Day 416: Testimonials

Today was such a full on day, I am left here completely exhausted. I served in the 8 a.m. service, and soon after I went over to Lauren's place to prepare for the day's mission: to film testimonial videos. It was a long, hot day, but with our amazing team we managed to pull it off. I want to go into details, but I am so tired and I need sleep. So I'll try and expand on the details later. The only other thing I want to say is that Robert Fergusson is the man; his message tonight was so awesome, I love it.

God bless,
Steven

Day 415: The College News Animatic

Today was pretty much task-oriented. In the morning, I went to a nearby coffee place for the second time since I've been here (keep in mind that because I don't drink coffee I save a LOT of money) for a media meeting with a few of the guys. We took a good hour and a half just talking about ideas for Misterhood in the coming weeks, and it was a very exciting meeting. After the meeting, I had only one mission: to create the opening animation for college news. I started about 11:45 a.m. with a simple plan in mind, and for the most part it started well. As things would go with long projects, there were a few lazy periods of the afternoon; I stopped for things like lunch and mental breaks a little longer than I should have. After using well over 300 Post It notes, I made the animation video in just under 6 hours; cool part is the actual video is 8 seconds long! That's 2 seconds longer than the trial version, which is a good thing. I was very exhausted by the end, but it was worth it now that I have a finished product. Now I just have to film the rest of the advertisements and I should be ready to go. Tomorrow's an important day, so I'm going to sleep before I get caught up in editing!

God bless,
Steven

Day 414: An Unsung Hero and His Partner

Today I got a revelation. Funny thing is it came out of my mouth and didn't register in my head until later on. I was talking about something that impacted me during first year during our Musicianship tutorial, and what came to my mind was the fact that the heart of this church is found in every single area. Whether you are on stage or in a position that's never publicly seen, every team lives out the heart and vision that the senior pastors have set over the church. It's pretty awesome to see it for real; every team that I've been part of has been passionate about following the heart and vision, and it sure made me realize something about my personal pride. When I first came here, I knew it was going to be a while before I could get an opportunity to be on stage. Then again, I had a very musical vision then. Then along the way God led me to TV, and ever since then I have dedicated more of my time into that ministry. Especially now that I'm helping run TV, I tend to really be behind the scenes. And you know what? I love it. I absolutely love being unseen, because I see it as a form of personal growth. I've been on stages or in front of people serving for as long as I can remember; yet I find myself enjoying servanthood more from a place that's not visible. Plus, our TV crew is a family; we know each other so well, and we work as a team to a professional level. I've felt so honored to be part of this college, church, and ministry; I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's as if my whole life of service has prepared me for this specific season. I've never worked so much before, but if it wasn't for being part of my family's ministry projects like C.P.O.M., Operation Samuel, and other parts of church life. Today left me feeling inspired and at ease; I'm just loving life so much right now.

God bless,
Steven

Day 413: Branching Out

It's amazing the difference it makes when you wake up and just dedicate your day to God. This morning, I just stayed in my bed and said a simple prayer, that this day would be His and not mine. The fruit that came from that decision couldn't have been sweeter. My day started with Sisterhood and working with my favorite people in the world: TV. I was given the privilege to once again man camera 1, and I had such a fun time doing it. This however, was the last day I will be doing TV for Sisterhood because I have been drafted to the Misterhood media team; it's like my camera is taking me to more places than I planned! I was thinking about how I had no experience with filming when I got here; sure I've done acting before, but never actually making videos as a hobby. Look at me now: I'm head of the video creative team, and I'm being involved with so many other video outlets within the church. If I had known this was going to be my life in Hillsong college, I probably would have done things a bit differently; but then again, who am I to complain about what God's preparing me to do in this season? The classes today were phenomenal; I had Old Testament Studies, Pastoral Care, and Team Leadership, which are all so empowering and filled with practical tools to make my life easier. Sure, it's the longest day of the week, but I can handle it because it's helping me grow in every way. Tonight was also the start of Team Night; we got to hear Sanga preach on making God the most high in our lives. Great message from Sanga, as always. As I look back on what's taken place so far this week, I can't help but wonder: how will I be able to handle having every week this semester be so AWESOME??

God bless,
Steven

Day 412: College Creative, Go!

Today was probably the best day so far. For one, I don't have class until 11 a.m. (which balances out the fact I get out at 5:15), so I could sleep in a little more. I got to show a few of my TV crew my progress on the advertisement, and so far every single reaction was more than positive; I've got some golden here =) Our classes today were Theology of Worship (which I totally love) and Musicianship 2 (which will probably grow on me as we get more involved musically). So far every class has been so much better than first year classes; I love how the courses are set up that way. It's like first year was oriented around being a team player while giving you practical ways of living a God-centered life. This year focuses more on being a team leader while empowering you with personal ways of living a God-centered life. Putting it all together is what makes the ultimate difference in how you do life; it's awesome. We actually got out of class almost a half hour early, which was perfect since I had a college creative meeting at 6. Basically, the college creative team is made up of students that specialize in a certain area of college/church life in Hillsong. As you would know, I am assisting with the video side of things, and the rest of the team is certainly among the best of the best. We had a 3 hour meeting, just throwing out ideas in preparation for the next two months; forward thinking as Relient K puts it. This meeting got me excited about this semester in a whole new way; if I had any doubt for this year, I'm pretty sure it's gone now.

God bless,
Steven

Day 411: Let's Punch It.

Today was the first day of the rest of my life. Just kidding, it's only the first day of the rest of the semester. Chapel rehearsal was so much fun; sure there were the occasional slip-ups, but the ultimate highlight of the morning was filming the advertisement for TV. We've been planning this video for quite a while, and today we finally got to make it happen; it was an absolute success. What I have edited so far is looking amazing, and I can't wait to get this ready for college news. Our first class was Analyses with Matt Capper, where we're going to be learning what it takes to analyze and make great music. I'm excited for this class =) Chapel was awesome as usual; nothing much else to say. My last class was Pastoral Care with Catrina Henderson; I have a strong feeling this class will be a semester favorite. The rest of my day was focused on getting a few other video things done; I really got to see the kind of appreciation I ought to have more of for God blessing me with the abilities I have. Dad, sorry I never got into sports; but at least I have the arts!

God bless,
Steven

Day 410: Videos on Valentine's Day

Today was literally all about videos. It started in the morning with me and Josh meeting with our former TV oversight Vanessa. She's been wanting to meet with us for a while to check how we've been doing with the whole TV thing; she even went as far as to make breakfast for us. We thanked her by washing the dishes; it was literally the least we could do. Right after the meeting, Josh headed to work, while I went back to my place to get some video work done. My mission was simple: upload the last of the Future of Forestry concert videos as well as my New Year's vacation video, start editing the Skillet concert videos, and put the video of Saturday's Valentine's mission on DVDs for Luke and Toast. How did I do? Well, I definitely finished the Future of Forestry videos and uploaded the vacation video too, but I didn't start on editing the Skillet videos; as for the DVDs, I'm in the process of getting the first one finished. I "celebrated" Valentine's Day by hanging out with Donny, Josh, and our friends Alexis and Kappa sharing pizza and discussing movies and television. It was fun! I have an early start to the day, so I will be going to sleep now, so good night!

God bless,
Steven