Having celebrated the first Christmas, the guys retire to the back room where they smoke cigars and have some male bonding time.

Everyone turns their attention to the baby.

Mary & Joseph, the kings, and the flock, all stop to talk about what has happened. The 'listening process' is born.

The kings are on their way.

The shepherd and his flock pause to have their picture taken on the way to Bethlehem.

"In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger."

"While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."

"In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child."

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.' But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin? I do not know a man.' The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born of you will be holy; he will be called Son of God."

From our new South Africa crèche. Kalamazoo, Michigan. 10 December 2008.

I was having fun playing with the lighting on this crèche from Uganda. Looking at the images later, I realized that, depending on the lighting, two different church feasts could be observed. Above is the Christmas-lighted version.



















And this is the Epiphany-lighted version. Kalamazoo, Michigan. 10 December 2008.

I've been collecting crèches for many years, all over the world. This year I added three new ones to our collection. This one, from Kenya, is made from banana leaves and fibre. Personally I think the royalty happens to look like three queens, but why not? Kalamazoo, Michigan. 10 December 2008.

Returning home two days after the presidential election in the US, I got to see the headlines in many newspapers from around the world. There wasn't a single paper that didn't have a photo of President-elect Obama-- it felt as if the whole world was celebrating with us. When I was clearing security for my flight in Amsterdam, the person who takes you aside to "interview" you before boarding said, "I need to ask you some very important security questions." At that point she looked up from her table, noticed my "Obama" button, and asked, "Are you happy about the election?" Surprised, I said, "Is that an official question?" She laughed, and I said, "Yes, I'm happy-- is there anyone who isn't?" She whispered quietly, and said, "Israel.... now, please tell me who packed your bags...." Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 6 November 2008.

This image conveys the gamut of emotion that we saw in the kids, and their reaction to us-- from apprehension to delight. Kigali, Rwanda. 1 November 2008.

OK, so maybe this is my favorite.... Kigali, Rwanda. 1 November 2008.

I'm not sure why, but this is one of my favorite photos from this trip. The kids in this neighborhood were curious about who we were, but were slightly reserved, too. Kigali, Rwanda. 1 November 2008.

I was looking for things to take pictures of one day in Kigali, as the rest of the film crew scouted/negotiated over a location. Kigali, Rwanda. 31 October 2008.

"Tête-à-tête." Kigali, Rwanda. 31 October 2008.

Benjamin and Moses. Nairobi, Kenya. 29 October 2008.

I wish I could remember what these are. We had a quick visit to Kirstenbosch Gardens, where we made a b-line for the proteas. We passed these on the way, and had to stop to admire them. It was 10 years ago that I was last here, but I remembered more varieties of proteas being in bloom. Cape Town, South Africa. 28 October 2008.