Master of Improv

About a year ago, Dave and I felt led by the Lord to buy the equipment necessary to show the “JESUS” film, the story of the life of Jesus based on the Gospel of Luke. The film has been translated into hundreds of languages, including Makua, the local language spoken where we live. We managed to come up with all of the equipment needed to show the film in a remote area: a small generator, a projector, DVD player, sound system, and a portable movie screen. The large white sheet we acquired as the screen was the simplest piece of equipment, but it proved to be the most challenging to use. We had not come up with a frame for it yet and were having to hang it on the side of a building when we showed the film.

Recently a plan came together to travel to Namialo, a village about an hour away from our city. Our guard, Armando, has family that lives there and suggested the location. We also invited our first language instructor, Alberto, to go with us as he has a lot of experience showing the film. When we drove up to the remote area that Armando had selected, we discovered there was no good building or tree from which to hang the screen. Alberto was not worried and said we would use whatever we had to make it work. It seems the word “improvise” is often the motto in Africa. Fortunately, Dave had brought some rope, and a few men brought out some bamboo and with their machetes began to build a frame for the sheet. Within a few minutes, the frame was standing strong and Alberto and Armando were inviting people over the sound system to come watch the film. As a result, about 100 people showed up and intently watched the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.