RISE

WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE ABOUT LA MESA PRISON 2002

2011-01-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

2003 — International Reporting
In Mexico, Justice at a Price
By:
Mary Jordan
Washington Post Foreign Service
March 25, 2002;
Page A01

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TIJUANA, Mexico -- The cop looked Jimmy Salguero in the eyes and asked the question that would change his life.

"What's your name?" he said.
"Jimmy Salguero," said Jimmy Salguero.

The officer clicked a few keys on his computer keyboard.

"No, you're Jaime Garcia," he said.
"No I'm not," he insisted.

But it was no use. It was a Friday night, and the police would look good ending the week with a prize arrest. So a Guatemalan painter named Jimmy Salguero became Tijuana robber Jaime Garcia.

Telling the story later, Salguero, 32, said that he had been just another face in Tijuana, living in a Salvation Army shelter and trying to scheme his way across the border into the United States.

To pick up some cash, he had taken a job painting apartments. As he left work that evening in May 2000, the police stopped him and four Mexican painters and asked for their identification. The others produced ID cards. Salguero had none.

The officers whispered among themselves, then hauled him to the station, gave him a new name and sent him to La Mesa, one of the most notorious prisons in Latin America.

When Salguero protested, the cops punched him. They told him to shut up.

Behind bars, month after month, everyone called him Jaime.

Learning the Hard Way

The presumption of innocence and the right to see an attorney have long been written into Mexican law. But in practice those protections are often available only to those who can afford them.

President Vicente Fox, who took office nearly 16 months ago promising to spread democratic protections to all, has sought to end government abuse of individuals, and in particular to end a tradition of arbitrary, sloppy and corrupt police practices.

But injustice has deep roots in Mexico's justice system. There are still two legal systems in the country: one for those with money and connections, and one for the poor.

Salguero said he saw that up close on the ride to the police station, when one of the officers offered him the opportunity to buy his way out of trouble.

"I hear it costs about $1,500 to $2,000 to cross the border," the officer said slyly, Salguero recalled, referring to the going rate for a smuggler to guide immigrants into the United States. Salguero said he understood the deal being offered: Turn over your travel money and you can go home. But he had no cash.

"I just asked, 'How long will I be in this place?' " Salguero said. When the police officers realized they were squeezing an empty wallet, they turned cold. "They told me, 'It will be one to three months before the judge sees you.' "

As an undocumented migrant, Salguero was particularly vulnerable to police abuse. But he figured one person could surely help him: his older sister Ericka, a successful office clerk who lives in Rockville, Md.

He placed a collect phone call from the station. To his relief, she answered. He was certain that his sister, an 18-year resident of the United States with legal status there, could convince the Tijuana police that he was Guatemalan.

Salguero handed the phone to the officer on duty. "Please talk to my sister," he said.

The officer grabbed the phone and hung up.

"The line just cut off," his sister recalled. "They just didn't care who he was."

Still, she figured the police would correct their mistake: "You take someone's fingerprints and you find out who he is, or who he is not. How hard is that?"

But everything got harder.

'You Pay for Everything'

At first, Salguero didn't have a bed in prison. He needed cash for that. In La Mesa, as in many Mexican prisons, inmates pay for their accommodations. How well you sleep, eat and live depends on how much money you have. The divide between rich and poor so prevalent in Latin America is exaggerated inside that giant cage.

The night Salguero arrived in the spring of 2000, he was broke. In La Mesa, penniless can mean homeless. Night after night, he joined other poor inmates searching for a patch of hard ground on the basketball court. "There was no mattress, but somehow I got a blanket," Salguero said.

He soon learned that the thin blanket was one of the rare comforts provided free of charge. Even visiting rights and toilet paper would cost him.

From his concrete bed, Salguero could see the prison's version of luxury. The central section of the prison was filled with more than 400 small wooden houses, many with windows, balconies and stereos. The richer inmates live there.

The warden, Carlos Lugo Felix, said it was his understanding that the top price for one of the little houses was $1,500. But inmates and human rights advocates, including Cesar Barros Leal, a Brazilian law professor who visited La Mesa in December, said the black market price is as high as $30,000 for the finest homes. Middle-class prisoners sleep in relatively uncrowded cells, sharing one with perhaps six others. And the poorest sleep on the ground, Barros said.

Prison officials, trying to squeeze 5,500 inmates into a space built with a tiny budget for 2,800, allowed prisoners to build their own tiny houses years ago. Officials also allowed inmates to open kiosks, where they sell shrimp cocktails, hamburgers, tacos and burritos, and even rent videos. Inmates without cash do without.

Family is a kind of wealth here, too. By long-established custom in Mexico, prisons do not provide all of an inmate's food and supplies. An inmate's family is expected to make frequent visits and provide milk, meat, shampoo, jeans, shirts and medicine -- or the money to buy them.

Five days a week, Salguero watched a parade of more than 2,000 visitors enter La Mesa, lugging bags of supplies. Some men around him ate as well as they would at home, with enchiladas one day and fried chicken the next. But Salguero, with no family in Mexico, survived mainly on the gruel that was wheeled around the prison in vats.

All around him, families spent nights together: More than 500 wives and several hundred children spend at least a few nights a week inside the prison. But nobody visited Salguero, and no one threw anything over the wall for him at night in what is known as the "rain of objects."

With the guards paid off to look the other way, family members and friends tossed packages over the prison wall, often at times and places arranged on smuggled cell phones. Even cocaine and heroin stuffed inside soccer balls were thrown over the wall.

Salguero's thoughts were consumed by earning money. He needed to eat and to bribe guards. So he worked for other inmates who ran shoeshining and laundry businesses. And he carved wooden ships and picture frames and sold them to inmates and visitors.

"You pay for everything, even for water," he said. "To not have money in prison is like being out on the street without anything, with nothing to wear, no way to bathe yourself."

Inmates have even divided the territory inside the prison and set up what amounts to a system of tollbooths. When Salguero wanted to use a pay phone, he paid a gatekeeper about five cents in pesos. When he wanted to go into the visitors' area to try to talk to someone else's attorney, he forked over 20 cents.

What really drained his finances was the roll-call bribe. Every night, when the prisoners lined up to be counted, Salguero had to slip a guard 50 cents to be marked present on the attendance sheet. The days inmates spend in prison are recorded only when they are marked present; missing roll call means spending more time in prison. Guards have turned that into a big moneymaker. With more than 5,000 inmates in La Mesa, the total take from the shakedown could reach $2,500 or more a day.

Salguero paid his 50 cents nearly every night. Each time he did, Jaime Garcia got credit for another day in prison. Garcia, a convicted robber, was being sought for violating parole when Salguero was arrested. Now Salguero was serving out the remainder of Garcia's five-year term.

The injustice tore at him.

"I kept saying 'I want to see a judge or a lawyer,' " he said. "But nobody paid any attention to me."

"Other guys in jail said to me, 'Welcome to Mexico. That's how justice is.' "

'Invisible' Inmates

Salguero was not the only inmate serving time unjustly in Mexico. Human rights advocates and Mexican law enforcement officials said there have been many cases in which the wrong person has served time. Record-keeping has been so sloppy in prisons that officials have not even known the actual identities of inmates, or how many there are. Most prisons lack computerized databases of criminals' fingerprints or mug shots.

Some inmates who cannot afford a lawyer have been kept in prison beyond their sentences. And fugitives wanted for serious crimes have been discovered in prison serving time for petty offenses under assumed names.

A spokesman for the state police in Tijuana said he was unaware of Salguero's case and could not comment on it. Lugo, the warden, said that since he took over four months ago, he has established new procedures for registering and tracking inmates.

Salguero, a quiet, serious man, became withdrawn as time passed. On good days he dreamed of getting out and going back to school to learn automobile engineering. He wanted to build cars in the United States. He had only finished primary school in Puerto Barrios, his home town in Guatemala, 2,600 miles southeast of here.

He joined a Bible study group. His new friends got him off the ground and into a bunk. They paid for his new quarters and later, when he had money, they charged him a small fee each week. But they offered no hope.

"Even my brothers in the Christian group told me, 'You will be here for a long time.' I asked their visitors to help me but they didn't. Maybe they were scared or maybe they thought I was lying. Even a pastor told me I was paying for some debt I probably owed."

Christmas 2000 came and went.

"In my solitude, I would read the Bible," he said. "It was the only thing that consoled me. I felt invisible."

Dispatching Help

In Rockville, Ericka Salguero was frantic. With three small children, a new mortgage and a demanding job, she couldn't afford the 2,800-mile trip to Tijuana. Her pleas for help from the Guatemalan embassies in the United States and Mexico went nowhere. She arranged for a relative in Los Angeles to take the three-hour bus trip across the border to give Salguero money and new clothes. She was worried because when she had last spoken to her brother he had said: "Send money so I won't get beaten."

Ericka's mother-in-law arrived at La Mesa and waited nervously in the long visitors' line. The sight of police in bulletproof vests on the roof made her jittery; the smell of sewage and the picture of too many people behind chain-link fences made her sad.

When she finally arrived at the visitors' window, she asked to see Salguero -- using the name Jaime Garcia. She didn't know it, but she had just fallen into another moneymaking racket. The inmates who control the visitors' area charge a fee to find the inmate being summoned. And often, they charge the inmates for the "privilege" of seeing their visitors.

She didn't know that she was supposed to pay. Salguero never appeared. The inmates persuaded her to leave the package of clothes and money with them; they said they would deliver it. But Salguero said he never received the package or a message that a visitor had come.

"I wanted to scream. I wanted to say, 'I am not this person,' " he said. But complaints earned him a beating or, from the gentler guards, these words: "Then prove it."

Salguero couldn't. So he carved boats. When he had the extra pesos, he paid to get into the visitors' area to beg a few words with other inmates' visitors and attorneys. No one took him seriously.

Finally, one visitor gave him what turned out to be a golden brushoff. If you think you have a real gripe, call the human rights office in Tijuana, he said. The man passed him the phone number.

Salguero was excited about the new lead, but he needed $3 for a phone card to pursue it. He worked and saved, ate less, and finally bought a shiny new phone card.

It had been more than a year since his arrest.

He slipped the card into a phone, dialed the number, and Luis Hernandez picked up.

Finding a Way Out

Hernandez, a 22-year-old lawyer, had been working in the human rights office for four months. He was fielding five or six calls a day from prisoners in La Mesa, all with horror stories. On May 25, 2001, he visited Salguero. After they talked, Hernandez went to the court to see the file of Jaime Garcia.

"I was stunned," he said.

The man in the photo in Garcia's file was obviously not Salguero. He was older, taller and fatter. He had dark skin and curly hair, not the fair skin and straight hair of the man Hernandez had just visited. And he had drug needle marks running up and down his arms; Salguero did not.

Hernandez wrote to the judge in Garcia's case.

On June 5, as Jimmy Salguero neared the end of his 13th month in prison, he was summoned to the office of the deputy prison director.

"Are you Jaime Garcia?" the man asked.

"That is what they call me here. My real name is Jimmy Salguero. I am not Mexican."

The official, who, along with other top management has since left the prison, was quiet. He told him to wait. An hour later he returned and said only this: "I have good news. You are free to leave."

In minutes Salguero was on the street.

He raced to find Hernandez.

"Jimmy walked in and was in disbelief. His face was blank. No one told him why they released him," said the lawyer, reached in Spain, where he is now studying for a doctorate in human rights. He said he believed Salguero should sue the Tijuana police.

Ericka Salguero said he should receive an apology, at least. "They stole a year of his life, and it is not good enough to say, 'Bye, bye,' as if nothing happened," she said.

But Salguero's thoughts are already in Canada. They make cars there, too, and since Sept. 11, it's easier to go there than to the United States. He spends his days painting cars in Tijuana, saving his money.

--Researcher Laurie Freeman contributed to this report.
© 2002, The Washington Post Company

URGENT NEEDS for feature film Tijuana, MX "Los Traficantes"

2010-12-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

For all of you who want to support our film, we begin shooting on January 7th here are a list of needed items. If you would like to donate any of these please direct your reply to:

Shawn Hendrix
Director of Marketing
shawn@missionrise.org
818-324-3211

TO BORROW:
- 15 folding chairs (either thin plastic or retractable camping chairs)
- 2 EZ UP 10X10 or 8X8 canopies
- a professional grade high speed copier (small/portable) that can do 20-30 pages per minute. Need to make 300-400 copies a day during production
- 4 Large pots and 4 large pans with metal spatulas, large cooking spoons, etc.
- a Large cofee maker
- (2) 2500 watt or larger gasoline generators
- (2) Gas cans to fill generators

DONATED ITEMS:
- 2,400paper plates, 400 bowls, plasticware (forks, spoons, knives) for 2,400 meals, napkins, 12 oz cups (12 days of filming with 100 - 300 meals per day)
- Lots of Coffee. Instant and ground coffee.
- (100) 30 GAL heavy duty BLACK TRASH BAGS
- 40 cases of bottled water, cases of sodas, other individual size drinks
- snack food: individually wrapped chips, pretzels, granola bars, candy, cookies, etc. for craft services for 12 days of 50 - 150 people each day on set.
- GAS CARDS ($50 each) for cast and crew who are driving their own vehicles to TJ. We could use at least 15 of these for the production.
- 5 LARGE bottles of Laundry detergent (for cast/crew to do their laundry)

If you want to make a donation toward the expenses of our film please donate via PAYPAL on our "partner" page on our website (http://www.missionrise.org/donations.php)

All $ donations are tax deductible and you will receive a donation receipt to use for your tax filing.

18 yr old girl brings GOSPEL to North Korea

2010-11-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

In this video from the CapeTown 2010 Lausanne conference an 18 year old Korean girl tells her inspirational story of being moved to take the Gospel to North Korea through the testimony of her own father who came to Christ a decade prior after being forced out of his position as assistant to the dictator of North Korea and has since suffered imprisonment and likely death for attempting to bring the Gospel back to his country. This is one of the most moving and powerful stories I've ever heard! Please pray for her and share this with all your friends.

Visit Africa this summer for 2 weeks - 3 months with OM Africa!

2010-11-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend 2 weeks, a month, or even a summer traveling through several countries in Africa serving alongside native African missionaries who are spreading the Gospel and displaying Christ's love through community development and meeting critical needs? Coen Scholtz, Associate Area Leader of OM Africa would like to invite you to come and use your skills to serve and learn alongside him and his team. Please watch this interview and take time to pray and consider if this is an opportunity God might be calling you to experience. If you would like to contact Coen Scholtz you can email him at: coen.scholtz@africa.om.org. I would also be happy to connect you with Coen, email me at info@missionrise.org.

OM-Africa. People needed. Join the mission. from Kurt Tuffendsam on Vimeo.

OM Africa Associate Leader, Coen Scholtz, invites us to join in the Great Commission by serving alongside experienced long-term missionaries in Africa with Operation Mobilization for a few weeks to several months or even longer depending on how God is leading you. If you are interested in serving with OM in Africa please email Coen at: coen.scholtz@africa.om.org.

Incredible Maasai African Music Video titled "Bwana Mungu" (Lord God)

2010-11-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

Please watch this amazing performance by a Maasai tribe of Christians singing a song they wrote in Swahili! This is truly an example of how the Gospel can be expressed creatively in indigenous culture and language without having to conform to an outside culture and language. I am re-posting this from www.10xproductions.org/.

Bwana Mungu (Lord God) from Tom Khazoyan on Vimeo.

Music is one of the most powerful ways the Maasai share their community life, the stories of their people, and pass on their beliefs and values. This song celebrates the blessings of the Creator in a uniquely Maasai style - through their tradition of choral singing, dancing, and village life.

This is a music video for the En-Kata Choir, a Maasai choir from Tanzania. They are part of an indigenous community development organization called MAPED. As a community of Maasai followers of Jesus, their vision is to use their music to share the freedom they have found in Christ and the power of the gospel to overcome the darker effects of their traditional ways.

They have won many Maasai music festival competitions and did a brief tour of the US in early 2010. The proceeds from their activities go to building schools, HIV/AIDS education, women's rights, and other development work in their area.

You can learn more about the choir at: http://www.en-kata.com

The lyrics for the song are in Swahili.

My teammate, Matt Castagna, edited this video we shot during a brief trip to Simanjiro, Tanzania in August 2010. It was made in partnership with MAPED and Pamoja Ministries/Kahawa Media in Arusha. You can find more information here: http://www.pamoja.info

Many from around the world join Rise for our first film "Los Traficantes".

2010-11-05T16:25:00.001-07:00

As we come closer to our shoot dates of January 8th - 22nd when we will bring a crew of 15-20 professional filmmakers and several cast members to Tijuana, Mexico to shoot "Los Traficantes", many from around the globe are joining our team!

Here are a few prayer requests for the needs of our film:

1. Please pray for Claudia Angelica Juarez who is coming from New Zealand in less than two weeks, Lord willing, to join us for our scouting trip to Tijuana. Angelica is bilingual and will be our 1st AD/Location Manager/Locals Casting. She is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico where she worked in broadcast television as a 1stAD and Associate Producer. Please pray she will get her current apt. rented ASAP in NZ and sell her car so she can buy a plane ticket to Los Angeles! Once she arrives she plans to work with Rise for at least 3 months until we are done shooting the film in Mexico. This is a huge leap of faith for her as she does not yet have the resources to do it, but is compelled by God to go by faith. If you would like to help Angelica financially while she is working with Rise in LA and Tijuana please donate here through paypal. Please include a note or send an email to info@missionrise.org to instruct us to allocate it for Angelica. If you would like to help Angelica with a place to stay in LA or a car to use while she is here please email info@missionrise.com.

2. Pray for Tyson Burger (cinematographer - tdbcinematography.com) and JR Fountain (Production Sound Mixer and sound designer/re-recording mixer - www.bigroomsound.com) who will be joining us from Toronto, Canada. Both are currently raising support to join us for the production in January. Tyson will be flying to Los Angeles in two weeks to join us on our scouting trip.

3. Pray for Adam Watson who is writing and directing the film (www.watcinema.com). He is also raising prayer and financial support to join us in January for the production.

4. Please pray for the many other potential crew and cast who are considering joining us in the near future. We will be doing casting in Los Angeles and Tijuana in early December.

5. Please ask God to move on the hearts of those who are considering making donations to allow us to raise the full budget in November. On Nov. 11th Rise will be featured as one of four missions organizations at a fund-raising event in Nashville, TN with 1,000 people in attendance. The event is hosted by Visiting Orphans. The founders of Visiting Orphans have graciously invited us to be represented at their event.

Prayer for Africa - "When we take the Gospel to the unreached, the battle becomes fierce."

2010-11-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

Please watch this interview with missionary Coen Scholtz, Associate Leader of OM Africa. He describes the real Spiritual warfare the Church in Africa is facing and the need for all of us to join them in prayer to bring about Gospel transformation and real progress in seeing the African Churches rise up to their potential in taking the Gospel to every tribe, tongue, and nation!

Prayer for Africa - "When we take the Gospel to the unreached, the battle becomes fierce, it becomes a real struggle." from Kurt Tuffendsam on Vimeo.

There has been so much struggle for the hearts of those who have not yet heard the Gospel on the continent of Africa. And Spiritual Warfare against those who would go to all nations from the body of Christ in Africa. We need to devote ourselves to intercession and prayer for the Church in Africa.

"Salvation Boulevard" a new film by the director of "Hell House"

2010-11-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

I am always intrigued by any attempt in the public forum to encourage passionate conversations debating the existence of God. "Salvation Boulevard", a fiction novel written by Larry Beinhart, adapted into a feature film by writer/director George Ratliff (director of "Hell House"), has the potential to do just that. The film starring Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear, and Marisa Tomei is currently in post-production, produced by Mandalay Pictures, to be released in 2011.

Please read Larry Beinhart's blog he calls "The God Series". Here. Larry asks some great questions that we all need to consider when assessing our own beliefs. Just like the "Hell House" movie, I am sure a lot of Christians will be offended by this book and movie adaptation. But as a follower of Christ I feel it is an opportunity for God to make himself known when people begin to ask questions. Consider the Prophet Elijah on Mt. Carmel. Do you think Elijah wanted to stand before King Ahab and Jezebel who wanted to kill him and answer for his faith that put him at odds with their entire kingdom, rule, and reign? He did not stand in a position of power or influence prior to God sending down fire from Heaven to consume the altar he had built while the priests of Baal cut themselves and were unsuccessful in eliciting a response from their gods. He was the true underdog in his abandon to believe God would show up. What about us? Do we believe God who was and is and is to come is going to show up in our day?

If this conversation interests you, check out this interview with author Larry Beinhart on youtube. Click here.

Shadia Subqti: on restoration between Christian Palestinians and messianic Jewish Israelis

2010-10-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Today at Lausanne the topic was "reconciliation". Please check out this website of the Christian Palestinian organization "Musalaha" (www.musalaha.org/default.asp?ID=4). A Palestinian woman by the name of Shadia Subqti told the story of an incredible move of God's Spirit to reconcile Palestinian believers with Israeli followers of Christ, each with deep wounds created by many years of war and hostility.

"If we don't have money for airplanes, we'll walk" - Interview South Africa

2010-10-19T00:04:00.000-07:00

If we don't have money for airplanes, we'll walk from Kurt Tuffendsam on Vimeo.

A missionary with OM Africa tells us about the faith of two missionaries from Southern Africa that go to share the Gospel with an unreached people group in Northern Africa

I interviewed Coen Scholtz, associate area leader of OM Africa, in Johannesburg, South Africa this past Sunday. Coen is a native Afrikaner who speaks at least 6 different African indigenous languages and spent much of his childhood in the townships. He has been a missionary to many countries in Africa since the mid 90's and has a lot of insight into the various cultures and people groups of Africa. He tells the story of two missionaries who have gone to an unreached people group in Africa and the struggles they face. Please pray for them. This is in an incredibly inspiring story... Please watch and share with others! - October 19, 2010.

There are more interviews I will be posting this week. So check back...

Excellent Article on "Global Partnering in the Body of Christ"

2010-10-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

Please read this recent post from the Lausanne Cape Town 2010 conversation referencing Patrick Fung's (General Director of OMF International) advance paper outlining his speech he will give at Lausanne titled, "Partnering in the Body of Christ toward a new Global equilibrium." To read the entire article by Patrick Fung first - click here.

Comments By Cody Lorance - United States

Terrific and thought-provoking. I’ve blogged on this but want to include my full article here to make things easier:

I always appreciate it when thinkers carefully examine unstated premises. I always think about and episode of the West Wing in which one main character is repeatedly advised to handle reporters by "rejecting the premise" of their questions. I believe that Singaporean Church leader Patrick Fung’s ability to do this -- to put the premise of his paper’s title ("Partnering in the Body of Christ toward a New Global Equilibrium")-- is what makes his contribution to the Lausanne Congress so valuable.

Fung’s self-conscious article presents a very important question. Should global equilibrium of power, resources, and influence be pursued at all. Phillip Jenkins and others have done a good job of pointing out to us that the majority of Christians now live in the global south while most of the power and influence remains in the the Western countries. But as I read Fung, I must acknowledge that this fact alone mustn’t be the sole reason that we pursue a global equilibrium in the Church. Rather, our goal is world evangelism, not equilibrium. Writes Fung, "I am glad that LCWE stands for Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization and not Lausanne Congress for World Equilibrium." This is an important point. We must not be saying "to the extent to which pursuing global equilibrium in the Church is the nice thing to do, we must do it." Rather we must say "to the extent to which pursuing a global equilibrium in the Church contributes to the extension of God’s reign and fame among all peoples and nations, we must do it."

To this point, I want to say three things -- things that I think Fung is also saying.

First, we may speak of a geographic, financial, numerical, or intellectual "center of gravity" in the Church, but the only "center of gravity" that has any real meaning is the theological one -- Christ is the one and only "center of gravity" for the Church.

This, of course, isn’t a point original to me, but rather comes from something I read in the Lausanne Theology Working Group paper. Let me provide an extended quote here:

"We rejoice in the phenomenal growth of the church in the majority world of the global south, and for that reason we understand the intention of the statement that the ’centre of gravity’ of world Christianity has shifted south. However, we strongly discourage the further use of this term, for two reasons. First, Christianity has no centre but Jesus Christ. We are defined by no geographical centre, but only by our allegiance to the Lordship of Christ, and he is Lord of all the earth. The ’centre’, therefore, is wherever he is worshipped and obeyed. Secondly, any talk of a centre (other than Christ) undermines the fact that Christianity, even since the book of Acts, has always been fundamentally polycentric. Anywhere on earth can be a centre, and any centre can rapidly become peripheral. The global nature of the church as ’one throughout the whole wide world’ subverts the language of a centre--whether geographic, numerical, or missionary. Mission is from everywhere to everywhere."

Second, for the gospel to be the gospel, there is a need for a kind of global equilibrium in the Church. This is because a full-orbed understanding of the gospel includes the good news that God is creating out of fragmented and broken humanity, one new humanity, the Church.

So there can be no true gospel and no true evangelization unless it includes the presentation of this new reconciled humanity. And I sense a growing chorus of voices on this point. It is here in Fung’s article, "Christ has destroyed the barrier . . . has brought into being nothing less than a new, united human race . . . the message of reconciliation is to be lived out by God’s new community, which the fragmented world needs to see." It is also in the Lausanne Theology Working Group paper, "It is important to see how this ’peace-making’ work of the cross -- reconciling Jews and Gentiles, and creating on new humanity -- is not just a by-product of the gospel, but is of the essence of the gospel itself." It there in the words of Antoine Rutayisire who, when speaking of factors contributing to the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s, mourned the fact that conflicts between missionaries from different denominations "created more divisions and animosities among the people who did not see Christianity as a unifying factor but rather another colonial importation." It is, of course, in the Lausanne Covenant itself which states, "our disunity undermines our gospel of reconciliation" and the Manila Manifesto which affirms "the urgent need for churches, mission agencies and other Christian organizations to cooperate in evangelism and social action, repudiating competition and avoiding duplication." And more voices besides these could be cited. Praise the Holy Spirit as He works to move us more and more to this point of common ground.

Third, for a global equilibrium to be built upon an a priori commitment to God’s global mission, it will necessarily look different than conceptions of equilibrium that a based on a rather arbitrary sense of niceness, fairness, or democracy.

And I’m not meaning to be cute here, but Fung has raised a critical specific point that alludes to this larger one. His specific point is this, "although a better state of equilibrium will avoid the tendency of dependency, the biblical concept of partnering in the body of Christ should be interdependence". Now, I can’t tell you how tempted I am to chase that rabbit trail, but I will try to exercise a bit of self-control and simply suggest, in agreement with Fung, that it is unbiblical to hold up independence and autonomy as signs of spiritual maturity either for individuals, local churches, or national/regional churches. The three (to four) self formula is fundamentally flawed if it cannot allow for the kind of permanent interdependence that the Bible calls for.

Now it is this Biblical interdependence that must become what we mean by equilibrium. It is not that the Holy Spirit distributes the same gifts, history, resources, experiences, and knowledge to every person, church, and region in precisely the same ways so as to facilitate our human conception of fairness. Rather, it is that the Holy Spirit distributes gifts as He wills for the common good (1 Cor. 12). We are all supposed to be strong in some ways and weak in others. For in this, we cannot but come together. The real problem may not be that Western churches "have all the power, influence, scholarship and resources", but rather that we in the West have failed to recognize the richness in majority world Churches that we desperately need. Likewise we fail to recognize value that lies outside our normal categories of assessing value. So that if we continue to only think of equilibrium in terms of balancing money, influence, information, and the like then we will never achieve Biblical interdependence (i.e. equilibrium) that also calls us to value a whole range of other categories such as prayer, worship, persecutions, powerlessness, poverty, joy, and more.

Urgent Prayer needed for CAPETOWN 2010 LAUSANNE MEETING

2010-10-08T10:27:00.001-07:00

Below is a copy of an email I received today requesting prayer for hundreds of delegates coming from nations that are hostile toward Christianity who are in real jeopardy of not being allowed by their government to attend the Lausanne congress next week. Please pray with us that God will be glorified and his power displayed by moving on the hearts of those who hold the power to allow their participation.

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa! We are now just 10 days from the opening of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization and I’m writing to bring three urgent prayer requests to you. Please share these with your church for prayer this coming Sunday, and with your friends, organizations and schools for immediate and sustained prayer.

1. China Participants: Please pray God's blessings on our friends in China that God will provide a way for them to be in Cape Town. The following is a note from Dr. Morley Lee, the Lausanne International Deputy Director for the China world:

Dear Praying Friends,

As the day is quickly approaching, please remember our Mainland China Participants at [Cape Town 2010]. Around 200 participants and volunteers from Mainland China have already purchased their tickets and reserved hotel rooms in preparation to join 4,500 Christian leaders [in Cape Town]. In addition to raising their own support, the Mainland Chinese participants have also raised support for their 100 neighboring country participants to attend.

[However] there is a possibility that the Chinese participants will not be able to attend.

Please intercede on behalf of the Church in China, that God would have mercy and move the hearts of those who hold the power to change the situation. We serve a God who is above all human systems, understanding and authority. May His Will be done in the Church in China, and His Power known throughout the world.

Sincerely,

Rev Morley Lee

The Chinese participants have been praying for all of us; would you pray for them as well? Their prayer is that they would be a blessing to their nation and to the global church, that together we might be an expression of unity in Christ.

2. Francophone Africa: It is anticipated that at Cape Town 2010 there will be more Francophone Africa evangelical leaders gathered together than ever before in history. However, obtaining visas has been delayed to nearly the last minute in this region. Please pray that the visa process will be expedited so that these brothers and sisters will be able to be part of the great global congregation that will gather here in Cape Town. We anticipate that the African church will be a great blessing to the global church, and we also pray that the global church will be a source of blessing and encouragement to those who serve Christ across this great continent.

3. Final Phase of Funding: Please pray that the remaining US$1.5M for the Congress will come in the course of the next ten days. When I visited Billy Graham two weeks ago, he asked about the fund-raising progress. When I told him we had passed the 90% mark, he raised his hands and said, "Hallelujah, that's wonderful! Please let me know when you get to 100% - and I hope it's real soon!" Let's pray and work and give so that we can send Billy Graham that good news very soon.

Thank you again for all your prayers and support of this Congress. We sense that God wants to do something truly wonderful in our time through Cape Town 2010. As we face the challenges outlined above, I’m reminded that it’s not a surprise that the enemy would be doing everything possible to disrupt and discourage. But, we praise and give God thanks that HE IS GREATER!

May God wonderfully bless you, and may His will be done in all of these matters.

Sincerely in Christ,

Doug Birdsall

Lausanne Movement Executive Chair

A few links to articles written about La Mesa Prison in Tijuana

2010-09-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

While doing some research about La Mesa Prison, also known as "El Pueblito" before it was bulldozed and rebuilt in 2002, in Tijuana, Mexico I found these articles written by other journalists about the prison and the culture there.

www.escapingjustice.com/infamous.htm

http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20020821-9999_1n21prison.html

www.pulitzer.org/archives/6707

Esteban was incarcerated in La Mesa with a 33 year sentence before being released in 2002 after serving only 3 and 1/2 years of that sentence. Within the short period he was there he became a follower of Christ and pastored a Church inside the prison that grew to be more than 600 inmates. He was released because the degree of transformation of these prisoners was so noticeable the director of the prison wanted Esteban to start ministries just like it in other Federal Mexican prisons.

Television Interview on Daily Talk Show "100 Huntley Street"

2010-09-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you in Canada you will be familiar with this broad reaching daily talk show I had the opportunity to be a part of in February, 2010. In this interview Jim Cantelon interviews me about Rise and the use of filmmaking for mission mobilization. Check out the interviews on youtube at:
Part 1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbbH1qqlDYM
Part 2
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3aAcbcvOL0&NR=1

Interview AUGUST, 2010 with REDWEBZINE Writer - Jeff Hillard

2010-08-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Please check out this recent interview "Five for Filmmaker Kurt Tuffendsam" I did with Writer Jeff Hillard at: www.redwebzine.org/Stand_Up/2010/03_Tuffendsam_2029.html.

Red Webzine is an online magazine that is chronicling gritty, true stories of amazing transformation that is happening in the lives of prisoners and those who have been released from prison through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Kurt Tuffendsam's Urbana 09 Seminar (audio) link

2010-03-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

To hear the audio recording of Kurt Tuffendsam's seminar "Living on Mission as a Mainstream Filmmaker" from the Urbana 09 Missions Conference, click on this link:
http://media.intervarsity.org/mp3/U09-LivinginMissionasaMainstreamFilmaker.mp3

If you have any further questions or comments after listening to this seminar you can contact Kurt at info@missionrise.org. Please feel free to leave comments on our Rise facebook page or on this blog.

Urbana 2009 Missions Conference

2009-10-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Kurt Tuffendsam, the founder of Rise, has been invited to teach a seminar at Urbana 2009, a week long missions conference in St. Louis, MO. Kurt will be speaking about his career in the mainstream film industry and how God has strategically used him to represent the Gospel in the midst of a community that is very often hostile toward Christianity.

You can get more detailed information about Urbana 09 at: www.urbana09.org.

Rise Endorsements

2009-10-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

A few endorsements from our board members...

"Filmmaking to mobilize others for global Kingdom involvement is most welcome. Rarely do we see a combination of thoughtful missions strategy combined with creativity and innovation such as Rise encompasses."

- James Mason, Mobilizer/Recruiter
US Center for World Mission

"I have seen Kurt (founder of Rise) as both a filmmaker and a Christian, and I truly believe that he is uniquely equipped to make a contribution to both worlds: the cinematic and the religious. His love for Jesus, experience in the entertainment industry, and his desire to use film as a tool in the global mission enterprise is a tremendous asset."

- Mike Brown, Pastor of Tribe Church
North Hollywood, CA

“Don’t miss out on what God will do through RISE! This vision reflects the heart of God to mobilize His Church so that His glory may be known among the nations. No more upside-down slides... God has equipped Kurt with the vision, skills and experience to take missions mobilization to the next level.”

- Dr. Jonathan Thomas
OM International – California Director

About Us

2009-07-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

Rise was conceived by founders Kurt and Penny Tuffendsam to meet a great need to mobilize and inspire our generation, through the language of film narrative, to find their role in the great commission. As a missions mobilization organization we hope to see thousands of Christians be exposed in a new way to the lives of missionaries working in cross cultural contexts around the globe and to be challenged to take action and get involved. Rise will reveal through story and human struggle the unique expressions of the Glory of God among cultures and people groups vastly different from our own.

Kurt has spent the last ten years working in the mainstream entertainment industry. His experience as an editor, post supervisor, and producer of feature films in Hollywood has prepared him to meet the great demand for quality productions for missions mobilization. Through established relationships with post houses, vendors, and crew in Los Angeles, Kurt is uniquely able to keep costs to a minimum while maintaining a high level of production value. Rise is also in close proximity to many reputable film schools such as UCLA, USC, BIOLA, AZUSA PACIFIC, etc. through which we intend to mobilize recent film graduates to leverage their unique artistic talents for the cause of global missions.

Kurt and Penny have both been committed followers of Jesus Christ for more than a decade. We have been involved in several ministries both in the local Church and parachurch organizations to spread the Gospel, disciple believers, and to see the Gospel go to all nations. After spending the last 6 years working as a career filmmaker in Los Angeles, in January, 2009 God began to lead us into full time global missions work. Through much prayer, support, and guidance from our pastor and other experienced missionaries we realized God has uniquely prepared us for the task of mobilizing the body of Christ worldwide through the talents and skills we have developed working in the film industry.

If you are interested in partnering with us in the vision of Rise we would love to schedule a time to meet with you face to face. You can reach Kurt Tuffendsam at 818-288-3495 or at ktonefilm@yahoo.com.

Former Mexican Drug Cartel leader starts drug rehab ministry

2009-07-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Our pilot documentary for RISE video magazine is the story of Esteban Mendoza who is a former Mexican drug cartel leader, at one time managing 200 drug dealers, before committing his life to Jesus Christ. His considerable skill at producing higher quality Heroin and Meth resulted in his being turned into the police by other drug dealers.

In a Tijuana prison he went through depression, suicidal thoughts and bargaining with God. He met some genuine Christ followers, had a powerful encounter with God, and as he says, “At the time he forgave me; it was then that I became addicted, but to reading the Word, praying and fasting.”

While in prison he was mentored by some godly people, including Harry and Anita Abdul. He studied biblical theology, taught Bible classes and started a church in the prison that grew to more than 600 inmates. His ministry was so successful in bringing tangible transformation that the authorities let him out after serving only three years of a 33 year sentence, as long as he would go into the other Mexican prisons and start the same kind of Churches.

After six years out of prison, Pastor Esteban is director of "The Alliance of Living Water Ministries (Agua Viva)” that oversees forty indigenous churches and twenty ministries, most of them founded by him and his prison disciples. The ministries include ministry to prisoners in the Tecate and Tijuana prisons, drug and alcohol rehab, abused women, orphans, mentally and physically disabled, a hospice, children of farm workers in the San Quintin Valley and “The Ranch”, outside of Tecate, for the restoration of former prisoners, drug addicts and homeless (some right out of the sewers of Tijuana).

A centerpiece of his ministry is the International Institute for Biblical Theology from which 200 of his key leaders are graduates. Among his disciples are about twenty former lawyers, CPA’s, etc., most of whom he discipled in prison. These lawyers are uniquely able to help native tribal Mexicans from the South, who get stuck in Tijuana trying to cross the border, acquire legal papers and documentation to legally work in their own country.

His vision is for a ministry center in all of the 31 state capitals of Mexico, each with a church and related restoration, care and discipling ministries. Agua Viva also places a high priority on sending missionaries to the unreached people groups in Mexico and to all nations. They are currently partnering with Larry Walker of Advancing Churches in Mission Commitment to identify the most strategic ways to send out missionaries from their churches.

We have begun production on this documentary and are currently cutting together a promo for the film. Since this is our pilot documentary and Rise is in the process of raising the necessary finances to launch our vision, we intend to finish this documentary sometime in 2010.

The Vision of Rise

2009-07-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

Rise was conceived out of the desire to integrate the strengths of narrative storytelling through the medium of film with a wealth of missions mobilization resources that already exist through organizations such as The U.S. Center for World Mission, Advancing Churches in Mission Commitment, Right Now.org, and many others. We believe retelling missionary stories in a film narrative is a new frontier in missions mobilization that has rarely been used to its full potential.
One core value of Rise is to maintain a high level of scrutiny of the content of our films. We are committed to finding, and cinematically retelling, the most intriguing and challenging stories from the global missions community. We are continually studying the works of master filmmakers and storytellers, and place a high value on the art of storytelling in the visual medium of film. Rise has established relationships within the mainstream entertainment industry in Los Angeles, CA and is recruiting other experienced Hollywood filmmakers as well as film students and talented up and coming filmmakers to participate in our productions.
Rise also has the support of the missions community and is collaborating with many veteran missionaries from various organizations and agencies. We are currently in the process of appointing our board members for the launch of this non-profit organization. We will be updating this blog on our progress.

Defining CHRISTLIKE

2009-07-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you think of becoming more Christlike? Is it a particular sin or bad habit you know you need to overcome or maybe you feel convicted to read your Bible more often or pray more. Maybe you feel inadequate because you haven't memorized as many Bible verses as some of your other Christian friends and can't debate doctrines as well as other more mature believers.
While pursuing holiness how much effort or time do you spend pursuing genuine friendships with those who don't believe in Jesus like you do? Jesus Christ spent a large majority of his life eating lunch with the outcasts of his society. Jesus said "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick... 'for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matt. 9:12-13).
Why did the tax collectors and sinners want to be with Jesus? Do non-Christians like to be around you? Do you like to be with them, or does it make you nervous? Jesus showed genuine respect for the non-believers he hung out with. This doesn't mean he condoned all their actions, he simply respected them and genuinely cared about what was important to them. He did not expect them to live moral lives or to respect God's laws or commands. In fact he looked for those who were not religious to eat lunch with because those are the people he came to save. He couldn't teach somebody who already thought they knew everything. He had more followers that were former prostitutes and criminals than those who were Jewish believers.
Of course Jesus also spoke in the synagogues and taught his disciples, but if you think you can become more Christlike by separating yourself from the world and living safely away from all the evil influences, then you are not being Christlike and will cease to grow more like Jesus.
So before you go to Church for the 3rd time this week or attend another Bible study, get out into the world and make some friends and bring some other Christians with you. You will be becoming more like Christ by spending time with non-believers than by talking about how to engage our culture at another Bible study or Church meeting.

MISSION FRONTIERS: What are they?

2009-06-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

"Mission frontiers, like other frontiers, represent boundaries or barriers beyond which we must go yet beyond which we may not be able to see clearly and boundaries which may even be disputed or denied. Their study involves the discovery and evaluation of the unknown or even the reevaluation of the known. But unlike other frontiers, mission frontiers is a subject specifically concerned to explore and exposit areas and ideas and insights related to the glorification of God in all the nations (peoples) of the world, 'to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.' (Acts 26:18)" - Dr. Ralph Winter, founder U.S. Center for World Mission