My family and I went to the ‘Heart of Texas’ for the annual San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. It was our first visit to Texas as well as the Film Festival.
For those of you who might not know what I’m talking about I’ll explain further. This film festival is put together by a ministry called Vision Forum. The mission of this film festival is to “Encourage the production of films which inspire the highest ideals, the clearest and most noble biblical values." "To motivate the next generation of Christian filmmakers to create films that reflect a distinctively and prepositionally biblical worldview... to strive to bring ‘into captivity every (frame) to the obedience of Christ.’ …To facilitate the development of alternative and independent vehicles for producing and distributing films outside the Hollywood machine, which will build, bless, and benefit the American family. To provide a platform for Christians to present their art, to network with others, and to encourage independent Christian filmmakers in their mission by offering appropriate recognition for excellence in Christian film production.” (This was part of the SAICFF Mission Statement)
Our trip was not of our own doing, all the money and planning and glory goes to God! We started looking at going last year around May with very little hope of it really happening. How could we get enough money when we had very little as it was?
First thing on the list: Prayer.
"Ask, and it will be given to you..."
Mom found a timeshare that was right on the river walk, but it didn't have all the days we needed. So we started planning in the cost of a hotel as well. More prayer ensued. The good thing was we didn't have to pay for it. It was all free!
"seek, and you will find..."
Later that week we made a jar labeled "San Antonio Trip" this is where all our extra money went. (When we had it) We had to pay for the film festival by July. July came and we counted the pennies. We had enough for the film festival, but not enough for the whole trip. We paid for the Film Festival and kept praying for enough money to make it there. So far it was a walk by faith.
"knock, and it will be opened to you."
Then Matt started searching the Internet for plane tickets. Around 11:45 pm, only a few days later (when mom and dad had already gone to bed) Matt told me he found our airfare for only $88, each way, per person! It was too good to be true. So I started looking at all the fine print and it seemed legit. Next morning Mom looked at it and by that afternoon we had plane tickets to San Antonio!
"For everyone who asks receives..."
Summer came and went still we didn't have enough to pay for all the expenses while in San Antonio.
"and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
Matthew 7:7-8
By mid October we found a new house to rent. By Thanksgiving we had moved in. Now how could we afford to go all the way to San Antonio? Christmas was slim since we wanted to save up all our money for the trip. We counted the money again and found it would be enough. We also got the extra day we needed at the timeshare with still no money spent!
Well, now it was January and all was as ready as it could be for our trip. Packed and ready we realized, not for the first time, that this was something God had planned all along.
"Remember His marvelous works which He has done..."
Psalm 105:5
When we touched down in San Antonio around 11:30 pm on the 6th, I had talked to one gal who was on her way to collage in Oklahoma and as far as I knew she wasn't a Christian. So I shared with her about being homeschooled, working to be a wife and mother someday, and where we were going. On our next plane in Dallas, Mom and I talked to a young gal who was just coming back from mission work in the Bahamas. What a day! But it wasn't over yet! We got our bags and started for the taxi line up. We found one and climbed in. Dad started talking to our taxi driver. We found out that he was from Columbia and had two children still living there. His father had died the previous month. He had no other family alive save his children and his mother. He has been working in America, saving up enough so his boy can come and live here with him. What a story. Oh, and he had Christian music playing in the taxi too!
So with all the excitement of the the day behind us we walked into our timeshare condo. The surprises had yet to cease! No, we didn't get the one bed and one fold-out couch with one bath room and a small kitchenette as we had "paid" for; we walked in to a beautiful two bedroom, two bath (with whirlpool in each) condo! What a miracle! We unpacked and headed to bed wondering what the next day would bring...
The First Full day in San Antonio: January 7th, 2009
What is the first thing you should do on your first visit to Texas? Why, have a cup of coffee of course! Around 10 am we got our delivery of food for the week. The delivery was done by a caterer who mom found advertised on the internet. They did a wonderful job and got all our food so we could save money by cooking our own food. They too were Christian! The first thing dad did... make coffee!
If your gonna go into cowboy country you gotta have cowboy coffee right?
After a late breakfast we set out to see San Antonio.
The Weston Hotel along the river walk ...
We got to see a few unusual plants, but unfortunately not many were still in bloom. This was one of the last flowers left on this plant.
Mom took this picture of my brother and I along the river.
One of the buildings next to the Alamo flying the Texas flag of course!
Ah, the Alamo. The line drawn in the sand between freedom and enslavement.
We were able to get audio tours for the Alamo. It covered the different parts of the battle as well as the aftermath and recovery of the Alamo. It was very good and we enjoyed learning more about the Alamo.
This was the final defense of the Alamo. The whole place is larger then we thought it was.
There were not only 185 men here but women and children, slaves and servants. Few escaped the slaughter.
Here's something I found out while at the Alamo. The preservation of the Alamo was due to a group called the 'Women of the Republic of Texas'. Back in the early 1900's the city was going to tear down what was left of the Alamo. But one woman locked herself in the Alamo stating that she wouldn't come out until they promised to keep and preserve the Alamo. So after three days the deal was struck and we still have a monument of our nations' history. That same group continues caring for the Alamo to this day.
Isn't this cool. I think Matt did it but I could be mistaken. The camera only picked up the window and a few shadows. I played with it and got it a bit darker and found this. So I guess it's more due to photo shop then anything.
Dad took this picture near where the conference was to be held the next day.
We went back to the Alamo that night to get some night shots. Matt got some really good ones! We saw some horse drawn carriages and mom started talking to one of the drivers. Boy did we find a talker! We heard all about his job, his horse, that type of horse, and how he ended up with that horse. It was lots of fun. It made my day being able to pet some horses and hear him talk about them. What a day! What will we see and learn about tomorrow?...
The Second day in San Antonio: January 8th, 2009
The day was lovely and warm. We started off the day with Bible and a large breakfast.
Registering for the Film Festival didn't start till 12 pm so we had some time to sightsee some more. By 12:30 we had already found some people dad and Matt knew from the Christian Heritage Father Son retreat last year in Washington. The conference center was huge! I have never seen such a huge conference center before. We split up to see different movies that were playing at the same time. Mom and dad went to see "Exposing The Trojan Horse" and "The Rock From Which We Were Hewn." While Matt and I went to see "The Sword."
Lunch rolled around and we raced off to our condo for a 10 minute lunch then back again for more movie watching. One of the movies we enjoyed was "Noah's Ark" which was put together by Answers in Genesis. 
After that we went to watch Click, Clack Jack. That was really good as well.
This year Vision Forum had a $1,000 reward to the movie that won Audience choice award! We couldn't wait to see who would win but we would have to wait till Saturday!
Thursday night was a long one. First was the opening ceremony with Mr. Phillips.
George Sarris acted out the story of the spies in Jericho. He recreated the whole story with just a scarf and using Scripture the whole time. I wish we could have recorded it! 
We got to hear Charlie Zahm sing!
We also got to hear the Von Trapp children sing. They're singing was beautiful!
Mr. Phillips narrated One thousand years of Christian Heroism and Charlie Zahm sang the stories. What a time!
"That the generation to come might know them even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children. That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments."
Psalm 78:6-7
The first day of the festival was over but what would tomorrow bring?
The third day In San Antonio: January 9th, 2009
That day was crazy. We got breakfast, had our Bible time, got dress and were off to the SAICFF.
This time we were going to see as many as we could. First thing on the list was hearing Kevin Swanson speak on 'A Christian Philosophy of Entertainment and the Family.' That was very good! 
Then we went to watch 'The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry'. It is a tear jerker but very well done! They filmed all of it with 35mm film and the color was wonderful!
Then we went to watch Fireproof.
This too was very well done. The Kendricks did a wonderful job in filming this!
Afterward we went to see Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven
It needed a bit of work on the acting and the digital stuff but over all it we enjoyed it. They put it in the modern day but went back to Bunyan's time at points.
Afterward we went back to the condo for dinner.
That night was just as busy as the night before.
First we all sang with Charlie Zahm the national anthem.
On the schedule that night we had the Von Trapp Children singing...
Stephen Kendrick talked about Fireproof...
Kirk Cameron shared his heart for creating God centered films and not participating or trying to be like Hollywood in any way. We were amazed at his humility and passion for Christ!
Kirk Cameron stated that his kids were in school during the conversation with Mr. Phillips on stage and Mr. Phillips said, "But your going to start homeschooling them next week right?" The whole crowd stood cheering and clapping! The poor guy was so embarassed.
Then we saw the world premiere of "Abraham and Isaac", "Rich Man and Lazarus", and "The Widow and Oil" produced by Crown Financial Ministries. Each film was about 20 min. long and starred Dean Jones acting. They were all very well done. The goal of making these films was to hand them out to third world countries as a gospel ministry. They were amazing!
Everyone enjoyed hearing all the stories of them making the films.
Mr. Dean Jones was presented with the Life Time Acheivement Award. He gave all the glory to God for the award. As it should be!
"All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever."
Isaiah 40:6-8
"As God is my witness..." Dean Jones quoted Patrick Henrys' famous "Give my liberty or give me death" speech. What a performance!
Thus ended our third day in San Antonio.
The Fourth day in San Antonio: January 10th 2009
Mom and I had some shopping to do at some of the booths there. I'm afraid I spent my last pennies at the Vision Forum booth.
The first movie we went to see was "Pendragon". Lots of great sword fights but the acting and editing needing some work.
Afterwards back to the condo for lunch. We just made it in time to see "Dad the Hero", a western that was very funny.
Then we raced to catch the last half of Widow's Might. We were amazed! The music was wonderful! The acting was awesome and the script was superb.
Then we went to see Dialtone and enjoyed seeing all the familiar faces! It seems so strange to see people you know and/or go to church with acting in a film on screen! And for Mrs. Pollock - we saw your couch!
That night was full of expectation and wondering who would win the $101,000 award for Best of Festival.
Mr. Botkin spoke words of inspiration.
The lead actress in Widow's Might sang her song from the movie. Her voice is beautiful!
"In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears."
Psalms 18:6
George Sarris acted out Moses and the escape from Egupt. Once again we were in awe!
The Dugger family gave presented one of the awards that evening. It was great seeing a Christian family with 18 children!
No one could get enough of the Von Trapp family singers!
Widow's Might won the $1,000 Audiance Choice Award! Standing ovation!
"To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." Fireproof won for best feature film! They deserved it too!
2 Peter 3:18
Drum roll began as the check came in!
"I will praise You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore." Psalm 86:12
All seemed insignificant after the amazing finale of the 5th San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. We jumped out of our seats when "Widows Might" won the Jubilee Award and the grand prize. So many wonderful films - we didn't envy the judges! What a night!
The Fifth day in San Antonio: January 11th 2009
By Sunday we were getting bushed but not beat!
Mr. Phillips's church was renting a room at the conference center for church that Sunday. We were really excited to go. The message was good, but my body was so tired that I'm afraid I wasn't listening as closley as I wanted to. The spirit was willing but the flesh was definitely weak!
After church on Sunday we went back to our condo and changed into walk around clothes. Everyone was hungry for steak so we went to look for a place to eat. There were so many restaurants to choose from along the riverwalk. We finally agreed on Saltgrass Trail Steak House. I loved it. They had a nice sitting area outside but we sat inside because it wasn't as warm as it had been two days ago being only around 58 -60 degrees. If you are ever in San Antonio plan to eat at the Saltgrass. They serve a good steak! It was cooked to perfection. I should have taken a picture of it! The Sixth day in San Antonio: January 12th 2009
Mom normally hates having her picture taken. But I did manage to get her to stand still for one at least.
These stairs lead to the ‘La Villita’ Little Village of San Antonio
There we found little shops and many historical buildings.
We didn't do much on monday. Just walked around and took pictures. We did end our trip at an antique mall and found tons of books! I wish I had more money with me! I can't say that the men folk liked that part of the trip though. They were all shopped out.
What an amazing trip to San Antonio! I hope to go back again some day soon!
In Luke 23:28-30, Jesus Christ warned of the sad day that would come when people would favor barrenness . "Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck."This condition has become prevalent around the world, which is why many scientists, historians, and anthropologists have begun to warn that the world is currently facing "a demographic winter."The political cartoon above is intended to simply illustrate the the foolishness, hate, and hypocrisy of the detractors to the "Quiverfull Movement."
