The Listening Ear

Mission Trip Resource

I don’t know how many of those who read this blog are interested in short-term mission trips, but I recently discovered an new resource that I think will be invaluable for those who are planning such a trip.

The resource is called Round Trip. It is described as ‘a short-term missions documentary and curriculum.

The package includes copies of a leaders and a participant’s guide, but the heart of it is a DVD that features five major video segments, done in a documentary style, that follow two short-term mission teams. One is from North Carolina and the other is from Kenya.

The documentary depicts the fears, challenges and the learnings that each team experiences as they travel to the other’s congregation and community. There are many memorable moments in the video as both Africans and Americans reflect on what happens to them before, during and after the trip.

Andy Crouch, one of the co-creators of the video, describes a vision of round trip mission, where each side is enriched by their bond with the other. The video and the print resources are packed with helpful information and crucial questions for any group planning a short-term mission trip.

You can find out more about the video at this site. I plan to use it with the group who will travel with me to Tanzania next year.

Time For Some Humor

I was catching up on some blogs and found a great video that Kem Meyer has on her blog. Of course she found it someplace else. It’s good for a few laughs that will lighten up a person’s day.

Auto Tuning from Casey Donahue on Vimeo.

Need For Safe Drinking Water

I came across a video that explains why the need for safe drinking water is such an important issue in many countries of the world. You can find the video here. It takes less then 3 minutes to watch it.

This is the reason that I continue to be excited about the well-drilling project that the Western Iowa synod supports in the Southern Diocese of Tanzania. A new well-drilling rig was recently purchased and will soon be ready to ship to Tanzania. It will replace a rig that is wearing out and is more limited in how deep it can drill a well.

The Southern Diocese has documented how one well can make a positive impact on the lives of up to 10,000 people. It gives them a source of safe, clean drinking water and helps prevent illness and death. I’m glad we can help out in this way.

Dodgeball Video Page

Since the SPY Dodgeball Video keeps moving lower on my blog as new posts are added, I decided to add a page that just features the video by itself. You can find the link for it on the left column of my blogsite.

Urban Plunge Video

The last few days I’ve been helping Denise Wilson videotape some of the youth and adults who participated in the Urban Plunge last month. They spent a weekend visiting and helping out at a variety of ministries in the Omaha area, ministries that give different kinds of aid to those who need help.

For instance, they visited Angels On Wheels, a ministry to the homeless. They helped out at Mission For All Nations, a food pantry and clothes closet for those in need. And they did a lot more.

As I have begun to listen to the stories that our youth told about their weekend, it is evident that it had a great impact on them. They discovered that we have many needs for ministry right here close to home. They experienced the satisfaction of providing real help to those in need. And they found that the weekend deepened their faith.

Denise and I are going to put together a video that we can shown at worship later in May. I think that you’ll be impressed by what our youth were able to do.

SPY Dodgeball Tournament

I finished the video of the SPY Dodgeball tournament. Here is is for your enjoyment!


2009 SPY Dodgeball Tournament Highlights from Arlyn Norris on Vimeo.

Wanda's Back

Wanda got back home Friday night after spending a week in Tucson with our son, Seth; daughter-in-law, Flor De Liz and granddaughter, Anea. She brought back some more videos of Anea for me to work with. I hope that after Easter I’ll have time to do a bit more work on them. I’m looking forward to my own trip to Tucson at the end of April.

Meanwhile, the current video project that I am working on is the SPY (St. Paul Youth) Dodgeball tournament. My friend, Frank Maguire ran the camera while I worked with sound. Frank was even sitting on the middle of the gym floor, getting the good shots while the dodgeballs were flying.

I got a new piece of software call Kinemac that does some neat animations. I have been having fun trying it out. I haven’t learned nearly all there is to know about it or about Final Cut Express, the video software I have moved up to after using iMovie for a while.

A Beautiful Video

I discovered wonderful video on my new favorite site for videos on the web, Vimeo. Maria Niro, the creator of the video captured the performance of an aerialist she saw last summer. 

The performance was intriguing, but the footage she wound up with was rather short. She couldn’t do a variety of camera angles, shots were shaky because she couldn’t use a tripod and there were heads of people in the crowd. Her solution was to vary the positioning of the shot on the screen and to distort the framing. I also think she chose some great music. I can't embed it but you can take a look for yourself here.

Crazy Microwave Experiments

Have you ever wondered what would happen it you nuked a nerf football in a microwave? How about a tomato? A carton of eggs? How about some ketchup packets?

These microwave experiments and many others are video-taped here. Crazy! As they say, don’t try this at home. Thanks for Marko who featured this on his blog.

Video Of Anea

I had a blast taking lots of video of Anea, our granddaughter while we were in Tucson. Here's just a rough, two minute segment of what I was able to capture. It was so much fun spending time with her.
Two Minutes With Anea from Arlyn Norris on Vimeo.