Dear Family, Partners and Friends, I hope this finds all doing well. We recently returned from Cambodia after filming our latest version of Youthbytes, entitled “The Call.”
As you know, this was one of the first trips on which I was able to bring my son Max. I was amazed at how well he adapted to another culture and different food options. With little or no jet lag, he proved to be a worthy, trouble-free, hard-working travel companion.
This naughty monkey jumped on my head while we were filming
Max doing his thing at the childrens’ home.
Paul and I filming in the Angkor Wat Temple complex.
We left LAX on a Sunday morning and landed in Cambodia at 10 pm the following day. After 20 hours in the air, we were ready to get to the hotel. As usual in Cambodia at this time of the year, rain comes and goes at all hours of the day. The rainy season ended two weeks before and we were hopeful that the rain would continue to hold back enough to get our projects completed. With a heartfelt prayer we knew God would have mercy on us. Our prayers should have included the temperature as well, as it was a consistent 90 plus degrees with 150% humidity; it was bearable, but made every shot of me appear as if I had just gotten out of the shower. God, however, held the rain back for us and we could not have been happier. Having been to Siem Reap many times before, I was aware of the obstacles and problems we may face, especially shooting in an ancient protec-ted enviroment like Angkor Wat. With cameras in hand we began our journey, filming a piece that I believe will speak to thousands of teens concerning the call of God on their lives. Max and my veteran travel companion and videographer, Paul Black, worked as hard as I have ever seen, and that is saying something considering the schedules we keep. Visiting the vast temple complexes, the outlying rural areas of Siem Reap, the war museum and garbage dump, we shot hours of breathtaking footage and captured a message that I have wanted to do for many years. Connecting with old friends, we were able to visit a childrens’ home in the region that I have been to many times. It was good to see some old faces and some new ones. Max was thrilled to get the perspective a visit like that can provide.
Max did a great job documenting our production and made some friends along the way.
In other news, we are very excited about our efforts in South America! Earlier this year, we completed our entire discipleship program and television broadcast into Spanish and launched its completion at “Expolit” in Miami. It was here we were approached by Enlace television about airing our program all over South America on their network; needless to say, we were thrilled at this prospect and signed a year contract. Beginning in December of this year they will begin airing our program. I am so excited that this vision is coming to pass; it has taken a lot of faith, time and money to get to this point. God is up to something good!
Brazil continues to be very heavy on my heart. So many invitations and open doors, so little time! After attending “Expo Crista” last October, we felt God positioning us to do more. He has presented opportunities that will put me in Brazil 10 times during 2013. The events held will be citywide and will be held in conjunction with my friend and recording artisit Thalles Roberto, who is taking the country by storm. We are expecting to speak face-to-face to over half a million kids in the next 12 months! We are also releasing our fourth boxed set in 2013 and will begin airing our Portuguese television program on local networks in January. It is a wonderful opportunity to preach Jesus to a generation!
Thanks again for helping us reach a generation with the Gospel - we could not do it without your friendship and faithful support! Chad & Shay