Out of Africa- A clear picture

Rob Barber is the most valuable invisible member of this Amy For Africa mission team. He is our videographer and uses his skills to tell the story of AFA in video form.

He hasn’t been on a mission trip with us since 2017 yet his work for AFA is something that has been seen in many churches in the U.S. over the past seven years. Rob’s video chops are incredible. He will take a few hundred photographs that Amy has collected and turn it into a video that will melt your heart. So kudos to her, too, for learning how to use the camera on the cellphone with expertise.

Since the beginning, we have not been shy about sharing images and using social media for good and as a way to communicate to the public. Among her one thousand other duties, Amy does incredible work there as well. When she wants a story written, she turns it over to me. And when she wants a video, we hand it over to Rob.

Rob has his own images – both still photography and videos – from this trip. That includes some drone footage of the AFA Christian Academy that is, in a word, stunning. He is not afraid of new technology and, in fact, embraces it. You may have seen some of his photo collections on Facebook the past 10 days. But Rob is also more than just a pretty face behind the camera. When Amy introduces him, she says that he is the one with a camera in front of his face most of the time. And that’s true.

However, Rob loves the people of Uganda and they love him back. He plays with the children through his lenses, showing them their pictures in the camera. His big personality comes out with anyone who comes in contact with him. And he has a strong spiritual side, too. Besides some mad photography skills, he’s a speaker that can teach and a good friend to have around. His morning coffee and Spanish omelets have been a hit for this team. And I do know this much: He misses his wife Suzanne terribly and speaks of her often and in glowing terms. I’m happy for both of them.

His speaking skills were on display for us on Wednesday morning when we visited the Bible study at the Threads of Hope, a group that AFA started in 2019 and has grown in every way the past five years. Women and some men are being taught marketable sewing skills so they can work and feed their families. The teachers at the school not only know their way around the sewing machines but they are also committed followers of Jesus.

We are so thankful for teachers like Susie and Betty who are training young women sewing skills but also mentoring them on the spiritual side. Mainly, they want to introduce them to Jesus. They have Bible study about three times a week and there is a spirit there that rivals any church. They worship and praise, share testimonies of victory, offer heartbreaking prayer requests and talk about how they are leaning on the Lord.

When mission teams are visiting AFA, Amy makes sure they have an opportunity to share a word with the men and women and it is some of the sweetest times here. They listen intently, even through interpreters, and they open tattered Bibles and look up passages. It becomes one of the favorite times for any mission team.

Rob’s turn came on Wednesday to share so he could not be in his regular place behind the camera. He did an outstanding job explaining the scripture he was using so it could be understood and used. I was a photographer substitute – a poor one – but wanted to make sure everybody at least knew what the man who has put together so many heart-wrenching videos for us the past 10 years looks like. It is important that people not only read about our story but see it as well. It brings it to life and this is real life here,

The saying that a picture is worth a thousand words certainly rings true with these videos and that is coming from somebody who tries to paint descriptions with the written word. There is a place for both and we are fortunate to have Rob with us. The AFA story continues to unfold before our eyes and the photos and videos from Rob Barber bring the story to conferences and churches as a visual aid for Amy’s inspirational speaking.

And through it all, we give God the glory.