Duerksen, Dick

English

Andrews University

Andrews UniversityDigital Commons @ Andrews UniversityLake Union Herald Lake Union Herald10-2011Andrews University An Open Door to MissionDick DuerksenMaranatha Volunteers InternationalFollow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/luh-pubsPart of the Missions and World Christianity CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Lake Union Herald at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted forinclusion in Lake Union Herald by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contactrepository@andrews.edu.Recommended CitationDuerksen, Dick, "Andrews University An Open Door to Mission" (2011). Lake Union Herald. 352.https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/luh-pubs/352EXTREMEGRACEAs “storyteller” for Maranatha Vol-unteers International, I often travel with Tom and Christina Lloyd, gradu-ates of Andrews University’s media program who work for Maranatha. Tom is professional photographer, videogra-pher, lighting expert, sound expert and willing grip. Christina is a professional video producer extraordinaire, vid-eographer, editor, scriptwriter, willing traveler and storyteller. Tom and Christina graduated from Andrews Univer-sity in 2004; and like hundreds of other Andrews graduates through the years, immediately departed for the mission field. Their passports held visas for India, their hearts dreamed ad-venture. Most people dream what they’d like to be when they “grow up” and may actually slip into that job for a few months before they die. The Lloyds graduated into their dreams. Tom’s version: “My first day on campus I remember sit-ting in my professor’s office describing my dream to some day be a photographer who traveled the world capturing photo-graphs that told the stories of people in great need. Today, as I walk through remote villages for Maranatha, I still can’t believe I’m actually living that dream.”Christina’s version sounds similar. “My dream has always included producing quality television that made a meaningful impact on the world. Now, filming communities transformed through the construction of a church or school, and volun-teers’ lives enriched by service, is an unbelievable experience.”When we “drop out of the sky” into a hillside African vil-lage, Christina makes friends, gets permission, sets up a shoot that will tell a story and inspire viewers to new levels of car-ing—all without demeaning anyone in the village.Tom checks the light and chooses possible interview and story locations. Then we immerse our-selves in producing four to six minutes of video we hope will be irresistible. Tom keeps track of the electronics and corrects problems he hears as we are filming. It’s excellent, Andrews Univer-sity-trained television production done by a modern missionary couple.Christina and Tom learned to see every problem as an invitation to do an even better job with God. Electronics fail. Goats wander into the shot at the worst possible instant. Moms feed their children in the middle of a perfect inter-view—making the shot unusable for our distributors. The sun plays hide-and-seek among flitting clouds, changing the light and making a carefully-planned, once-in-a-lifetime video useless! Tripods disappear in strange airport baggage caves, video looks like a starry night instead of a sunny morning, roads do not reach the destination, and stones make trails impassible. Get the idea? This is hard and frustrating work that calls for “every breath being a prayer!”But here they are cleaning the dust off lenses, re-setting exposures and starting again when the host speaks the wrong words or looks in the wrong direction.Then, after multi-hour editing and recording sessions, the show finally airs, and an Andrews professor calls to commend them on its excellence. Scores send e-mails to Maranatha say-ing how they look forward to the program every Friday eve-ning, and how they, too, want to become missionaries.Andrews University? It’s still an open door to mission.Dick Duerksen is the “official storyteller” through words and picture for Maranatha Volunteers International. Readers may contact the author at dduerksen@maranatha.org. b y  d i C k  d U e r k s e nI’ve watched two of Andrews University’s finest, worked beside them, read their scripts, admired their photos and been inspired by their editing—for five years now. Andrews UniversityChristina Lloyd tries her hand at brick-making in Malawi, while her husband, Tom Lloyd, films the experience. Onlookers appreciate her enthusiasm and efforts. Dick Duerksena n  o p e n  d o o r  t o  M i s s i o n8   |  Oc t o b e r  2 0 1 1   •   L a k e  U n i o n  H e r a L d  T h e  L a k e  U n i o n  H e r a l d  i s  a v a i l a b l e  o n l i n e .  

Andrews University An Open Door to Mission

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Andrews University An Open Door to Mission

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