Mission Update 6: Five Stars for David

I was entering AIM as David was leaving. After working with AIM for 27 years, he was going to retire. Before he returned to the UK, and before we left for Rwanda, he took us out to dinner at one of the finest hotels in Nairobi, the Serena. As Ted drove around the parking lot to find a space, he told us that this was the same hotel that Kofi Annan had stayed at when he came to resolve the election dispute. As we walked through the entrance, I was surprised at the sheer wealth of the place. The gold rimmed, red velvet covered lobby looked more like a royal sitting room out of a Bollywood movie where a party of rich Indian royalty would suddenly begin to dance in a massive choreographed music sequence. I expected someone to walk up and kindly ask me to leave because I was too underdressed for the sitting room. I noticed that everyone else, minus our group, looked very much uninterested in the expensive decor. It was normal for them. Africans and Westerners in expensive suits walked around, paying extra attention to minding their own business, as though they lived there. My mind wandered to Kibera, less than a 10 min car ride away. We walked to the third dining area past a few open courtyards filled with exotic vegetation surrounding crystal clear pools for the guests. They seated us in a dark candlelight corner outside of the room. I decided to go to the men’s room for two reasons. The first, being that I actually needed to go, and the second was that I was curious to see what kind of bathroom was in a 5 star hotel. The door of the men’s room was behind a Japanese paper wall with samurai warriors painted on it. I will spare the rest of the details, but needless to say the bathroom was not a little classy. I sat down at the table, and was immediately handed a huge drink menu filled with all kinds of alcoholic drinks that I am not allowed to order yet. As I flipped through to try and find the page with something I could order, I wondered why menus that large don’t come with an index. I wanted something sophisticated, professional, and refreshing; I ordered a bottled water.

The table unanimously decided to go for the buffet. After all, who can resist an all you can eat 5-star buffet? I led the charge straight to the appetizers, they were called hors d’ oeuvres there of course. I turned to Ted’s wife, Liisa, wide-eyed and silently mouthed the word, “wow”, when we saw the long line of artistically arranged food. We both agreed that it felt as though we were taking apart pieces of priceless masterpieces. I would not have been surprised if they had told me to stop taking apart the expensive decorations and serve myself some real food. We each took a little bit of everything so that we would not miss a single flavor or opportunity. We also took as long as we needed in line since the few people who were also in the dining room never came to the buffet. When the group would go for the next round, Andy and Lesa would hang back for a quiet moment at the candlelight table. I stopped up the line a bit by discussing the different selections with David, Ted, and Liisa. I wasn’t in a hurry to leave, and I’m sure they weren’t either. We presented David with a gift, said our goodbyes, and left the hotel. I knew that it would be the nicest meal I would have in Nairobi, ever. I looked forward to seeing David again, in the UK, during my return trip with the Browns.

Mission Update 5: Thought Showers Over Rwanda

The week of September 20th, 2008, I moved into my new office, thanks to David, the British AIM Media Director that had been staying with the OFM team for a while, who kindly gave up the office prematurely since he was leaving at the end of the week. It will be the nicest office I will have for a long time. I have my own room, desk, and window overlooking the compound. For the first time I could say, with all sincerity and honesty, “step into my office”.

I spent the week before Rwanda researching about Rwanda and the college the video was about. We were going there to film a theological college called the Rwandan Institute of Evangelical Theology (RIET) or Faculté de Théologie Evangélique au Rwanda (FATER). The Alliance of Evangelical Churches of Rwanda (AER) created RIET in response to the genocide. We were going to film to raise awareness and support for the college. We brainstormed, or as David informed us the politically correct British term is, “thought shower”, although Andy and I began to call it “mind clouding” instead. David also taught us to always remember Mrs. Potts; a metaphorical elderly British lady who doesn’t understand film technique or care about style but is often the intended audience for many videos. Unfortunately, pleasing Mrs Potts is not a creative or glamorous task, but sometimes a necessary burden nonetheless. We kept her in the back of our minds as we discussed the style and structure of the movie. We weren’t going to do everything to please her, just enough to make her happy.