It has only been about four months since we were in Africa. I almost feel a little short of breath as I imagine all the work to come, and all the work back home that still must be attended to. Once we are on the ground in Africa, seeing the smiling faces of friends, I’m sure I will feel more settled.

Even though my amazing wife begins preparing for our trip months in advance and maintains meticulous instruction guides, lists, checklists, and an inch thick 3-ring binder with procedures and policies for travel to Africa, the last few days before a trip feels frantic. If we were traveling as tourists, we would pack our three changes of clothes, camera, sunscreen, and stroll out the door without a checked bag or much concern. But packing up a portable recording and producing studio for the African bush brings out a strange level of gadget and map fidgeting normally reserved for wilderness trips. Spare USB-C cable? Hmmmm… Carbon fiber Manfrotto and a lightweight 3/4 height Manfrotto carried in our backpack? How many different languages can I transcode the Jesus Film into and still fit on a 8GB uSD card for a mobile phones?

Thanks for all the help and support everyone has provided as we go to help Pastor Ray in his work in Africa. As always, we will be posting to this blog when we have the time. We try to share something each day. However, some days we finish up late at night, exhausted and covered in red dirt. Our eyes start to close even before we have plugged in our gear to recharge. Flopping onto the bed is all we can manage. Other times, there is simply no Internet. So, please don’t worry if we are quiet for a few days– you can pray instead :-)

PS… Some folks may be wondering why we are returning to Africa so quickly after our last trip. A little more than two years ago I had heart surgery to replace an aortic valve. That January 4th surgery required us to shift our January/February trips to Ghana to September/October for a couple years. To get back to the peak of the dry season (the best time to do our audio recordings), we decided to do a quick turnaround and head back in January.