holding that contraption,
mopping the air above the sand,
wearing those oversized headphones
that keep out the sound
of gently crashing waves.
Doesn’t he have anything better to do?
How silly he looks,
wearing sandals
over socks,
and a faded blue Hawaiian shirt.
At his side,
an optimistic fannie-pack
to hold his weathered trinkets.
We try not to stare
at the silly-looking man
as he saunters down the beach.

And yet, when he stops,

bends over,
and patiently,

carefully

sifts through the sand,
something flutters in our chests,
and glimmers like a dormant hope.

We all turn our heads
to watch.

I do, however, wish to share with you another experience. On our way back to the states, Josh and I had a few hours to spare during our layover in Amsterdam, so we took the opportunity to hop on a train and see the city. It’s a beautiful place; a functioning model of what I think many cities will look like in years to come. It’s incredibly clean, for one, but more than just neatness, it’s the atmosphere I found so unique. Within the city itself are windmills that, although they provide minimal power to be sure, are representative of steps being taken to survive on a post-fossil fuel Earth. It seems that other than taxis, everyone prefers to ride bicycles, even businessmen wearing designer suits. Furthermore, people actually use the public transit system; a trolley-like matrix that darts around the city. It always seems that you can find a museum within a block of wherever you happen to be standing, and the city is littered with an abundance of parks, open areas, and small lakes complete with ducks and quaint bridges. To top it all off, the cobblestone street charm of so many European cities is hardly lacking here.

I’ll end my rant here, but I could most certainly go on. When I mentioned my visit to friends and family, their initial reaction almost always had something to do with the fact that drug use (particularly marijuana) is legal in The Netherlands. Although I knew this in advance, I had completely forgotten and the thought never entered my mind during the brief jaunt. The practice remains utterly invisible in public life and, in retrospect, is actually surprising considering the sophistication I witnessed. We all make judgements about things we’ve never seen based on what we know about them, that hardly needs to be said. It is a welcome reminder, however, when these misconceptions are shattered, and shown to only be the pessimistic construct of a sparsely informed imagination.

Today we took at taxi to all the historic and lanmark-y type places to get some footage. It went well, for the most part, and Josh and I got some way cool African shirts at the Centre for National Culture (basically just another market but with more art). Thanks, mom!

After visiting the major sights we headed into Makola Market to get some footage of the busy downtown marketplace. Sounds cool, and it was, but there were many times that I was legitimately scared for my safety. From the moment I started filming I had about 5 people yell at me asking me what I thought I was doing. The stupid American tourist persona has worked pretty well with authorities, but with these locals it was just more of a reason for them to be mad at me. At one point somebody told me I would get beaten if I filmed in a certain area of the market. Wandering the market, I tried to be as discrete as possible when setting up shots and pressing record. 5 seconds is really all I need for a cutaway or montage, so that’s all I got.

We were hoping to film at the University of Ghana this week, but for one reason or another they aren’t going to allow us. I sent them a formal letter requesting permission and explaining what the footage was for, plus a location release so we can make this all legit, but they denied our request without giving a reason. That’s a big bummer, since we were really hoping to get shots of the students walking around campus and going to classes. The video will be harder to put together without that footage.

We woke up at 6:30, grabbed some breakfast, and met our driver out front of the hotel. He was actually just a cab driver, but a full day was 80 cedi (a little less than 80 dollars) including gas, which is half the price the hotel was asking. After the fact, though, Josh and I would have gladly paid the extra. No matter. When we got on our way with the driver, I immediately knew something was wrong. He seemed jumpy and worried, to start with, and the first turn he took (about 100 feet from the hotel) was in the wrong direction. He seemed to be in a hurry when traffic was gridlocked … dangerously swerving and cutting off cars … numerous near-accidents. Then when we were on straight roads with no traffic, he went about half the speed limit. We asked him countless times if he knew where he was going, and in the end it took us an hour and a half for what should have been a 20 minute drive to the University of Ghana campus.

There we picked up Frank, one of the scholarship students, and headed out to his village, which he said was about 2 hours away. The driver told us he knew where to go, but he kept looking around at signs trying to figure out which turns to take, so we had our suspicions. At the first police checkpoint, I could tell he was worried. After they checked the trunk (a lot of people traffic drugs through that region of the country) the police officer asked for his license and the driver paid him a few cedi. Apparently he had swerved in an intersection a few months back and they took his license away. At least, that’s what I think he said, and it might not even be true.

At some point we took a turn off the highway onto a dirt road. Or not a dirt road. I’m not sure, but I think at some point in the ancient past the road was paved, but then the road got so many potholes in it that they ceased to be potholes and began to be asphalt islands … small patches of what was once a street. We literally dodged obstacles in the road for a good portion of the drive, swerving throughout the whole street and nearly hitting oncoming traffic. I’ve got some great footage of that … I’ll post it when I get a chance.

We arrived in Frank’s village after 3 and a half hours. So keep in mind that’s 5 hours of driving total for what should have been 2 and a half. Good times. Needless to say both Josh and I were pretty frustrated, but upon seeing the slow pace of Frank’s village, we took deep breath and felt thankful to have arrived.

To get to his home we walked through about a half mile of farmland. People live behind their crops (they only own a small patch per family) and mostly live off the land. His home was made of cinder blocks with dirt floors and a sheet metal roof. In that area of the country, he’s living in luxury compared to the houses of stick and mud. The home has no electricity, of course, and the family can only afford to eat rice on Christmas and Easter. It was really incredible to see that such an impoverished place could produce someone so bright. The community has no doctor, and the closest hospital is 20 minutes away. Considering that no one here owns a car, that’s a sizable journey for medical attention. So Frank is studying medicine, and when he receives his degree, he wants to come back to his village and be a doctor. The guy really means it too … he’s got passion and a genuine heart to help his community. He’s exactly what All Nations is looking for.

Filming around his home was great. He showed us the concrete well in their yard, the giant stack of firewood used for cooking, the straw mats they sleep on, the lantern they use for reading at night, and he took pride in showing us their coconut tree and small collection of coconuts, which they save for celebrating guests and special occasions. We walked out to his father’s farm where he showed us how to water the row of shallots with just a bucket and explained that they always work barefoot so as to not crush any seedlings. It was a new experience for me … I’ve never seen people this poor before. Their main food source would be considered little more than a condiment in the US, and they grow their crops in what is practically dry sand for soil. The weather has been dry the last few years, so they have had a hard time growing enough to support their family. And the worst part is — I know that they are not as poor as so many other people in Ghana.

All this talk of how poor they are and they are still a happy, functional family. That’s something that always amazes me in third world countries … how much more thankful families are for what they have, compared to Americans who have everything and complain about what they don’t have. Before we left, they asked us to partake of their coconuts, and we did so reluctantly. It felt so wrong to receive a gift from someone so much more needy than ourselves, especially when it’s food from someone who can barely afford to eat. But they smiled as we enjoyed our tropical treats, and they were so happy to offer what little they had to us.

We also did some sit-down interviews with Frank and his parents. Despite the fact that it was mid-day at the equator (the worst possible lighting situation for outdoor filming), I think the shot came out looking pretty good.

The trip back was much better than the trip out there. The driver went straight back to Accra and Frank pointed out the dirt road as we passed it, the one that started our hour-long detour earlier in the day. We stopped a few times so I could get some shots of Volta Lake, a river and some plains, and a few guys with baskets full of crabs that they were trying to sell to passer-bys. “Take a picture!” they said, so I got some great footage.

When we got back to the hotel I was exhausted. Shooting sun up to sun down (literally) on 4 hours of sleep can really take it out of you, so last night I crashed and didn’t wake up for 12 hours. Josh said he tried to wake me up at one point and I didn’t budge.

Yesterday was the day. I really think I captured the essence of the story we’re trying to tell. Well, I shouldn’t take the credit … Frank told me the story. He told the camera the story. Without ANE, Frank would not be going to college. This student with good grades, a great heart, and a passion to serve his community by becoming a doctor … in the US he’d have a full ride scholarship in an instant. And without ANE, he literally would not be able to go to university, because he didn’t get any other financial aid. It breaks my heart that there are so many deserving people around the world who won’t have the opportunity to attend school or even have a decent meal … and yet stories like this make me so thankful that God uses people from organizations like ANE and Pathlight to give students the education they deserve.

Thanks for all of your prayers, everyone. I know that without them there’s no way that we could have gotten through the day safely.

Tonight we went to a great Lebanese restaurant in Osu. After we ate we walked out into the dark night and down the side of a dirt road to find a cab. Then suddenly when I stepped, there was no ground. I fell into a waist-deep muddy hole on the side of the road. It wasn’t like I tripped into it or was hurt or anything at all like that. It was something out of a comedy movie like Mr. Bean or Pink Panther. One moment I was walking normally, the next I was standing in a hole. Josh thought I was hurt, but I landed perfectly on both feet. I’m not even sure how.

The dark side to the story is that there are very few public restroom facilities in Accra, so people often relieve themselves wherever is convenient. I couldn’t smell any trace of anything, but I didn’t really feel like investigating closely, so it’s possible. What a night.

I can only stay in a big city for so long, so I am relieved that tomorrow we are finally leaving Accra to visit the home of one of the scholarship students. It’ll be a great opportunity for me to get footage that will allow me to tell the story of what these kids had to go through to get where they are today. One of the students worked for two months just to save up enough money for the application fee. It’s just incredible. These students are more driven than just about anyone I’ve ever met.

I really feel like we are furthering God’s kingdom by being here. The passion of the students, the support and approval of so many local community leaders, the means by which Josh is pulling this all together with virtually no resources … God is clearly at work here. It’s by his grace that we’re able to do anything at all here.

I also know that wherever God’s work is being done, there are forces attempting to stop that work. Josh and I had an unsettling — possibly coincidental — scare. I am not one who necessarily zealously believes in angels and demons, but I am one who believes that evil has an strong and invisible influence in this world. I feel that now more than at any other point in my life, I am truly acting as a servant; I am fulfilling the role I was called to fill. And Satan is trying to thwart that. Please be praying for our safety on this trip, especially tomorrow during our 3 hours of driving and during the time we spend in the village. I apologize if I sound like a paranoid crazy person, but I believe in a spiritual realm that is complimentary to our own, and if that realm is occupied by evil, then I have reason to be legitimately scared, which I am.

Today was the big day for All Nations Education. Everyone involved with the program was there at the university, including the Provost, the Dean of Students, the National Director for World Vision Ghana, and all five scholarship students. Since you’re not here and you haven’t heard Josh’s spiel 5 bajillion times like I have, you don’t know about how ANE is not your average scholarship. Josh has (and I have no idea how he pulled it off) had meetings with some really significant local community leaders and connected them with the students to act as mentors. The students, in turn, will connect with primary school students and mentor them, through Opportunity International. Together, the ANE students and primary school students will do community service projects with World Vision. Confused? Here, let me explain with pretty shapes.

That’s ANE in a nutshell.

So today, for me, was filled with hours and hours of filming … mostly interviews. It was great to talk with everyone involved. They all had legitimately interesting things to say, and I feel like we got a taste of how much passion and support there is behind this program. Which is great, because I got it on film, and with any luck we can communicate that passion to potential donors.

After getting back to the hotel we grabbed some Chinese food in Osu (which is like the downtown area of Accra).

I haven’t posted a blog in the past few days partly because I haven’t had much to talk about, partly because I was lazy, and mostly because I was sick. The second night here we had some chicken at a take-out place in Osu, but our plastic forks kept breaking, so we ate with out hands. Which was stupid. I’ll spare you the gruesome (and sometimes painful) details, but basically I spent about 3 straight days either on the toilet or in bed. There was a good 36 hours there where I didn’t have a bite to eat. No fun at all. But by God’s grace I’m feeling much better now.

After an exhausting day today, we’re taking it easy tomorrow, which should be a good chance to catch up on importing my tapes and also to get some much-needed rest, exercise, and pizza by the pool.

I didn’t spend any time trying to sync the different clips, I just threw this together earlier, but it gives you an idea of the amount of energy there was in the service. Josh also spoke to the church about All Nations Education, and I’ll post that clip when I get a chance.

Unfortunately I got a bug and spent most of the day in bed, but I am thankful that we didn’t have anything else to film today so that I could recover. I’m feeling much better now. Tomorrow we’re going to try to interview our contact at the University of Ghana, and we’re also going to spend some time exploring the city.

From the door of my apartment to the door of my hotel, the trip took a total of 28 hours. Not bad for halfway around the world.

Needless to say, I’m somewhat jet lagged, but man am I stoked for this trip. For those of you who don’t know, I’m here with Josh Daneshforooz to make a promotional video for All Nations Education (ANE). I’m here (with my trusty camcorder) for about two and a half weeks, following Josh around while he interviews faculty at the University of Ghana, meets potential scholarship students, and familiarizes himself with the country. I’m just along for the ride, filming and learning about the organization. I’m stoked for the project … this is an awesome country and the work that ANE is doing is really incredible; providing scholarships for college students. In a few months ANE will be touring the US to promote their organization, showing my video to give people a taste of the work they do.

At this internet cafe I can’t use my own computer, but I promise I’ll post photos and videos in the days to come. Please keep me and Josh in your prayers. Traveling with thousands of dollars of equipment, it’s difficult to feel secure, and we are concerned about the security at the hotel.