september update

Good morning to everyone (or good afternoon or good evening). It's been a while again since my last post. Things have been busy, as usual.

Completed CCDH Video

About two weeks ago at 9pm I finished and delivered a video I'd been working on with Hermes. Hermes is a Nicaraguan that received a class at the Nehemiah Center on basic film production. He's very talented artistically and self-motivated and his relationship with the Nehemiah Center is enabling him to develop his skills in the area of video production. We filmed 2 or 3 days and edited twice that for a 9 minute video that would be shown at a Partners Worldwide global convention. We got very positive feedback from Partners about the work we did, which was very encouraging for both of us. I hope to have the video on the Nehemiah Center website in the coming weeks, along with other work that we've done at the NC.

CCDH is the "Christian Center for Human Rights" and is a community based, volunteer driven organization that aims at education on citizens' rights and responsibilities through local trainings. They also have a force of lawyers that give their time to fight justice cases in three main areas:

• the acquisition of legal status; many people aren't officially registered when they are born, and the process requires a laywer; without this status, they are unable to vote, get a license, go to university, or get a job, among other things.
  
• the release of prisoners at the end of their served term; unlike in the US, this release often requires legal representation

The CRWRC has been working with and supporting CCDH in many ways.

Media Studio Gets Vision Boost

Last week Professor Mark Volkers (digital media) from Dordt College visited to explore the possibilities of Dordt's collaboration with the Media Studio. It was about five years ago that he visited the NC and spoke on the importance of a Christian presence and influence in the area of media. Now here again, he was thrilled to see that we had taken the talk seriously and sees huge ways that the Media Studio could grow and influence Nicaragua and Latin America. Follow this link and click on "digital media blog" in the right hand column to read his reaction to the trip.

We already have a job description and are looking for someone trained in video production who can take the Media Studio under their wing, teaching Nicaraguans what it means to be a Christian in the world of media, teaching skills in pre-production, production and post-production, and facilitating projects through the Media Studio.

Much of Latin America's media (movies, documentaries, mini series, etc.), and especially Nicaragua's, are imported from the US or other countries. They are importing in a big way the culture and values of the US, but they are also missing out on the richness of their own culture and their own challenges are often going unseen. The scope of what Nehemiah Center hopes to accomplish through the Media Studio in the area of development includes producing material locally for national TV; productions such as documentaries about the environment, agricultural trends, injustice, 30 second promos for voting or keeping Managua clean or recycling. The ideas were flowing while Volkers was here. Now we'll need to get back to building the foundations of such a vision--but it was definitely good to set our eyes on the goal again.

Little Friends

Remember those two little guys, Breyling and Mauro, I started hanging out with just before I came home in July? I've had the privilege of spending more time with them. I took them to the beach a couple weeks after I got back here, which they absolutely loved. They found a couple of boogie board and I basically had to drag them out of the ocean when it was time to come out. They fell asleep during dinner and only woke up briefly to get in the car and get out of the car. Then this past weekend we went to the Monkey Hut, a relaxing little place on the volcanic lake of the Laguna de Apoyo. Again, they were in the water all day, hardly giving me time to take a nap. :) They swam and used the kayaks and had a great time. Because of a car problem we had to go on public transportation (taxi, microbus, and moto taxi) and ride home in the back of a truck. It actually allowed us to spend more time together talking and laughing.

One of my hopes of hanging out with these guys is that they will be encouraged to try harder in class. Breyling had been getting poor grades in his "conduct" because he wasn't behaving well in class. He told me this past trip that he has raised his conduct significantly from a 60 to an 80, and he was excited to tell me. Yet, I hear that Mauro's conduct has worsened somewhat. I realize that I am not the only force in their lives, and that ultimately it is the Lord who works in and affects their hearts. All I can do is be there for them and encourage and love them.

Facelift

The Nehemiah Center website did get a facelift. Feel free to check it out--just follow the link on the right side of the page.

Prayer Items

- Pray that the Lord works through me to make Breyling and Mauro feel special and be motivated in all areas of their lives.
- Pray that the media studio is successful and has many positive impacts on people and communities and the society of Nicaragua (and beyond!).