Day 59: A Potential Tsunami Sunday

Today was great. Things started off a bit earlier than usual; our choir's call time was 6:30 a.m., which was just awesome. Even though half of our group was mostly awake, we pulled in enough energy to encourage the church to worship with excitement and confidence; it's a permanent highlight of my week. After our serving time, our Fieldwork Specialist, Malinda, invited whoever could come to head down to Darling Harbour for lunch. We had a great time chilling at Harbourside, having some awesome Oporto chicken in many forms; I had it in the styles of chicken wings and a Bondi burger. I got to chat with lots of new faces, including Flora from French Canada, Vincent from Taiwan, and Elysia from Mexico (which made another opportunity/excuse for speaking in Spanish) I would have gone to Paddy's Market to look into getting some new ties to go with my best Sunday shirt, but I ended up coming back to the apartments with the people that were exhausted. After a good relaxation period, I returned to church for the 7 p.m. service, which was amazing; Joel A'Bell spoke on the part of Christ's crucifixion, where Jesus said, "I am thirsty." He presented it in a way I've never seen it before, and it's incredible. He paralleled that specific part with the part of the Old Testament where the Israelites were complaining of dying from thirst. It's such a great point that of all things for God to have Moses to strike, it was a rock; and don't we call Jesus the Rock of Ages?? And after he took a drink from the soldier, He said, "It is finished." and died, but the way Joel put it was awesome: Jesus took a final drink and died, so that we could one day drink from His living water and fully live. So, SO awesome! Not to mention, when the soldier pierced His side, it was water that came out, not blood; how incredible that God prophesied of that event since the early beginnings of the Bible. God never stops amazing me; it's just nonstop. I always experience something new and better than the last, and I'm absolutely blessed to be here. I'm starting a new week, and I'm so ready to take it on full force.

God bless,
Steven

P.S. Oh and I forgot to mention this whole tsunami scare. So it was said that the tsunami threats throughout the Pacific would hit Australia and New Zealand within 24 hours between 11 a.m. and noon; however, God's mercy and answer to prayer made the tsunami miss Australia completely!! All we got was a bit of rain, and that's it! How good is God, hey? He's always watching over His children of obedience.

Day 58: A Day On the Streets

The title of today's blog is pretty much correct. Allow me to explain:

The morning. A beautiful morning. A Street Teams morning. We got to visit the Towers again, and it was a blast. If there's one thing I learned about Australia from visiting the Towers, it's this: the land of Australia has the ability to slow down the aging process physically. Every person we met was considerably younger than they looked; like 81 year-old Mary, who looks half that age, Daniella, an 80 year-old woman who has absolutely NO white hair and NO attitude of an old person, and Joseph, who is 65 but looks well in his early forties. It's amazing; kind of makes me want to consider the possibility of living here...... anyways, we got to chat with them, and it was wonderful. I got the Extermination of the Day award for vanquishing a giant cockroach that's been "bugging" poor Mary for weeks; felt just like home, when I was dispatched to slay spiders and cockroaches form my sister's presence. Overall, an excellent way to start the day.
During the afternoon, I was invited by Anders to join him for a little barbecue being prepared by some people from the church. We brought some lean steaks to add to the choices, and I gotta say this barbecue was one of the best meals I've had this whole time. Excellently grilled pieces of chicken, cooked on and off the bone and marinated with herbs and spices. Accompanied by a fresh salad, potatoes, aloe vera drinks, and some Cadbury chocolate, it was one incredible eating experience; all we were missing were the Aussie sausages and prawns (the day I get to finally have 'shrimp on the barbie' will be a day to remember). One of the girls that came, Lindsey, joined us on the walk back home, and she's a pretty cool person; we all got along very well.
The evening was a bit awkward. Let me tell you why: the Sydney Gay/Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. Yes. You read correctly. Anders wanted to see what it was like, so we visited. And all I can say is that these people are amongst the most creative minds in the world. No joke. It made me think heavily on one idea: how can these people be SO energetic and passionate about their pride in being gay/lesbian, completely unashamed and straightforward, and WE Christians can't even profess God's name publicly because of fear? We're gonna face persecution; that's the most obvious fact. We just can't submit to the world so we can fit in and be accepted; there was a section starring the Catholic Gays group, basically saying that all are accepted in the church. While that may be true, the way it's said is completely out of context; and yet, we can't be as passionate about the faith we have in Jesus. The only reason I give gay people some credibility is because they don't care what others say; they are who they are, so they take pride in it. How about we do the same? Why don't we be unashamed of the amazing gift that was Christ's blood shed on the cross so we could live? Come on, guys and girls; let's be just as passionate about the glory of God. We don't need parades for our voices to be heard; we just need to courage to speak out.

I'm going to sleep; got an early call time tomorrow.

God bless,
Steven

Day 57: Thank God for Friday

So today went really well. In the morning, we had Old Testament classes, where we unpacked Creation and the Betrayal of man. The way we looked at the first few chapters of Genesis completely changed the way I thought of Creation; we were trying to answer the question "What is the pinnacle of Creation?" At first some people would say us as humans being made in God's image, but according to our class, we are wrong. You know why God "rested" on the 7th day? Because after creating the world and everything in it, He filled the world with His presence. Kind of like settling into it, making it a new place to call home. Because of God's glory and power to create, the pinnacle isn't what He made, but the fact that it was made to begin with. The fact that God made it. It's such a powerful word. I felt so empowered after that course; I have a feeling this is gonna be one of my favorite classes for sure. After chapel we had a Personal Leadership tutorial, discussing our role in building the kingdom by building the church; we got to really dwell on these thoughts before it was clear as sunny day. My PL group, the Happy Makers (we were deemed that name by our friend Rebecca), got to present a few gifts to Jared, another of our PL classmates from Texas: a card that I made a decorated with a caricature portrait of him signed by the whole team, a Rockstar energy drink to help him stay awake between breaks, and some awesome cookies. Later, I finally got to clear the first 2 objectives on my semester passport by speaking with my Fieldwork Specialist, Malinda; my call time for choir this Sunday is 6:30 a.m. Awesome, can't wait. Plus, thanks to the tutorial, my assessment makes SOOOOOOOO much more sense now; I was able to get it pretty much done today.

I also got a couple new bands added to my Jpod collection: Paper Route, an ambient/indie/electronic band, and Ian Mcintosh, a worship artist that specializes in piano (that alone made me a fan). So far, so good.

God bless,
Steven

Day 56: One Surprise of a Day

So as the title suggests, there were quite a bit of surprises along the hours. It was Sisterhood day, and us men had to make sure the ladies were served like queens; we did just that. As soon as I walked in the door, my Norwegian friend Jorge asked for help. I was then diving into all kinds of random assignments before I moved to my self-applied position: the water server. I couldn't help but notice some people are always on the move, and even getting a cup of water can be a setback (with Hillsong, it's a total truth). So I put it upon myself to always have a cup of water ready for anyone that heads my way; as soon as one is taken, another cup is filled. I like doing it so much I'm considering making a permanent assignment just for me. I don't care if the leaders notice; what maters is the people are being served, even in a small anonymous way. This morning was a special Be the Change activity morning; I was allocated to the Response Team, which was basically outside ministry. I was put onto a team where I was the only one with experience in both outreach ministry and the Towers area. However, mentioning that I had done it before ended up with my having a team of my own; how.... shocking. I felt it in my gut something like that was gonna happen. So we knocked on door after door until we were able to help an old, sick Russian woman that really appreciated our cleaning work. After a hefty cleanup process, it was lunch time before my last class of the day; nothing says quick lunch like sushi rolls, so I got 3 and went to work on them. After my Old Testament course was done, I went back to the apartment only to realize I forgot my key; great. BUT it ended up working in my favor, because I got to read some of the Scripture without any serious distraction. It was good, and before I knew it, I was back to Hillsong for a Chapel Workshop where we met the leaders in charge of making it happen. I also got assigned to be a Front Of House Assistant, or FOH Assistant. This, in simple terms, is a soundboard mixing job, where I have to mix the sounds for the band on stage so they can hear the whole group better; I think it's pretty cool! The other surprise was after the piano tutorial we had after a small service; what I got out of the tutorial gave me a massive idea for one of my songs. So I got here, plugged in my keyboard, and went straight away on recording the idea. It eventually became 2 ideas that I can't choose from, but we'll see what happens. I feel very pleased with how the day progressed; it was definitely God-breathed.

God bless,
Steven

Day 55: That Darn Phone..

So after a few weeks of continual frustration over the whole phone problem, I finally got one. It didn't work at ALL the way I hoped it would, but the matter is I have it. There was always another obstacle in the way, and I ended up with a kind of lame phone, but I'm not freaking out over that. The point is I have a phone so now I can communicate with the people I need to communicate with. I also got to see the Super Center and how conveniently close it is (there's even a Hungry Jack's across the street; YES.) There isn't much, BUT the JB HI-FI store is a definite plus. Tonight was Powerhouse again; Crishan (the City campus youth pastor) and his wife Danielle spoke about relationships, answering questions that were asked and stuff. Lots of good wisdom there. I also have progress with the assessments I have to work on, but I'm still not done. In Jesus' name, I will accomplish it. Tomorrow is Sisterhood ALRIGHT!!!! I hope I get a chance to serve as the water dispenser again; basically last time I took it upon myself to serve the ladies by getting the cups and filling it for them so they wouldn't have to. One small, anonymous service to make them feel significant and appreciated =) Well it's getting late and I need me some sleep; catcha later!!
God bless,
Steven

Day 54: Return of the Blogger

So after a period of not having internet access, I am now back in action! It felt so weird not being able to check email every day or tweet or stuff like that; I'm sure my family was freaking out over my not answering them. But I'm here, so it's all good. Speaking of being here, the EP is coming along great; the only obstacle at this point is finding better ideas for the first couple songs I recorded. I got this idea for Love You Still, but since I had the song recorded, it's been difficult to re-record it to where it was AND add the new element. But in the name of Jesus I will get it done. Again. I just have 2 more songs left to record, and then it's final overviews before I can release it; AGH, SO EXCITED!!!! God has just been overflowing in blessings of wisdom and encouragement; I feel so refreshed right now. It's incredible how much you take in during a day with Hillsong. I had the wonderful experience of seeing my family via webcam today; nice to see they're all doing okay, despite my little mute Narnians getting a bit wider around the stomach area (they're starting to look like some sausage rolls I had for lunch some days ago heehee). My parents have missed me very much; I have missed them too. Then again, I've missed everyone. But it's good to be back!

As for my other music projects in the prayer stage, I am happy to report that I have final designs for their covers; My first objective is to get the Christmas EP finished before October. It's gonna be tough with the ideas I have going through my head, but I just have to be determined to get it done. The Moments That Mattered is still undergoing the song selection stage, but the cover I put together is giving me lots of inspiration. Can't wait to share it all with you!

God bless,
Steven

Day 48-49: Bad news

Unfortunately, my flat has lost internet privileges for the rest of the month; trust me, it's a long story, and I don't have time to explain. Sorry for the upset, but I'll try my best to keep you posted as much as possible.

God bless,
Steven

Day 47: A Late Revelation

The majority of the day I feel isn't special enough to record; I felt like it was just a day thrown away. I didn't really accomplish anything, now that I think about it.. anyways, the evening went much better. Powerhouse, to me, is a nice midweek boost. I feel refreshed every time I leave, and I really hope it continues to have that effect on me. We talked on love again, this time focusing on loving others. The main speaker even quoted Avatar (which is kind of cool), when the main Smurfette's guru mom cut Jake from the bonds while the humans were destroying the big treehouse and said, "If you are one of us, help us." She encouraged us to love others, to stop and focus on the ones around us every now and then. We're just like everyone else, so it's our mission of love to love on them. All this Avatar talk makes me want to see the movie again.... darn...

God bless,
Steven

Day 45/46: Worship classes, Leadership, and Norwegian Cheese

So Monday was SO busy I didn't even get a chance to update the ol' blog. But here I am! Basically the entire morning was full of worship awesomeness; a lecture on the difference between being a servant and a steward, a workshop on transcribing music and forming practice bands, and a tutorial on our worship assessments. It really gave me a good insight of what to expect this semester. The day was pretty much relaxing and enjoying the day, other than taking time to get a Flip camera (which means I can make legit video blogs to accompany this written blog in case I leave out anything by accident).

Today, I was absolutely impacted by the lecture and chapel. This morning, Pastor Duncan talked about personal leadership, and boy did I receive from that! There was just so much wisdom to absorb, it's hard to think any student DIDN'T get touched by it. Chapel was also amazing, as we got to hear our principal Katrina give a great message on Ephesians condensed into 6 points that correspond to the 6 chapters. I also got blessed with enough vision and inspiration to finish the title track for the EP, Here and Alive, as well as getting a great idea on improving one of the other songs (much thanks to Andyº Hunter for that little inspiration. If you don't know who that is, he's basically the coolest Christian DJ I've ever seen; totally awesome music with great God-based lyrics!) Plus, I got to visit a Connect Group, which is just a group of guys that meet up every 2 weeks as accountability partners and to study the Word. Overall, I'd say today was just full of blessing; tomorrow's my day off, so I get to work on my assessments and record some more music! YAY!

God bless,
Steven

Day 43/44: Church Life, Loss of Time, and Love

Saturday morning was the absolute best highlight of the weekend. We got to work with Street Teams again, and I got to return to the fairly large Redfern Towers (also called the Suicide Towers, for obvious reasons...). We offered cleaning services to the people, and even though only one lady actually had us work, we had a great time. I never thought I would have so much fun dusting a house before, but I sure did; we made a wonderful friendship with a Russian woman named Maria, who used to be a cardiologist. We met some other nice people, like Mary from Greece, Wendy from Australia (a very lovely lady with plenty of spunk), Alex, and Tom (a native jokester). Other than that, I was let down again concerning the whole phone thing. Another chunk of time and money wasted for them to tell me the papers I had weren't enough. But other than that, it was a good day. Today, however, was very fun. Since it was Valentine's Day, it was all love based in church; and Hillsong sure knows how to spread the love. We had choir again, and it was total fun. The big surprise was singing Jon Foreman's song "Your Love Is Strong"; it's one of my favorite songs from his EPs, so I had a blast singing it as a worship song. The worship leaders switched it up a bit, but it was great. And I was privileged to hear another incredible word from Robert Fergusson; this guy just never ceases to amaze me; if you ever get a chance to look up his messages, I recommend you do. Seriously, he can blow you away. The evening service was great too; they interviewed Joel and Julia A'bell about relationships, love, marriage, having kids, etc. Lots of great insight from them, indeed. Tomorrow is the beginning of the regular school schedule; super excited, I am.

God bless,
Steven

Day 42: One Step Further

So today was the last day of intensive classes, which means we're gonna follow a solid schedule the rest of the semester. We got to have some worship lectures with some of the leaders, which was great. We finished up the day with talking over how Hillsong Sunday services work and why they operate a specific way; these people think of EVERY last detail to make sure the church is strong. It's scary how organized and strategized this church is; yet it's SO cool. We finished with talking about service, the very quality we get to practice this year. The church is about serving people, because Jesus served and they want to follow His example. I've learned quite a bit so far, and I can't wait to apply it to wherever God takes me after these 2 years. Well, since I have been getting very insufficient amounts of sleep lately, I am going to make an early curtain close; keep trusting in God and His everlasting love friends; if He's blessed me in so many ways, that doesn't mean He can't do the same for you ;)

God bless,
Steven

Day 41: What a Blessing!

I can't believe how amazing today was; it was just SO good. We had Sisterhood this morning, which is Hillsong's ministry just for women. Many of the women that attend don't come from good places, so to be treated with such respect and consideration makes them more open to what we have to share with them. My particular job was with logistics, which is basically all the setting up and breaking down of things in the reception area and auditorium. It was a cool experience, I'll say that. When that was done, we had a severe onslaught of intensive courses; it was lengthy, but we got a lot of great teaching. However, it didn't compare to what I just came back from; Erik invited me to join him and some people to go share the Gospel in Darling Harbour. That was the best thing that I could've chosen to do. We had a total blast seeing what God set in our minds to be watchful of actually appear in our midst; lots of prayer and encouragement. I love doing stuff like this; it reminds me of City Impact and everything they do. I wish you all could have seen the kind of things I got to experience tonight; I'm sure you would love it too. Tomorrow is our last day of intensives, and then it's regular schedule from here on until after Hillsong Conference!

God bless,
Steven

Day 40: Nothing Other Than Powerhouse

Today was a challenge for me. This morning there was a tragedy with my clothes that I was washing. A couple days ago I washed my clothes, but my roommate Erik told me not to use the dryer because it would make the gas bill very high, and since I have absolutely NO place to put all my clothes, I had no choice but to leave it in the washer until I could figure something out. This morning it actually smelled worse than when I put it in to wash it. Plus my other roommate Anders was using the dryer, so that confused me at first, but I then decided that I just HAD to use it. It didn't really help in the end; so now I have very little clothes to survive on until my clothes that still have a distasteful smell can dry in some way. I'm gonna put this in prayer, because I have nothing else to look to; and with this experience, I am most likely going to a dry cleaners from now on. I've been thinking a lot lately about God and my purpose here and His plan for me; I feel like there's so much I have to do until I get even a small bit of clarity on this. I know that God is here and He's watching over me, but just the fact that I'm basically alone out here makes it very hard to pretty much survive. I also spent a portion of the day alone since everyone was out, which gave me some time to try and fix the laundry mess and listen to the new music that released yesterday. I also got to make a 1st draft cover for what will be my collection of favorite songs from SFC chapels and T.R.A.C./the Bridge. In complete homage to SFC, I figured the cover just had to have a Trojan on it (I'll see if I can post the draft picture somewhere. Tonight there was Powerhouse, which is the young adults evening. There's gonna be a series about love that's gonna cover the next several weeks, so it should be cool. It's been a mental and emotional roller coaster for a couple weeks now, and all I can do is trust that God is gonna carry me through these rough patches so I can give it my all with college. Please keep me in prayer that I can get through these mental down-spots and give 100% of myself to God's service.

God bless,
Steven

Day 39: LVN

Today we spent the whole day at Hills Campus, which was a great blessing. we got to hear from many respected persons of the Hillsong staff, including Brian Houston, "Sanga", Joel A'Bell, Reuben Morgan, and others. THEN we got the double blessing of hearing Aslan- I mean, Robert Fergusson- give us a teaching on the language of the blood and of the Spirit; the highlight of the day for me, personally. Then after a lunch break, we had a Q&A session with Joel Houston (who turns out to be one of THE most hippie-esque chill people on the planet), who had amazing words of wisdom. Then after a quick segment with Joel A'Bell, we had a dinner break, so most of us went to the food court down the hill; here I got to meet some more friends, which was cool. Then it was Leadership Vision Night, which was basically an expanded view on what was shared on Sunday. Overall, it was a great day; I wish we could have more days like this, but there aren't too many. Guess I gotta wait until next semester.

God bless,
Steven

Day 38: Memoirs of Yesteryear

Today started off with an intended plan. My mission was to get this whole not having a phone situation out of the way, but unfortunately it didn't work out as I hoped; turns out there was one paper between me and my college phone. I was bummed out, but I just accepted and moved on to explore some more Sydney that I was unfamiliar with. I also was reunited with a new fast food fave: Oporto's delicious chicken wings. Oporto is a Portuguese-style restaurant that's like the ethnic and more culturally sound version of KFC; I'm not saying KFC is bad (they have it here too) but this chicken just tastes SOOOOOOOOO good. Plus I paid a great price for it too; win-win. On my way to the city I was listening to Anberlin's Never Take Friendship Personal, an album that shares many memories with me. During this time a lot was going through my mind; high school, church, helping lead worship in church, praying for a place to live, making new friends as well as renewed friendships with old friends, and other things. But one thing that would occasionally flustered my mind was one word: Love. What is love's true meaning? Where does it come from? How do you know that's what it is you may be feeling? You're probably wondering what in the world I'm talking about, but to the select few that I spoke to about this situation of mine, you probably already caught onto it. In fact, just before I logged in to type this, I watched 500 Days of Summer, which ended up being somewhat of a recreation of the period when I asked these questions.
This guy is just going back and forth, basically going crazy in his mind over this girl; they're friends, yes, but he obviously sees what can be. It's a classic "just friend" scenario, where the guy has the feelings and emotions that the girl doesn't have, but rather sees him as a good friend. Over time, it appears that things start going the way he wanted it to go, and he's getting all happy with life. But then it ends. Just like that. His life spirals downward to the point that he just starts to lose hope for anything. Then when it seems like she's slowly coming back into his life, he gets excited. Excited as in "maybe this CAN work out!". Until he sees her engagement ring. Then it's back to rock bottom. He sits in his sadness and discontent while she is living out a dream come true. But he starts getting back up, moving on and trying to make something of himself. Returning to his favorite chill spot, she finds him there and they just talk. He talks about how wrong he was about true love and how stupid it was to believe in it. But she talks of how it was set by fate that she met her husband, and that everything he said was right all along; the only wrong part of the equation was her.
I look back to when this was MY life; my situation, my period of hope, happiness, and sadness. (btw, this is the first time I'm really expanding on this whole thing, so bear with me.) I felt a deep connection with her [whose name will remain anonymous, unless you already know]; it was unlike anything I had ever felt before in my life. Every time thoughts of her came into my head, it was followed by concerns for her well-being, her safety, and especially her faith. I spent 2 years of my life having this whole thing going on in my head; outside, I was her good friend from church, but inside I was that guy hiding in the corner, so nervous and unsure of what to do. I know now that it wasn't the kind of love I thought it was; the love I had for her was a BFF love. But I thought it was so much more than that. After my first mission trip, I had an encounter with God, challenging to give up everything for Him. This included what consumed my thoughts many times throughout the day. I agreed, and before I knew it, those butterflies in the stomach were gone. And before I knew it, the feelings and emotions get flipped, turned the other way around. Now she starts liking ME beyond the BFF label, and I'm there just embracing the wonderful friends I had by my side. Within 2 months, not only did the feelings come back into MY heart, but now the feeling became mutual; we like-liked each other. What followed was one of the happiest periods of my life. Every time something reminded me of her, I would just get that joyful warmth inside. I just kept wondering, "Is this it? Could this be love? Could this be what I've seen in those romantic movies? Could this be my Ryan Reynolds/Amy Smart (aka Just Friends) moment?" I was just pouring my heart out in happiness. Then the curveball came. One Sunday, my parents announce to me and my sister that because of the drama building up in my first church it was time to move on. You can only imagine how I felt when I heard that. It was like that typical romantic movie scene where the "couple" are about to like kiss and you hear a record skip sound and something interrupts the moment. All I could think of was "........... what?" I tried to see if it could survive; if the not really getting a chance to see her anymore problem wouldn't break it apart. But the end was inevitable, and just like that it was over and done. That's when the hurt came. I was so sure that she could very well have been that one girl that was different than all the rest, because she might just have been "the One For Me". But it wasn't; she wasn't it. And it took me almost a year to accept it. I spent most of that year in sadness, even considering that maybe I was meant to remain a single person my whole life (pathetic, yes, but this was my first time with these feelings, so don't ridicule me). Then, that spark of hope came on her birthday; I thought that this could be the day I could reassure that it could work between us. I was excited; that changed when I got there. When I gave her a birthday hug, I was just so relieved to see her again, and I couldn't wait to find a chance to talk to her about what happened months before. But then another guy came, and I saw the look on her face; the very face I had the honor to see during that month of happiness whenever she saw me come to her. She looked much more excited to see him, and right then and there I felt like that that light at the end of the tunnel became the headlight of a speeding train coming to knock my senses to reality. It truly was over. I went home that day an officially heartbroken guy. I thought I had a chance; but that chance just wasn't an option on her side. I spent many hours of my life talking to her over email, texting, phone conversations, etc. about many things, including relationships. We had so many significant moments that we got to share together. And that day I felt like it was all for nothing. The next few months was just depression in my mind over it. We started talking again, but to the point that in my desperation of wanting to be with her, she got annoyed of me. I lost it even more then. Long story short, it took a 2 month encounter with God to accept that she just wasn't the one. In New Zealand, I had her graduation picture that she gave me; every day I looked at that picture and prayed for her and her family. I just looked at her, and I couldn't help but smile. But there came an evening for the guys called Freedom night, where we could explain things that we were feeling and present it to God and give it all to Him. We were at the beach, and we had a piece of paper. We were to write down things that we needed release, closure, and freedom from so that our lives could be all about God. I wrote things down, but I added her picture in it too. We then buried those papers in the sand and watched as the water washed it away, representing God's receiving of those things. I accepted that she was more secure in His arms than she ever would be in mine. That was the point of closure.
The way 500 Days of Summer ended was quite a mirror to my life too. As he is getting towards working, he's waiting for an interview when he meets this girl that's trying to get the job too. A connection is formed as they talk, and she mentions that she's seen him before. You end up seeing that she's most likely his "one". Just as my life was getting back together, God gave me another chance. He arranged for someone that's seen me for a long time before to become just as special as the girl I had feelings for some months before. Now you probably know who I'm talking about, right? Well, she's very special, and we got to know each other at the times that we needed someone significant in our lives. So now I'm just waiting on God; I have no guarantee that my new hope could be "the one I'm waiting for" (Relient K reference just for Kazemi), but I really hope she is 8) sorry for being SO random about this whole subject, but I just had a major reflection on all that today. And that movie really made had me thinking.

God bless,
Steven

Day 37: the Vision

So yesterday was Vision Sunday; just an incredible day. (If you haven't read my note on Facebook about this vision for the year, I suggest you go take a look). It was just such a good day, seriously. I can't really express how good God was. A lot of people got inspired by it, and this Tuesday will be just as cool because we get to go back to Hills campus again. Sorry for he delay on the bog, but I ended up staying up for a long time and it slipped my mind.

God bless,
Steven

Day 36: The Start of "Home" work

Today's only true highlight was this morning; at 8:45, I was summoned to join all the first year students that have been recruited to do street ministry with Hillsong's Street Teams. Street Teams is basically what City Impact/Rescue Mission would, so I was actually really excited that I was assigned here; it's so much fun. We met our leader, Gary, and got to talk with him and share a little about ourselves with everyone; it was a great connect time. Although we didn't necessarily DO any work, It gave us a reason to be super excited. And speaking of super excited, tomorrow is going to be something that's been hyped for a month now: Vision Sunday. So every year Pastor Brian Houston shares with the church the vision for the year based on what God revealed to him; and since this is the start of a new decade, this Vision Sunday is much, MUCH more significant. I can't wait to see what the plans are for this year in the church. And on Tuesday we get to return to the Hills Campus and spend the whole day with the Hills students during the Leadership Vision Night WITH Brian Houston; that's gonna be awesome. Despite a horrific battle with the rain today, I really enjoyed it.

God bless,
Steven

P.S. I've only gotten 2 people interested in the exclusive Hillsong music; COME ON PEOPLE!!!!! jk

Day 35: Awesome God

I felt very unusual today; not like sick unusual, but just kinda damaged. I've been thinking on everything that's happened in my personal life over the past 6 years and how the enemy was trying to bring me down. Many occasions he won, but in many more God rose victorious; that's why I give Him glory. A lesson I've learned this first week: no matter what direction your day/life may take, alway give God the glory. I've been hurt by others, but mostly by myself; I've let myself get into some pretty tough battles. Some of them are still in the middle, I'll admit. I don't have the strength and confidence to confess some of the things I've done over the years that I'm ashamed of, but in God's name I will. If anything I will confess as a witness to how God can heal and change lives. God is good; He is mighty, powerful, and loving. And He is my Father; Robert Fergusson said that he would constantly remind himself that God is His Father. And over time he said it so much, it was something he believed in SO strongly and it just became a default praise. I want that to be a standard praise for me; to just be able to lift up God as my Father right away. Makes you wonder, huh? I think you should give it a shot; after all, repetition is key to remembering important things, right? Just try it. We had some great sessions at school today, and tonight was the United night, where they combine the 3 main age group ministries: Fuel (the middle school program), Wildlife (the high school program), and Powerhouse (the young adults program). In case you didn't know already, Hillsong United is radical, and they can certainly entertain. Tomorrow I finally get to some outside Street Team awesomeness, so I'll be sure to give you details on that.

God bless,
Steven

P.S.: I have a special treat for everyone: tonight, Hillsong put together an exclusive promo for this month's theme of living a life of love. They had these brand new EPs that include 6 totally great (but new, for you) songs and a message from Chrishan, the youth pastor. IF you are interested in getting in on the love, send me an email, and I will respond with the songs! And be sure to spread it, because we all need Love.

Day 35: The Human Aslan and Elevate

Today we had another day of discussing Communication in Ministry; first we talked about whether we have assertive, aggressive, or non-assertive behavior during conflicts and things concerning conflict resolution. It was a good set, but not as good as the lecture we had later on. After an excellent lunch with Jake Sulley (Okay, so he's not really Jake Sulley from Avatar, but his name's Jake, he's a cool guy, and he even kinda looks like the other guy) we got to meet with our church life specialists for what we'll be doing during the week as part of our ministry requirements. So I will be part of the Street Teams, which I'm more than excited about 8) However, nothing was as awesome as hearing the amazing Robert Fergusson talk about Characteristics of Communication. So if you don't know Robert Fergusson, he's like the guru of Hillsong; he's an expert at preaching and teaching, he's a veteran member, being part of the church when Brian Houston's dad was running the church, and having one of the most anointed abilities to speak straight into your heart. He's like the Aslan of Hillsong; a voice that is filled with authority, yet gentle at the same time. So cool. We also had Elevate night at Hills campus, and it was cool seeing Joel Houston and Darlene Zschech there; worship was just incredible. Joel and Jad Gillies introduced a new song that was written by Reuben Morgan AND Chris Tomlin (what a team) called Awakening, and it was just amazing; you're gonna love it when the new album comes out. God really just spoke to me today through everything that happened; it's incredible how easy it is for Him to talk with us and how hard it is for us to listen. But I received, and I am grateful.

God bless,
Steven

Day 34: Chill and Socialize

The morning was very much a drag; I'm to blame. I woke up a bit later than usual, and that made me very lazy. It wasn't until like 11 that I decided "I need to DO something!", so I had me some breakfast which was refreshing. I was then invited by my friend Anders (who is now confirmed as Norwegian, not Swedish) to go with him to the city. At first I was gonna say no, but out of personal motivation to not be a bum today, I agreed to go. So we did, and I got to meet 2 other guys. They are named Ben and Riley (whose names are ridiculously similar to a couple treasure hunters that went across famous, historical American cities to search for hidden antiquities and artifacts using clues hidden within some of our famous monuments.....), and they are extremely cool guys. Ben is a native Australian, and Riley is from Nashville, TN. I got to talk with them, and they're just awesome guys. Later on I got invited by Riley to go with him to a welcoming/birthday party for Jordan, who is starting this year just like most of us. The social interactions came in multiples this time, and I got to know a lot of people and get better acquainted with others I met earlier. Overall, it was a nice day off. I'm excited for tomorrow though; it's gonna rock. Wanna know why? Then wait until tomorrow's entry so I can give you good details.

Did I mention I'm gonna be part of worship at Hillsong yet?

God bless,
Steven

Day 33: The First School Day

Today was quite the event. After all this time just waiting, we finally started. How awesome =) These next 2 weeks are going to be what is called intensive courses, where they go through an entire lecture in 2 weeks or less. Basically, it's a lot of listening and taking notes for concepts and principles that will help us in the ministry field. The intensive is called Communication in Ministry, and boy was there a lot of communication. Our principal, Katrina, did such a cool job at giving the lecture; she's one of those leaders that can really grasp your attention and keep it for a long time. We discussed all kinds of communication types, concepts of meditation, and looking to the Word as our ultimate guide with communicating with God. She referred to it like being in a foreign country; you need to rely on a map to know where to go. And in the case of the Christian, our map to the walk of life is the Word, and since the Word became flesh, it is our ultimate source of security. It was such an amazing day, with all seriousness. Tomorrow we have a break, so I'm gonna take that time and explore these apartments; I have to know what's here so I don't just stay in my room all the time!

God bless,
Steven

Day 32: A Pretty Good Start

February; here already?? Man, that was fast. I can't believe January is already over; it's been a very good year so far. I finally got to a comfortable level with my roommate, Tyson, which is great because now I'm sure we can have multiple sentence conversations now haha. It was a very socialite day, which I needed; so turns out it was Tyson's birthday, so he and 2 other girls that shared the birthday had a party in one of the neighbor buildings; and the way these people can party is kind of cool. We have quite a bit of wild characters in our group, and it's hilarious seeing guys coming up with dance/handshake maneuvers and feeling like they were the bomb; just hilarious. I was also reunited with my dear friend: Dr. Pepper. Man, did it taste good to have it again.

I also have to mention the extremely quick but relieving audition I had today. All I did was play the verse and chorus of Mighty To Save (in honor of P. Mike), and You'll Come (I ended up improving the whole song based on memory since I have never gotten the privilege to play it before), but my teacher thought I did pretty good. The only thing I have to do in excess is dive headfirst into Music Theory classes so I can learn to READ (which is good, because I would like to make Mrs. Morgan proud haha) but in God's name I can do it. And I really, really, REALLY am gonna start to work towards learning guitar. I want and need to get this in my brain, because I just really have the desire to learn. I just pray I can get it done.

Classes start tomorrow!!!!! YAY!!!!!!
God bless,
Steven