Day 334: Another Proposal?!?!

Today was split between a sad morning/early afternoon and an exciting/joy filled later afternoon/evening.

Sad side: I said farewell to one of my dearest of friends, Andrew Cacho, today; I'm sure by now he's almost home. It was super emotional when people started to cry, but I kept my cool and just gave him some encouraging words as he left. A coupe others from my intake left today too: Lauren, who was such a great part of our team, and Henrick, one of my favorite Europeans and fellow TV member. Tomorrow and Thursday won't be any easier, but now that I've seen some great people return home I can handle seeing the rest of them off.

Happy side: my flatmate from 272, Anders, proposed to his girlfriend of 4 years today. Of course she said yes (why wouldn't she? Anders is a freaking legend!!!), and everyone has been talking about it since the news broke out. I honestly couldn't be prouder of them; they are two of the most amazing people here at college, and it will be a bummer to see them go (but now not as much, because they're getting married!!!). I got all this information from my connect group leader, Georg, since he was a part of the whole thing. After connect group I went with a couple guys to a goodbye party for two other awesome people, and I got to hear how it all happened.

All in all, it was just one of those super blessed days. I also just got the word that my two great friends Joe and Rebecca are now officially dating!! What is it with all this romance happening?????

God bless,
Steven

Day 333: Graduation (Not Yet)

Today, a lot of my amazing friends graduated. On one side of my emotions, I was overjoyed, cheering them on and congratulating them on their success here at HILC. On the other side, I feel a bit of sadness over the fact that so many of my amazing friends are leaving towards their new season which God is calling them to. It feels like high school all over again, but this time just feels a bit more emotional. I guess it's different when you get older; you develop deeper, more intimate connections with people since you're more mature and stuff. What I can take out of it all is that the last day for these friends was a great one; it was a wonderful time, and I'm looking forward to when I get to walk across that stage, pick up my diploma, and thank pastors Brian and Bobbie for all their work to make this college possible. It was also one of the highest honors to be a part of the choir for the last 2010 college event; I got so much energy and passion like never before, and it sure was awesome. Not to mention, the talent was off the scale; city campus got to perform the item for the semester opener again, and some of the city team joined with some of the hills team to perform another song for the dance item (which was full on epic). Unfortunately, the closer was ruined due to microphones being off several times during the actual thing; the only reason I'm upset about it is because I had been in hills campus since noon to specifically work on that closer, and it got messed up. However, the team kept their cool and we managed to finish strong (well, that and a mass array of pyrotechnics and confetti blowers. The next couple days will be interesting no doubt,

God bless,
Steven

Day 332: A Photo Finish Finale

This was one of those days where your schedule is packed. I find myself in a place where I'm seriously grateful that God's given me a capacity to handle these kind of days; but just because it was a packed day doesn't mean it wasn't great. My day started a bit earlier than originally intended; my call time for choir was 10:30, but because of a last minute request made last night, I came to church at 6:30 to help out with TV. I got to use camera 1 for the last time until next year, and it was a fond farewell to one of my favorite pastimes here at college. It was also great to work with my TV leaders one more time; I'm gonna miss their wisdom being around to help me out. When the 8 a.m. service was done, I got some time to rest before my actual serving time with choir; it was a bittersweet morning because we sang together as one big choir for the last time, but it was such a good outing. In our debrief, we prayed and gave encouraging words to each other; one of our leaders, Rowena, gave me a word that was very nice. She said that every time she sees me, the one word that comes to mind is kindness; she said that the kindness I have is very genuine and authentic, and that it will be something that people will notice and recognize me for. The last time I got a word was from pastor Brian Paiva from Harbor Light church, and that one is only beginning to unfold in my life; it's cool when God uses others to encourage you and your life. I came home and made some lunch with Donny, and as soon as I was done, I got ready to serve in the two evening services; this time, I got to use camera 3 as my final service. In the evening, we got to hear from Frank Damazio, who gave a fantastic word on being a legitimate church; it was around this time that serving in four services the whole day finally got to me. However, as mentioned above, I have the capacity to handle this, so I finished the night strong. Now I am on my couch, grateful for an amazing day and a chance to go to sleep early.

God bless,
Steven

Day 331: It Pays Off

How can I even begin to describe today? I can tell you that it was one of the best, but how to expand on that thought is a challenge. Let's start with Street Teams. This morning was my last time for this year (maybe even ever..), and I must say my journey with CityCare ended on such a high note today. We met with a few of our good friends like Rita (who is currently celebrating her 86th birthday), Rina (who I will dearly miss because of her help with my learning Russian), and Maria (who I will certainly miss because of the wonderful friendship I have with her). I left with such a peace in my heart, as well as a full stomach due to all the food we received from our visits and the team leader's barbecue. It was because of Street Teams that I was able to integrate into college life so easily, because it was so close to home (talking about the Rescue Mission). After that, I had a little bit of free time, so I spent that time with Donny and Alison watching Big Bang Theory (which I must admit is one of my new favorite shows; since it's about these nerds, I find it so easy to connect with what they're experiencing as smart guys, so I end up enjoying it a lot.) Th ultimate highlight was what I just returned from: The Japanese Film and Art Festival. One of my good friends Nathan invited me to come and watch a couple of the movies (out of a whole week of films that were playing since this past Monday), and it was significant because he actually composed the music for all the pre-show trailers. Donny came along, and we had a blast sitting in a theater for about 4 hours. The first movie was one of those romantic dramedies that was done in 2-D animation, and I loved it; the director took a smart approach to the film. He split it into two parts: one part from the guy's side of the story, and the other from the girl's side; they were done so well that it seemed for a while that it was a real, live-action movie. It was just that good. The second one was by far one of the best I've ever seen; it was called Oblivion Island: Haraku and the Magical Mirror, and man was it an excellent movie!!! Everything about it was awesome: the animation, the story, the technical parts, etc.; as an animation enthusiast, I couldn't have been prouder of how this one turned out. Donny and I left the theater speechless; it was seriously that good of a movie. After that, Nathan invited us to share on some amazing pizza, and we sure ate like kings.

This whole week was just beyond a degree of awesome that words could express. As always, thanks be to God for extending His love, grace, and mercy over my life.

God bless,
Steven

Day 330: Mixed

Sometimes you get one of those days where you deal with just about every emotion within you. It's like a roller coaster; one point you're on the way up to the peak, then it can speed it's way down and move around in random sequence. Fortunately, despite all that God still blesses me; it's amazing that He does that. My family is one of those things that bring hope back into my day; I am really, really looking forward to seeing them in a week. Right after that chat on Skype, I had the privilege of spending the afternoon with the chapel core team over lunch; it was definitely a fun time, and I'm bummed out that a few of these people are leaving. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about memories of our first semesters and other fun things; apparently, I'm regarded as one of the "big guns" since I'm one of the only two from the January intake on the core team. It's cool! In the evening, I got to direct for Wildlife for the last time; it was a fun time, despite the fact that we had a seriously low amount of people on the team. For real, there were two camera operators, one graphics operator, one producer/pres operator, and myself; that's half a team, and we made it through a whole service. Man, that's sweet. My final weekend in Australia for 2010 has begun; take a second to look awesome, time to go.

God bless,
Steven

Day 329: 223 Disbanded; the Beginning

Today was a sad and happy day. It started off bittersweet with a breakfast; Josh invited only the closest of his friends to a little cafe called Aria, where we got to spend some quality time with him. It got emotional towards the end, but we managed to all leave on a happy note. Laz, Aaron, and I escorted Josh on his last walk to church for the year to get his airline ticket printed; soon after we had a little bit of time before the inevitable. We went to the airport (thanks to Alison and her car), got his luggage sent to the plane and had an extended, emotional temporary farewell; although the way we were acting was as if he wasn't coming back at all. I will admit it was tough; it made me think of how it's going to be for me next week when I have to say bye to as many people as possible..
Afterwords, the guys went to move some stuff and I reflected on the morning. Donny, Laz, and I decided to go to Eastgardens (since Donny had never been there before) and checked out the stores that have a lot of cheap stuff for future reference. The evening, however, was the positive energy time thanks to the graduation dinner. Everyone was looking stunning and otherwise beautiful this evening, and it was a great time with great friends. The big news was that my friend Jarryd actually proposed to his girlfriend earlier today, and now they're engaged!! It was such an unexpected move, but we're so happy for them because they are amazing people, and God definitely has a plan for them. Today really showed me how far we've all come since the beginning of the year; it's been an amazing year, and I'm in a bittersweet mentality about the fact I'm leaving. Most of me is very excited about returning home, but there's that small part of me that wishes I could stick around (especially since Donny is staying out here to raise up the money for his next semester). I'll be fine, don't worry; I just have to make this last week count.

God bless,
Steven

Day 328: The Bar's Been Set

There's something about leadership that astounds me. Some people have the natural ability to lead others in any given circumstances. A few people can take a group of people that wouldn't normally work together and form a strong, legitimate team. A couple others could helm an entire organization and have the potential to impact the world. But only one person I know has the ability to do all this and more: God Almighty. Today was the official end of my first year of college here in Australia; I'm still trying to soak all that in. The reality of it is starting to hit me, now that I see some of my closest friends talking about packing and their trips back home; we're losing a lot of amazing people, people that have truly helped shape this year into what it's been for me. The worst part is I have to say bye to a few of them the day of graduation, because they leave the day after; it was tough saying bye to people back home, but for some reason this is more intense. I guess it's because I knew I would see my San Francisco family again; everyone here, probably not...
If anything I would consider this day a milestone. I can see how much change has come over my life, and when I step back and see how I've contributed to this church and to God's building of the church and His kingdom, all I can do is simply be amazed. There just aren't enough words in the English (or Spanish) language to describe what's happened in my life these past 10 months; scary thing is I still have another 10 to go; in just a few weeks, I'll be at the halfway point of this season. I need to get this off my mind, or I'll start crying to myself haha. So yeah, today was fantastic; we had amazing sessions with Joel A'Bell, special guest Frank Damazio, and the one and only Mark Hopkins. I had a little bit of time before Powerhouse started, so I played some Star Wars Battlefront (which I still and probably always will love) and talked with Josh and Melissa. I need to prepare for what should be an amazing day tomorrow; it'll start sad, but it will get better.

God bless,
Steven

Day 327: Encounter In the City

The word "encounter", according to the Mac dictionary, means "an unexpected or casual meeting with someone or something." Today was all about encounter with God, and today we had 3 sessions revolving around that theme. Because of this, the college wanted a strong team to help pull it off right; so I was placed as senior operator for the TV crew for all 3 sessions. Because of last minute roster changes, half our team didn't come to the rehearsal; usually that presents itself as a problem, but we managed. We got to hear from Catrina, Crishan, and Mark today, and as usual they gave incredible messages. The TV crew was amazing today; if anything I got to see how much the team has grown, both in numbers and in experience. The entire time I was just blown away at how well the team performed; we had very little errors, and everyone was on their top game. I consider myself proud of being part of this team, and I'm looking forward to serving in TV as my fieldwork. I am currently watching season 5 of House (looking good so far) and waiting for Donny to come back from his late night shift. I loved this day; it's seriously one I won't forget.

God bless,
Steven

Day 326: Street Beats

My day off was a bit uneventful, but my afternoon was cool. I got to finally work with Tyson, my old roommate, on the video for Street Beat; we enlisted the help of our good friends Logan and Damien for the filming. We ended up doing some interviews with people from the Street Beat team, and we'll be filming the rest next week. After that, we started moving all the footage onto Logan's computer and then went over to Damien's to hang out. I got to play Little Big Planet for the first time, and now I can see why everyone loves it so much. Now I'm watching How To Train Your Dragon with Donny; he is loving it. Tomorrow's a big day, so I'm gonna go now.

God bless,
Steven

Day 325: Josh is 20

Yup. Josh Reece is officially an adult now. It was a momentous day for all of us, because this guy is seriously a legend; I consider it such an honor to live with him. the morning started with choir; it was a great morning, and I'm looking forward to next Sunday and my last time of serving in choir for the year. My afternoon was pretty much hanging out with Josh and Donny, and eventually going to church. The evening was when we went out to celebrate Josh's birthday; we had dinner at this seafood restaurant and watched this random movie called Skyline (which is one of those movies you're fine watching once and only once). A video of this evening will be in the works soon. I have a day off tomorrow (REJOICE!!!!), but I still need my sleep. So good night!

God bless,
Steven

Day 324: An Answer To Prayer

I just want to share the highlight of the day with you.

So this morning was the second to last time I would serve with Street Teams. It's hard to believe how quickly this year has gone by; I can still remember the initial training day where I learned everything. It was one of the first times I got to talk with Donny, and it certainly wasn't the last. So this morning, we were doing our usual cleaning and visiting, and I really felt the need to visit an old friend. A long time ago, I met a lovely lady named Maria who's been trying to go back to Colombia to help her sister who was arrested for unfair charges; I haven't seen her in a few months, and I've been very worried about her. So when I knocked on her door, I was really hoping she would answer; to my happiness, she did! She updated me on how she has been doing, and unfortunately it hasn't really gotten better. She's been very stressed lately because of really, really noisy neighbors that prevent her from getting sleep, and it got to the point that it was affecting her blood pressure. It was upsetting news, but seeing her feel more comfortable with us as we listened showed me that she really appreciated that we were there for her. We prayed for her and her sister, and what was originally tears turned into a smile and a hope for the future. Just seeing her again made me think of my mom, because they share a similar spirit; I was tearing up just at the thought of it. We promised we would come by next week to see her, and I sure hope she'll be there.

God bless,
Steven

Day 323: First Year: Pretty Much Over

The last day of classes. I've had these days many times before, but this one seemed a little more special. It's amazing how similar years of school can be, yet they can be completely different at the same time. All my years at SFC were a key factor in making me capable of finishing this year of Bible college; there have been so many times where I could have given up, but God as my strength made it possible for me to press forward. So this morning was the rehearsal for our last chapel of the year; that didn't register in my head until it was over. Things would have been great, but the only obstacle was that we were missing two camera operators. After what was an amazing rehearsal, we had our final Christian Doctrine class; Tracy gave us more insight on the end times and how we can talk about it with non believers. It was a very good class, and I'm glad I got to be part of it this semester. Chapel was a whole other story; so my leader Vanessa wasn't with us today because she was performing a special song for chapel (and man did she do a great job!). Throughout the service, there was a whole slew of technical errors that happened; but our leaders said it was barely noticeable so that's fine with me. It was an honor to be the final senior op of college chapel 2010; just making me look forward to next year when I am co-leading the entire team with Josh. My final class of the day was the songwriting lecture; what a great way to finish a whole year of classes.
Then came the evening. So a week ago, I got a message from my good friend Patrick about operating camera 1; he asked if I could put a costume together for when I was on stage. First thing that came to my mind? NINJA. It's happened before, so I decided to make it's return. Let's just say it was a complete success. I managed to pull everything off like a ninja, because you know, that's exactly what I am! It was awesome yo; kinda thinking of doing that more often next year. Good day, good memories, good friends, and good Lord.

God bless,
Steven

Day 322: The End Is Near

Man, today was just awesome. It started on a bit of a sad note, because today was the last Sisterhood of the year (until next February), so it was bittersweet working alongside some of my favorite TV crew friends for the last time. It was an excellent morning though; Bobbie Houston invited Holly Wagner from this year's Colour conference to speak, and she delivered such a good message. After Sisterhood's conclusion, it was time for the final chapel core team meeting. We discussed the last chapel (which is tomorrow) and plans to get together as a team one last time before most of us return to our respective homes. I'm gonna miss these people; if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have merged into this team so well; but now it's time for me to be what they were for me to the new people coming next year (that should be fun!). After that, it was time for the last New Testament Intro class with Duncan. He talked with us about the history on how books of the Bible were chosen, and we discussed how to approach people that know Scripture without having the right context. I got some down time before I had to return to school for the end of year concert. I was asked to open the concert with one song; when you have a one song limit, it's hard to pick what song you want to do. I ended up choosing Chris August's Winter Time, because I love that song a lot and it was easy for me to learn. Based on what I observed, people enjoyed it so I'm relieved; everyone else gave incredible performances too, so I give big props to them. I can't wait for tomorrow; I know it's going to be great!

God bless,
Steven

Day 321: Bus Flow

Today was the first time I've traveled far from my regular college life area in a while. I took a trip to Eastgardens just to get some time to myself and scout for good deals on clothes (Donny's clothes aren't fitting him very well now, so I'm trying to see if there's any place out here that can benefit him without hurting his wallet). The most promising place I found was not much of a surprise, yet came across as surprising: Target. It's amazing that even thousands of miles away, Target continues to give me some of the best deals around; it's not exactly the same, but it's still Target so it's fine with me! I also found K-Mart to be a promising place to shop; when you can get shirts from $8, shoes from $10, and jeans from $20, you know something's up. In a good way. I came back just in time to Skype with my family; but due to my misunderstanding that daylight savings happened in SF a little while back, I meant for the conversation to take place an hour earlier than I planned. But I managed to talk with everyone, so it was alright. After a small relax time, I joined Donny to the city so he could look for a book; the mission was unsuccessful today, but that will change tomorrow. As soon as I got back from there, I got ready for Powerhouse, which was loads of fun; I really got to just chill with my leader Valerie and discuss our opinions on random stuff. I'm a bit tired from so much activity, but I'm grateful to the One who gives me strength to keep going, no matter how tired I am.

God bless,
Steven

Day 320: A Lot of Singing

Oh man, today was just amazing; I just wish I had the energy to explain in detail what happened. I will do my best however. So this morning started off with a chapel rehearsal for our special gospel chapel; I will say that it was one of the most fun experiences I've had in weeks. We brought so much energy into the morning that it woke me up. After sharing breakfast with Aaron, Andrew, and Caio, I got ready for my first class of the day, Spirit Filled Living. It was a bittersweet time, since Anita gave us some great insight on anointing for our last lecture. Chapel was awesome; we really felt the spirit moving in the praise and worship, and we got to hear from the graduating third year students (including Nick, who left pretty much right after chapel towards home). The musicianship/songwriting workshop was exceptionally fun; our original intention was to record four songs as a band and put them on a CD to have as a memoir. What ended up happening was we recorded 3, because we spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to play two of the songs; I had the two hardest challenges of my musical career today by figuring them out in less than a half hour. These were tough songs, but I managed. Once the class was done, I had little time before the bus was going to leave for the Hills campus; what ended up happening was we got a ride from our down-the-hall neighbor and fellow student, Alison, and it was much more convenient. Leadership Vision Night was great; we got to hear updates on the current church projects, and I got to help out with choir during the praise and worship. You really don't realize how big Hills campus is until you're on the stage; it's pretty cool! Now I am back here, typing this blog while also trying to finish up some charts for a song I wrote and figure out chords for a song I will be performing on Thursday (more on that later).

God bless,
Steven

Day 319: Musos

This day was the beginning of the end. This week is the final week of classes. After this, it's the final stretch until graduation. And to think that it feels like yesterday I was flying into the country with my mom and sister.. I'm grateful that God is transcendent, because I don't know how everything that I've experienced has happened. Today, I said farewell to New Testament Intro, Musicianship/Songwriting tutorial, and my core tutorial (that one was hardest). I've spent the past 4 months in these classes, and I've received more than enough motivation, knowledge, guidance, and strength from these classes. I won't lie, I'm gonna miss these classes. Afterwards, I went up to the library to hang out with the college administrator, Misha. When I got here, the administrator was a lovely lady named Lisa; she is currently helping her family out back in her home town, and now we've been blessed to have Misha around to help us. She's one of those people that you can just joke around, and it's loads of fun to be in the library. After that, I went with a bunch of fellow musicians for a special dinner downtown; it was both a time to hang out with friends and say farewell and thanks to our dear friend and chapel team leader, Kajsa. Now I am back here, hanging out with Josh and Donny; tomorrow has a lot of expectation, so it'll be great.

God bless,
Steven

Day 318: An A-Team

I am really, really tired, so this one will be brief as well. Sunday morning was great; the 8 a.m. service was excellent thanks to Donna Crouch's message of avoiding being a "shipwreck". My afternoon was nothing but hanging out with Donny and watching the A-Team (which I will admit, I enjoyed very much). Sunday night church was amazing as well; Sanga gave an incredible message about Christ increasing in our lives while we decrease. The past few hours have been nothing but cleaning our place for an inspection tomorrow (hence my being really, really tired). Now, I shall go to sleep.

God bless,
Steven

Day 317: Good to be back

Seems like this will be a short update today. Street Teams started the morning off great, with some amazing pancakes and receiving of awards (I received an award for being one of the four main "clean freaks" of our team, which is very surprising. First thing that came to my head was "I wonder what mom would say about this..."). Instead of going to the Towers today, I was stolen by the Waterloo Streets team to capture their community barbecue using pictures and videos; definitely what made my morning. After that and some lunch with Donny, I decided to invest the afternoon with a game that takes me back to middle school: Lego's Rock Raiders. It's been such a long time since I've played this game, yet I still remember just about everything from it; just goes to show how much I was addicted to it. My evening was pretty much just working on the new episode of 223 (which I apologize for not finishing on time; it was bound to happen eventually), hanging out with some of my closest friends here, and just thanking God for an amazing life that I get to live.

God bless,
Steven

Day 316: I Like to Party

Aw man, today was the day. This morning's chapel rehearsal was amazing; I love being in choir, because it's just so much fun. Christian Doctrine was great too; we just started touching on Revelations, and it's looking to be a great last couple classes. Chapel, on the other hand, was nothing short of amazing. Worship was awesome, and we got to hear from the worship pastor from Hillsong London. My songwriting lecture was great as well; our teacher talked about harnessing our creativity, and it was excellent tips on how to do that. After this class, I was pretty much done for the day; so I worked on a little art project and watched a couple movies with friends. So although this blog was particularly short, there was so much (and so little) that happened.

God bless,
Steven

Day 315: Way out of left field

So today was great. 100%, pure, homegrown great. Sisterhood was awesome this morning; I got to work with camera 1 again (we're practically best buddies now), and Bobbie Houston gave an awesome word for the ladies from the Hills campus; success from the TV crew! The chapel core team meeting was great too; we discussed plans for the last 2 chapels of the semester (a sad subject, but it HAS to be discussed). New Testament was just as great today; Duncan talked about Revelations. It's a tough subject, but the way he presented it made me excited to read it all over again! Later on in the afternoon, there was master classes; we worked on some random funky song from 1976. It was actually pretty fun, because we didn't get to hear the actual song until the very end. So basically, we had to guess how the song went; I liked it! I would normally go to Team Night, but tonight was different. Instead I went with my old roommate, Tyson, to Streetbeat, because I am working on a video project for Streetbeat with my TV leader Logan. We had a great time just getting the feel of what it involves. Looking back at the past couple weeks, a lot of faith has been raised on my life; I can only hope that this faith keeps growing.

God bless,
Steven

Day 314: For My Family

Today was one of those days where I needed a break from the normal, everyday life things. Flat 223 had an inspection to check for cleanliness; I don't even know if they came or not, but I'm assuming it was alright. I left earlier in the morning to work on a video project; it ended up taking about three and a half hours to film since I went just about everywhere (even places I hadn't seen before). The major highlight of it all was that I got to use my friend Ben's Canon Rebel T1i (which is the previous version of the camera I want to get); it was an excellent opportunity to get some practice on using SLRs. When I got back, I put the video together and relaxed for a bit before Powerhouse was supposed to start. IT was actually pretty good; City campus was graced with a visit from Darlene Zschech as our guest speaker; it's amazing the kind of influence she brings to the church. She and her husband have recently been given a position as senior pastors of a neighbor church; they'll be starting next year; how exciting! Now I am going to sleep; so later!

God bless,
Steven

Day 313: Toast to Change

How I loved today!!! I love the fact that I serve a living God; it's just so awesome! Chapel rehearsal was fun today; I was supposed to be producer for TV, but instead I was set to camera 4 (my least favorite camera). However, thanks to Josh giving me some tips, I managed to go through rehearsal without screwing up as much as last time. One of the highlights of the day was a random one; I was approached by Joe (one of my core tutorial guys, and a very good friend) about helping him film a testimonial video for his church back home. He was supposed to get help from one of the other guys, but due to unforseen circumstances, he couldn't; so I did! It was actually pretty fun; it was definitely some bonding time with Joe. I'm gonna miss him when he leaves..
Spirit Filled Living was great today; Anita discussed anointing in the Holy Spirit, and it was so empowering; I feel smarter just listening to her talk about this stuff. After that class, it was chapel time; I did a much better job with camera 4 this time, and I'm very pleased that I didn't break anything.
Last week, we were told that our musicianship workshop was going to be different, and that we needed to bring $5 and an empty stomach. Turns out the reason why we had to do this was because Mary bought us pizza and had us watch The Freedom Writers; it's one of her favorite movies, and I must admit it was great to see it again. During the timeless scene where the students made a toast for change, Mary stopped the movie so we could have our own "toast for change"; we're losing some of our really good friends in about 3 weeks time, so it was an emotional time; we shared tears and prayed for each other, and it was such an uplifting experience. I didn't want to leave..but we eventually ran out of time. So after that sentimental time with our band, everyone went their separate ways. My evening composed of playing a childhood game, messing around with a Canon Rebel T1i (courtesy of Ben Fangmeyer), and chilling in the ol' flat. So yeah.. God's been blessing me with good days consistently for the past few weeks. You gotta love the big guy upstairs!

God bless,
Steven

Day 312: High of 75

So I've had this one line from a song that's very dear to my heart: "And lately the weather has been so bipolar, and consequently so have I". Why is this particular lyric in my head? Because lately the weather HAS been bipolar!! Today started out all nice and sunny and perty, and towards the evening the sky was being attacked by God's strobe light. It was such a quick and random shift, I don't even know what to think of it. But anyways, this day was good; really good. My classes were fantastic; New Testament was nothing but watching a video on the history of the gospels and chowing down on some amazing pastries. Core tutorial was so much fun; we just reflected on our weekend and had a friendly competition with our neighbor core tutorial group, led by Katie Peters. We, of course, won thanks to the leadership of Tracey Barrell. When I got back home, I was able to upload some last assessments (which I am so grateful for) and I got to hang out with some of my neighbors, since Donny and Josh are working on assessments even now as I type, and Laz is asleep. Despite weather being a bit crazy, it was seriously a good day.

God bless,
Steven

Day 311: A God Encounter

You know those days when there's something major happening, and you just know that it's gonna be a good day?

Hillsong church hosted A God Encounter, an evening where the entire church (as in all 4 campuses and all 35 extension services) came together in the Sydney Entertainment Center to full on worship God while recording a new album at the same time. There's not much I can say, considering it was a mind-blowing experience. Well yeah, my morning was great, and the afternoon was just rehearsing and hanging out with good friends, but man the evening was AMAZING. I can't say much about it's technical stuff, but one of the highlights of the night (maybe my week. Maybe even my YEAR) was a specific song that was sung by the one and only Darlene Zschech accompanied by Hillsong Stockholm's worship pastor on piano. All I can say about this particular song is that not only did I cry inside because of the message (and the EPIC PIANO LINE, OH MY WORD IT'S SERIOUSLY ONE OF THE GREATEST I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but I also felt such a peace at heart for the moment. It's awesome to see what takes place in the DVDs, but to actually BE there? It's a whole different experience. You don't get the mass quantity of God's presence in the DVD, but you definitely can see it. I consider it one of the highest honors to have been a part of it. Thousand of hands raised high, thousands of voices joined together in worship, and a bunch of songs that will certainly impact churches everywhere; these are the things that will stick with my memory of tonight. I'm glad they called this evening a God encounter; it's exactly what it was.

God bless,
Steven

Day 310: Men and Their Meat

So Men's Conference is over. It was only 24 hours, but it was a great conference; the leadership of this church are some of the best I've ever known. There's so much wisdom built up from the pastors, elders, and teachers of this church; when you have people like Brian Houston, Joel A'Bell, Robert Fergusson, Scott Samways, Mark Hopkins, Duncan corby, Ian Woods, and Robert Fergusson on the same team, you know there's something heavenly happening. A. R. Bernard gave an incredible word to end off the conference, and we all left impacted and ready to be the kind of men God calls us to be. I also got to have some more bonding time with Josh; Laz had to work all day today, and Donny had to catch up on his assessments, so we were the only ones that went today. When we came back, I relaxed for a bit and then went to the city with Donny and Andrew to check out a sushi buffet we heard about. It turned out to be a very, very good dinner; well worth the trip.

This weekend is one of the most important of the church's year. Especially tomorrow. There's a lot of faith stirring over the city, and there's big expectations to see lives changed. We could really use prayer that the album recording will be an experience that will shake this city; I believe it.

God bless,
Steven

Day 309: You Go, Bernard!!

Today was awesome. Like, seriously awesome. I was supposed to get up super early to be part of a support crew, but I ended up sleeping through my alarm (I actually laughed about that happening). Christian Doctrine was a bit different today, because we had an exam; let's just say I will be retaking that due to my mind having gone blank at one point. After a lengthy break, chapel was next; it was such a great time, and we got to hear from the worship pastor of Hillsong Stockholm. Pretty much, my morning was good, and so was my afternoon. Our songwriting lecture was turned into a small preview of the Theology of Worship class that I'll be taking next year; Mary did a great job of presenting an idea of what we'll be doing for that class. when class was over, I had some time before the weekend REALLY started. Tonight, it was Men's Conference, and man was it great. Dr. A. R. Bernard gave an incredible message about the differences between Christians that live by preference and those that live out of conviction. He talked about how we should be men that live by conviction; with this mindset we can stand firm against all odds instead of being susceptible to pressure. It was an amazing word. When we got back here, I went with Josh to Hungry Jack's (because he was really hungry), and then we chilled with Donny and Becca. It was a nice way to end the evening; tomorrow should be just as good.

God bless,
Steven

Day 308: Taking Out the New York City-s

Today. Excellent. Here's why. Sisterhood was great; I got to work on camera 1 today, and it was loads of fun. Robert Fergusson spoke on the reasons why he love his wife (it was a sweet message, really), and how that reflects what guys like to see in girls. It didn't necessarily affect me, but I always enjoy his wisdom, and it was great that he could preach to the Sisterhood. After that, there was the chapel team meeting, which went great; we discussed the last 4 weeks of chapel and what we're going to do for them. IT's so weird hearing that there's only 4 weeks left of college.... but anyways, New Testament was also a great class; Duncan talked about the gospels and why some gospels are full on different from the others. After that, I attempted to work on the assessments that got marked not yet competent; little success, but I managed to re-upload two (only to find out less than 10 minutes ago that one of them is STILL NYC!!!). All this is going to do is make this weekend stressful for me, because I don't want to have to deal with these man! I can't wait for them to be over and done with... other than that and a nice trip to ol' Mad Mex with some good friends, my day was excellent. I just really prayer that I can get these assessments competent before the finalization day.

God bless,
Steven

Day 307: A Cool Box

Day off. An excellent day off. I got to spend some time to myself, and it was great. I got to go outside and marvel at God's creation, which was great. I talked with my dad over Skype, and even though there were some connection issues it was still nice to hear from him. The highlight of the day was the Box; it was by far the best one because we had it in the 2nd auditorium and aside from Powerhouse. Everyone gave very impressive performances, and I finally got to show my video! I could go into more details, but I am really, really tired, and I want sleep. So..... good night!

God bless,
Steven

Day 306: My Heart Is Overwhelmed

All you need to know about today is that it was blessed, highly favored, and that the upcoming album recording is going to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. Classes were great, chapel was awesome, the musicianship workshop was exceptionally fun, and the rehearsal for the weekend was amazing. I cannot wait for this weekend to just come already!!

God bless,
Steven

Day 305: Gets Me Every Time

I search for You God of strength
I bow to You in my brokenness
And no other King could have so humbly come
To save my soul and heal my heart
I have nothing more than all You offer me
There is nothing else that’s of worth to me

And I love You Lord
You rescued me
You are all that I want
You’re all that I need

I pray to You God of peace
I rest in You my cares released
I have nothing more than all You offer me
There is nothing else that’s of worth to me

And I love You Lord
You rescued me
You are all that I want
You’re all that I need

In Your freedom I will live
In Your freedom I will live
I offer devotion, I offer devotion

This was the first Hill-song that tugged at my heart; I'm pretty sure I listened to it over and over and over for about a month. This song still holds a special place in my heart; always will I bet. Today was... man, just unbelievable. I can't even begin on how epic this day was. I can tell you the massive highlights though!
So number one, I turned in all my assessments on time!!! Man, I was so relieved. Now I only have 3 left before I am done with assessments for this year.
Number two: my core tutorial group. Today, Tracey started off by asking for prayer requests. We started off with a few, but after a while it became a full on church service. Everyone laid down requests, and before we knew it we were praying over each other, praying in tongues, and just living out the Pentecost man!! I was so drawn back from that whole experience; we prayed with each other for about 40 minutes without stop, and we could have gone for much longer. It was such a powerful experience; we spoke over each other's lives and built one another up in love. I've spent an entire year living alongside these amazing people, and I love them all so much. I'm gonna lose so many people after this year's done... I need to stop thinking about it..
Number three: TV awards night! So this evening the city campus TV crew joined together to just hang out and recognize some of the team for their great work. It was lots of fun; we had some of the TV crew perform some live music, had some food, and got to know some of the other crew. The surprise came when I was actually nominated for one of the awards!! So now I have this random trophy:

I have to admit, this is pretty cool. I feel honored to be part of such an amazing part of Hillsong church; this entire year has been an honor, and it only goes up from here. God has really impacted me this past week; I haven't felt more inspired than I am now. Father, you're the best man; thank You so much for all You've done for me.

God bless,
Steven