As the years march on for our family, we are understanding more and more how transient mission life can be. We have probably said goodbye to more dear friends in the past five years than many people make in a lifetime. Like life in general, the missionary life is practice in the art of letting go.
On March 4th, Kenyans go to the polls to elect a new president among many other posts. Five years ago the same elections led to riots, chaos, violence, and the death of hundreds. Those wounds have not completely healed, and now Kenya is poised at a crossroads once again. One path leads to a better future. And another to a bitter past.
And in a moment of suspended reality, a battered clapboard fills the frame in front of the lens. “Scene 70, Setup 2, Take 1,” it reads. The clapboard marks the audio and video clips with information to help the editors, and provides an audible spike to later synchronize digital files. But it also marks a kind of boundary between the real world and this one of our own creation.
My bags are packed, sitting by the door for an early morning departure tomorrow. I’m driving to the coastal town of Malindi with a bunch of our crew for the film project. The trip will take all day even though the roads are in relatively good shape. It’s mornings like this, however, when I miss the airplane…