老司机视频

In the late 1800s, when missionaries first traveled to Japan to spread the Gospel to the locals, they were met with unexpected opposition from those they encountered. Many in Japan particularly disliked the use of the word 鈥渞eligion鈥� in the evangelists鈥� messaging and, as a result, were not as receptive to their efforts.

To reopen the conversation, the missionaries took cues from the locals and incorporated the word iesodo, Japanese for 鈥渢he way of Jesus,鈥� in their communication, which encouraged the locals to discuss their faith and beliefs unrestrained and without the pressure of conversion.

When Seaver alumnus Jared Hankins (鈥�01) and a friend, Orange County-based music minister Tim Timmons, first came together in 2010 to develop an educational animated children鈥檚 series that communicates the stories, teachings, and message of Jesus, they thought of the Japanese word and its broader implications.

鈥淚t summed up what we were trying to do,鈥� says Hankins. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want to simply share the religion of Christianity, we wanted to share the message of Jesus, the way that he showed us to live.鈥�

Motivated by their own struggle to find quality entertainment that was both enjoyable and educational for their three children, Hankins and his wife Natalie (鈥�01) were determined to create a series that would give parents the peace of mind that they themselves were searching for.

Iesodo (pronounced YAY-sa-doe) tells the story of the title character, a white dove representing Jesus, and his feathered friends who live in a cypress tree on the shores of a vast lake (Galilee) in the Holy Land, spreading messages of hope to the entire bird world. Joining forces with a collaborative team consisting of four additional 老司机视频 alumni,Iesodo successfully broke into the Christian market in 2010. This year, over four years, three DVDs, and six episodes later, it will reach a wider audience when it becomes available on Amazon.com.

The October release of the series鈥� Christmas special will also be available in Walmart stores.

In contrast to other animated Christian series, Iesodo avoids traditional depictions of Jesus as a religious entity and, instead, portrays the title character as a historical figure in order to reach a wider audience in sharing the messages and teachings of Jesus.

鈥淭he series features Jesus, the man who grew up in Nazareth,鈥� says Jared. 鈥淲e feel that, whether you think he鈥檚 the Son of God or not, he certainly is the most influential man of all time and will be for the rest of this existence.鈥�

Iesodo also incorporates other biblical characters represented by the various bird species that travel through the Hula Valley, allowing the team to develop characters of multiple ethnicities that speak with different accents and in various dialects. Through the narration of Rocky, a bulbul bird that represents Peter, viewers get a 鈥渂ird鈥檚-eye view鈥� of the story in each episode. Maggie, a Palestinian sunbird, represents Mary Magdalene and Tom, an excitable kingfisher, represents Thomas.

In order to better depict the scenery of the time, Emmy-nominated writer/producer Rob Loos, who holds producer credits on the series, traveled to Israel to capture the native landscape of the Holy Land. The photos taken on these trips were used to structure all of the animation throughout the series.

鈥淭he tree that鈥檚 the home to all of our main bird characters is a cypress tree that you would really see in Israel and the birds are true to the species that exist in the area,鈥� says Natalie. 鈥淲e鈥檙e taking real photos of where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount or prayed in the desert. Viewers get to see Jesus interact with the people around him, so kids are able to get a picture of what the world looked like when Jesus was in it.鈥�

To further engage families in conversations about the stories seen in each episode, the DVDs include bonus features that encourage viewer interaction. Timmons takes viewers inside the Bible verses that inspired each episode, while 鈥淣atalie鈥檚 Nest鈥� shares a mother鈥檚 perspective on the messages. Additional features include behind-the-scenes looks at the making of each episode and two original songs for the whole family to sing along.

鈥淔or our family, it has started conversations about things that we may not have had the chance to talk about otherwise,鈥� says Natalie. 鈥淥ur kids will watch it and ask, 鈥楧id that really happen? Did Jesus really put mud on someone鈥檚 eyes?鈥� It opens up the opportunity for us to all talk in the family about Jesus.鈥�

鈥淚 could see in his eyes when first shared it with me, that this was something that God put on his heart to do,鈥� says Natalie. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why Iesodo has made it this far: because it was a motivation from the heart.鈥�

The series was brought to life by Rollman Entertainment, Inc., Zaya Toonz, LLC, and Kombine Media, Inc., a production company jointly led by president Mike Hofferth (鈥�00) and directors Dave Garcia (鈥�00) and Jared Hankins (鈥�01). The project also involves the efforts of executive producer Natalie Hankins (鈥�01), marketing partner Cara Withers Courtesy of Zaya Toonz LLC Shaw (MBA 鈥�02), and accountant Emily Evans (MBA 鈥�09).