Penguin August 9th, 2008
I wanted to wake up to shoot the sunrise, but that didn’t happen. I ended up waking up around 8:30. I wasn’t too eager to have breakfast after the previous night’s dinner. They did have the potato bread that was pretty good.
At 10, we went to the beach. I stripped down to my underwear and went into the water. The water was definitely colder than yesterday. I had goosebumps all over my legs and stuff.
I stayed in for about 10 minutes and then came out and slept on the beach. Just as the weather was getting nice, we had to leave. I was starting to get a nice tan.
We left the beach around 1. We still had some time before lunch, so we picked up a rotisserie chicken. We did want to get some other stuff, like a cake and dried fish for Kostya’s birthday. But Daniel suggested that we just take him to shishkabob instead. After the different meals, we figured the chicken would be the only thing we ate.
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Tags: Issyk-kul, Kyrgyzstan, Missions, Trips
Penguin August 8th, 2008
Woke up around 8:30 and had pancakes with apricot jam for breakfast.
Then we had service at 9:30. The team performed Mission Impossible, then Charles spoke, and then they performed Lifehouse.
After service we chilled before lunch. While we were waiting, Charles came and showed me an email between Paul and Mr. Yang. Essentially, Nazira, Elena, and Christa had concerns about what I was doing here. There was all this bullshit about if I was going to do an expose on them. They were afraid that I was just going to do a film about all the dirt that I had found.
Mr. Yang also had a really nasty comment about what I was doing with Larisa. I don’t understand how a Christian could be so against the work of other Christians, just because they’re not affiliated with their organization.
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Tags: Issyk-kul, Kyrgyzstan, Missions, Trips
Penguin August 7th, 2008
Woke up at 8, which was kind of late. I made sure I had all my stuff ready for the day’s shoot before going down to breakfast.
For breakfast, I had oatmeal in milk and two eggs.
Nazira came by and we waited for the driver. We got to Iskra around 9.
First, we went to the neurological hospital. Larisa took us on a tour and introduced us to some of the patients. It was pretty heartbreaking to see the conditions some of them were living in. Right now, it’s not so bad, but in the winter, they don’t get enough heat.
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Tags: Kyrgyzstan, Missions, shishkabobs, Trips
Penguin August 6th, 2008
Last friday, I had a meeting to talk about all the issues that came up from the Kyrgyzstan trip. Obviously, there’s more at stake than the 1 or 2 films that I shot in the two weeks. The crucial issue is censorship, free speech, and control.
I totally understand that being Christians in a Muslim country is difficult and dangerous. I was not above omitting certain details in order to protect the identity of those involved and even the locations. Unfortunately, this was not enough for them and they still wanted total control over the final product.
So $5,400 and 18 days spent, I was unwilling to compromise my belief in free speech. If the only course of action for me is to turn over the tapes, then so be it. Additionally, I’ve turned over the camera because I will not work for an organization that does not value free speech.
Not much changes for me. I’ve been operating independently for the last 6 years; spending my own money and time. It’ll just be a little harder to recruit people to participate. And I will have no finances because I have no income.
At least I stood up for what I believed was right and I didn’t sell my convictions. That’s got to be worth something. Right?
-Penguin
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Tags: Compromise, Convictions, Free speech, Kyrgyzstan, Thoughts
Penguin August 6th, 2008
Woke up at 8. Most of the guys had toothpaste on them. I managed to to weather the storm, probably because I was pretty new to the camp.
For breakfast, we had ziti in milk. It was terrible.
After breakfast, we left for Kara-balta.
I sat on a car for 6 hours.
For lunch, we had bread, watermelon, and crackers.
For dinner, we had beef stew noodles with leeks and eggs on the side. It was so good after not having a real lunch.
Not much else to write about.
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Tags: Kara-balta, Kyrgyzstan, Missions, Trips
Penguin August 5th, 2008
The beds here are so uncomfortable. They’re just planks of plywood with a few cushions on top. I woke up with a bar in my back. In order to avoid it, I had to sleep on my side, giving me tons of knots in my right shoulder.
I ended up waking up at 8.
For breakfast, we had a sweet rice porridge. I knew I couldn’t eat it all, so I gave some to Bo.
After breakfast, I chilled with Abel and Esther. Most of the guys were going to go to the mountain, so they left at 9. As much as I wanted to do some rock scrambling and climb a little bit, I had to get footage of the waterfall.
We hiked on a gravel road for about 1:45. At every hill and bend, we would hope that the waterfall was on the otherside. It wasn’t until the 6th one that we finally arrived at the waterfall. During the journey, Abel and I chatted about stuff. He was carrying about 10 liters of water. We attempted to lighten the load by starting to drink one of them. After we drank some, we realized that we weren’t sure if it was tap or clean water because they had refilled a lot of the bottles with tap.
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Tags: Kyrgyzstan, Missions, Mountain camp, Trips, Waterfalls
Penguin August 4th, 2008
I woke up a little late and had to pack for the Mountain Camp. I rinsed off and went down for breakfast. Zuma had prepared a rice porridge. Even though I wanted to eat it, I couldn’t finish it all. I managed to dump some back before I started eating.
Marcia showed up around 8:30. She had a slight fever yesterday, but she was better after sleeping and drinking a lot of water.
It’s hard to describe Marcia and I’s relationship at this stage. Sometimes I think it’s just a working relationship. Other times, I feel like we’re good friends.
We were supposed to leave around 9:30, but we didn’t actually get going until 9:45. On the way, we stopped to get chips and soda. I tried some of the local flavors, and it’s definitely different. They have this grass that they flavor a lot of their soups with. They also had shishkabob and pizza. Aside from the grass flavored one, none of them really tasted like what they were supposed to.
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Tags: Kyrgyzstan, Missions, Mountain camp, Trips
Penguin August 3rd, 2008
Half the trip is over. This is if you don’t count our 2 days worth of vacation at the end.
Woke up this morning a little after 7. I wanted to take a shower, but my clothes weren’t back from being washed yet. So I’ll wait and see if I’ll get them later. I’ve been sweating, but it’s mainly been around my neck, which I’ve been washing. A lot.
For breakfast, I had oatmeal porridge with a bit of yogurt. It was a nice light meal. The oatmeal came in a bath of milk, which I thought would be a little hard on the stomach, so I didn’t drink too much of it.
I did my devos as I waited for Marcia. When she came, she looked a little out of it. She said that she wasn’t feeling well from last night. I gave her her book back and asked her what it meant to be a Christian. We talked about it for a little bit and it was a nice conversation.
Afterwards, Elena came over and asked us what our plans would be for the rest of the week. I really wanted to meet with Larisa and told her that were trying to contact her. Then Kostya came over and asked the same thing.
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Tags: Documentaries, Kyrgyzstan, Larisa, Missions, Trips
Penguin August 2nd, 2008
I woke up at 7, feeling weak and tired. But I had to do work. I took a shower and went down stairs for some breakfast. Even though I didn’t want to eat, I knew that I had to. Luckily, we had pancakes. Nice and light. Just what I needed.
At 8, Marcia came by. I told her what happened as we waited for Nazira. Marcia gave me a book where she has all her friends and stuff sign. I wrote something really quick, but felt like there was so much more I wanted to say, so I held on to it.
At 9, we left for Iskra.
We met with Larisa. She had little cakes and macerated raspberries and was preparing tea for us. I went inside to shoot some b-roll, but ended up starting the interview inside.
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Tags: Documentaries, Kyrgyzstan, Larisa, Miracles, Missions, Trips
Penguin August 1st, 2008
I woke up kind of late, with a bit of rumbling in my tummy, but didn’t think too much about it. I just ate some bars I had brought with me for breakfast and played Final Fantasy: Revenant Wings as I waited for Marcia.
Marcia came by a little after 9 and said that there was breakfast for me. I went down, ate a little bit, but knew that we were on a time crunch, so we left.
We grabbed a taxi to Marcia’s church and we interviewed her pastor. Afterwards, we went to her service.
The singing was great, even without electricity, their voices were so strong and you could really feel like they were worshiping God, not just singing.
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Tags: Documentaries, Kyrgyzstan, Missions, Sick, Trips
