My face was numb and burning. The temperature outside was minus twenty-three degrees – a typical winter day in Mongolia, and the cold air bit into my clothing as I raced back to the ger (a yurt) to resume filming. It was hard to believe that the day before I had been filming in India where the temperature had been ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit and I had been looking forward to getting back to my air-conditioned room. My body was definitely going through total whiplash not only in temperature but with the food I was eating. I had been eating lots of hot and spicy cuisine in India, but my lunch today consisted of various local meats, breads and cheeses including sheep brains that had been presented to me in the skull of a sheep. I was wondering what I might be eating next week in China where the weather on the Great Wall of China looked to be pretty cold too.
Ultimately, none of it mattered because I was thrilled to be walking in the steps of great missionaries who had taken the Word of God to the uttermost parts of the world. Their challenges had been so much greater than mine, and as we interviewed historians and present-day researchers, I wondered how they had survived their often horrific obstacles. Our production teams were traveling to 6 countries in two months throughout Asia for the six-part TV series “Inexplicable: How Christianity Spread to the Ends of the Earth.” The series traces the historic events and heroes of Christianity who gave their lives and often the lives of their spouses and children so that others would know the redemptive story of the gospel. For those of us who were part of the producing teams on this amazing series, we walked away with a greater appreciation for these missionaries who sacrificed and suffered to retell the message of our redemption. I believe you will too as you watch the historic accounts.
Don’t miss this series titled, InExplicable: How Christianity Spread to the Ends of the Earth.” (the first two episodes are available now) and the episode Cooke Media Group produced on the rise of Christianity in Asia will begin airing on February 11th.
