In December of 2005 I (Todd) had the opportunity to go to northern Pakistan in response to an email calling men to "come before winter" as part of the relief effort following an earthquake that killed more than 80,000 people and left millions homeless. The email was urgent, stating, "WE NEED MEN HERE, NOW, to get into the valleys where all the houses have been destroyed, and where until now no relief people have showed up... We could save thousands of children's lives... January is too late. The winter snowstorms are coming, and we must get there first." This urgent awareness lead to urgent action as men from all over the globe left for Pakistan, constructing over 4,400 shelters and providing 44,000 people with a home for the winter—all in the name of Isa (Jesus in Arabic). It was here, in the foothills of the Himalayas, in areas never before touched by the gospel, that I was changed by the reality that we, the church, have the capability and responsibility to be part of God's Kingdom come, here and now. Since then I've been restless, praying continuously that God would reveal to me what part I uniquely play in the daily story of His kingdom here on earth.
As my group of friends headed off for summer break 2006, I asked them to join me in praying for direction and clarity. It began to come, first from my brother-in-law during a conversation about the story telling power of film, especially its ability to capture and change its viewers'... sometimes forever. Second, through a discussion with Krista, while helping her move, where she turned me on to an organization called Invisible Children. Invisible Children’s story is one of three friends who shot a documentary on the Night Commuters in Northern Uganda (Night commuters are children who flee their homes and head into safe places in the city every evening out of fear of being abducted by the LRA). A documentary which sparked a movement to bring peace and change for the children of Northern Uganda. We hopped online, and as I read, Gods clarity and direction welled up inside me. I knew what I was supposed to do. To use the story telling power of film to help bring God's Kingdom come, here and now, among the Nations (at least that's how I defined it then). But where, when and with whom? More answers were yet to come.
Upon Kaitlyn's return from the summer semester abroad in London, she asked how things had been going in regards to my prayer request, and so I shared and showed her the Invisible Children documentary. As with me, the light also went on for her as she let go of her dreams of working in Hollywood. There were now two of us chasing after God in this thing that at the time we called "The Revolution." Jen joined us in May of 2007, after quite a few months of wrestling with God since His first tug at her to enter the mission field during E3's September 2006 Guatemala trip. The team was growing, but we still didn't know where or when. This all changed June 1st. This was the day God brought Carmen Morris and her work with trafficked children in Benin, Africa into the equation. After much prayer, discussion, team deliberation, a long conference call on June 22nd, and I'd have to add blood, sweat and tears we knew, without a doubt, that God was calling us to go and tell the stories of trafficked / enslaved children in Benin, Africa so that action and change could follow.
