June Highlights
Scott completed Freed graduate courses in Genesis, Intro to Grad Studies, and Pastoral Counseling.
We celebrated Scottie’s 12th birthday.
We completed the script and voiceovers for our first Logos Answers video lesson.
Scott spent considerable time investigating and planning optimal workflows for 3D animation.
Alexis took a leadership role teaching creative Bible lessons at the Woodstock VBS snack station.
Garrison is potty trained just in time for international travel.
Samantha designed the logo used for VBS.
Leaving 99 for 1
Life is full of trade-offs. We can’t accomplish everything we would like to. Sometimes we must choose what’s most important to us and leave the rest behind.
Jesus had to make trade-offs too. He couldn’t focus on everybody in His time of ministry on this earth. So, what was His focus and what did He trade-off? His focus was on the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24). In exchange, He was less focused on the self-righteous religious leaders who thought they had everything figured out. In Luke 15, the Pharisees and scribes wanted to know why Jesus spent so much time with sinners and tax collectors instead of with the “right kind of crowd”. Jesus answered this question by telling three parables — the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. In the parable of the prodigal son, a son feels neglected by his father for the sake of his straying son who came back. In the case of the lost coin, the woman was rejoicing over the one lost coin she found, not over the nine she already had. And in the case of the lost sheep, a shepherd is willing to leave the 99 safe sheep in search of the one who is lost.
Aren’t you glad that Jesus was willing to leave the 99 righteous for that 1 lost sinner? I sure am because I was one of those lost sinners!
Who is your 99, and who is your 1? It’s somewhat difficult to make exact modern-day parallels here. At the minimum, it is fair to ask if we have an emphasis on seeking and saving the sinner as much as Jesus did. Do we spend too much time with religious people and not enough time with the lost? It is not possible to evangelize to the lost unless we spend time with them. Perhaps we should be getting out there more searching for those who are lost. That might require the trade-off of spending less time with our family and church friends.
Another application that our family is thinking about is where we choose to do mission work. Should we go somewhere the church is large, growing, and thriving? Or should we go to those remote and difficult places? We need more people willing to go to every remote corner of this globe to find lost sheep. That is one reason why we are planning to go to Mongolia in July. This country is one of the most isolated countries in the world with a population about the size of Denver in the land area equivalent to 2.25 Texases! In the whole country, there is only one congregation of less than 20 Christians. Some people come from over an hour away to worship. Mission work in this country would be a good example of leaving behind other potentially good opportunities in search of the few. But it is totally worth it. Just one soul would be worth it!
The Complexity of 3D Workflows
You probably never thought you would read that heading in a missionary report, right? Well, neither did I, but it just so happens to be an important part of our new mission work. After investigating all the alternatives for spreading the gospel digitally in as many languages as possible, as fast as possible, I concluded that 3D animation was the best solution at present and in the future. 3D animation is more efficient and economical than traditional filming. It can be significantly more flexible and professional than traditional 2D animation. Perhaps most significantly, innovation in this field is advancing at a rapid pace. It’s becoming possible for average people like me to do amazing things in 3D rather quickly. For an illustration, you may have seen the Mandalorian series. Most of the backdrops were developed using the same 3D engine I’ll be using to develop my simple scenes (like a coffee shop).
The downside is that the learning curve is quite steep. 3D artists talk a lot about workflow. The reason is because the process is surprisingly complex. Also, knowledge of many different programs is required. So that is how I have been spending most of my time since coming to Atlanta. I have been working to become familiar with different creative and 3D programs and experimenting so that I can arrive at an optimal workflow (which software I will use for which purpose and in what order). So far, I have had to learn 12 new software solutions. Each one has a particular purpose and strength. The process has been frustrating at times and interesting at other times. But I can confidently say that I am becoming more comfortable with the process and very excited about future possibilities. Investing all this time in the front end will pay off because once the process is established, development of videos should progress at a remarkable pace.
Prayers Requested
Thank you so much to those who encourage for, pray for and support us. We value your love tremendously. It helps to make this great work possible.
Please pray for us as we prepare for our trip to Mongolia in July. Scott will be presenting an Apologetics Seminar and preaching on Sundays. Alexis will be teaching ladies devotionals. The three kids will be traveling with us. We are both excited and nervous. Please pray for health, safety, and success in building up the church with the Gospel.
Love,
-The Ihle Crew
Great info. Thx Ihle’s