“With great power comes great responsibility.”

Recognize those words?  Paul and I were talking the other day about media.  It’s been on all of our minds over here for a few years now, but lately has been the topic of discussion every day.  With our Banqüala coming up we’ve been thinking a lot about why we’re doing this, and where we’re going with it (this and it being Bedouins International).  So Media.  We’ve decided that media is a force to be reckoned with.  Just in the past weeks we’ve watched twitter become a megaphone for the ongoing political turmoil in Iran.  It’s obvious that media can have a huge impact on social issues, and any issue really.  So what does that mean?  I think it means that media is now a power and no longer just a spectator sport.  A great power even.  Anyone can use media.  It’s right there at your fingertips, literally.  And like any form of power there is potential to make great positive change, but also a very huge potential to do great harm.  I think that’s the responsibility part.

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

I know it’s from Spiderman, but I agree.  Uncle Ben knew what he was talking about.

So if you read my post a little while back about my broken camera then you’re “in the loop”. If not, let me bring you “into the loop”. I traveled to Guatemala City to work on a dual documentary project for Hearts for the Children Ministry there last month. While I was there I was shooting my new mamiya (camera) and suddenly the shutter went out, thus rendering my camera useless. I was able to shoot with other cameras for the rest of the trip, and my camera was unexpectedly replaced free of charge when I got home! BUT…I got the film back only to discover that the roll before and the one when the shutter went out are both pretty much lost. This doesn’t mean that the project is lost…we shot a lot while we were there and I have plenty of stuff to make some beautiful presentations for Hearts for the Children. What this does mean is that I get to share with you some images that I would normally hold until the project is done because they will not be used. God seems to turn these frustrating things around into something beautiful. So…without further ado, I give you a few images from our day at the garbage dump:

Last year Bedouins International traveled to Haiti with HIPH to cover the story of the people there, the poverty and the vanilla bean project, HIPH’s possible solution to the situation in Haiti. Well a few days ago a package came in the mail for us and it was this quarter’s Relevant Neue, the magazine’s quarterly book-zine. Right in the middle of the magazine was our story on Haiti, HIPH and the photos that we shot! It’s always exciting to see causes we’ve worked with getting good exposure and benefiting from the Media that we’ve provided them (I mean, that’s the point right?!). HIPH is doing great things are this article is another example of the doors that have been opening up for them as a result of their dedication to the cause and the people of Haiti. Cheers to HIPH!

The film from our recent trip to Guatemala with Hearts for the Children just came back today and is Awesome!  I’m so excited about putting this project together and sharing their ministry with all of you.  Here’s a sneak peek at one of the film images that I pulled down today!

me⋅di⋅a  [mee-dee-uh]

the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely

As we prepare for the Banquäla and continue to refine the concept for the event, I’ve been thinking a lot about media. About why it’s important. About what makes it powerful. About why we here at Bedouins believe that it should be used to change the world. That led me to thinking about the term media and what exactly it meant. I started searching for definitions and found one that I really like. Read this carefully:

me⋅di⋅a1  [mee-dee-uh]

the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely

I love it. It captures exactly why we’re doing this. We’re good at media (we think!) and media, by definition reaches or influences people widely. Bingo. Join the movement to refocus the heart of media with us. We need you, the world needs you.  It’s going to take a lot more than just the 5 of us here!