Over the past few months, God has given us the opportunity to think through a lot of things that we haven’t thought through before. Such as, of course, the roles and limits of government, and the meaning of freedom.
Because of our study in Romans, and also our anthropology series, I’ve done a lot of research and reading that I wouldn’t have done otherwise. But you didn’t come here for a list of books – maybe later. Instead, you want to host your very own totalitarian movie night!
So I have three suggestions for you. And I’ll give you a bit of background on each one, and then give you and your friends/family some things to think about and look for in each movie. We’ll go in chronological order.
Judgment at Nuremberg(1961): So who wants to watch a three-hour black and white movie about a trial? You do, of course. As far as movie quality goes, this has to be the best on the list. With an all-star cast, the acting and writing are amazing. Spencer Tracy, Maximilian Schell (who won an Oscar for his performance), and you’ll even see Judy Garland and a young William Shatner. This movie actually won two Oscars and was nominated for 9 more.
Judgment at Nuremberg is a fictionalized account of the trials convened by the allies after World War II, examining the perversion of justice from many different angles.
What to watch for: What different motivations did the various defendants have for what they did? At what point (if any) did they say “enough is enough”, and why?
The Hiding Place (1975): I know some of you are thinking – “I think I watched that years ago…” or perhaps “I read the book”. Well, it’s time to watch it again. It’s not the overall story that’s most important, it’s the details.
This is, of course, the World War II saga about a Dutch family who begins hiding Jews because of their Christian convictions. It follows life not only under the restrictions of the Nazis but into the horror of the concentration camps. This movie does not shy away from the big questions, and you may not always agree with the implied answers – but we need to think them through.
What to watch for: How did the Nazis attempt to control the populace? Why did Papa ten Boom “want to” wear a yellow star? Why were the ten Booms given “friendly” warnings about hiding Jews?
The Printing (1990): This time we’re moving up to the 1980s, and the struggles of Christians in the Soviet Union. This is a fictionalized summary of remarkable things that really did happen.
Although it hits on various topics, the main theme is the underground printing of Bibles. Various freedom fighters and Christians take different approaches and sometimes have serious disagreements about how to survive under oppressive conditions.
What to watch for: Watch the pastor. What are his motivations for what he does? Why does he oppose whom he opposes? Also, what does the government do to give a false impression to the world of what is going on?
“Enjoy” your totalitarian movie nights, and let me know how it goes!
Of course, we don’t believe in coincidences. If things “just happen”, then there’s really no reason to worry about right or wrong or the past or the future because nothing really matters.
But after last evening’s earthquake in Mexico, the memes of “Wake me up when September is over” were flying all over social media.
Of course, the Mexico City earthquake by which all others are still measured is the quake of ’85. It was the 19th of September. And it seemed that everyone knew someone who died.
In 2017, a massive quake hit on the 7th of September, shaking Mexico City enough to close some buildings until they could be assessed for damage. But of course for the big city the most memorable quake was later the same month – on the anniversary of the 1985 quake – once again on the 19th of September.
Which actually was a mercy, because there had just been an annual quake drill that same morning, so everyone knew where to go and what to do.
Although we have experienced other quakes through the years, the earthquake last night does rate as one of the strongest we’ve felt, although this time there was no (noticeable) damage in our house. It’s strange how different quakes move things in different ways – back and forth, up and down – and it’s hard to predict what kind of damage it will do. Thankfully, this one – although rated as a 7.1, and very close to Acapulco – did very little damage.
We actually received other earthquake warnings last night – one about an hour before this one hit – but this was the only one we felt. We went outside to join the neighbours in the (light) rain.
Knowing that we were in the Lord’s hands, we were even able to be amazed by “earthquake lights”. Earthquake lights refer to a rare and not completely explained phenomenon when you see lights (or even balls of fire) during a quake. Although we’ve seen video of these from past quakes, this time we had a good view. The power quickly went out, and it was dark. And in the sky were brilliant flashes of blue/green light – similar in colour to northern lights, if you’ve seen those. Quite beautiful, actually! If you do a search on social media, you’ll likely be able to find some video. And various related conspiracy theories, no doubt.
The power was off for three hours or so, leading to the challenge of trying to remember which lights we had left on in the house, before going to bed. We almost had them all right – we left one light on, and for some inexplicable reason the TV came on when the power came back on.
The social media crowd also pointed out another coincidence – yesterday was the day in which the supreme court in Mexico decided to decriminalize the murder of babies in the womb, proclaiming that criminalizing some types of murder is “unconstitutional”. Well, I think that these days God could pick any day He wanted to remind us that His final judgement is coming, and it would have been a fitting day. But Mexico City is especially jittery – the day before the quake some areas had drastic floods – floods that literally swept cars down the street.
As you may know, Mexico has also been affected by this year’s hurricane season, destroying homes closer to the coast.
Little reminders to look up, and think about who God is, and listen to Him for a change. And yet, so many talk about the “end times” – but get on with their God-rejecting lives as quickly as possible.
Anyway, we are thankful that those that we know of are safe here. With all utilities functioning today, it was a normal work day for us! So I’d better get back at it.
Thanks to those of you who prayed for our trip and for Nathanael’s visa renewal this past week.
It was a stormy, rainy day when we set off for the immigration office, which made the roads a bit of an adventure. However, we were already in the city of Toluca – otherwise we would have been traversing Mexico City early in the morning, which would have been – well, perhaps a disaster.
But we arrived on time.
The immigration office is now a strange mix of strict security, and strict security due to COVID-19 restrictions. Usually, only one person would be allowed to enter the property. However, because I had to sign for Nathanael’s renewal, and because we had a lawyer, all three of us could enter – but poor Shari was left behind. (Well, maybe not so poor, as you’ll see…)
Except, that only got us onto the property. Next, only one person was allowed to enter the building, and that was our lawyer. So, for the next two or three hours, Nathanael and I were out in the cold (yes, it was cold – especially for Nathanael, who was only wearing a sweater). And for the first part, we were literally out in the rain, but thankfully it went to a drizzle and then stopped.
After the lawyer gave all the paperwork to the officials, we were all out in the cold (there were a whole bunch of nice, warm comfy seats inside, just — empty. Poor seats, with no one to sit in them…).
Did I mention that there was no bathroom that we could use – on the property or in the building? No worries. Just walk back to the front gate, and talk to the security guard. Explain that you’re just going to the bathroom (so that you don’t have to sign out, and then sign back in). Go across the muddy street, and through the big gate. Walk through the field, around the non-descript building. You’ll find a little hole-in-the-wall office in a back room. On the side of the office is an outhouse-quality bathroom (well, a flush toilet. But no sink or anything). After you’re done, you can pay someone in the office room about 30 cents for the use of the facilities.
Then, out of the little office, around the building through the field through the gate across the muddy street – hope the security guard remembers you – and back onto the property, where you still have to wait outside in the cold, because they’re not ready for you yet.
Finally, it was our turn. Everything is fancy electronic inside. No ink-pad for fingerprints, just an electronic pad (back in my day…..). Then this screen rooooooollls down from the ceiling behind you, and a picture is taken. Wait a couple of minutes – and your visa is ready right there. So all that part was actually a lot more efficient than it was in “my day”.
So thanks for your prayers! We had a safe (but precarious due to more rain) ride home, with a shiny new visa. Which can be turned into a permanent visa when Nathanael turns 18.
Recently I was skimming through some past emails, and I was reminded about what a major, constant issue our visa paperwork was. Especially 2017 and earlier.
Another form!
Well, Nathanael’s visa has been taking up some of our time lately, but nothing like it used to! Nevertheless, because he is under 18, he still needs to renew twice more.
We would appreciate your prayers as we travel and as we go through the renewal process this week. Please pray for safety in travel (we have to go to the other side and Mexico City, and then on to another city – Toluca, which is the capitol of our state), and that the renewal process will go smoothly.
We’re very thankful that we’ve come so far in this process, and that we’re able to live here in Mexico and continue the ministry. Please continue to pray for the work of the Lord here. This week I saw in the news that a young man had (apparently) hung himself on a tree branch here in Ixtapaluca. Satan is hard at his murderous, lying work. Please pray that God’s light would shine, and that God would send more workers into the harvest.
