"I'm pledging my time to you, hoping you'll come through too.”

Luli filming some Slavic car

Things have been pretty exciting around here lately. Yesterday the Hague war crimes tribunal acquitted two Kosovars, including a political figure, resulting in an impressive public display of support; seen through the lighting of explosives, shooting of machine guns, and the firing of other standard-issue weaponry. Fortunately I was not shot, nor hit by any military ordinance, though a few children were warned not to throw fireworks at or near me.

In the last week, a few other figurative bombs were dropped. On Saturday Luli explained to me, in detail, his schedule over the next few months. As it turns out, he has what I would estimate to be three months of work to do in the next two and a half weeks – literally. This of course adds a little excitement to the documentary, as Luli hasn’t even started shooting his film yet; in fact, he’s still looking for actors, and with essentially no money, this can be a bit difficult. Along with this, he’s lacking the needed permission to shoot at one of the film’s key locations, but he knows a security guard that may be able to sneak he and his crew in. So, this of course has made things a bit interesting, and with a December 17th scheduled film debut, time is running short.

Luli is an artist through and through, which manifests itself in various ways; namely, a lack of organizational and structural skills, a tendency to over commit, and a struggle to fulfill all of his “over commitments.” In the next several weeks Luli has two local magazines he has to publish, several conferences he needs to organize as well as facilitate, and a 9 to 5 job that entails various other obligations. I know I’m forgetting a few things, and I’m sure Luli is too, but that’s the bulk of what he has to accomplish here in the next couple of weeks, all the while attempting to shoot, edit, and debut his film.

As Bob Dylan said, "I'm pledging my time to you, hoping you'll come through too." I’ve pledged my time to this project, and to Luli, knowing that without him or his film, the documentary would wilt and die. Of course, all of this drama is exciting, and it has created a more dynamic story, but being in the middle of it all, not knowing the outcome myself, I just hope I’m not being setup for some colossal lesson in humility (I thought that was what my college basketball experience was all about). Over the past few months, Luli has not only become the central character of my film, he’s become a good friend, and I would like nothing more than to see him succeed in his dream to become a filmmaker! So, with just a few weeks left, I would greatly appreciate any and all prayers that I can solicit, both for myself and for Luli, that we pledge our time and come through too!

Pray for:
Vision
Discipline
Protection
Discernment
Completion