I’m sitting in the terminal at the Atlanta airport and thinking about the months to come. The last two have been nothing less than insane and the coming months look to be much of the same. I have to admit that it’s the ‘organized-chaos’ of my life that fuels me, keeps me moving. It’s the slow times that are difficult for me.

Here’s a quick recap for those of you who have noticed a lack of updates on the blog lately: Jessi and myself, joined by my friend Taylor moved to New York city in January where we began work at Times Square Church in the missions department. We now live in the Bronx and have braved two blizzards so far. We’ve become a part of the new missions media team, joined by our new friends Cheyne, Erika and Arthur. Together our job this year is to use our skills in media to give TSC’s missions a face.

We’ll be going on trips to shoot and film, putting together new websites, banners brochures etc. and producing a variety of short films and ‘field reports’ to show the world what not only Times Square Church is doing, but what God is doing through them around the world.

To be completely honest it’s been a tough transition for me so far. I’m so used to being on my own, with a team doing our thing. We’ve traveled, produced and created and always with the freedom that is fairly unique.

Since coming to TSC I’ve had to learn to not only work with a large team (much larger than Bedouins has ever been), but to work under a whole organization with several voices and levels of approval. It’s not in any way been a bad transition…just a hard one. I still want to just drive forward at a 110 miles per hour, and I’ve had to learn to slow down, get approval and make sure that not only am I happy with the project, but is the project head, and his boss, and the communications director etc.

Like I said in earlier posts, I believe that God has brought us here to grow us, and I still stand by that. This year will be hard. It has been hard. But it has also been good and, I think, will continue to be good.

Keep us in your prayers and continue to keep up with us here. Now that we’re settled in I think I’ll be back on here more regularly.

Now…I’m off to Mexico for my first field trip with TSC. I’ll be updating a few different TSC blogs from the field (links to come) and hopefully I’ll be able to post a few images on here as we go!

Thanks for your support, your prayers and for taking the time to keep up with us. You make everything that we do possible (seriously).

-S

Yeah! Bedouins International will be flying to Kenya on April 25th to spend 10 glorious days with our sweet friends at the Kiini Sustainable Initiative in Nyeri, Kenya. We will be photographing and capturing video of their endeavors there, including helping out communities through micro-credit and agri-business education. They also educate these communities on how and why to refrain from gender violence by showing them the importance of women, and educate the people on HIV/AIDS prevention while giving support to the orphans left by this epidemic.

This trip has been a year in coming, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally get to see it through. These people so desperately need our help to share their story and get support to continue helping the people of  the Mount Kenya region (including Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Maragua, Thika, Laikipia and Murang’a…and many more to come!)

This project still needs your support. If you are interested in giving towards this worthy project, please visit bedouinsinternational.org and click “Donate” (or just click the donate button on the left sidebar!). 100% of your donation will go to the KIINI project.

Thanks again for your ongoing support. This project would never have been possible without you!

Oh man, has it really been a month since we moved to New York?? Wow. Time has seriously flown.

Living in the city has been incredible. There is such beautiful diversity here that I really don’t think you can find anywhere else. And the people are wonderful. New Yorkers really seem to take care of each other for the most part. I love that. It’s like family.

We’ve been working with the Missions department of Times Square Church, and I think it has been a growing experience for all of us. We are asking questions we have never had to ask before – like how can I fit my art and what I do to really serve these people? I mean we have always used our art to serve, but I think now we are learning to use it differently, if that even makes sense.

I dunno. But what I do know is that we are learning and growing and, I hope, becoming better artists AND servants in the process. Please pray for us as we learn how to be humble and patient and wise…

Sorry for the belated update but please keep in touch – update on Kiini coming soon!!!

Love,

Jessi

We are very excited to announce that we were featured in the newest issue of B Metro in the “B Better” section!

B Metro is an independent city magazine with a unique voice and perspective full of colorful stories about living in Birmingham. Stories focus on local personalities, the arts, dining, travel and healthcare. We are very excited to be a part of this up and coming mag!

To read the full article and see photos from our travels, click here.

Hello friends, I’m sure by now you have all heard about the devastating earthquake in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Our hearts are breaking for the people there.

In September of 2008 we had the distinct pleasure of partnering with Humanitarians Initiating Progress in Haiti in order to help them tell the story of Haiti and HIPH’s work there.

The incredible women we went down there with (who founded and run HIPH) landed in Haiti the day before the quake, but thankfully made it to the north of the country before the quake hit. We have heard from them and they are fine. However we have another dear friend who went with us on that first trip in 08, who fell in love with the country and people, and who has gone back and forth to serve them ever since. He was in Port Au Prince when the quake hit, and we have not heard from him. Please keep him, and all of the people of Haiti, in your prayers as we wait to see what develops.

Love love love, The Bedouins

From our first trip to Haiti…