Powerpoint to Video Conversion

This evening I spent an hour or so playing around converting a powerpoint 2010 presentation with embedded audio and video to video which might be posted on the internet for others to view. For comparison purposes, I tried two different methods:

1. The first method involved (1) saving my powerpoint  2010 slides as “jpeg file interchange format” instead of as a powerpoint presentation. Then I(2) copied the slides in one fell swoop over to Windows Live Movie Maker, (3) added a song, for which I then (4) under “project” fitted the slides to the music with one simple click (I didn’t bother to add the extra video at the end, but this would have been a simple matter of copying over since that’s what movie maker is known for in the first place). Here are the results published directly to youtube from moviemaker:

2. A handy service called authorstream allowed me to directly upload the powerpoint presentation without fretting the details. It handle the conversion itself and allows posts to facebook, etc. although it didn’t place the audio and video quite right. It also lost page transitions. Still, not bad! You can view the results for yourself:

western yunlin four lakes work

More PowerPoint presentations from Mark

Conclusion: Either way gets the job done, although there are different loose ends which need to be tied up (not done here) depending upon which path one chooses. I think I still prefer method 1, however.

True Prosperity

The True Jesus Church, according to Wikipedia, is a “non-denominational Christian church that originated in Beijing, China in 1917.”  Here in Taiwan, some say the True Jesus church denomination (it has many churches) is  a pseudo-Christian cult since the very name itself implies that other groups do not know the “true Jesus”, belong to the “true” church, etc. I have only had limited experience with its adherents (mostly  children living temporarily in a tent city with their families in DongShi, Taichung county after Taiwan’s notorious 921 Earthquake), so I will not comment further about this here.

However, over the years I have often driven by the True Jesus Church along the intersection of ChongHua and GongYuan Roads in Taichung City. Finally yesterday I was able to take a picture:

Here’s a close-up of the poster, which has always caught my attention in light of the context (others have probably written about this in years past as well):

In the bible verse quoted above, Job 22:21 says: “Submit to God and be at peace with him;  in this way prosperity will come to you.”

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, someone failed to notice that the one making the statement in the statement above was Job’s poison-dart throwing “comforter” Eliphaz the Temanite. I remember as far back as high school being told by my English teacher, that, when reading Job, be careful to note who is saying what!

At the end of the book, after the LORD speaks to Job, he says to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has” (Job 42:7). Unfortunately, this group has unknowingly posted a statement over their main entrance about prosperity which comes from the mouth of someone who misrepresented God’s truth.

What does the bible say about blessing and prosperity? For one, it’s in a Person and not our possessions. Here are some statements coming from places in the Good Book the veracity of which no one would doubt:

Taste and see that the LORD is good;  blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. (Ps 34:8)

Praise the LORD.  Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands. (Ps 112:1)

May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. (ps 115:15)

Jesus said: "I have come that [you] may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)

And finally, Jesus said: 
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Let’s seek God instead for this kind of prosperity, as difficult and agonizing as it may sometimes sound.

Noisy Birds

It’s been a while since I blogged, and even longer since I wrote anything about my three pet birds “Precious” the Quaker parakeet (Monk Parakeet) from South America, “Sek-khia” the Indian Ringneck from, um, India, and “Frank-Frank” the Ducorps Cockatoo from the Solomon Islands. The clip below captures a moment of their lively speech earlier today (some of the background noise filtered out). All three birds contributed, although Precious usually has less to say:

Thankfully one set of neighbors is only home at night…

Which of the following phrases can you detect in the above recording?

1. Argh! A roach! A! U Kā-Choa̍h！ 阿！有蟑螂！ (In Taiwanese)

2. How are you? Nǐ hǎo!你好！ (In Mandarin Chinese)

3. You are so cute! Nǐ hǎo kěài! 你好可愛 (this phrase taught by previous owner- Mandarin Chinese)

4. Don’t sleep! Mài khùn 不要睡 (Taiwanese)

5. “Precious” BǎoBeì 寶貝 (Mandarin)

6. I love you! (English)

7. Hello! (English)

Unfortunately, due to the annoying frequency of the first phrase above, I probably cannot ask my friends at the restaurant to take care of my birds next time I am away from home. Wish I had thought of that before I taught “Frank-Frank!” to say it!

Speaking of “Frank-Frank”  the Cockatoo, here are some basic tricks (shake hands, turn around, wave goodbye) I taught him  recently. He learned each one in about 10 minutes:

Chinese New Year Truck Ad Development

Last month I was prayerfully thinking about how I might connect Taiwanese culture with the Beautiful News of Jesus in a  Chinese New Year message I thought I might be giving at a nearby Taiwanese/Mandarin-speaking church. The idea that came to mind was the man-eating wild “Nian” monster legend. Chinese people around the world share this story as a basis for celebrating the Chinese Year.

Thankfully I wound up not having to prepare that message, so I didn’t pursue the “monster” idea any more. However, last week I had to start thinking about what we might do for our church planting team’s “Chinese New Year” truck campaign.

Thankfully  “Nian” is not just the name of a fictitious monster, it’s also the Chinese character 年 whose origins are represented below:

With the idea of “harvest” in mind (especially in light of the fact that we live in agricultural communities!), we began to brainstorm a poster which might extend the idea of blessing for a bountiful harvest. This would be plastered on all four sides of the advertising truck we hire:

However, out of concern that this might be a little too “artsy” or off-the-wall for the traditionally-minded grassroots people living in this area, we decided to fall back on a more traditional-look developed for us by the advertising company’s media person:

 

The audio announcement will wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year, pronouncing God's blessing for an abundant harvest for the New Year in colloquial Taiwanese. The following scripture verses will be rotated in between the blessing announcements:

Taste and see that the LORD is good;  blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. (Ps 34:8)

Praise the LORD.  Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands. (Ps 112:1)

May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. (ps 115:15)

Jesus said: "I have come that [you] may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)

The Taiwanese song we are obtaining permission to use in the background is literally translated as “All Creation is Filled By Your Grace” (by Streams of Praise). One line that stands out to me in the lyrics mentions the Chinese/Taiwanese saying 一枝草，一點露 (yī zhī cǎo, yī diǎn lù):  “there is a drop of water on every blade of grass. This basically translates as “there is always a way out.”

Though I’m not quite yet satisfied with the recording and mixing level, here’s basically what the recording will sound like:

Chinese New Year Blessing

May God use both the verbal message as well as the posters displayed on the truck to bless those in our communities who hear and see them!

“Spring Couplet” for Chinese New Year

This is a variation of the traditional spring couplet, which Taiwanese hang over the doors of their homes prior to the Chinese New Year to invoke blessing. Team member Lorne White produced this version for our team to give out in our communities prior to the “year of the rabbit”.  The large characters translate roughly as “Come In and Go Out Peacefully.”  The yellow page (the reverse side of the red banner) relates  a few words Jesus has to say about peace. May God use these banners to bless all those who receive them and choose to hang them in their homes!