Surprises from Liberia

25 April 2010 Posted by Martin

[Monrovia, Liberia]

After a long journey, I am finally in Liberia.

It's hot - very hot. And humid - very humid. Yet, the rainy season has hardly begun. After few surprises, we finally landed in a missionnary family working with Serving In Missions (SIM). We will stay there for our first week:

Ben and his family are fantastic hosts. They gave us a very good introduction to the country.

Here is my team (Pauline, Norma and Lenhert), ready for our first local adventure: shopping

On our way, we saw a petrol station:

But Liberia has more than one surprise in stock... in the supermarket, I found Roquefort (made by my Dad in South of France) et the coraya surimi (which I packet in my first summer job in Normandy)

I leav you with this nice scenery where I can spend time with God. I make the most of it because next week, we will move to downtown and it won't be that peacefull.

Journey of Life

20 April 2010 Posted by Martin

[Hamilton,Bermuda]

A whole section of the visitor deck has recently been renovated. This area, called the Journey of Life, aims at connecting with people and sharing a message of hope. In the previous ports, it has been used in many creative ways: a cultural exhibition about Christmas around the world in Denmark, a Photography and Art exhibition in Europe, and a triptych about Beauty – Brokenness – Blessing in the Caribbean.

The settings we now have will be the permanent display. This wordless story portrays in a very visual way a modern version of the parable of the prodigal son. As the visitors walk through the panorama, they follow the story of rebellion and forgiveness between a son and his Father. I am amazed to see how the artists who build the display managed to make alive this story without using word, so that people from every nations can understand this message of forgiveness.

 The Construction of the Journey of Life

Cultural Adaptation

14 April 2010 Posted by Martin

[Hamilton, Bermuda]
My team will soon depart for Liberia, to prepare the visit of the Logos Hope, in August. With Lenhert, Norma and Pauline, we have decided to take a team picture in African clothes. It was quite fun to look for the colorful clothes in the back stage of the theater. Finally, I got a nice one! But when I arrived upstairs, a friend from South Africa gave me a weird look:

Louria – Why are you wearing that?
Martin – What? Isn’t it a traditional costume?
Louria – Yes, except that it’s for girl!
Martin – How can I tell?? They are all colorful?

That's better!

 

A Normal Day

05 April 2010 Posted by Martin

[Saint Affrique, France]
A Normal Day?? not really, I have moved my blog to a new address: http://martin-boulanger-en.blogspot.com
To celebrate that, I have put online the short movie I made last year for the Logoscars 2009 (a little competition organised on the Logos Hope)

Discover how an Indian, a Chinese, a French and a Mexican live a Normal Day...