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Home Life in Real time, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Dec. 4, 2004

Laura Yuen with the St. Paul Pioneer Press poses at Eagan Hills Church with family and friends of Mike Hanson in Fallujah, Iraq. Dec. 1, 2004.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press article appeared on Page A1, Dec. 4, 2004.  We were among the first in the United States to use video over the Internet to connect families in the United States with deployed loved ones serving overseas.  That first Sunday when we went live, KSTP TV had a sound truck in our church parking lot and camera crews from KARE-11, KMSP, and KSTP jostled for the best position to video our church service.  Every time Mike said anything inside that cheap, nineteen inch TV, camera crews aimed mics at the TV to capture every word.

Technology has come a long way since 2004 and newspapers are shells of their former selves.  Nobody thinks twice about doing video calls around the world today; it’s routine.  But that first Sunday when we proved the concept was one of the most satisfying days of my life.

For the actual archive, click here and search for “Home Life in Real Time” from 2004.

The Pioneer Press will want you to buy the article.  Here is a convenient PDF copy.