What You Could Do in 1985 BYT (Before YouTube)

Evidently, my dad invested the same meticulous planning and methodical execution into his missionary slide presentation that he did for all his other projects. He was likely working with two battery-run tape recorders, perhaps slides arranged on a window pane, plus a pan of water for splashing to create a long-form production that included music, narration, and sound effects. The carousel with its collection of lovely images along with the recording came to the States with us in 1985 (and maybe in 1978, too) and became a staple of his engagements at supporting churches and missionary conferences.

And the presentation made an impact--I know it did on us kids. We saw it in multiple venues, in various eastern US churches, and for me, it never got old. I was proud of it--proud of the dramatic opening gongs, my father's voice intoning "Thailand . . . Land in the Orient. Home of 40 million souls. Situated in Southeast Asia. Rice bowl of the world." I especially anticipated the last few slides where I--toddler me--would show up cuddled in the lap of an older lady from the village. I hoped the viewers would recognize that the little towhead was right now sitting in the audience in the glow of the projector, all grown up.

As the slides became more familiar, I began asking my dad for permission to run them for him, to hold the clicker and change the picture on cue from the recording. Surely he would find the support helpful. "No," he said. Well, maybe that attempt was a fluke. I'd ask him again at the next function. "No," was the answer. I can't imagine why one wouldn't want to depend on a flighty eleven-year-old, especially when the slides already just about ran themselves.

We started memorizing bits of it, especially the opening. My seven-year-old brother had his own peculiar pronunciation: "Thailand . . . . Land of the Owion." The journey was detailed, narrowing down to my parents' work and connections in the village, including religious practices, a death with a funeral cremation, and the first believer. There was a photo of silhouetted villagers fishing with giant bamboo-framed nets. The music would change as the narrative wound through different aspects of rural life in the Northeast. There were Buddhist priests chanting--or teaching-- with my dad overlaying a translation of morals adherents were to live by. He wanted to contrast the moralism of that belief system with classic Christianity's emphasis on a perfect Savior for sinners. And since belief in the influence of the spirits also had a strong pull on the villagers, it's likely the recording discussed animism as a big part of life in that region of the world.

In the later part of the '80s, we settled in San Diego and it looked like we were living there for the long haul. There was little need to travel around and show those slides. Probably a part of me missed the viewing experience. They were part of an adventurous lifestyle that made routine in the States seem dull by comparison. But as we got closer to the '90s and my parents started thinking of going back to Thailand--"long haul" wasn't really in their vocabulary--the carousel came back out. But this time, there was a sleek, modern presentation that my dad had acquired from somewhere. "Bangkok . . . in the balance," it said. There were professional shots of cranes and an engaging narrative. But no state-of-the-art production could compete with the homemade presentation that enthralled at least one pre-teen over multiple viewings.

That's meee!