My mission trip to Mali, West Africa

Tested iVisit and iSight with my Apple iBook for Mali short-term mission webcast

Three simple pieces of equipment and software will bring me closer to my church family back home while I'm on my Mali short-term mission trip.  I'm packing my Apple iBook, my iSight camera and will be using iVisit software.

Today we tried it out with me and the gear at home using our wi-fi set-up connected to our school principal and his Apple Powerbook, camera and software.

He had it hooked up in our church sanctuary during the chapel service for our church school.  I saw the whole thing live from my kitchen table and then he projected it on the three screens we use during services.

Perfect.  It was easy to assemble, easy to use and then it connected on both sides with perfect sound and pictures. 

So, if you're around Our Savior Lutheran Church in Lansing during the late service on March 12, you can see if it works from West Africa.   It should.

Tags: Mali, Apple iBook, Apple iSight, iVisit, Apple Powerbook, short-term missions, Francophone Ministries for Christ

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Looking for digital camera recommendations

I want to take plenty of digital photographs while I am on my short-term mission trip to Mali and I want to put them up on my Flickr account while I'm there.

I'm looking for recommendations and personal experiences with taking and using a digital camera in Africa. 

Presently, I have a couple year-old Canon PowerShot A40.  It's been pretty reliable and productive for a lot of different needs and situations here at home.  But, I know, it has its limitations.  But, so does my budget for this trip.  I'm looking for input on:

• Cameras that I should considering purchasing before I go.  I want something that's easy to operate both inside and outside and that's reliable for various weather and travel conditions.
• Storage cards for the camera; how big of a card should I get, which brand should I get and should I get more than one.
• Advice for traveling with and using a camera in a different culture, in this case Mali.
  

Technorati Tags: digitalcameras, Mali, CanonPowerShot, FrancophoneMinistries