Exit 316 Premiere

I wasn't prepared for how emotional I would feel at the premiere of Exit 316.

The hour before I drove into Frydlant to pick up pizza to take the hotel where we were going to watch it on the big screen downstairs. As I drove into Frydlant and saw all the people walking I started praying that many of them would head home and turn their television onto CT2 so that they'd see it...and more importantly that they would absorb WHAT they were seeing.

As I sat at Rabaka waiting for the pizzas to be done (very mediocre pizza, I might add...where is Pizza Hut when you need them?!) I prayed more for all those across the country who might be just getting home and turning on their tvs. And I wondered what they would think if they did turn them on and happen to see Exit.

Finally the pizza was done so we headed up to the hotel where Honza (the production manager for Exit) had things set up in the main meeting room...CT2 was already on when I stepped into the room. I felt a chill go through me as I sat watching the time tick down until it was 6:05...this was more than just a "premiere showing" - this was an historic moment.

And that's when the emotions, and the realization of what this moment means, hit me. I had tears in my eyes for most of the 18 minutes of the show...not for anything in particular that was being said or shown (I'd already seen the episode several times at home on a DVD that Dave had brought for us to see). It was the huge significance of this moment - one of those watershed moments - where I believe we'll look back in time and say, "It was all different from then on".

About 20 people gathered with us for the premiere and afterwards we had a time of prayer for Exit...for all the small groups that were happening across the country at that moment, for those who had just viewed it, for the team who continues in production of more episodes, and for a spiritual awakening in this country...no small thing!

I couldn't even pray out loud because I was so filled with emotion. Dave started to pray but didn't get very far before he was overcome by emotion. He pressed through his prayer, but I know he was feeling the significance as much, if not more, than I was at that moment.

Lots of people prayed and then it was just quiet for a bit. It felt right to me that we let it be the holy moment that it was. The airing of such a straight-forward Christian telelvision program on public tv is a huge deal! A holy moment, if you will! The presence of the Lord was there throughout the premiere, but I especially felt it in that quiet moment.

And then it was over and people moved on into regular life again. I cleaned up the pizza and drinks, talked to a few people and then headed home. The evening was finished.

But the work of Exit has only begun!!