It’s hard to believe that it’s already mid-April.  Where has the year gone?!  It still seems like it was yesterday that we loaded up the moving truck with Paul in Birmingham and hit the road for the Big City.  But in reality that was over 3 months ago.  Some how the pace of living has not only sped up, but filled up.  Something I didn’t think possible after the intense pace we were going at back in Alabama.

To say that we’ve been busy is a gross understatement.  What a journey…we’ve really fallen into place here at Times Square Church and are helping to produce some killer media.  It’s been quite an adventure, starting with a few weeks of wondering what we were doing here, and if this was where we were supposed to be, quickly followed by a steady stream of meaningful work that we could see huge potential in.

The last few weeks, for me, have mostly consisted of traveling with Times Square Church on various missions projects as a journalist of sorts.  My role has evolved from simply photographer to capturing video, creating daily blogs (often video blogs, but mixed with photo blogs), creating long term projects out of the trips (known here as ‘trip reports’), capturing audio and even getting my hands dirty doing some construction and ministry work as well.  It’s been amazing, refreshing and a huge blur all together.  Now, back in NYC for the first substantial time period in what seems like months, it’s been great to sit back and catch my breath…to feel grounded again for a little while.

Although I can’t post any of the project images up here yet (because they haven’t been released on the TSC site yet), here’s a shot of me in the mirror in Mexico a few weeks ago that I’m sure they won’t use for anything or care if I share with you.  The rest of the stuff is looking incredible so far, video and photo, and I can’t wait to show you what we’ve become a part of up here.  You can check out some of the work that I’m doing in the field as I go at some of the TSC missions blogs for BrickThink and OnCall.  I’ll try to do a better job of updating this blog from the field as well, and also linking to the places that I will be blogging on during my trips.

One cool thing that I’ve learned about missions at TSC while I’ve been here is that they’re very similar to Bedouins in heart.  They team up with missionaries and non-profits around the world to aid them in their work for many of their projects.  It’s great, because not only do we get to serve Times Square Church with our media while we’re here, but also dozens of other organizations in the process.

All in all it’s been a huge blessing to have this time here and we’re excited to see where it all goes in the end.  For now, we have an item of Bedouins specific news for you, that we’ve touched on before.  Jessi and I leave in 2 WEEKS for Kenya to complete the KIINI project finally!  We are so excited, and, thanks to TSC and a project in Zambia we were able to afford my ticket over to Africa at a much discounted rate, which was a huge blessing.  We’ll be landing in Nairobi on April 26th and spending about a week in Nyeri with the folks from KIINI traveling to their communities and sites to help paint a picture of what they’re doing there and why we should help them.  I can’t wait to get there and to be back in Africa.  Honestly, I’ve missed going by Stephen Kamau

Thanks for sticking with us through our slow period (as far as blogging is concerned at least!) and know that we’re still working hard, still believe in the power of media and still plan to use it to change the world!

-S

Harvest Evangelism is a ministry based out of Auburn, AL and doing work on a global scope.  One of their big focuses is the border town of Reynosa Mexico, where they minister at an orphanage called Casa Hogar M.A.Mi., work at a shanty town known simply as “the canal” and minister through services in many other small neighborhoods.  Harvest has a ministry in Auburn called His Place that is a safe home and rehab center for men, and Hosanna Home, the same for women.  Their ministry is incredibly diverse in it’s attempts to show God’s love and they are very dedicated to being anywhere and everywhere that they can in order to do so.

Check out their site HERE.

This is the multi media presentation on the shanty town “The Canal”

The Canal : Reynosa, Mexico from Bedouins International on Vimeo.

And check out this video on Casa Hogar M.A.Mi.

Casa Hogar M.A.Mi from Bedouins International on Vimeo.

Some of you may be familiar with “Discovering Joy”, the book that our organization sprung from.  For those of you who aren’t, it was a book that I, along with the help of Josh and Paul, made as a class project while I was studying art at Auburn University.  The book was a series of photos and comments about the lives of the people that I met in Reynosa Mexico.  I bring this up because we decided to re-publish it, and start selling it again as a way of raising money for future trips to other countries.  But then we decided not to.  I know, it’s a little confusing, but understand this…everything we do has a purpose (sort of…).  Anyways…I tell you all of this because in the process of deciding to re-publish the book I spent a great deal of time writing a new Foreword and Afterword.  A lot of time, prayer an thought went into it, and then we made the decisions to not re-publish the book, and all was wasted.  Or so I thought…until I realized…I can share this on the blog!  So that’s what I’m going to do.  I know this is long, and a lot of you bloggers out there won’t sit down and take the time to read the whole thing…but I want to encourage you to try.  Set aside a few minutes and gulp it down.  I don’t think you’ll regret it.  I have several more parts that will be coming as well…but for now, here’s the forgotten Foreword:

Discovering Joy – Foreword

Re-publishing Discovering Joy has been a wonderful opportunity to look back at what God has been doing in my life and the lives of everyone at Bedouins International. The past year has been packed with intense learning and many great lessons. So, even while I write this intro, I’m still not certain what to say or how to say it, but I deeply desire to invite you into the journey.

So much has changed since March of 2007 when the first edition of this book was printed merely as a class project. As I have written and rewritten this intro, I’ve realized that God has molded my heart in more significant ways than I first thought. I’ve seen Him move in big and small decisions. But, it’s the small things that have changed everything. So, that’s where I’ll start, with the small things: the little details through which God continually teaches.

Paul and I were in Missouri for New Years when we made a trip into Kansas for shoes. We had been on the road for a few days, and I realized quickly that my penny loafers weren’t made for the 15-degree temperatures of a Kansas City winter. As we navigated the icy interstate back to our hotel, Paul reached into his pocket, pulled out a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, and started brushing his teeth—right there, in the car, on the road.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I was reminded of my first real encounter with Paul. We may have talked a time or two, and I’m sure that he made my Chai Tea a few times at the coffee shop where he worked, but my first true memory of Paul as a friend was in the van on our first trip to Mexico. It was that memorable trip that sparked the passion for this book. We were stopped at a gas station and, like any van-full of caffeine-hyped college students at 3 o’clock in the morning, everyone was going crazy. I vividly remember sitting in the van taking pictures when Paul walked up to the door brushing his teeth.

It was one of those moments when I had to stop and actually think about what he was doing. Here we all were, loading up on candy and snacks, and Paul was brushing his teeth. At that time, I didn’t realize that he is at least seven years older than the rest of us. Apparently, dental hygiene is a much higher priority for the elderly (sorry Paul!), but nonetheless, the moment stuck with me and I still can’t help but smile. It was that smile that took me back to the trip.

It began as an excuse to leave the country, take some pictures, and hopefully have a great time. I invited all of my friends, packed my gear, and hit the road goofing off the whole way. Somewhere in Texas, on our way to Mexico we were acting crazy, running around, and moments later Paul was on a long board skating through the gas station. See, my trip to Reynosa was all about fun. I had no intentions of letting God change my life that week. I had no intentions of starting a non-profit organization or moving to Birmingham. We were skateboarding across the border for Pete’s sake; we weren’t searching or waiting. We were just there for the ride. But weeks later while editing this book with Paul I realized that God works on his timing, not ours.

Just before he ascends into heaven, Jesus makes a bold claim, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set forth by his own authority.”
I think that when we live in our small worlds with our job, spouse, and life it becomes too easy to work on our time and forget about God’s. Looking back, I realized that I had spent my life doing things on my time and making it fit to what I thought that God wanted. When you set your own agenda you’re never ready for the unexpected. You know what’s about to happen because you decide it.

Discovering Joy and my trip to Reynosa in March of 2007 taught me to be ready. It taught me that I am not in control and that if I am going to be serious about following Jesus then I can no longer make all of the decisions that I want on my own, nor do what I want when I decide. I have a responsibility to react to God’s direction and a responsibility to learn and grow. That life-changing journey taught me that God is in control and all we have to do is be ready. Ready to be swept away.
-Stephen

It’s a wonderful thing…the way that God works. I spoke with Pastor Kris this morning for a few hours and at one point during our conversation he mentioned how the writers of the Bible would repeat things or re-emphasize them in order to reinforce their importance. At the moment I find myself sitting about 3 feet from the chair that I sat in almost exactly one year ago when a trip to Mexico changed my life, and my perception of God and his plan for my life. That trip, that resulted in a book, new friendships, a move to Birmingham, the founding an organization and ultimately a new understanding of surrender to His will, was the turning point in my life thus far. Thus, as I sit here in the coffee shop that we spent our last few moments of our trip at before starting the long drive home a year ago, I can’t help but smile at how God reminds me of the things that I forget sometimes. In times when I get frustrated, lost or confused He always brings me back to where I need to be.

I’m a little more rushed for time than I realized when I started writing this…so I’ll be back in a few days to finish…but be thinking and praying on that…on how God always brings us back to where we need to be…even when we wander or stray. Keep Roger and myself in your prayers as we go back into Mexico in the morning for a few days to finish our documentary. We love you guys and miss you, and appreciate your prayers more than you know. To be continued…