Simon Says

It is my honor to introduce you to some new friends of ours of whom we are quite fond. It was a privilege to work closely with Simon and Anima of Create India. They are the international directors of the base in Jaipur with whom I recently partnered in order to direct the Marwri evangelistic film. Here is Simon's report on that work that we did together.

Simon says: " The climate has been very hot, 45 degrees Celsius (113 F) and dry, with lots of sand storms along with strong hot winds blowing making it difficult to do our work effectively, but by the grace of God we have been able to do our work and accomplish things...There were times we had difficulties in getting actors for the film but God helped us and we were able to complete the filming successfully. Even with the climate being very hot and other problems coming up everyday for us to carry out the filming, the crew and actors were patient and did very well. We thank God for His help so that we could successfully complete the filming. Now the editing is being done in the USA by Steve, the film director, and should be completed by Sept'10." Thanks, Simon!

Simon and Anima have invited me back to India in August to work on the rough cut of the film that I'm editing now. While there I will also teach video production for missions to young Indians and other international students. I will also stop in Thailand to teach in the School of Frontier Media for one week. My goal to teach young people in the areas of media and missions has very quickly become a reality!

To make this trip a reality we need $2900 in funds primarily for flights to India and Thailand. If you would like to contribute to this special project, contact us at sevenlampstands at gmail dot com to find out how to best support this work. You may also wish to make an additional donation to help support the work of Create India.

Please pray for:
* stamina and focus to complete the rough-cut of the Marwri film on time
* wisdom in booking the jumble of flights from Boston to Delhi, India to Bangkok, Thailand to Chiang Mai and back
* $2200 in funds to come in right away to purchase the round-trip tickets and an additional $700 prior to departure for the other expenses
* focused time to prepare for teaching two different classes in Asia this August
* safety in travel, including equipment
* an openness and readiness for the students to both learn and to ignite a passion for using media effectively in frontier missions work!
* Create India to receive the funds they need to continue their work
* that workers will go to engage the M*rwari people who desperately need to hear the life-giving Good News!

Simon's closing statement to his prayer partners is true for us as well. "We hope and pray that you are doing well by the grace of our Father in Heaven. We as a family remember you every night in our family prayers and thank God for you for partnering with us in the work that He has called us to do here. There are many of you that pray for us, write encouraging letters to us and support us in different ways. All this and your friendship helps us to keep moving forward here in Jaipur, India" . . . and even, by God's grace, in Massachusetts!

Coming attractions: Allyson shares about her upcoming trip to Vietnam and Rachel's report on her missions trip to Mississippi!

"I would like to thank Steve, who had taken time from his busy schedule to come to Jaipur, India to help us with the production, filming and editing of the evangelistic video drama film for the Rjasthani, Mrwari people group. The Rjasthani Mrwari are a mega unreached people group with no known church happening in their own language for their own people. Steve came here in the month of April, an extremely hot time of the year here in Rjasthan. I and the team were very blessed by Steve's attitude and his hard work, committing himself everyday to finish the work even when he felt a bit sick some days due to the heat and food. Steve's positive attitude and fun loving nature was a great encouragement to many of us on the team, the crew and actors, in the midst of difficult situations arising due to power cuts, the heat, actors not showing up on time or even pulling out, equipment problems, etc. He always had a positive attitude. Steve also took time during the Mrwari filming to train and help our local staff get some experience in filming and directing. Now even while he is back in the USA, he is working on the editing of the Mrwari film. I personally as the ministry leader here in Jaipur was very blessed by Steve and hope and pray that he continues to come back to India to help us make many more films for the numerous unreached people groups that live here. I thank his family for releasing him to come to India to help us." - Simon, Director, Create India

"In addition to being a deeply cherished and trusted friend and co-worker, Steve was our positive and persevering film director on the set. Early on, he committed himself and never once wavered. His contributions go above and beyond; yet humility goes before himself. He blessed us tremendously with his humility in receiving feedback on cross-cultural interaction, and the way he attempted to apply it immediately for the sake of team unity." - JoAnne, Create International Global Communications & Resource Centre, Thailand.

"I just thought it'd be cool for you to know that there is a Brazilian audience excited about what we did! ;) And I am sure they will be amazed when they see the end product. I love the passion you and your family have for the Kingdom! And the fact that you guys are bold enough to step out in faith and do what you do, wherever it takes you. I will stand in prayer for you." - Teammate Mila, School of Frontier Media graduate, Brazil

"Working with a talented, hard-working group to accomplish the goal of creating a relevant evangelistic film and overcoming trials and tribulations together to get there is just what I signed up for!" - Steve