U2 360

"Do you like U2?" my boss, Phil, asked. It was the middle of a Friday afternoon in the office.

"Youtube?" I had misheard.

"U2. I've got tickets for their concert tonight, but Sheila is still sick and can't go," Phil said. "Are you interested?"

Of course I was interested! I'd been a U2 fan since I was a teenager, and I wasn't going to miss the chance to see them perform live. A few hour later Phil and I were making our way to our seats. Per the instructions on our tickets, I'd left my camera behind. I will never again leave my camera behind.

Right now U2 is doing a 360 tour. They're performing on a circular stage completely surrounded by their audience. A huge structure that looked something like a giant space crab held a cylindrical video screen suspended over the band ensuring that everyone could get a good look. Our seats were sort of behind the "front," but the show was incredible.

The opening band was Muse, which shocked me because I thought Muse was big enough to headline their own concerts. It was like seeing 2 big-names for the price of one!

Then U2 took the stage and - honestly - their concerts are just as good as I've always heard. Lights and lasers and videos were dazzled us as we watched the iconic musicians play. The lights alone were a show in themselves. Every once in a while, Bono would transition between songs by singing a lyric to a song by another artist. At one point he referenced Journey and at another time David Bowie.

I think the most interesting part of the concert was how the band used it as an opportunity to convey humanitarian political messages. Bono dedicated "Sunday Bloody Sunday" to Syria and Iran - promising the people there that they're supported in their struggle for freedom. Then he told the story Aung San Suu Kyi who has finally been released from house arrest for calling for democracy in Burma. And finally, a video was played in which Nelson Mandela called for human unity.

My only expectation going into the show was to hear "Where the Streets have no name" and with or without you," and the band didn't disappoint. During "With or without you," The stage lights went off and everyone held up their cell-phones. It was incredible.

On the way out, Phil and I looked for concert t-shirts, but no one was selling any! Oh well. It was a really cool experience. And I'm very grateful for Phil's surprise invitation.

Fortunately, Phil had a camera on his phone and was able to take a few pictures. I'm a journalist.... never again will I not at least TRY to sneak a camera into someplace.

Bomberos

Recently, I got to cover a cool story about how an earthquake volunteer who came to Chile from California last year is still ministering to the people here. Since I try not to use names on this blog, I’ll just call the guy California.

While he was here building temporary shelters in a small town south of Santiago, California ran into the towns volunteer fire department. When the department heard that California was also a fireman back in the states, they gave him a tour of their department. In Chile, firemen are completely volunteer and get little or no support from the government. So often, they have very limited access to the equipment they need. California was shocked to learn that the Chilean firemen didn’t even have fireproof uniforms to work in.

When he got back to the States, California was able to quickly collect 30 sets of surplus uniforms. Fortunately, the policy in the States for firefighters to replace their equipment every ten years, so there’s often perfectly good, used equipment to share. But the challenge was to move the heavy equipment halfway around the world. California searched for almost a year, but every mode of delivery he looked into was simply too expensive.

Finally, after a lot of prayer, a friend of a friend heard about the situation and offered to ship the equipment free of charge. I was able to travel to the Chilean town’s volunteer fire department to see them ceremonially accept the gift from their friend and fellow fireman.

Brazilenas

Gisele and Natalia, the friends I made in Rio last year, recently came to visit Chile with their friends Karis and Debora. First, they spent a week in another part of town, volunteering with an orphanage there. Then stayed with a friend in my neighborhood for a week, which gave me a chance to hang out with them.

I showed them around Plaza de Armas and Cerro San Cristobol, and took them out to eat a couple times. Because Portuguese is so similar to Spanish, they were able to function really well in Chile. And they could understand me if I spoke to them in Spanish. It was a blast to hang out with some people my age, especially four pretty girls from Brazil. (They got catcalled everywhere they went here.)

Of course, their stay was too short, but they’re talking about coming back sometime in the winter. I hope so – It’d be great to see them again before I head back to the States.

Amozon-esque boat trip

Our last leg of travel took us from Breves back to Belém. I made the trip with our missionary host by boat, so that our pilot would only have to make one flight back. A trip that took our comrades one hour by plane took us 14 hours overnight by boat.

The boat was carrying lumber and other cargo in the front, while the back carried passengers on its three decks. Because we were carrying the bulk of the media equipment, we rented one of two passenger cabins on the boat. It had bunk beds and minimal standing room, but its own bathroom. We were on the top story with the snack bar and lounge area. The other two stories are where the other passengers hung their hammocks for the night.

We left the Breves port in view of a gorgeous sunset. But as the sun disappeared over the horizon, a lightening storm rolled in to take its place. As we floated slowly along the curving river through dark jungle, flashes of light filled the sky and a warm breeze blew our hair back.

For the second time on our trip, I felt like I was in a surreal other-world.

Bailique

The most interesting town we visited on our trip from Belém was called Bailique. It is a remote village that straddles a river and has a short, overgrown airstrip. Because the town sits on jungle swampland, all the houses are on stilts and are connected by suspended wood plank sidewalks.

When we arrived in the morning, all the boats in Bailique were grounded in empty riverbeds. When we left that afternoon, the tide had come in, and those boats were floating on about ten feet of water.

Bailique was like something out of a movie – a surreal, dreamlike neighborhood. Here are some pictures:

Marajó by plane

Last week I went to Belém, Brazil, with our photographer and videographer. We covered a story about an experimental plane used to do missions in remote jungle locations right along the equator.

This plane flew us around Marajó, the largest freshwater island in the world, just south of the Amazon. We visited the towns of Soaré, Salvaterra, Chaves, Macapá, Bailique and Breves. Along the way we met several national pastors and missionaries whose ministries are helped by the plane. We also visited some of the people blessed by those ministries.

The plane only fits four, but with our host missionary and his pilot we had five total …and all our media equipment. So we had to make two trips to each location.

With intense heat, lack of sleep, some illness and waiting for the plane, it was a pretty exhausting trip. But there were a couple really cool experiences along the way. By the way, if you ever go to that area, try the Cupuaçu ice cream – it’s incredible.

Mila Irene

My Sister had her baby! Introducing Mila Irene...

Sharing faith on retreat in Olmé

Last week I went on a 5-day retreat for all of our colleagues working in the Southern Cone - Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. The retreat was at a convention center/resort in Olmué, a town here in the coastal mountains of Chile.

During the day, the focus was very much on meetings. Organization leaders introduced themselves and presentations were made about projects developing in the field. While not too exciting, it was informative and helpful.

The real benefit of the week came in the evenings, however, when we were free to mingle with our counterparts working in other parts of Latin America. The people actually working in the field are some of the finest I've ever met - and getting to know them has been my favorite part of this job.

Of the couple hundred who attended, there was one other person my age. Hanging out with him was a breath of fresh air. It was great getting to compare notes on the experience we've had. Seems loneliness is ubiquitous in this program.

One night, my friend and I got to sit down with a resort employee named Sergio. He's a Chilean our age who mostly just wanted to practice his English. But when he asked about our group, the conversation turned spiritual, and we were able to share our faith with him. Among other things, we talked with him about who Jesus really is and the importance of a relationship with Him. Sergio didn't give his life to Christ, but he heard us out and was clearly interested.

The week was great for several reasons, but that conversation was definitely the highlight. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get his contact information before leaving, so I have no way to follow-up with him. Please pray that God would send someone to Sergio to continue the conversation we started.

Sweet pics from Lima

Santa Rosa

The other story I covered in Lima was about a group of volunteers who came down from Texas to work in the Santa Rosa barrio just outside Lima. They were helped by one of our missionaries and a local pastor.

Santa Rosa is on a sandy, desert hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The community is made up primarily of mining families, and during the day most of the men are gone to work. The land was purchased from the government, so the people living there are there legally. But there is no electricity or running water. Most live in very simple homes they constructed themselves. But even amidst poverty, there is a strong sense of community.

Last year, a man in Santa Rosa had a dream that missionaries would come to his door to share the gospel with Santa Rosa. The next morning, volunteer missionaries from Texas knocked on his door. They were doing door-to-door evangelism, and his was the first house they had gone to.

Since that encounter, the volunteers’ church has decided to adopt Santa Rosa and now sends volunteer teams several times each year. These teams train believers in Santa Rosa to lead Bible studies, and hopefully, to plant churches.

It’s amazing how in-control God is.

Seminaries supporting seminaries

The first story I covered in Lima, Peru, was about a pastors’ conference led by a group from a seminary in New Orleans. But, as sometimes happens, the real story was something else.

A month before the conference, the Peruvian government passed a law saying for the first time in the nation’s history that non-Catholic seminaries can receive official accreditation. It’s a new opportunity for evangelical schools in Peru, but the possibility also comes with some challenges. So while the group from New Orleans was there, they met with leaders from the Baptist seminaries in Peru, and offered their perspective.

But we still covered the pastor’s conference. The New Orleans seminary president and a professor led the men’s conference and talked about leadership qualities. Meanwhile, their wives led a woman’s conference to talk to the women about walking with the Lord.

More than a hundred people came for all three nights of the conference, some of them traveling more than 2 hours both ways to be there. A question-and-answer session in the men’s conference revealed that the material was valuable to those in attendance – particularly when it came to how to lead a family in a godly way.

It was great to see Christians from one culture reaching out to encourage their brothers in another culture. In particular I was impressed with the man who translated everything – He did a great job.

Lima, Peru

I spent Last week in Lima, Peru.

While there, I covered several stories, got to meet a lot of people working for the company who I had heard of but never actually met before, and got to see both the city and the surrounding communities.

During that week, I stayed with a couple of friends who treated me like family and really made me feel at home. They were easy to get along with and we had some great, interesting conversations. I really appreciate their hospitality.

Over the next couple days I'll be posting entries that go into more detail about the trip, but I just wanted to say that, all-in-all, it was a great time.

And yes, that's a Peruvian Harry Potter pink baby onesie. It's for my niece who will be making her debut in less than a month!