I think God allowed us a good amount of family time on this vision trip. Looking back now I realize how important this was for us to talk, pray, and finally decide that Cape Town is the next step in our journey.

From Cape Point, South Africa

We seriously believe this was because of everyone praying for us. Thank you so much.

School of Photography Student Introduction Video

Already, Kara and I have had great chances to dig into their stories and connect with them.

Media Village does this incredible thing, where it brings in teachers from all around the world … professionals in their craft … and have them teach the students at the highest level. One of the Korean students actually graduated film school in New York and said he is amazed at the curriculum in place here at Media Village.

We promised some fast turn video clips of our travels, so don’t judge the quality, these are raw … we’re just giving you a snapshot of some of the stuff we are seeing.

We traveled through the central plain of Cape Town to the communities of Crossroads and East Philippi where Beautiful Gate has established their work. We’ve included more about this ministry on a page in our South Africa section of Teamwynn.com, so I’ll just include a few highlights.

We saw the nursing suite there where they take care of the orphaned HIV children. This station served the children brought to live inside the walls of Beautiful Gate. The model for loving these children is wonderful, but they have said they would not do it the same way if they could start over. Though it has helped many children, they instead have adopted a method of placing the child back into the community, and paying a local mother or grandmother to raise the child. This keeps the community in tact (a key thing in Africa society), gives the child a community, and puts the money back into the community. Win, win.

Needless to say we loved the philosophy of the ministry.

At the back of the Beautiful Gate compound, we saw a soccer field full of people. Local teams played against each other, and dozens more sat around the side lines talking and visiting.

Imagine living in a community, where your house is too small and dark to stay inside all the time, the streets outside are dirt and dirty with trash. There are no parks. No open spaces to play. But then here in the center of it, this outreach placed a big, grassy field for soccer and invited you to come enjoy it. Isn’t that a beautiful thing. It’s it like a small picture of God’s grace.

Kara connected with the director of the facility and chatted about the best way to come and volunteer as a nurse. He clapped his hands together when he first heard Kara was a nurse that was considering helping. They are so understaffed for these skilled positions. There are a couple roads she could take with transferring her licensing.

Off the record: For Kara, I believe, the question is not could she do what she wants in compassion work, it is rather how much, how soon, and with how many needy ministries in the area.

They were all asked to stand up and share their names, where they are from, and what they hoped to gain out of the school. One student after another introduced themselves. A few students were from the States. But the majority of students came from Africa (Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Kenya) and Asia (Korea, Philippines).

I was struck with two things during worship. The first was the beauty of hearing God’s young people from around the world worship together. The second – a less spiritual observation – how similar they dressed.

Actually, I joked with Kara that they dressed better than we did in our early 20′s.

Hair cuts, T-shirts, and torn jeans made them visually like one group. I guess why I mention this is my on-going amazement at the global culture developing because of globally shared ideas via media and internet.

It is possible for these students from three different continents to choose similar dress styles, because manufacturing is globalized, style and fashion opinion is globalized through media, and ideas of youth and youth culture are globalized. A Korean student doesn’t grow up only influenced by Korea. Nor a U.S. student by just the U.S.

There is so much cross media and thought sharing that I felt like I was looking at a room full of world youth, not just a list of represented countries.

I feel this is a new era … one never possible before the internet.

We found this out the hard way, when we visited the famous Boulders Beach, just up the coast from Media Village, where there is a colony of African penguins.

Good thing it was a short drive, because poor Kara only lasted about 12 minutes, before her allergies attacked her. We knew she was allergic to birds, it just never occurred to us that penguins are like … well … birds.

Her nose and eyes weren’t fooled.

This raw video highlights the lighter side of our trip. In addition to site seeing, we’re doing a lot of talking and praying; we’re meeting people and Graham has graciously driven us all over Cape Town. We visited Beautiful Gate and the future home of Media Village, but we’ll save these for a future post.

For now, enjoy this raw video from some of the wild life we saw in the neighborhood today.

P.S. It’s amazing where God takes Kara and I as we follow him. We never planned to be in the neighborhood of such beauty … it is amazing how he provides these things along the way.

Please, continue to pray for God to give us wisdom and show us His heart.

You see them in almost every parking area, along streets where people visit shops, at the doors of the mall (and those guys are packing machine guns).

As Kara and I are talking though what it will be like to move our lives over here, we are considering the safety issue. I don’t think we have experienced enough of the crime environment here to speak like we know the issues, but we had considered other locations for ministry that would have presented much more obvious challenges as far as making a life.

What questions should we be asking about this stuff? Leave a comment on our blog if you have a thought.

It is estimated that 27,000,000 people are enslaved worldwide. This is more than double that of the early American slave trade. Most of these individuals are girls between 5 and 15 to be used for sex.

Media Village launched NewArrivals.co.za. Playing off the de-humanizing term for a new group of girls smuggled into a country for the sex trade: “new arrivals”.

In addition to the site, they are producing a series of videos to educate and powerfully bring a voice to this issue. They have so far produced a High Definition, very emotive piece displaying girls, child soldiers, and babies being brought into the country like luggage on an airport conveyor belt.

This is exactly the kind of work we would like to be part of. Using the tool of media to work as the hands of Jesus in society. Take a look at the site NewArrivals.co.za

Luckily, there is a cross walk, equipped with a light and everything. So we pushed the button. The red crossing man turned green, much quicker than it does usually in the states. Then to my right I heard the squeal of brakes. Not car brakes, but bicycle brakes. Dozens of them.

Now I called this road a main road, but it was actually only two lanes, with hardly a shoulder on either side. But as I looked right, I saw 40 cyclists … very serious … in stretched shorts and shirts, and the lead biker was hitting his brakes and signaling for everyone else to stop as well.

“No, Danny, keep going,” shouted one of the others in the lead.

Of course, keep going, I thought. There were thirty-nine cyclists behind him, all in a rhythm, all with momentum, and all going to stop on this little two lane road for one guy and a baby in his arms? But Danny was committed.

He brought his bike to a stop, and half a dozen other bikes in the front with him. The rest were doing the same, like a slinky closing up on itself.

I wasn’t quit ready for this. I mean, sure the light went green, but I had my little guy in my arms. I wasn’t just going to jump into the street and trust traffic to stop for me. I don’t know the rules here in South Africa. In most places in the world the pedestrian doesn’t have the right of way.

Then one of the fellas in the front — who sounded like the one who shouted, “Danny, keep going” — shouted again, but this time at me, “Just … for you.”

The pack of bikers now all coming to a stop and Danny staring at me and grinning. “Just for me?” I echoed.

“Just for you!”

What do you know, not two minutes from the front door of Media Village, on my first steps out into South Africa, and I was already making friends.

Having a fantastic time. Thanks for your prayers.

Map Generator

Here is the description from the Facebook Event page:

“For the past three months 21 students have spent hours learning the skill of producing media pieces. Some have told stories, all have produced a Public Service Announcement, a music video and worked on a short documentary. Their work has been creative and displayed an amazing level of commitment to excellence.

While the students work at shooting and editing, Media Village Productions continues to produce work for local and international clients. Cable Awards showcases some of the best work produced by Media Village Productions in 2009.

Cable Awards 2009 will surprise and encourage you to see what can be achieved when passion and perseverance come together. Be there and be inspired. Booking is essential.”

Facebook Event Page

Rodger and Lynne’s shark blog

Mason's Old Room

This is one of the first steps getting our world in order, and making ourselves ready, if God is willing, to move as missionaries to Africa.

First things first. Our trip is a week and a half away.

We will be spending all our time in Cape Town, South Africa. We’ll be getting to know the ministries we are visiting, seeing if it is a fit for us to do long term ministry with them.

We’re still waiting to close on the house … wouldn’t mind prayer about that.

We’ve moved into the Sprague’s basement until we get back from South Africa and can find an apartment.