Today was another day for our team to join the ranks of kids at the primary school in Esmeralldas. When we arrived, we were greeted by hundreds of smiling and excited faces. I stepped out into the playground yard and was practically mobbed by two dozen kids calling out “Un photo! Un photo! Un photo!”

“Un Photo” began as a group of 5 friends who wanted their picture taken together, and quickly grew into a throng of fifty. I kept backing up and backing up to fit them all into the70mm frame, but they just kept moving toward me…a mass sea of beautiful Ecuadorian faces.

As I was out there, in that school courtyard taking pictures, I was bothered. It seemed like none of my photos were different. It felt like each picture was the same. Over and over again the pictures became, just more faces. One child’s face became one in a sea of faces.

When you are overseas, the fast paced and adventurous lifestyle is really exotic – for the first week. Then, after a little while, the “roughing it” lifestyle seems to cause all the people’s faces begin to look the same. And reaching out to one life looks exactly the same as reaching out to another life.

Why is that?

Because sometimes it is easy to believe that one life is just another life in the world.

Just another life.


But you know what? Along with the belief that a life is “just another life” is the accompanying belief that one life won’t make that big a difference in the world.


I don’t think that’s true.

Jesus said that He would go after those who were lost and had gone astray. This means that even those who are seemingly unlovely are those who have incredible value. I think in general, most Christians do believe this. But if if each person has value, then we aren’t just one life amongst the sea of faces in humanity.

We are unique. We are individuals. We are handcrafted by God.

We are called. We have purpose that belongs to no one else.

We affect change. We must play our part.

So why do so few of us live as though it were a deep conviction?

The sea of humanity exists to be sure. But in Christ, this sea dissolves and in Paul’s, words, “there is no Jew, nor Greek, nor Male, nor Female, nor Slave, nor Free”.

What is left when there is no racial, ethnic, status, and philosophical differences?

Just faces.

But behind these faces, is the incredible worth, indescribable value, and stunningly magnificent masterpieces of God:

The souls of His beloved.

If we believe that one soul has value, we must also believe that one soul will affect change.

Because one face sees another face.

And then one life touches another life.

After which one soul changes another soul. Then another. And another.

And it happens again. And again. And again..

So what if each of us walked through life acting upon this knowledge? What if, when we look into the eyes of the person we pass in the street, or acknowledge the carwash employee we pass by, or just kept on taking pictures of beautiful foreign children…

What would this world look like if we Christians remembered that in this life, we are not just a sea of faces?


What if, today, you didn’t just see a face?

What if, today, you looked into someone’s eyes?

What if you touched a life?

What if you changed a soul?

Maybe this is home…

Esmeraldas.

It’s a city in a third world country. Really. Full of intensely repulsive smells, wild animals, and dirt that would clog any air filter within days. Let alone its reputation for being a “dangerous” city by many Ecuadorians.

This is the place we arrived on Sunday.

The drive through the mountains was awesome. But as we came closer and closer to our destination I could tell it was going to be interesting. The faces of the people became darker and darker, and the air became more and more dirty and humid.

Our hotel is a ghetto like facility run by Christians. They have verses all over the walls on the inside and outside of the rooms. Aside from this, I don’t know what makes them Christian. Things are quite dirty. There are bugs everywhere. They turn off the air as soon as we leave the rooms. And we get towels enough for all of us only every other time they clean the room. This isn’t even referring to the bathroom stench that reeks to every part of our little room.

I wasn’t phased at the situation. I've traveled enough now to be chill at quite a bit. I was slightly uncomfortable to be sure, but I thought it would be a really interesting adventure more than anything else.

This was before we went out to the school where we’d be hosting another children’s program in the evening, and an English and character class in the mornings.

Monday night when we arrived at the school I was coming down with a cold. The humidity was horrible. The dirt in the air was clogging both my pores and my lungs in a painful way. We all arrived that evening and marched up the stairs to the materials room where we were greeted by the stench of vomit – where someone’s dinner hadn’t sat well with them. We walked around the mess on the floor to our room, but the smell became worse and worse – repugnant and strong.

The materials room was going to be synonymous with our studio – where we’d be working on our Global Encounters promo along with shooting the Children’s program and leaders.

I was hardly impressed.

It was practically a bedroom. An 8-x8 feet of space with a bed, a TV, a small desk area, and a bathroom. It was dirty everywhere. The materials were unorganized. The bathroom door didn’t stay shut so we had to secure it with a hair band.

It was, without a doubt, the most uncomfortable situation I had ever been in, with all of my life.

It only became worse when one of the other girls said cheerfully, “this is probably the school’s sick bay.”

Hardly my definition of a studio.

Here and now I confess my bad attitude. I was not happy with where things were. I wasn’t happy with the horrible condition of the bathroom, or the dirt on every single chair, or the dust that covered the desk. Was there nowhere I could be comfortable!

And it was in the moment that I was sulking about spending my evening there that I realized something. I was comparing this place to the comfort of my home. Only, I wasn’t comparing it to my real home…

My real home is exactly where Jesus calls me. Because wherever He calls me is wherever He will be. And my home is with Him.

So weather I am in a dirty bedroom, stench filled bathroom, or sickbay / studio, my home is wherever Jesus is.

It reminded me of that verse from Luke. There was a man pledging to Jesus an undying loyalty of following Him wherever He went. Instead of taking the man at His word, Jesus explained that He had nowhere to lay His head. No place of comfort. No place which resonated of the belonging of home.

I often wondered why Jesus said that. But now I realize the truth.

Many people feel the excitement of the seeming “glamour” of following Jesus wherever He went. But you know what? That motivation will hardly last you through the dirtiest, most reeking places on earth. It won’t keep you going after ministering through long days of sickness or exhaustion. Not even close.

The only thing that will propel someone to continue in the hard work of following after Jesus is the absolute and complete assurance that “home” is wherever He has called you – for in that calling is exactly where He will be.

It reminds me of that song from Switchfoot:

I’ve got my memories
Always inside of me
But I can’t go back
Back to how it was
I believe you now.
I’ve come too far.
No I can’t go back
Back to how it was.
Created for a place I’ve never known.
This is home.
Now I’m finally where I belong,
Where I belong
Yeah this is home.
I’ve been searching for a place of my own
Now I’ve found it maybe this is home.
Yeah this is home.
Belief over misery.
I’ve seen the enemy.
And I won’t go back
Back to how it was.
I’ve got my heart set
On what happens next
I’ve got my eyes wide
It’s not over yet
We need a miracle.
And we’re not alone.

Jesus will last me through any and every experience I will encounter across the globe: Because He, yes, Jesus…He is my home.

(Disclaimer: Please forgive the lack of grammar and technical elements to this note. It was written after we got back to our hotel at 1am on Wednesday morning. I thought it would be nice to post these random thoughts rather than nothing at all…)

PS - Keep praying for us as we work on the promo. We did another short interview today, have portraits for the final piece, and will continue our compiling...

This week I watched love in action. I watched my teammates be challenged, and tried and stretched.



I watched 70 some kids from Quito memorize God’s word and hide it in their heart.















This week I watched 15 young people build crucial relationships to pass down God’s principles to the next generation.



And today, I watched as it all wrapped up and came to a close.
Week one it Quito- accomplished.

Goodbyes were said. Bandanas were signed…..and signed some more. As the kids were filtering out, saying their last goodbye’s I couldn’t help but notice the impact of love. These kids, who were once stoic on the first night were now beaming with joy -love brimming over.


Love makes a difference. It really does.








Tomorrow we leave for Esmeraldas, a city in Northern Ecuador. We leave behind Quito, just for a week-but at the same time, I feel we are leaving something more than that.
We are leaving Casa Del Padre, the faithful house on the Mountains.
We are leaving hours of planning, traveling and discussing.
We are leaving the congregation at the Church in Quito, the one that has so graciously opened its arms to us.
We are leaving 90 shining faces that left smiling every night this past week.
We are leaving a legacy.




7 days.
1 church.
96 kids.
5 colors.
15 Brave young people
7 translators.
1 amazing week


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Week 2 , Esmareldas here we come…..



- Laura Clawson


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RevMedia is about seeing the need and being the change.

It starts out with me.

It extends to me touching another life.

It continues when the life that I touched reaches another life too.

And it expands when other lives see the deep and artistic stories that come out of those experiences.

When we first arrived in Quito, there was a group of people from the church here waiting to help us get settled in. They picked us up from the airport. When I approached the group, dragging my suitcase and huge equipment duffel, a boy looked at me, smiled, and asked if he could help me. I let him drag my equipment bag.

Little did I know that this boy - Santiago, or San - loves multimedia. I didn't know that he is going to school for multimedia in October. I didn't know that he would be such a fabulous photographer. I didn't know that he'd become such a dear friend. Santiago has watched, has inquired, has been inspired by Laura and I working on our Global Encounters promo. He's held our equipment, shot with our camera's, and read through our script. He's so excited to go into multimedia.

The coolest part about this? That God threw Santiago into our path so that we could show him what it is to pursue multimedia for the glory of God. Tomorrow, Laura and I are going to begin our interview filming for the promotional piece. Santiago is going to help us, and see how exactly we do what we do.

We covet your prayers...that tomorrow would be an inspired and anointed day of filming. By the hand and blessing of Jesus, this promo won't be simply a promo. It will be a piece of art and an amazing message for the glory of God.

Blessings!

Christina

Sometimes meeting all these new people in all these new places makes my head hurt.
I’m just trying to remember new names and identify all new faces. Its hard.

Sometimes meeting all these new people in all these new places makes my heart hurt.
I’m just trying to live the way Jesus told me to and love in a likewise manner and so I connect. And then I have to leave. And a piece of my heart stays with them. Its hard.

I was thinking about this concept today as Christina and I visited an Orphanage in downtown Quito with the Global Encounters team.

The kids were so excited to see us. So ready to give hugs and laugh… and play around with our expensive cameras. Personally, I had an amazing time just kicking a soccer ball around with 9 little 8 year old's and sharing my cookie with a 3 year old.

Today I held many dirty hands.


Today, I shared smiles with beautiful faces.



Today I wondered if it hurt them more for me to come and love and leave than it would if I hadn’t come at all.



Today, I looked into to big brown eyes and knew the answer.


Its hard for me to get into circumstances as such and connect myself- really connect myself and then leave. Its hard for me to become vulnerable all over again and again and again. I don’t like it. Really, I don’t.
But today, playing with the kids- just laughing, and watching and holding them- it struck me.
Its always better- always- to love. To connect.

It hurts to connect and then leave.
But it hurts me more not to.
Those orphan kids might forget about me tomorrow.
But I gotta love anyway.
Its what Jesus did for me.
I can do no less.




"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway."

Mother Teresa






p.s.
I finished the screenplay today.
Hazaa.


-Laura Clawson

On Sunday evening I caught a glimpse of God's reason for bringing me on this trip to Ecuador. Yes, it was to build a promotional video for Global Encounters. Yes, it was to get amazing portraits. Yes, it was to plan a missions media workshop.

But...

It was for something more too.

I am on this trip for me.

Have you ever had that feeling before? When you think you are going somewhere to give your all, and then God says, "not so fast...your going to get just as much as you are going to give..."

That, is an incredible feeling.

As we put together this promo, and build screenplay's and scripts, we've been talking about missions a lot. And real, Jesus like ministry. The idea that when you as a believer focus on Jesus, you will automatically begin to reach out to others; if you aren't reaching out, its really doubtful you know Jesus.

So, technically, all You have to actively pursue is knowing Jesus...and as a result, HE will be the one to change the world THROUGH you.

Have you ever thought about that?

You will be a MAJOR change to the world when You seek relationship with Jesus.

That is, in a word, awesome.

Today we sorted through technical stuff.

Today I am coming to realize that video is a lot more complicated than I had first thought.

Christina and I spent the better part of the day trying to figure out how to correctly get a digital workflow system for our Audio Visual down.
We wrote in 3 different notebook and a good 6 hours trying to discover the secret to digital decoding. In the end, we were slightly successful, figuring out the solution to at least one of the issues.

In the South American culture, many things are unpredictable. Times change, buses are late, people don’t show up, it rains and then ten minutes later the sun pops out. One of the most common answers to any question down here is “ I don’t know”

Now, my Spanish may not be so great but that’s one part of the Ecuadorian culture that I am catching onto rather quickly- the fact that I don’t know.

At first this frustrated me. Then it wore me out. But I am coming to realize that it’s ok if I don’t know.

I might not totally understand how to convert AVI files to DV files using the correct codec.

I might not totally understand how to sync pc and mac settings or transfer sufficient digital data via firewire.
I might not totally understand how to get the best in studio lighting or achieve the optimal FPP synchronization.

But one thing I am coming to understand…..
I don’t have to know everything.



I am coming to understand that life, not unlike this new video adventure of mine- is all about learning. And a lot of it is about not knowing.


Life- at least the lives of 2 certain artists trying hard to figure out complex media, let alone acquire some hot coffee using correct the correct Spanish-is about doing what we can to do what we can and then giving the rest up to the One who does.
Life is about admitting that I don’t know.

And personally,

I’m ok with it.

- Laura Clawson

This morning I met a shoe shiner.

His hands were rough. His face and hands soiled and dirty as though they had not been cleaned for months. His clothes were tattered and worn. His little box of shoe shining equipment was clutched tightly in his hands as though it were the most valuable possession he owned.

He was seven years old.

He had been shining shoes on the streets of Ecuador already for 3 years. His parents required him to bring home $5 every day. If he did not do this, he was beaten.

One of the Pastors allowed him to polish his shoes – even though the shoes were quite fine. He shined the shoes with the experience of someone who has known the work and is comfortable with it. When he was done, the Pastor handed him the change from his pocket.

His little brother was with him. His little brother was four. His face was haunted by a desperation that I have rarely seen on a child his age. He begged for money. Passionately. When I asked his name, he shook his head and turned away. He didn’t want to talk to me. He just wanted the money.

And as he turned away, I saw in his eyes a child who had been deeply wounded.

I had no change. I had no shoes that needed to be shined.

I had nothing to give him. And I didn’t even speak Spanish to communicate these things.

At the moment where I didn’t know what to do, the Pastor asked in Spanish if the boys would mind him praying for them. I don’t know if he gave them time to respond, but he put his hands on their heads, bent down, and prayed.

At first, I didn’t know if the moment was too intimate for me to become a part of. But I felt the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit. Slowly, I reached out and took the hand of the little four-year-old shoe shiner. At first, his hand was limp in mine. But then, as the Pastor continued praying, I gently stroked the dirty hand with my thumb. And I felt the little one slowly grip my fingers.

Jacob offered to pay for them to come to the children’s seminar. The seven year old wanted to come and was so excited. The four year old didn’t want anything to do with it.

But tonight, as we gathered the children into the chapel, there was no sign of the little street cleaner. And I have to wonder, why? Is it because he didn’t get his $5 and was beaten? Was it because his parents refused to grant him the freedom to take “charity?”

I don’t know.

Tonight I have been pondering what took place. My soul and spirit feels so burdened for these hurting little ones. And that is when I realized something. The Revolutionary Media slogan is “See the need, be the change.” Well, sometimes it’s a sacrifice to be the change. But you know what? Sometimes it’s even harder to know that you can’t be the change, but you still need to see the need.

Because Jesus…He saw the needs.

Of

The

Whole

World.

Sometimes, you can’t be a change until you are willing to see the needs. For when you see those needs, when you see them with both physical and spiritual eyes – that is when the fire is lit within you to be the change.

Perhaps seeing needs like that is a greater burden than being the change.

So the question is this:

If you want to change the world, will you bear the burden of its needs?

If your not willing to do this, there’s no way Jesus will use You to affect change as His hands and feet. For Jesus Himself bore the burden of the needs of the world – and He was willing to die for them.

Are you?

Today, I saw the needs of a four-year-old little boy. I couldn’t be any change in his life. Except in the tiny, and seemingly insignificant way of holding his hand. I don’t know if it affected him. And I probably never will. Honesty, I don’t even think that matters. Why? Because I wonder…

If Jesus saw his need, would He have held the little four-year-old shoe shiner’s hand too?

Laura Clawson and Christina Dickson head out today for the international destination of Ecaudor! Traveling together as the media branch of Global Encounters, we two girls will be putting together multimedia promotionals, portraits for schools and churches, and other really sweet projects.

We'll keep you updated as the trip goes on this month! Keep us in your prayers!

Christina