and will be heading up the technical side of our class; we haven’t heard much from him yet but he is a very smart man with some impressive credentials himself.

We spent all day yesterday in class, from 9:30 to 5:30, but it was the most wonderful time. We went through character development and story arc, and though I already knew a lot of the material, it was good to hear it again. One of our assignments was to get into groups and develop a character; my roommate, Rachel, and I were in a group with three of the Ethiopian guys and Mehret, the wife of the Addis campus director, who is twenty-four. She is one of two Ethiopian women in the class, and I feel lucky to be sitting next to her and to have the chance to get to know her. Incidentally, her favorite movie is Titanic. Anyway, developing a character and storyline with them was an interesting experience – they gave all our characters names like “Joe” and “Mary” – but I had so much fun hearing their ideas and working with them, and I think ours was the best plot in the class. Our teacher seemed quite impressed, anyway.

Learning the stories of the Ethiopian students has been amazing; we went around the room introducing ourselves and telling why we’re here, and most of them talked about how God has given them a desire to use film to help their people come to know Him. Their faith is so inspiring, and I love hearing the way they can relate everything back to God and what He has done for them. Another thing they love – telling you what their names mean. It’s often the first thing they do; introduce themselves, and tell you their name’s meaning. “Mehret” means “mercy,” and another student told us that he was given the name “saviour” long before he knew who Jesus was.

I am probably running late for breakfast, so I’ll leave off here. We have another day of class ahead of us, and tonight we’re going to experience an Ethiopian dinner and dance ceremony. I hope everyone is well – let me know if you have any questions, or just if you’ve been keeping up with me, I want to know who’s reading!

Jazz Night, Berlin 1996

Our team just spent the evening at a concert in Berlin.
In 1996.
As extras on a film set. Best night ever.

We were invited to play fans at a jazz concert in an independent movie about an Ethiopian drummer. There were a handful of Europeans who had also been cast, but the crew was really happy to have a huge group of Americans (pretending to be Germans) for their crowd. They moved us around in strategic ways so it would look like there were more of us, and for three hours they played the same melody very loudly, over and over, while we danced and clapped and they changed shots. They repeatedly promised "Just one more!" but I think they were just trying to keep our spirits up.

As for the rest of the day, we did not stop going once. We spent the morning in a meeting, learning Ethiopian history and more about the culture, as well as spending time in the Word together and going over our team dynamics. Tomorrow we will officially begin our separate schedules; the campus track will start getting ready to go out and meet with people, and the film track will meet with the Ethiopian students and start our film classes. 

Today was also our first experience with public transportation. We passed a string of donkeys, a man on a horse, a cat, two roosters, and three cows just chilling in the middle of the highway. While walking down the street this morning we ran into a man with two sheep on a string. A man saw me laughing at them and asked, "You find this funny?"
"Yes," I said. "We don't have sheep just walking down our streets."
"Ohhhhh," he replied, and he looked very amused.

We have only been here for a day, and already I have so much to write about that I hardly know where to start. Everyone around me is journaling madly, and one guy has already used up two of the four disposable cameras he brought. Those of us on the film track have our cameras perpetually in our hands, looking like the most obnoxious of American tourists.

Our hotel is far nicer than any of us were expecting: we were told to prepare for a lack of amenities, but were pleasantly surprised. I'm sharing a room with two girls from the film track, and our room is one of the larger ones; we have a balcony and a decently sized bathroom, as well as a couch and a small refrigerator. There is a computer on each floor, and supposedly there is wi-fi, but at the moment people are having problems with it. Our fourth floor is also blessed with two massage chairs, oddly enough.

After breakfast (which was fantastic: they have the best coffee ever) we met with the Ethiopian campus directors and they told us about their goals and prayer requests for the ministry here in Addis. We'll be meeting with them again tomorrow to hear more specifically about how to interact with the people and what exactly our two groups will be doing. They say that students around campus will be eager to talk with us and that many readily accept Christ, but the ministry's main problem is not being able to follow up with the students once they've made their decision because there are so few on staff and so many campuses.

We split into two groups after our meeting and went to lunch, which was an adventure. There were four at my table and four "authentic" dishes on the menu, so we basically each picked one and tried everything. Their bread, "ienjera," is like a flat sponge, and I can't think of anything to compare the taste to. It was wrapped around a chili-like filling and looked like an enormous pillow, but it was good. The servings were so big, though, and the waiters got somewhat distressed because they thought we didn't like it and couldn't finish.

Packing into buses to get places is always interesting; there are around thirty of us (three are kids) and people stare when we drive by. Or do anything, really; everyone stares. The smaller kids are adorable and wave, and some strike poses for us to take pictures of them. Most of the adults just laugh and can't figure out why we are doing things like taking pictures of a machiatto with four different cameras.

It's still hard to believe that I'm here. My sister has a habit of asking "Is this really happening?" when big things happen, and that is what I keep thinking to myself. I've had conversations with several people on the film track that went something like this: "Being with a group of people who love cameras and Jesus is the most amazing thing ever!!!" (And it is.)

I suppose that's enough for now. Please be praying that my team will represent America well, and more importantly, represent the Lord well, as we really get into our project this week. 

We Are Arrived

It has been nearly thirty-six hours since I last slept. There are several cups of coffee in my system keeping me going right now, including the best cappuccino I've ever had in my life from the Frankfurt airport. It is 12:30 at night in Addis Ababa, and we are here. And I just wanted to let my family know so they can sleep peacefully. I am off to do the same.

the significance of lions.

Welcome, friends and family, to my official mission trip blog! With any luck, there will be a few coffee houses in Ethiopia to supply me with enough coffee and internet service to keep this going.

I am no newcomer to blogging; I've gone through over ten in the past seven years, moving to new sites when I felt that I was entering a new chapter in my life or needed a separate place to post on different subjects. One thing, however, that all of my most recent blogs have in common is the word 'lion' in their title. I just want to take a moment to explain the significance of lions.

In the fall of 2010, way back before I had any idea that within the next two years I would be dropping out of school, starting a videography business, and signing up to go to Africa, I was not in a good place. Emotionally, spiritually, physically - I was just a mess, and I was questioning everything I believed, lived for, and was capable of. Struggling to get through that time in my life was very much like a battle constantly going on inside me.

At the time I had just discovered a band called Florence + the Machine, and in the middle of one of their songs I heard something that has shaped the way I've lived ever since. 

I must become a lionhearted girl, ready for the fight.

The words sparked something inside me. Lionhearted-ness became something I wanted with a strength greater than my fear, my worries, my sadness, and my doubts. It symbolized the bravery I needed to stop just existing and start living. Soon I realized that being lionhearted isn't just about being brave, though that was part of it: it was about pursuing and being pursued by the heart of the only real "Lion King" there ever was. My search for a courageous heart led me straight into the arms of God. It was only through His courage that I was able to let go of everything I was struggling with and come out stronger, and I have been captivated by the idea of lionhearted-ness ever since. 

My life turned around in the course of a year, and I experienced true joy and freedom as I grew in my faith. God led me from one major change to another, until I found myself leaving Louisiana College after three semesters and starting a videography business to raise money for a trip to Ethiopia, which I discovered by chance through a comment on Facebook and hadn't even been accepted to yet. (My business is, of course, called Lionhearted Media.)

It's been a wild ride, and it got wilder a few days ago. It seems that God has been paying attention to how much lions mean to me, and had a little surprise. He probably is laughing and wondering why it took me so long to figure this out.

While researching the country of Ethiopia, just for fun, I discovered that the national symbol of Ethiopia is - surprise! - a lion.

Not just any lion.

But the Lion of Judah.

My King is sending me to lion country. Of all the places in the world I could have gone, He chose a country whose flag flies the symbol of my heart. 

***

About my trip: I am leaving next Sunday, June 24th, and will be gone for five weeks, living in a hotel in Barhir Dar, Ethiopia with the rest of my team. We will be doing what I love most, which is combining filmmaking with ministry, and showing students there how to make short films that let people know how God relates to them and their personal stories. 

Knowing that I have the prayers and support of my family, my church family, and my friends means more to me than I can express. My thanks goes out to every one of you, and I hope you enjoy reading about my project in the month ahead.