Beautiful Day: A reflection

At some point in this mad naive agreement to film the MANY events for Beautiful Day ( I thought the 12 projects were for the YEAR not in A SINGLE DAY!!!), my role shifted from filmmaker (controlled, experienced, professional) to listener.
I feel like I learned so much that will take me a while to sort out that the experience actually feeled a bit like film school all over again... (everyone worked for free, equiptment was donated, locations were free, people didn't care about contracts, amatuer actors/characters, and ::gasp:: I didn't even need a single permit this whole shoot! And, of course, I worked a million hours for free... and spent the night in an editing bay... grr...)
Anyways, back to the part about being a listener... people STILL are pouring their stories down my ears! The part that surprises me most about this is that I'm not sick of it- not tired. In fact I just feel my heart expanding. It's like I didn't know I had the love let alone the energy to hear what's going on with that person until they are in front of my face and the Spirit slowly opens up my ears and heart.
There have been incredible stories. Some now documented, others that I still need to follow up on, but I thought I'd share some of them from each project and unload my brain a bit- please feel free to help me process thru these!

Beautiful Bounty-
The two stories that stick out the most:
1) Jim called the family he was "adopting" to ask them what they would like for Thanksgiving dinner. They said, "actually we need soap, laundry detergent... could you bring that instead?" (Have you been there? I have. ) So Jim put together something awesome and went to deliver it. His adopted family was loading their cars full of personal belongings to sell at a Flea Market b/c they were going to be evicted in 3 days. Jim and his wife prayed about it and decided to take their money from their month's Impact budget (church offering- pre-commited) and gave it to the family. It was enough to help them stay until January, and we just heard yesterday that one of the people in the family got a job and starts in January. The timing was perfect! And all because Jim responded to the needs he saw and not what the project required.
(I have TONS of stories like this in my head... and no emotional vent yet... I think it's time for me to paint for a while...)
2) Valerie, the project leader, went thru this total transformation. She was trying to control the event and balance the number in need with the number of volunteers. She would panic and try to cling onto the project. This was unsuccessful and detrimental to the project. So, she decided she would surrender it to God and, in faith, move forward... and she was given absolutely everything she needed, each time. I am STILL getting the small stories that make up this overarching theme. Faith means letting go, yet still moving forward... I was learning that, but I felt like maybe I still have a lot more to learn about trusting other people, especially when they aren't in a union, aren't professionals and I've never really seen their work!

Blood Drive
The pastor couldn't give blood b/c he had just gotten back from scoping out Africa- checking out where we as a church should serve. The problems of Africa are monumental and the leadership didn't want to just sign up with what was already available- we wanted to scope it out and see where the need reall was.
He apparently went to a small village in Zambia on the blood drive "no go" list... I might go on that trip, if it doesn't conflict with the Compassion Unleashed Conference. Anyways, he had just gotten back, and he was there.
There were lots of other AMAZING stories of people who were serving in major other ways that showed up to give blood in spite of it.
I felt guilty I didn't give. Plus I've always wanted to know my blood type for real. But, in retrospect, I don't think I would have gotten thru all those locations, a blind date, a night of capturing, a morning of shooting, a day of editing, and a screening, if I'd given blood. I barely made it thru with all my veins had to give!

Car Clinic & Day Spa
My heart really goes out to single moms. There's probably a lot to unpack there, but for whatever reason, this event to take care of widows, single moms and wives of military personel really hit my heart. I think a lot of that was the filmming.
Mike Mahaffie and I went to this one single mom's house. This woman was a MESS- her boyfriend, the father of the child, just died in February. So, in many ways she was both a single mom and a widow now. She was living with her mom who was overbearing. Her mom had also been a single mom. I can't help but still feel for the little child, Shashanna. There was this one moment when were shooting in emotional chaos where Shahanna started playing with Shaggy and Scooby Doo on the table. We filmmed it and it was the calm in the eye of the storm. It's like, no matter what happens, kids still play out what is not available in the room- they are saved by play. I felt like Mike, Shashanna and i really bonded in that moment. Well, maybe Mike and I bonded more in the editing suite and shooting with less that 5 hours of sleep in 3 days... If the Turtles were there they'd sing, "so delirous together..."
So, I really felt for this woman, and the truth is, I don't think the car clinic and day spa made that much of a difference. I feel like it opened up a door to connect with women and form the relationships they so need, but if the church doesn't follow up until next years car clinic and day spa, i think we missed something important.

I need to take a break from the computer and get coffee. It IS 11:33am afterall...
This is only the tip of the iceberg.
More to come...

But can I just say I love the Red Paintings? http://www.theredpaintings.com/