One by one they trickled into Portland, weary from their journey but excited about what was to come. Caleb was the first to arrive, bring with him his sense of humor, high energy level and of course, his video cameras. Aaron was the next to arrive, nearly 24 hours after his original estimated time of arrival. He happily bounced around airports, waiting for the golden plane that would transport him to the gritty streets of Oregon.

As I write, I sit in a stiff wooden pew in a Methodist church just shy of Powell Boulevard. The interns from Texas are sitting beside me as the melodic strands of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto dance in the otherwise still air of the sanctuary. The Dickson String quartet is in good form, their fingers flitting over the instruments, never resting, always roving to find the next dulcet note.

Caleb and Aaron are filming the concert. It's interesting to finally see them in action, standing behind the cameras, eyes watching, gauging the action in front of them through the lens of the camera. This is also their first chance to try syncing two cameras together. It was a mad rush to set the cameras up for the concert.

For a moment, it's easy to forget that they don't have an "easy" medium to work with. Photographers can point and shoot with their cameras, showing up minutes before and leaving after the action. All a journalist needs to survive is a pencil and scraps of paper. But for a videographer, it's a different story. They must strive to keep the delicate balance of audio and visual—capturing the faces and the voices of the stories unfolding before their cameras.

As the music fills the background of my thoughts, I can't help but draw comparisons between the quartet and the documentary project. The quartet is made up of dedicated musicians. They didn't just come off the street. Before trying to play with another musician, they first had to learn how to play their instrument, master it, caress it and draw the sweet melodies from within. Hours were spent alone; playing scales, finger exercises and solos while their friends were playing outside in the sunshine. During the summer months, practicing was not always what they wanted to do. But yet they persisted.

In the same way, each artist coming to this project is like the quartet members. Members spent hours, months and years fine-tuning their chosen craft until it reached a level that was pleasing not only to themselves but to the public as well. Each one has thrived individually in their field. Some of us have worked on big media projects before while for others, its uncharted territory.

There is one question that lingers in my mind as the music plays. What will our music sound like?

It's only a few days before the documentary project begins and already there's a noticeable high level of excitement within Revolutionary Media. Crew members are scattered across the country and are ready for their rendezvous in Portland.

Some of them are nervous. It's understandable. They've never done anything like this. Creating a documentary is hard work; full of long nights, empty coffee pots, brain power, prayer, sweat, and a little bit of luck. They haven't entered the crazy world of media yet. They stand at the doorway, looking in and wondering what their experience will be like. Wondering what they'll be like once post-production has wrapped up.

Others feel the familiar pulse of adrenaline rushing in their veins. They have worked with crews before, are comfortable with their media form, and know that whatever happens, God will take care of them. There is no question with that. Theirs is a tried and true path. But the excitement still lingers, a feeling akin to stepping onto a favorite roller coaster, knowing you'll be scared but still come through safely.

There is no such thing as an unaffected person working with media, the arts, or the written word. When your work is to tell the stories of other people, to capture the micro-expressions of their soul, a little piece of them is given to you. In turn, a little piece of yourself is given to them. Each of you shapes the other; giving and receiving information and lives, sharing and listening. You can't walk away from something like that without being impacted. It's just not possible.

The Interns are coming to learn; they dream of working with the visual and written arts, telling stories and exposing truth. For those of us who are experienced in our field, the burden is ours to help train them in those chosen fields. It feels different to be on the other side of an internship.

In the days that come, please remember the team in your prayers. Pray for strength, encouragement, and the sweet unity that comes from Christ.

- Written by Caitlin Muir, Revolutionary Media Team Journalist

Portland is gray and drizzling today. I'm safe inside a house, sipping warm tea from my favorite mug. Happy little 'isms line the outside of the mug, encouraging sippers to live in harmony and love. Drinking tea often causes me to sit and contemplate things and this mug only further fuels the process.

What does it really mean to love someone?

Love isn't always sunshine and warm days at the beach. It has to endure through the dark days, the stormy days, and the days where we just want to curl up and let it die. Love is the gentle breeze that brings refreshment to a stagnant heart. It's a sweet melody that lingers on our lips even after the musicians have gone home. Love is being there for a sick friend. It's being there for someone even in the event that it won't be returned.

Love is many things.

As I look outside my window, I can't see any blue sky. I wonder what life would be without hope. Without love.

What does life look like when there aren't any blue skies to brighten the dismal days? I think about the Burnside Underground project. It would be foolish to assume that street teens only experience fear and abandonment. They don't own a monopoly on those emotions. They know ecstasy, they know jealousy, they know what it is like to fall in love. They humans just like you and me. Your address doesn't dictate the emotions you experience. The range of emotions is experienced in the life of every human being.

Bad choices have brought them to the streets. Some of them have run away from abusive pasts. Others have fled good homes, trying to prove their independence. In every story, they fell through the cracks. They have become invisible to society; noticed only by their fellow street citizen and police officers on patrol. Imagine how your life would be if you were in those shoes. Imagine how desperately you'd want to be noticed.

So think about it. What's keeping you back from showing love to someone you see on the street?

- Written by Caitlin Muir, Revolutionary Media Team Journalist

Handing out chocolate chip cookies wasn’t enough, Sarah finally decided. The need of the street kids was great, and she had come to love them enough to do whatever it took to help them. So Sarah started a dinner bible study at her home. Several days a week, she would arrive at the square and invite the street kids to come home with her. At first, there were only a few who came, but those who did got hot showers, a home made meal, and a heartfelt devotional about Jesus. Not so long after the time started, many street people wanted to come. Sarah would take several 20 minute shifts to shuttle the homeless people from the square to her house. Somehow, 40 to 50 street people would pack into Sarah’s house, welcoming the time to be loved by this selfless woman.

By this time it wasn’t enough for Sarah to bake cookies and do Bible studies. She wanted to do more. What the street kids needed most was a home, a shelter, a place to be protected from the cold, the rain, the wet, and the predators of the street. So Sarah took a risk. She opened her home to be a shelter for street kids. Sarah prayed that Jesus would send her the hardened kids first. She decided that when He got through to the tough kids, their witness would bring others to Him. So Jesus answered her prayer. Sarah gained the trust of the hardest street kids on the scene. Hardened drug addicts. Prostitutes. Broken runaways. Men. Women. Children. All were accepted in Sarah’s home, so long as they observed the respectful ground rules she set up.

Years went by. Sarah continued to love the street people just as Jesus loved. And she began to see miracles. The same God who did wondrous things in the Bible came alive to Sarah as she saw Him work the same for her. He softened the hearts of the street kids. He gently called them to Himself. And they changed.

Somehow, a banker heard about Sarah’s work. He was taken by her love for the street people. “I want to fund your work” he said. He bought two additional houses to operate as shelters for the street kids. Then he rented out another building so that more people could come to Sarah’s bible study.

“I know that I wasn’t born to this earth just to live” Sarah said. “What is the point of living if you are not going to give as Jesus did?”

Sarah is just another ordinary person who walked downtown and stopped passing the square that was full of needy people. Sarah is simply a servant of the living God who wanted to be His hands and feet to those who need Him most.

Sarah is changing the world.

All her work began with a call of Christ -

- And a few bags of lovingly homemade chocolate chip cookies.

In the book of Acts Peter and John went to the temple to pray. There, sitting at the gates of the temple was a lame beggar seeking alms. Peter didn’t walk past him. He didn’t avert his gaze. Rather, Peter stopped and fixed his eyes on the man. Then he quoted one of the most familiar lines in the New Testament: “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up, and walk.”

And the beggar was lame no longer.

You see, Peter was a poor, uneducated, fisherman turned Jesus follower. Like many of us, he had nothing special or significant to give that would help someone in such desperate need.

But this is the part of the story that should warm and inspire and motivate each of our souls; this is the part of the story that should tear down all our defenses and belittle our excuses and challenge us to do what Peter did:

He gave what He had.

He gave Jesus.

For every believer, we have the same.

We don’t have to be rich. We don’t have to be significant. We don’t have to offer extraordinary talents and abilities. We simply have to have Jesus. And if Jesus is who we say He is, if Jesus is Life, and Love, and Joy, and everything Good, then giving Jesus is enough to fulfill the greatest needs and touch the most needy of hearts.

For every believer, we can change the world if all we give is the most basic of what we have:

Jesus.

And then, the lame and wounded are healed. The street kids are redeemed. The lost are saved. The prisoners are set free.

So, when will you say, “But such as I have, give I thee…"?

written by Christina N Dickson
Director of Revolutionary Media
www.therevmediaproject.com

It’s something only our God could do.

It began with a woman named Sarah who walked past a place she walked past all the time. For some reason though, this time she noticed something different, something she hadn’t noticed before, but something that had been there every time she walked by. Sarah noticed kids. Not just kids. Sarah noticed street kids. In their tattered jeans, baggy sweat shirts, worn out hack y sacks, and dirty back packs. She saw them sitting around on park benches. Saw them talking and jamming. Saw them playing hack y-sack. But Sarah saw more than that.

She saw their need.

There was a problem though. Sarah wasn’t rich. She didn’t have a lot of money. She wasn’t gifted or talented. She didn’t have much to give. She didn’t have anything to identify with them.

But she did have Jesus.

After that day, after walking by that same square, Sarah decided to do something about their need. So she did.

She baked chocolate chip cookies.

No one says no to chocolate chip cookies, she thought. So she baked chocolate chip cookies, packed them in zip lock baggies, and piled them in a box.

When Sarah returned to the square, she didn’t walk past anymore. Instead, she handed out her chocolate chip cookies. What she had thought was true. The kids didn’t say no. They eyed her. They gave her looks. They even asked who she thought she was showing up there. Sarah wasn’t afraid. She just told them, “I’m here to give you cookies.”

Every week Sarah would take several days to give homemade chocolate chip cookies to the street kids. Every week for almost two years. At first, no one wanted to pay any attention to her. They took the cookies and went on their way. But after some time, the street kids started paying attention. They started asking her questions, and she started answering them. Soon, the street kids and Sarah would have conversations. Soon, the street kids asked Sarah why she did what she did. And Sarah explained. “Jesus wants to be here. So He sent me.”

(Sarah is a private citizen Revolutionary Media hopes to profile in their upcoming documentary series, Burnside Underground, addressing the stories of street kids and ways ordinary people can reach out to them. Part II and III of this story coming soon.)

Written by Christina N Dickson
Director of Revolutionary Media

Revolutionary Media is proud to present their first project! We have confirmed the details of the "Burnside Underground" Film that we will be working on in this coming March.

Vision statement:

The goal of Revolutionary Media is to affect the world through artistic media by bringing hope and encouragement abroad while imparting vision at home. We desire to show viewers what it means to “love your neighbor” and inspire them to reach out to people within their own communities.

Summary:

Project: Through the use of photography and video, the Revolutionary Media creative team will produce three documentaries that shed light on the runaway street teen population of the United States. Using Portland, Oregon as their base, they will show how these teenagers are living, what brought them to the streets and how community members are helping get them back on track.

Vision: Everyone has the capacity to reach out to their neighbors. The purpose of these documentaries is for every viewer to catch a glimpse of how they can reach out in their own community.

Objective: With over 2.5 million teenagers running away from home each year, the population of street teens is rising. American teenagers have the opportunity to help their friends who are at risk and prevent them from becoming another statistic.

Project Plans:

Documentary Production will last from March 9^th-April 4^th. During these three weeks, the media team will be split into three smaller sub-teams, each working on their own documentary. The size of these sub-teams will range from 3-5 members.

Each week the teams will hit the streets of Portland, partnering with existing ministries and individuals to meet with runaways where they live. Much of the work will be centered around the Burnside area, Pioneer Courthouse Square and other prime downtown locations. Coverage will include histories of the runaways, profiles of what their life on the street consists of, interviews with people working with them and interviews with former runaways who are now off the street. Viewers will also be encouraged to get involved with helping the runaways in their own town.

The Postproduction of the Portland films will take place from April 5^th-25^th. The documentaries will be submitted to various independent film festivals across North America. During this time, a coffee-table book featuring portraits and stories of the runaway teens will be put together.

Distribution: The Revolutionary Media documentaries and portrait book will be made available for product and online digital purchase through area retailers. Revolutionary Media is pursing a partnership with a national retailer and hopes to secure a partnership with them soon.

The still images will be collected for Revolutionary Media gallery exhibits, gallery prints and purchase online.

Marketing: Revolutionary Media seeks to raise awareness and support of their ventures through media usage and the patronage of local businesses. They are working to secure articles in national magazines as well as local newspapers to highlight the causes they are creating awareness for. A website has been launched to help promote awareness of the documentaries.

Project Details:

Burnside Underground: Home to bums, prostitutes, a skate park and a Saturday market, Burnside is one of the main thoroughfares of Portland. Join us as we travel this road—and a few others—to find out what life is like for a runaway street teen. Viewers will see what life is like for these teens: the ache of an empty belly, the scramble to find a dry place to sleep on a wet Portland night and what “family” means when you’ve left yours miles behind.

Ragamuffin Rescue: What does it take to take someone off the street and into a loving environment? For many of the street teens, the path off the street is long and hard. They have continual struggles to discover what “normal” is and how to relate to the world around them. We’ll show you a few organizations who are reaching past the stereotypes and giving these kids what they need: love.

Runaway Street: What can you do to help runaway street teens? Does your responsibility start when you see them on the street or before they’ve left home and need someone’s shoulder to cry on? In this documentary, we will show you different ways that you can get involved in the life of a street teen. We’ll also challenge you to rethink spending time with your “needy” friends. After all, they just might need you.