Sneak Peek!

Joe Bollinger, our team leader sent me some videos from his first trip to Guinea-Bissau. I hope I get a chance to learn some of their songs...Take a look!

Just copy the link to your web browser, hit enter, and then open the file. They'll take a minute or two to download.

Moments before the film show, evangelist Daniel calls in the people by singing a song to Jesus in their local language:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5923842/Guinea%20Bissau%20Moments%20before%20the%20film%20show.AVI

Gathered under a large mango tree, we joined this group of believers worshiping God on a beautiful Sunday morning:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5923842/Guinea%20Bissau%20village%20church%20praise%20service.AVI

New guitar!

Whew! It's been a long time since I updated this thing! I apologize to anyone who might be reading, and here's and update: Well, long story short, my entire trip is paid for and the donations and gifts just keep on coming in! God is good! Everything works out so well, though, because now I'll be able to pay for all sorts of things we'll be need for the trip like special clothes, gifts for the people and the all important vaccinations and medicine so as not to get sick over there (which can be quite expensive for someone like me with no insurance!).

Another amazing thing is that I am going to be the worship leader for the Bible studies and services we'll be hosting in the villages. It is so exciting! I love the fact that I'll be able to use the musical gifts God has given me to share with pastors and believers in Guinea-Bissau!

The tricky thing was, even though I was more than willing, I was a little nervous about taking my beloved guitar overseas (it is a very special guitar...ask me sometime and I'll tell you the story). I just got visions of it being stolen on the way over or back, or getting lost or broken or other some such horror. Also, the team leader, Joe, said that I could keep my eye out for one of the pastors or village leaders to give it to as a gift. So I was on the lookout for a decent, not too expensive acoustic guitar I could take.

Lo, and behold, one of my mom's friends GAVE me one! Wahoo! It's a very solid guitar, too. A Ventura V-29. Relatively old, so it's got great tone, lightweight and plays really well. All other guitars had little problems here or there and I thought I might have to settle for some just "ok," but then this gem came along!

So praise God! Everything is coming together easier and better than I could have imagined. Just more confirmation that I am supposed to go. Still have a week and a half to go and the days are kind of dragging on, but there is still much to do...i've got to work on songs, as well as prepare my personal testimony...but more on that later.

Time to post some videos!

Hogs and Hippos!

On little bit of a lighter note, I've been researching about some of the wildlife in GB. This is by no means a touristy trip I am taking, but naturally (and maybe because I've seen too many movies) when I think of Africa I think wildlife; jungles and the Serengeti and whatnot. Since we will be traveling to remote town and villages, surely we'll come across something! A monkey or two perhaps??? I hope so. (I'm trying to convince my mom that we need to watch "The Ghost and The Darkness" the night before we go. Y'know...to get in the spirit of things! HA!)

Anyway, I found out that because GB has not been industrialized much, it is renowned for its diversity in flora and fauna. Everything from the common chimpanzee to the great African elephant, to giant pangolin and mongooses (mongeese?)!

Maybe I'm just getting my hopes up, but who knows! I've never been there before! As long as I don't run into this guy!

Call of the Cashew Coast

Paul writes in Romans 15:20, " It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation" (NIV).

The goal of all JESUS Film Mission Trips is to help reach some of the world's least evangelized people. Guinea-Bissau is unique among West African nations in that it is largely untouched by both Islam and the gospel. Yet there is a great spiritual hunger and Islam is starting to move in as well.

The goal of this trip to give training to existing Christians and pastors on how to help new believers grow in their faith and to share their faith using the JESUS Film. Amazingly, many of the villages and towns we will be going to have never heard the gospel in their native language. Presenting the JESUS Film will be their very first time in hearing or seeing anything about Jesus!

The best help we can give the Guinean people is spiritual help. Obviously, their country is feeling the strains of political and economic collapse, but our main focus is to share the message of Jesus and serve the greater long-term vision of transforming GB into on of the largest sending nations in Africa.

Hoping for some eye-opening encounters.

One of the many reasons I'm getting extremely excited for this trip, is this will be the first time in my adult life that I will be traveling out of the country. My family went to Japan when I was about 6 months old, so naturally I don't remember a thing. I've seen pictures, so I guess that's proof enough that I was there. I have been on several mission trips, but they have been to places like Mississippi or inner-city Chicago. Interestingly, I've never even been up to Canada! Not even to go bowling!

Though I have traveled across and up and down these grand United States of ours, encountering slight religious and cultural differences, I'm really hoping and praying for some eye-opening experiences on this trip. Seriously, this isn't a road trip to St. Louis. This is a different hemisphere! Anything I've ever learned or think I know about any foreign country, I've learned from the comfort of home. I really have no idea what to expect. And maybe that should scare me, at least a little. But I'm more excited about it than anything!

Some of the preparation information we have (by that I mean me and my mom. She's going on this trip, too. How cool is that? If you don't know my mom, she's super cool) talks about what we'll encounter on our trips to rural areas and villages: candles instead of electricity, hand-drawn buckets of water, bathrooms are basically holes in the ground, etc... All this makes my mom uneasy, but I'm excited about it. I can't wait.

Another tricky thing is that I know absolutely no Portuguese. Supposedly, speaking English can get you around okay enough, but not really. I guess we'll be learning some of the more important terms in the near future. Like "where's the bathroom," and that sort of thing. I guess I'll find out!

Fun facts about Guinea-Bissau!!

- Guinea-Bissau (or GB, for short) is only 35 years old, gaining independence from Portugal in 1974.

- GB is the fifth poorest country in the world based on GDP and HDI (human development index). I noticed today that the last paycheck I got from my last job was about twice as much as the average Guinea-Bissauan makes in a year.

- Former President Vieira and his rival Military Chief Wai were both assassinated in January 2009, though a stable interim government is currently in place. Fun times.

- Guineans predominantly practice traditional African religions, followed by Islam. There is a small, but growing Christian community. Our participation in this trip is part of a larger vision to transform GB into on of Africa's largest sending nations for missions. Unlike some of the surrounding countries, Christian work is openly welcomed.

- GB's currency is the African Franc (XFO). One US dollar buys about 460 XFOs.

- GB is 5 hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time.

There's more to learn about this tiny little North African country, and I'm wanting to find out a little more about it in the near future. Especially cultural stuff. You can only get so much from a wikipedia page.