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Friday Night Soccer in Haiti

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High in the Haitian hills, near the border with the Dominican Republic lies the village of Thiotte. That evening, we made our way to the far side of town for a soccer match. The local team versus a nearby village. It seemed like every young person in town was there. The crowd formed a ring round the dusty field as the two teams, wearing used American uniforms, battled for bragging rights. It was a lovely, cool evening. The setting sun cast a golden hue as fans cheered on their team and vendor hawked their wares.

Thiotte emerged victorious, beating the visitors 2-0. The fans erupted in wild cheering. Players joyfully ripped off their jerseys, twirling them in the air.

Celebrating their victory, the team and fans ran off the field and down a narrow jungle path. As we jogged, I imagined we were headed for a large victory celebration. To my surprise, we popped back out on the road in the middle of town. It turned out the crowd was just going home. Since everyone walks in Haiti, I think they were just using the emotion of the victory to propel them on their way.
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30 Good Minutes and Tim Frakes Productions

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May 17, 2008
CHICAGO Tim Frakes Productions and the Chicago Sunday Evening Club will be working together this summer. The Chicago Sunday Evening Club produces 30 Good Minutes, a television broadcast and web site that features some of the leading voices in religion, as well as the stories of everyday people whose lives reflect the rich tapestry of religious life in America. 30 Good Minutes airs here in Chicago, Sunday evenings on Channel 11, WTTW.

The agreement includes the production of five 3-minute video segments, or feature stories that profile persons who demonstrate a unique or particularly interesting faith testimony.

Production has already begun on a story that profiles writer Anne Bayse. Bayse is the author of Sustaining Simplicity: A Journal. The segment will focus on simple living and faith.

The agreement represents a return to Chicago broadcast television production for Tim Frakes. Mr. Frakes began his career a WCFC-TV 38 where he served as a producer in the 1980's and early 1990's.

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The Rock Churches of Gokyurt, Turkey

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This is footage from a video I did abou the Life of Apostle Paul with Rick Steves.

High on a hilltop in rural Turkey is the ancient village of Gokyurt. It is called Lystra in the Bible. The book of Acts tells us that Paul and Barnabas were hailed as Gods when they healed a lame man here around 64 A.D. Later, the town's folk turned on them and they were stoned.

Dotting the ridge around the village are limestone rock outcroppings. Nested in the rocks are caves once used as dwellings and early Christian churches.

For the next two hours, two locals showed us around. In the years after Paul and Barnabas, a small Christian community developed here. One cave is a carved rock basilica. Archeologists have excavated other caves; their entrances blocked by iron gates. Some are used to store hay for the sheep. We couldn't communicate very well with our hosts, but they gave us a grand tour anyway. At the conclusion, we offered to pay them for their time. They refused, shook our hands, waved good-bye and walked back into the village.

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Eskimo Sunrise

We land on a gravel airstrip outside Brevig Mission, Alaska. It is a rainy September afternoon. Brevig is a fishing village located on the Seward Peninsular, 80 miles northwest of Nome. We spend the afternoon getting settled. In the evening, Eskimo friends invite us home for an evening of hymn singing. Around 9p.m. the party wrapped up. Poking my head outside, I notice the clouds have lifted and the sun is setting. Grabbing my camera, I run out to the edge of the village to record some boys fishing with bows and arrows. The light is great, so I am in a hurry to capture the scene before the sun set. After 20 minutes, it dawns on me that the sun is not going to set here on the Arctic Circle!
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