Day 243: No Far Away

Okay, so here's what went down:
My morning should have started at 5:55 because of my alarm. However, because of my lazy self, I ended up getting out of bed at 6:25; a little later than desired, BUT I got up, and that's what matters. I went to chapel rehearsal, which went great; I got to try out camera 3 this time. The things about camera 3 is that you are responsible for following the main speaker or MC, so naturally that brings up some pressure. The guys said I did a reasonable job, even during the actual chapel (which followed an awesome Personal Evangelism class). After chapel, there was the usual hour break before our musicianship/songwriting workshop; this time around, there was a bit more pressure. Instead of one song and usage of charts and lyric sheets, we had to learn 2 songs and perform them without the charts. While I believe the band did a great job at figuring the songs out, a combination of bad time managing, confusion over the charts, and lack of organization resulted in what could have been improved. Overall, the workshop was great; I can't wait for next week's. The rest of my day didn't involve much; but I do want to get these assessments done early so I can relax over the weekend. If last semester taught me anything in terms of common sense, it's that taking care of the assessments early on can really help reduce stress levels; I've noticed people working furiously at 11:30 in the evening trying to finish/upload assessments due in half an hour, and that's not where I want to end up. It's good to be ready ahead of time, and I hope I can stay committed to my plan.

God bless,
Steven

P.S. the title of today's blog is in tribute to Chris August, whom I have recently become a fan of. This guy's music is so inspiring; I can't stop listening to his music online!! I think you should check him out sometime.

Day 242: The Blue Screen of Death

In the technology world, there is a term for a really bad situation called "the blue screen of death". This usually happens when there is a serious error in your computer, and for the sake of protecting the files inside, it undertakes the blue screen; this blue screen basically means that the computer can no longer function and that you need to get a new one. Although that doesn't necessarily happen to other devices like iPods or phones or video games, that situation can still be very real. Throughout my day I dealt with my own "blue screen of death". The name on the screen when it happened? Telstra. Literally. I don't know exactly why it happens, but my phone "feels the need" to restart itself on a regular basis; sometimes in the middle of writing a text message or even when simply checking the time. sometimes not even that. Regardless of that drama, my day was awesome. My standard Monday is a full day (in a way) from 10:15 to 5:15. I love the classes I have today; it's all tutorials, but they're all such good times to share with my classmates. I get to study the New Testament, talk songwriting and musicianship, and discuss Christian doctrine, personal evangelism, AND teamwork all in the same day. After that, 223 hosted an "assessment workshop", and 5 people were working on assessments here; quite the interesting situation to be in. It's nice to have good friends over, even if we don't necessarily get much accomplished together. I've also been thinking of home a lot lately; I hear things back in the States aren't going so well. Hopefully, my family won't be seriously affected by that.

God bless,
Steven

Day 241: Peace

One thing I've been trying to find is peace. I realize that's one hard thing to find. Today, if anything, made me feel more at peace than I had the past week. Sunday morning was powerful....(this is Joshua, one of Stevens flatmates. I love this guy, he's a legend. Like for real, what a guy. I'm really glad i live with him and i think you should send him Oatmeal Creme Pies as a gift.... of which he'll give to me because he is such a generous guy. Cheers) So moving on, choir was great, and Robert Fergusson gave an amazing word on Ephesians and standing firm. After that, my day was made up of relaxing, working on assessments, playing a game, and going to Sunday Night Live. Donna Crouch's presentation was amazing; it was mind blowing, the kind of testimonies that were given. It was a good day; no worries, no problems.

God bless,
Steven

Day 240: The Progress of Video Making

I look back at today, and I realize I went through all stages of making videos. The morning, instead of going out with Street Teams, I worked on the Street Teams promo video. It was 2 hours of looking through clips and finding the ones I was going to use, and another hour of editing it down to a two minute video. I can proudly say that after such a long time of planning and filming, this video is now done. Afterwards, I met with my video team to talk about plans for the semester; it was a rather successful meeting, and I'm excited to see where this team progresses. Once that meeting was over, I met with my songwriting partner, Kristen, and attempted to finish the worship song for our first songwriting analysis; we are so close to being done with the song, and it's awesome. The rest of my day was a good Skype chat, chilling with my flatmates, having a flat dinner, and watching Fanboys (which was as good of a movie as I imagined it to be). It's days like these that I can be grateful for God's mercy; without it, I wouldn't exist. He's a cool guy, that's for sure.

God bless,
Steven

Day 239: Prayer in the Spirit

Dear God,
I come to You as Your son, as well as Your servant. I can proudly say that my life has been a blessing and a gift because of Your grace and mercy. I believe in my heart, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that You are real and that You are holy. You are my reason for living and breathing, and there is nothing else that compares to You. Lord, I want to dedicate a blog entry just for You, because I see many needs in the lives of those I love as well as my own. I know that You hear me, so I'll do my best to mention everything.
Let's start with my family, the people I cherish most in my life (even the tiny, four legged furry ones.) I pray over my parents's marriage. I thank you that I have been part of a family that has stuck through trial after trial, but I know that even then there are challenges, as is life. Please continue to be what keeps my family together; restore the health of our relationships with each other so that we won't become another statistic to the world's standard. We are all Your children, so may we be set apart from today's "normal". Bring peace to my mom and dad, as they are constantly sacrificing their time, energy, and money to keep the whole family secure. I don't know what I would do without them. Bless their marriage, so that they can have the happiness that was there since the beginning for years to come. As for my sister, I just pray for You to be her strength; You know her heart and that she's seeking You. You said that if we sought You, we would find You; in that case, I don't doubt Mandy will find what she's been searching for. Oh, and please help Sausage and Albert calm down and be good little ones; I can only imagine how they have been driving my family crazy this year...
I pray over my home of San Francisco, and everything I've been away from: other family, friends, mentors, spiritual advisors, and my church homes. I pray for San Francisco Christian School, City Impact Ministries, and Ministerios Yeshua Es El Senor. These are places that You are using to impact people's lives, and I pray that Your favor will remain constant over them. We need Your churches to be stronger than ever during these hard times, so as Your word says that You won't leave or forsake us, let us be dependent on You to keep us strong and pressing on.
I pray over those in my life that either choose not to believe in You or have at one point and have now abandoned it. I know You care for them so much, and if it is Your will to use me to reach out to them, then give me opportunities to do so. I am here, and I am willing; as my mom presented me to You to be Your servant, I take that decision whole-heartedly as my own.
Lastly, I pray over our relationship. The heart surgery You're performing on me still has a ways to go, but I'm remaining calm because I know that in the end I will be made whole. God, I don't care what I have to go through to get there; as long as I get there. Guide me in Your truth, that I can be the person You've called me to be. Fill me with Your Spirit, so that my relationship with You can go to a whole other level. Take control of this life. Carry this broken mess. Help me live a life that is and will be acceptable in Your sight.
Your son,
Steven

Day 238: Thank God, the internet is back

For the first time in about a month, I am typing this blog entry IN MY FLAT. How good is God, hey? This alone is enough to say about the day. But I'll be nice and explain.

Sisterhood started things off right; I got to work with wonderful Camera 1 again, and I love that we're such a good team. I'm getting the hang of being part of the TV crew; I'm looking forward to what's next.
After that, there was a small break between Sisterhood and my other class. Unfortunately Duncan couldn't grace us with his presence and wisdom, but we got to hear from George Pingel, who gave some pretty good insight on the kingdom of Heaven.
Then there was going back to 223 and playing some Marvel Ultimate Alliance with Josh and Donny; I have missed this game.. it's good to be reunited with it. Anyways, it was also around that time we discovered that our internet was back on; I'm pretty sure we could hear the angels singing in the distance... okay, not really, but you get my point.
Master classes were cool as well. We had this guy named Tim, a bass player with 10 years experience, show us some tips about hearing the bass parts of songs. It was very helpful with the way I usually learn songs, so I'll definitely try and use that in my practice time.
Team Night was cool; I got to try out Camera 3 for the first time, and it was pretty fun. The TV crew leader, Simon, said he was impressed with my shots, and he told me if I get some more experience and level up with working cameras in weekend services, I might be able to do camera work for bigger things like conferences and album recordings. Now THAT would be sweet.
All in all, this day was good; again, thanks be to God for His awesomeness.

God bless,
Steven

Day 237: Meeting, Boxes, and Prayers

I woke up later than usual (thank God), mainly because I wasn't doing anything until 11:15. I met with Bede, one of the church's primary drummers about the setup for the Box, which was tonight. The original idea was to set up the stage on top of the reception desk and to have tables set around it. More on that later..
After that meeting I had a little bit of time before my other meeting with Gary about the Street Teams video I'm working on. So far, we have a little bit of the footage stored onto a computer; we just need the rest before I can start editing away. That should get some more progress on Saturday.
Then, I came back here to Skype with my family, and despite some internet connection issues, we managed to have a great talk (I just wish the internet in the stairwell didn't shut down so abruptly). I had little time after that before I had to go back to college to set up the foyer for the Box.
The Box actually turned out a lot better than I imagined. We made it like a sort of cafe style setting, and the people that participated did such great work with their performances (video will be posted at some point when the internet in our place is back). MY personal favorite was Alexis, who under her stage name Wyze did a rap (which has never been done in my knowledge of the Box's existence), and it was absolutely epic. Due to the Box being right before Powerhouse, Powerhouse ended up being real different this time around, BUT needless to say it was good. The other awesome thing that happened is that Donny finally got the money to pay off his fees and most of his rent. God is answering prayer, no doubt; another prayer He hinted at was meeting this guy named Ben, who works at the convenient store on the other side of my building. I felt something inside me, telling me to just ask how he was going, and that simple question turned into a whole conversation; I sure hope God will bless me with more opportunities to talk with him.

God bless,
Steven

Day 236: Waterloo Sunsets and BBQ Ribs

When your day starts with chapel rehearsal, you just know it's gonna be a good day. I got to try out a different camera this time around: Camera 2! It was nice to get a different perspective on camera operating. Personal Evangelism was awesome this morning; I love Anita's teaching. Chapel was obviously great; we got to hear from our dear friend and teacher George Pingel, who talked about focus. When you have incredible teachers/speakers like these, you can't help but be blessed. The highlight of today was the musicianship/songwriting workshop time; we learned this super random song called Waterloo Sunset from a band I've never heard of. I can honestly say, I love the people I'm sharing this journey alongside; every single person helps me appreciate this college even more. The only other super cool things that happened after our amazing workshop was watching the Book of Eli (which made me think of my mom and her Biblical wisdom) and hanging out with my connect group guys at the Shakespeare Hotel (ribs for $10; can it get any better than that?!?!) It's the days like these that I can be at peace with being here; it's for a purpose that God hasn't revealed to me just yet, and I know there's so much in store in the near future.

God bless,
Steven

Day 235: Assessment Thunder

As the title implies, there's quite a bit of pressure being put on by assessments; it's weird when you have assessments with 3 to 5 questions, but all the questions are super deep. Today I worked on a New Testament, Teamwork, and Christian Doctrine assessments; I can honestly say there wasn't much that was done. I'm okay with that, though! Classes today were so good; I like the classes we have this semester. I also got to hang out with some guys from another flat; more details on that will be in an episode of 223. I could go into more detail, but I need to go to sleep; I got another early call time for chapel.

God bless,
Steven

Day 234: The Unprodigal

What is it about Sundays that are just great? I'm sure God has a big part to play in that. Choir was a blessing as always, but today was especially different. My choir family group went into the city, specifically the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where we went to see this exhibit called Paths of Abstraction. This exhibit showcased the evolution of abstract painting, which is the style of painting that doesn't necessarily have a theme other than invoking emotions through colors and patterns. I can now proudly say I've stood in front of paintings done by legends like Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet! There was another exhibit called the Victorian Vision, where it was all super detailed and realistic painting from the Victorian era. It's amazing how many Biblically themed paintings there were in this place; there were painting of Adam and Eve, Jesus' Crucifixion, Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones, and even one called "The Spirit of Christianity". They were simply amazing; I'm looking forward to the next time I can go to an art gallery. After that whole trip that took most of the afternoon, I went with Donny to Sunday Night Live, where the one and only Robert Fergusson gave an absolutely mind-blowing message taking a different perspective on the story of the prodigal son. He spoke on how prodigal has two different meanings: one being wasteful with spending money, and the other being recklessly extravagant. The son was wasteful with his money, but the father was extravagant with grace for his son. It's the same with us and God. We can be so comfortable with our regular lives, wasting away precious time with God, but regardless He waits for us to come back to Him. Seriously, Robert Fergusson is an absolute legend; if I could ever speak even a tiny bit like him, that'd be so cool. Afterwards, I chilled with Donny and watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (epic movie, especially with Mr. T. in the mix). Now I have a couple minor things to take care of, so if you'll excuse me...

God bless,
Steven

Day 233: Anaconda SQUEEZE

Today was pretty eventful. Street Teams this morning was great, despite all I did was film. I have all the footage I'll need to make the video for Street Teams; now it's just a matter of making time to edit it and finalize it. I also enjoyed hanging out with Gary; he's one cool dude. After Street Teams (and being blessed with some excess food from Citycare), Donny and I came back and chilled before heading to the city. We returned to the store Donny is trying to get a job in, because he wants them to know how much he wants (and needs) this job. Please continue to pray for him, because this is something really crucial to him staying here. We also got to hang out at Starbucks (for me, it's the first time I've been there since January) and just talk; it's nice to have those times where you can just talk about life with people you trust. My original plan for the evening was to go to the release party for Set Sail's latest EP (Set Sail is a band made up of former Hillsong college students. And they are one talented group of guys!), but I ended up not going because I felt like it was going to be really crowded. Frankly, I just didn't want to be in a crowded environment. Instead, I got to hang out with my flat and some other friends and we watched Date Night (I have to admit, despite the massive amount of crude humor, this movie was hilarious!!) The best part of today, however, was finally getting the missing scenes for the first episode of 223; it's taken such a long time, but as far as I can tell it was worth the wait.The only thing that really messed up this day was, as you could guess, Telstra. So we paid the bill to reactivate our internet; we were happy about that. Unfortunately, Telstra is making us wait yet ANOTHER WEEK before we actually have internet in our flat; why can't these people just take the money and give the customer what they want and need?? I'm tired of this stuff; it's ungodly how bad they are treating all this. Anyways, tomorrow should make up for this madness.

God bless,
Steven

Day 232: Lost and Gained Opportunities

I guess it's safe to say that it's normal for good and bad things to happen in the same day. Here's the good stuff:
Christian Doctrine with Tracy Barrell is one of the best classes. EVER.
I got to help with TV; graphics this time!!!
Hannah's songwriting class was awesome; I feel so empowered to write now!
I also got to hang out with Lazaro and Alison, having dinner, listening to some Tedashii and Trip Lee, and watching Push (which I give a 7 out of 10)

The not so great stuff:
I found out today that I can't submit my video for the Box because it's going to be in the garage, where there is no screens to play videos. Unfortunate, but I have next month's to try again.
I failed at drawing a giraffe (mainly because I forgot what it looks like... don't judge me)

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

God bless,
Steven

Day 231: Materials..

Today was awesome, despite some minor setbacks. The morning was all Sisterhood (which went great; I got to reunite with my friend Camera 1 during the service). After that it was a small break before my other class, New Testament Intro with Duncan. I love this man's wisdom; he just has such an intriguing way of presenting ideas and stories from the Bible that it blows me away every time. We talked about the history of the Mediterranean area before Christ's entering into the earth; it's truly amazing how it all connects when you put the passages of the Bible together with the historical context around it. Is it weird of me to say I'm excited for the assessments of this class?
The biggest setback was with Telstra. So after all this time waiting and waiting, they told us that we would get our internet back tomorrow if we paid it off (which was the original plan). However, they said they already reactivated it a week ago (which is ridiculous, because nothing in our place worked). So now they are asking us to pay $99, plus another $22 charge (for basically nothing), in order for us to get our internet back. Australian internet companies officially suck. We're gonna get this all figured out soon; we just hoped it wouldn't be so expensive. The other setback was during the bass workshop. We were going over one of the new songs, when suddenly my bass guitar decided to stop working. Like, it just died there on the spot. I have to figure out if I can fix it, because I really need this thing to be functional with all the song intensives coming up.
Team Night was the redeeming point of it all. Catrina gave an incredible message on worship and what it requires from us. IT was seriously one of the best messages I've heard in a while; the only one I could think of that could be better is the Sunday Night Live coming up featuring Robert Fergusson! Other than all this, the little things in between made this day, as before mentioned, awesome.

God bless,
Steven

Day 230: Video In An Hour

That's right. I made a video today. From concept to filming and editing in an hour. I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. Okay, so I've been trying to make this video for a while (specifically like 5 months), but I just never got the chance to make it. But I did today!!! So I went right at it, because I am making history as being one of the first video submitters for The Box. While there's a lot of bands that will be auditioning for a spot in the event, all I have to do is bring a DVD and show it to the judges for approval. I think it should be fine; I enjoyed making it so much. It's a great feeling when you have this vision for a film and you get to see it come to life in your own hands. Ah, the smile it puts on my face 8) so after that, I had lunch with Donny, Josh, and Aaron at good ol' Hungry Jack's (because we love it). I love hanging out with these guys; they're one of the top reasons why I love being here. Right after lunch, I went to school to get my job profile meeting taken care of; I can gladly say I need not worry about that anymore. It was a pretty quick meeting, plus an invitation to help head the bass guitar master classes (a bit scared of that, I'll admit); that should be interesting.... well, after that I got to Skype with my dad (and at least say hi to my sister); we talked for over an hour, just catching up on life. I don't even care if I have to annoy people with my echoing voice in a stairwell; I'm just grateful I can communicate with my family this way. After that, I was supposed to help set up for Powerhouse; however, my plans changed as I went with Donny to the city. So Donny's been praying for a job for a very long time; like, a VERY LONG TIME. Recently, he heard that one of his all time favorite stores, Hype DC (a shoe store), was hiring; so today he turned in his resume. They told him he might get a call back in about a week; he's asking God for a response in two days. We even went as far (or as bold) as to pray right in front of the store, not caring if people saw us. This is a need, and he believes with his heart that God will provide in the end. So I want to ask you, reader, to keep Donny in prayer that God can provide this dream job to him. He definitely deserves it.
Powerhouse was quite the eventful time; my leader, Valerie, decided to let me try and do HER job. Basically, it's what I do. Times 5. I was so worried about screwing up, but by God's grace, I managed to survive, and without a scratch. I just need to do a lot more training with this whole thing. Afterwards, I met with my friend Eldon, and we talked about forming a media team for Hillsong Men (or Misterhood, as we like to call it). Fortunately, I won't have as much responsibility with this team; just editing and finishing videos. Speaking of videos, I have a lot of videos waiting for an internet connection to be released to the world. All I ask for is patience, and soon I will be uploading them.

God bless,
Steven

Day 229: Musician In Training

Today started around 6:30, because I wanted enough time to get ready for our trip to the Hills campus. We had a student/staff meeting out there with Pastor Brian Houston, so after the one hour bus ride there, we had one class and then the meeting. Worship was phenomenal, and Brian's message was powerful (as is pretty much all of his messages). After a nice "morning tea" which had no tea in it whatsoever, we headed back to the City Campus in time to get some rest before our other classes. My Tuesdays are pretty much the music days, because we have a 3 hour workshop that is solely focused on music, specifically songwriting and musicianship. Today and for the next few weeks, we are going to work on intensive song learning; the way it works is that 5 minutes before our start, we are given a song that we don't know and are given an hour to learn all the parts in time for a performance. This is being done because it's a part of the worship team life, since sometimes they are given a song to learn like 15 to 20 minutes before the start of a service. I think that this is a fantastic way to get some more experience, and it was a blast working with some people I haven't worked with before. After that intensive, I got to do some practice time with my friend Joe; we went through some Hill-songs, which was awesome considering we had never gone though those songs all the way through before. My evening was basically hanging out with Donny and Andrew for their Connect Group, which currently has only two members: the leaders. We had some food and watched the remake of Clash of the Titans, which I must admit that I found it to be better than I figured it would be. Tomorrow's my day off, but with the things I need to get done, it might not really be a "day off".

God bless,
Steven

Day 228: This just got serious

So today became the realization of the semester: it's gonna be way tougher than the last. Sure, there are some classes where things are as easy as ones from the past semester, but then there are some classes with assignments sure to break through all kinds of comfort zones. In my Christian Doctrine/Personal Evangelism tutorial, we learned that one of our assessments involves us having communication with a non-Christian throughout the semester. It's really awesome that the college is encouraging us to try and find opportunities to share the gospel, but with this kind of pressure, it sure won't be easy; fortunately, I have an option that has already been set in motion. A while back, I worked with a guy named Shane, who is a solo graphic designer; you may know him as the guy that created the cover art for my music project, Here and Alive. One thing you may not know about him is that he is a Buddhist, and a very devout one in fact. One time I visited his place, we actually got to share from our own faith, which I thought was awesome. I got to share about my Christian faith and about Jesus, and Shane shared about what Buddhism is about. I feel like this is my opportunity; back then, I didn't have enough courage to just put the gospel out there, but God made the way possible. Now, I know that I need to make those opportunities happen more often; so I need prayer over the course of this semester, specifically that this evangelism opportunity can bring Shane at least one step closer to God. Other than, it was just classes, video editing, and hanging out with friends; a truly blessed day.

God bless,
Steven

Day 227: An almost legitimate series

You gotta love Sundays. Mine started later than usual because of an 11 a.m. call time. I served in the 12 p.m. service and got to hear from Steve Dixon, the campus pastor from Brisbane (pronounced bris-been over here); he gave a message on how we are adopted as God's sons, and it was a great word. My afternoon was composed of video editing; a lot of video editing. Last night's footage was 21 minutes worth, and I have to either condense it all to 10 minutes, or split it into 2 parts. That will be decided on a later date. Sunday night live was awesome; Sanga also gave a powerful message on adoption, which was just awesome. The highlight was seeing my old flatmate Anders and his girlfriend Caroline as part of the presentation; they totally made my night. The rest of the evening was hanging out with Donny and Andrew and making nachos; a truly happy ending.

God bless,
Steven

Day 226: Too Epic for words

My day, summarized:
Street Teams in the morning. I was supposed to get some footage of the Embrace team in a nursing home, but the place didn't allow us to film anything, so I ended up not doing much.
In the afternoon, I worked on my assessment; got the half that doesn't require internet finished, and tomorrow I need to find a place where I can use internet to get it done and uploaded.
In the early evening, the flat had a man dinner, composed of beef curry with rice and ice cream for dessert; yum. All that needs to be said.
In the evening.....
223 filmed it's 4th episode. And it's a good one. Like, it's so massive that it may have to be split in 3 parts. I love these guys.

God bless,
Steven

Day 225: A Mutual Camera

I'm sure you've been in a place where you find yourself connected to something, whether it's simple or significant. Today, I found myself connected to a camera; weird, I know, but it was cool. The past two weeks have been my "getting to know phase" with camera 1, and today I used it not once, but twice. After the Christian Doctrine lecture with Tracy Barrell (which is definitely one of the best things that will happen this semester), I got to use the camera for chapel; this was actually the surprise of the morning, because I wasn't supposed to come in, but there was a miscommunication that I was supposed to be there so I ended up helping out. I didn't mind helping out, but you know those last minute things; they come out of nowhere. Chapel was great though; it was a blast having another God encounter! After a one hour break, we had our musicianship/songwriting lecture with our teacher from last semester, Hannah Hobbes (what a legend!), which was awesome; I'm looking forward to seeing this class progress. In the evening was where I used camera 1 for the second time with Wildlife, the youth ministry. That was pretty fun as well; with Wildlife you get more freedom to be creative, and that is AWESOME!!! Today = SO good.

God bless,
Steven

Day 224: An Elevated Reunion

Today was great. Sisterhood was awesome, and handling camera 1 again was sweet! After Sisterhood was over, I had a one hour break before my only other class, which was New Testament Introduction with Duncan Corby. Every time I hear Duncan Corby speak about the Bible in any context, I get excited because he is just full to the brim with knowledge and wisdom. The way he talks about the Bible makes me realize how much less I know than I originally thought; his intention for this course is to get us to see the Bible in a whole new way, and as of right now I can say it's working. I can't wait to see how this class progresses. My afternoon was resting a bit, chatting with a maintenance man from Russia while he helped replace some burnt out lights in my bathroom, and playing some Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, the evening was the highlight, thanks to Elevate; Elevate is basically the creative team's night to just worship and pray together. What made this particular Elevate night special to me was reuniting with two of my good friends from my very first mission trip here in Australia: Chad and Alyssa. It's been 3 years since I've seen them, and I'm so happy that they're here! Well, they're in the Hills campus, BUT I'm still happy that they're in Australia again. I get to see them on Tuesday as well! as of right now, there are four people from my GE trip back in 2007 here in Hillsong International Leadership College; and from what I hear, there will be plenty more on their way!!

God bless,
Steven


Now THIS is a T-shirt!!

Day 223: Oh, the wonderful day off

As the title of today's blog says, it was a good day off. I got to sleep in a little more, which was awesome; and I will admit, I did procrastinate a little with getting out of bed. After breakfast and some music, I went to the Post Office to pick up a couple shirts that came in the mail; very happy that they are now in my possession. When I came back, I hung out with Josh and Aaron, and we talked about guitar and our dear friend Andre Hagen, who is no longer with us, but active as ever. Aaron showed me some of the stuff Andre worked on while he was here, and I feel like such an amateur when I'm hearing his music! Seriously, this guy has God's anointing ALL OVER HIM!!! So moving on, I can proudly say that I was able to Skype with my dad for the first time in a while; unfortunately, my internet's still down, but I'm happy I got to talk with him. That alone made my day worth it. After that it was time to set up for Powerhouse, and that went by much faster than usual. I'm sure it had to do with us having some new guys helping out; we finished in almost half the time. Powerhouse overall was good; I'm glad I get to be part of something awesome every week.
Today was very reflective. You ever have those days where you just look back at moments in your life? I had those moments all day. While walking to the post office, I was listening to Starfield's latest album. It made me think not only of when I first saw them at Summerfest near Great America, but also of all the time when God used their songs to speak to me. I've always admired their music because every song was reflective of how I felt and how I wanted to worship. I also got to think of how many people I care about back home. I have a big spiritual family, and to all of you, I am praying for you without ceasing! Talking with my dad brought a lot of those thoughts as well; especially after hearing Andy finally got his GMA. That brought a joy to my heart, because I got to remember all the great memories of being in the Royal Rangers. Ah, those were the days... but look where I am now. I'm not necessarily starting any fires or pitching tents, but I am growing the fire for God and pitching a "tent of meeting" if you will. I may not remember all the knots we used to tie things, but I do know that God is tied to me with a knot that can never be undone: His love for me.

God bless,
Steven

Day 222: Oh my word, yes.

So today was very good, as is most days. Class started at 10:15 (praise the Lord), but that's not when my day started. It actually began at 5:30, because I had chapel rehearsal to go to. Wanna hear the cool part? I wasn't the only one in my flat going. My entire flat (Donny, Josh, Lazaro, and myself) were part of chapel today! Josh and Donny were frontline singers (basically they were backing up the worship leaders), Lazaro was playing the drums, and I was on stage with camera 1; it was such an epic morning! The guys were so excited, they coordinated simultaneous scissor kicks (jumping in the air while kicking your legs out); it was pretty funny. Anita's personal evangelism class is gonna be good; based on how it went today, it's a fact. I love the way Anita communicates; she's very soft with her words, but every word is profound. I love it! Chapel was great as well; we got to hear from April Miller, and she's always a treat to hear from. To celebrate flat 223's participation in chapel, I took the guys out for lunch at one of our sacred grounds: Eat At Home. Eat At Home, which you saw in one of my vlogs, has THE best fish & chips in the area, and since we love it so much, we enjoyed the dish together; I love just being able to hang out with these guys. The rest of my afternoon was swept up in the songwriting/musicianship class which goes for about 3 hours (sounds like a drag, but it's a great class). The assessments for this semester are SUPER HARD, LIKE OH MY WORD YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW; so I need to start praying over that asap. In the evening, I had connect group with Georg; he's taking over the group that once belonged to our dear Swedish legend, Andreas Evermyr; it's a changing of the leadership that I approve of. Georg is a great guy, and I'm happy to be in his connect group. Not to mention, now I'm with Donny too! Ah yes, this day was a keeper; day off tomorrow should be a keeper as well.

God bless,
Steven

P.S. How awesome is this sweater design????

The zipper for the hoodie goes right down the middle, making this design all the more awesome. Yay for Moses!!

Day 221: and so it begins...

New semester's regular schedule started today. I have to admit, I'm liking the way Mondays are turning out. I don't start until 10:15 (awesome), then a lunch break from 11:15 to 12:30 (awesome as well), then the songwriting/musicianship tutorials from 12:30 to 2 (very awesome), a 45 minute break (awesome), and lastly the personal evangelism/Christian doctrine tutorials from 2:45 to 5:15. I have Ben Cochrane, Mary Capper, and Tracy Barrell for teachers for the first time, and they are all excellent communicators. My schedule has some big gaps between classes, but it's all good; the classes and assessments are more intense this time around so it would be good to have longer breaks. Ending at 5:15 is a bit late, but I don't mind at all; I figure we'll be getting a lot of fantastic knowledge from the tutorials anyway. After the class, I did some more work for the mini series; mainly some work for the debut episode, as well as the second episode. I need some practice for the big video project I'm heading, so it's all worthwhile in the end. God's good, and that's all I need to say this day was a success.

God bless,
Steven

Day 220: A Legend, I am?

Today was jam packed with blessing. In the morning, I got to serve in not one, but TWO areas of church life: choir in the 10 a.m. and production in the 12 p.m. I'll admit it was weird to be in a completely different spot on Sunday morning, but in all honesty it was fun! Julia A'Bell talked about giving encouraging words to people and how it's just awesome. So the whole day, people came up to me calling me a legend. It was nice, really! I also got to help a friend of mine with a video for her home church; it's amazing how many opportunities I get to help people out now, especially with videos. It's such a blessing to do that. In the evening, it was the first of Sunday Night Live(s), and I have to say it's gonna be a good chain of evening services these next 4 weeks. Crishan gave a message on how God as a master painter takes our abstract nothingness and turns it into a masterpiece. It's part of a series called Mosaic: seeing the bigger picture. The ones I'm excited for are Joel A'Bell's and Robert Fergusson's. Those are gonna be epic! Today was so good; thanks Jesus.

God bless,
Steven

Day 219: Finally some film!!

Today's focus was filming. Lots of filming. In the morning, I went right away at getting shots for the Street Teams promotional video; however, I did manage to do some cleaning as well. We had a great time talking with a few of our regular tenants, and so far the footage is going very good. After Street Teams, a group of us had a barbecue at Moore Park. It was a good time getting to know some of the Street Team volunteers, and I got to film the guys rugby game too. In the evening, I made some major progress in the mini series by getting some good shots of a couple of my flatmates. I'm sure this is gonna be one funny series!

God bless,
Steven

Day 218: F5

Today was amazing. Like seriously amazing. Despite waking up earlier than usual for chapel rehearsal, I was called last night to help out the TV crew for chapel this afternoon. Apparently, since I got to try out the stage camera yesterday at Sisterhood, I was asked to use it again since the TV people like to have camera 1 users handle it consecutively. After the rehearsal (which went great), we had a coupe hours of intensives with Dean Ussher and Mary Capper. Dean talked about servanthood vs. stardom, and how the stage should be for the purpose of worship and servanthood, not fame and personal glory. Mary spoke on taking what we've learned the past semester and utilizing it this semester; I feel so confident that this is going to be a fantastic next 4 months. Chapel rocked! I had a blast using the camera, and the worship was so powerful. We ended up just doing worship and prayer, because the presence of God was all over. It's times like that when I'm most proud of being a part of this place; and there's so much more in store. After a couple more intensives with April Miller and Katie Peters, the second semesters were finished for the day, so I came back and just enjoyed the rest of the day indoors. I also had an amazing conversation with a friend of mine that's dear to my heart; it's truly been too long since last time we talked. That alone made my day full of joy. I love it when God makes these opportunities to really make a difference; it's just so AWESOME!!

God bless,
Steven

Day 217: Filming Begins

Today was made up of this:

Sisterhood, serving in TV (I got to try out camera 1 for the first time. Basically, camera 1 is the one that's on stage, so I got to make all these artistic shots. Loved it!)
Had a legitimate lunch for the first time this week (The classes are called intensives for a reason..)
Went through about 4 hours of intensive classes with JD, Nathan and Lynn from the Creative team, Charmaine from the church team, and Ian from the project in Holland. All their teaching was great, and I'm looking forward to more from them.
Chapel workshop with Lazaro and Kajsa; this semester is going to be fun; I have no doubt about it.
Got some pizza for the guys and enjoyed chatting with Donny some more (speaking of him, keep him in prayer. He's been waiting on money to come in for the past 3 weeks, and it has yet to come. Pray that the college will give him some more time to pay the fees before they kick him out of the country)
Instead of going to Team Night, I went to Streetbeat, the homeless ministry side of Street Teams, to get some film shots for the Street Teams promo video. I also got to talk with a few Brazilian guys, and I really enjoyed that. It reminded me of home.. not to mention, there was a very nice dog that we got to play with that reminded me of my little ones.. Man, I miss home... but it's okay, because in less than 4 months I'll be there!!

God bless,
Steven

Day 216: Busy, busy..

Today was surprisingly busy. I slept in again (awesome), and I spent the afternoon talking with Donny and doing a little bit of filming for the mini-series. We talked about God and music, the two greatest subjects in my life. So good. The rest of the day has been nonstop action: I met with Gary, my Street Teams leader, about the video project for Street Teams, I helped set up for Powerhouse, I met with Mary Capper and the new chapel creative team about the new projects for this semester, I served at Powerhouse, and I chilled with Vince for the first time in a while; it's nice to chat with a fellow music junkie every now and then. God, You're awesome; thanks for such a good day.

God bless,
Steven

Day 215: What a Beautiful Day

Man, did I love today. The only thing that wasn't good was the fact that I STILL don't have internet in my house, but other than that it was great. It was a full day of intensives that went awesome, thanks to Katie Peters and Catrina Henderson's awesome teaching skills. Chapel was great too; I got to help the TV peeps out, and it was loads of fun. I love serving in chapel, because it reminds me of the chapels back at SFC. We even got to do these activities where we used people to imitate machinery; my team had to imitate an iPad, and it was crazy fun.
Today's highlight was talking with Mary Capper about a new opportunity she presented me with. She was telling me about this new concept she wants to try out. She wants to start a creative team of people solely dedicated to making videos. and guess who she would like to be the head of this team???? That's right, I have been given the opportunity to help make City campus history by leading the very first video department EVER!!! It's so awesome, but then again I have only to thank the people that have spread the word about the videos I've been posting on Youtube and Facebook. I'm so excited about this; like I'm REALLY excited!
The rest of my day was hanging out with my Connect Group at this restaurant where they have $10 meals, and working on the 223 mini series. I really owe these guys for letting me use their internet... what to get them..

God bless,
Steven

Day 214: Desperate Times..

Today I woke up at a most unusual time: 11:50 a.m. I don't know why I need THAT much sleep, but apparently I do, so I'm not complaining. I spent most of the afternoon just having personal time, reading the Word, exercising a little, and cleaning up my parts of the flat. Since today is Donny's birthday, he's out having a good time; he deserves it for sure. To be completely honest with you, I really didn't do much; but then again, we all have those days when we're not that productive for the sake of simply relaxing from the everyday lives we live. I definitely had a good time having alone time, especially when I know I won't have as much from this point on. Today had it's sad parts though. I had to say bye to two more of my friends; one who finished their first year and is returning to Mexico, and the other who was halfway through their first semester but didn't have the finances to finish the year. It's a real bummer when we see people that can't pay all the college fees and lose out of things.... it makes me grateful that I have an amazing family that has been supporting me this whole time. Some people don't even have that, so I appreciate the massive sacrifices my mom, dad, and sister make so I can stay here well provided for. One thing I was thinking about was the other bad news I received via Facebook: my dear friend Josh Kazemi is moving back to Texas. We're not all immune to the economic struggle, and although it sucks that he probably won't be around when I come back, I know that he's pursuing God above all else. That being said, I know God's got his back. At the same time though, I am excited to see the rest of my San Francisco family: my family, Hannah and her family, my SFC peeps, and maybe even the City Impact people as well. Thankfully, I have a month and a half to catch up on things; YES!!

God bless,
Steven

P.S. I also found out on Facebook that I randomly won a music contest from NewReleaseTuesday.com, but I was supposed to send in my email information by the 30th of July. However, due to the internet shortage at my flat, and not enough time to check EVERYTHING when I had internet access, I just got the message today; oh well... maybe next time?

Day 213: New Faces

Sunday. Here's how it went:

I got up nice and early to serve in the 8 a.m. service; today was special because we were going to introduce the new students that are joining our ranks to the choir life. We have a lot of new people; and they are all amazing and full of the worshipping spirit. That uplifted me so much that I truly felt God's presence during worship; at least, in a more intimate way than usual. Pastor Brian gave a message on the presence of God, specifically with Moses and the tent of meeting. What did I get out of it? I need to pay more respect for His presence in my life.
After the service, I returned to recover some rest, as well as taking care of the last assessment of the first semester. Unfortunately, I didn't get as much of it done as I wanted to, but I have tomorrow to finish it, so I'll be fine. As far as my afternoon goes, it was basically hanging out with my flatmates; especially Donny, since he's turning 20 tomorrow. He's been freaking out over it throughout the weekend; I'll be honest, it's a little entertaining. Not in a bad way, of course, but still..
The evening service was great as well; Crishan gave a message on taking a stand for what you believe in. He talked about how David, despite all the critical judgment he got as a kid, persisted and even defeated a giant. It encouraged us to practice being able to take a stand for our faith. I left very inspired, and I can't wait to get more of this spiritual food.
I just got back from celebrating 3 birthdays this evening: my friend Valerie's 25th, and a duel birthday of Donny and Becca (both turning 20). Like I said with Saturday's reflection, I love the college family; no matter what happens, we're all here for each other. and that is wassup.

God bless,
Steven

Day 212: No Comment

Well I didn't get a chance to write anything because of the lack of internet access (right now, I'm sitting in the stairwell borrowing from the guys on the other side of the wall in front of me; don't worry, they're cool about it.)

Street Teams was amazing; we got to see major improvements in a couple of the people we normally visit. Plus, we got the new students in on the action, which was sweet. Afterwards, I was in the Street Teams Creative meeting to hear about the video I'm responsible for making; I have to film in every area, including the ones I don't EVER go to. It should be fun; I think...

College family is great. I love how close we all are; it makes me think of home and of all the wonderful friendships I have waiting for me when I get back. I've really been encouraged by the faith these people have; we're all struggling a little bit in some way, but because we're all supporting each other, it's like there's nothing to worry about.

God is faithful. If anything, that's what I got out of this day. He's not leaving my side, and now I want to make sure I'm acknowledging Him being there. I'm ready for a new season; one that's better than the one I just went through. It's coming, that I know for sure; I just need to get ready for it.

God bless,
Steven