Intro:

Ahhh, the day has finally arrived when I can tell Francis, the gate guard, how excited I am that I just bought sweet corn for 100 shillings. He just smiled, nodded his head, and commented that it looked very sweet. In his head he probably thought, “Crazy Mzungu...”

Things are going very well in Kenya minus the excessive rains that have become a plague to parts of Kenya sweeping away houses, livestock, and even claiming a few lives. We spent some time praying for those counties in church. In other news, peace prevailed over the elections; violence hasn’t occurred, from what I’ve heard. Of course the loosing party did make some noise and was calling for the re-election process, but Uhuru Kenyatta was, none-the-less, elected and appointed as president. This is our first week with the new leadership.

Media updates: 

It has been a very productive week, not only in post production, but on the production side as well. Our team tackled a Northern Region promo shoot with our very talented actor Bryce (he has never acted before). The purpose of this video is to inspire many young people to put down their video games and live the reality that the Apostle Paul was living! It was an awesome shoot--minus a few audio issues--but what can you expect when you go with a cheap recorder? It wasn’t long until my setup turned to a very minimal “microphone on boom balancing act”. In the post production world, I just finished my 13th cut of the behind the scenes video for The Distant Boat movie. I feel like a parent watching my child grow and mature into adulthood. Okay, a little strange, but I suppose even editors personify their work. It feels good to be nearing the end.

Conclusion:

Speaking of the end, my mission term is nearly over. It’s crazy to think that I have only three months left before being immersed into a first world country again. I’m pretty sure fast internet speeds and smooth asphalt roads will trump my reverse culture shock. It’s funny to think how fearful I used to be when I first stepped foot onto African soil. It seemed that every bug and insect around me carried the black death! I was pretty miserable my first night karate chopping mosquitos. Every once and awhile you see that “former” self when you greet new foreigners and chuckle inside. Of course it’s natural to be cautious of the unknown, but if you have a heart for the Lord, people, and strange new places and cultures, you shouldn’t be sitting on the couch playing video games. Rather, get out there and live the life God has called you to!

Thank You:

Of course I want to say "thank you" to all my supporters for making this trip possible. I feel that because of you I have been enabled to contribute my skills and knowledge to the advancement of His Kingdom. As stated earlier, I will be leaving in approximately three months, so in the month of July I would be very happy to get together with you and share some of my experiences. There is still a TON of work to do between now and then, so please continue your support in prayer! It’s awesome to know that the work done here will influence so many lives as it already has over and over again. God bless you!

-David Hikari Sekiguchi

Climbing Mt. Longonot near lake Naivasha. About an hour out of Nairobi

Boda Boda taxi (motor bike) from Mt. Longonot to Mai Maihu. A very scary ride with three dudes on a bike

 Ryan, Bess, Ethan, and I are stoked on a boat ride to Cresent Island to observe nature

I am clearly excited as we are waiting for the captain to get our boat ready

I believe these are called, "Twiga" in Kiswahili. I shot this at 40mm on a full frame
CMOS sensor. This means I had to be extremely close...about 15 ft away.

Crazy birds going for fish. Our captain was feeding them

This is Joseph--our fearless guide--at Hell's Gate National Park. Don't worry...he didn't eat the bug.

Getting ready to leave homebase for a crazy all day tour of Hell's Gate.

Josh (coworker) is totally sporting Camelbak. Gotta love the equipment!

Oh! you gotta love the missionary girls, haha!

Canon T2i with a Nikon 35mm F/1.8 prime manual lens. Beautiful combination!!!

Ahhh...my coworker is enjoying a beefy sausage morning on our two night three day
camping trip at Hell's Gate.

Taylor (coworker) being an awesome Director of Photography and
Bryce being a trooper as our talent. Can't wait to see the finished project!

So we shot this probably around 3pm, but in the video it's still morning...
so go easy on the guy for having morning hair...haha

Gotta have the slate on set! Especially when you run audio separate
from the video. Of course, there was no dialog and most of this didn't
even need to be synced, yet it was good to be thorough