I filmed 29 hours of footage for my trip to Africa this past summer. When I went, one of my ideas for what to do with the footage once I came back was a 10 minute video to play in service, when people would have to watch it.

I didn't quite know what I was requesting. While trying to edit my experience into such a short piece, I felt very lost and saw myself relying on old tricks, ways that I've done other videos. I wanted this to be different. The trip changed my perspective totally. I didn't want it to just be surface-level.

A day-and-a-half before it was due, just as I was giving up, it struck me: I should tell my story. Part of my problem editing was that there were so many good stories that happened over there, I mean probably hundreds of small, beautiful things. My story is the only one I know well.

And so I worked hard for that day-and-a-half, and actually ran out of time -- this video is 3 minutes shorter than what my goal was (and I will release a longer cut in the future).

Anyway, all that to say, God is good.

(Written by Jon Strong)

The song used in the video is "First Breath After Coma" by Explosions in the Sky.