As you can See I've decided to create a blog site. As many of you know I am working with a YWAM base in Cape Town Called Media Village. Every month I send out an update via email. Every so often I have other things to write about, or too much is going on to put into one update. This site if for people who want a little more detailed view into my head or what God is doing out here in Media Village.
So, I'm going to start by posting all of my updates from Africa thus far, and every so often I will post stuff in between.
Cheers, God Bless.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Stuck (December Update)
Happy holidays everyone, I hope you all had an amazing thanksgiving and that you get to enjoy Christmas and new years. This past month has been quite interesting. As far as media work goes things have by now ceased until we start again when we reopen in January. Things have been slowing down aside from last week. Last week was the finalizing of all current projects. The goal was to finish off all the films we were editing so we could start the new year without any hovering deadlines. The base doesn’t officially close for the year until this friday but a good portion of that staff was heading out this past weekend.
A few weeks ago we were quite urgently sent to a camp about twenty minutes from where we live. This camp is comprised of people still too afraid to return to there homes after the xenophobic attacks in may. The government has already instituted programs to reintegrate people into there homes and offered incentives to return as well, the government is no longer supplying food for the camp. Personally, I can understand this position, if not fully agree with it. One thing that is happening, is that not only is the government not offering aid, but they are refusing entrance to any private aid agency. So if a church or private organization who tries to give food is refused at the gate.
No one knows about this, they are keeping the UN out, the news out, pretty much anyone who can bring this to the attention of the media is not allowed in, we were lucky enough to get in and take some pictures and some quick interviews in the smaller of the three camps. Security was light and we were allowed in because we were working with a church. We were unable to enter the larger camp.
This is a tragedy, the people refuse to leave, mainly because there is no where they know they can go safely, their home countries are unsafe or unstable, and they are under fear of persecution in their hometowns. And the government is using siege tactics to get them out. They will either leave, or they will starve to death. Honestly there is little we can do. So your prayers with this would be greatly appreciated. God can always work through the impossible situations, even when we don’t see any good solution.
On a much happier note I am pleased to announce that I will be staffing the DTS (Discipleship Training School) in January. I am very excited for this. The school had a huge impact on me when I took the course and I am really looking forward to getting to help lead people into discovering who they are in Christ.
The school starts January fifth. I am also looking forward to growing as a leader. I know that I am not just here to grow and learn in professional skills. Since graduating high school I knew I wanted to be in ministry and in some type of leadership role, and I am excited to start growing and practicing in that.
In other news a few of the staff members are visiting family in Zimbabwe right now, if you haven’t heard much about what is going on in that country I would suggest you look into it, it is pretty crazy. In the craziness of the situation is is great to see how God can work. Both my church and Media Village are sending groups of people with food. People are really uniting to try and help out there. Also from Media Village are Shane and Suskia, who are photographers and are trying to make a difference with pictures.
Well, thats about it, thank you all so very much for the prayers and support. Have a great Christmas and a blessed new year. I will write you all again in January.
~J
A few weeks ago we were quite urgently sent to a camp about twenty minutes from where we live. This camp is comprised of people still too afraid to return to there homes after the xenophobic attacks in may. The government has already instituted programs to reintegrate people into there homes and offered incentives to return as well, the government is no longer supplying food for the camp. Personally, I can understand this position, if not fully agree with it. One thing that is happening, is that not only is the government not offering aid, but they are refusing entrance to any private aid agency. So if a church or private organization who tries to give food is refused at the gate.
No one knows about this, they are keeping the UN out, the news out, pretty much anyone who can bring this to the attention of the media is not allowed in, we were lucky enough to get in and take some pictures and some quick interviews in the smaller of the three camps. Security was light and we were allowed in because we were working with a church. We were unable to enter the larger camp.
This is a tragedy, the people refuse to leave, mainly because there is no where they know they can go safely, their home countries are unsafe or unstable, and they are under fear of persecution in their hometowns. And the government is using siege tactics to get them out. They will either leave, or they will starve to death. Honestly there is little we can do. So your prayers with this would be greatly appreciated. God can always work through the impossible situations, even when we don’t see any good solution.
On a much happier note I am pleased to announce that I will be staffing the DTS (Discipleship Training School) in January. I am very excited for this. The school had a huge impact on me when I took the course and I am really looking forward to getting to help lead people into discovering who they are in Christ.
The school starts January fifth. I am also looking forward to growing as a leader. I know that I am not just here to grow and learn in professional skills. Since graduating high school I knew I wanted to be in ministry and in some type of leadership role, and I am excited to start growing and practicing in that.
In other news a few of the staff members are visiting family in Zimbabwe right now, if you haven’t heard much about what is going on in that country I would suggest you look into it, it is pretty crazy. In the craziness of the situation is is great to see how God can work. Both my church and Media Village are sending groups of people with food. People are really uniting to try and help out there. Also from Media Village are Shane and Suskia, who are photographers and are trying to make a difference with pictures.
Well, thats about it, thank you all so very much for the prayers and support. Have a great Christmas and a blessed new year. I will write you all again in January.
~J
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Daydreaming
There are always the days when I sit and wonder what I am here for. Its a question I’ve been asking a lot lately. Whether in confusion or excitement, two different reasons for looking into the uncertainty of the future. I have all these hopes and dreams of what I want to do with life, some of them are constant, some of them change. I know who I am and I have a glimpse of who I will become. I have a glimpse of what God has laid out for me. I see this and at times I am exited, and others scared. I see who I want to become and how far I have to go before I become this person. These dreams for my life are only a small piece of what God has for me and yet even these pieces seem impossible for me to achieve.
In years to come I will look back and my life and stare in wonder of how my life has been molded and shaped. I can already see some of this now. Just looking back from the person I was five years ago the the person I am now, there is no small change. I can only guess that in another five years I will see similar steps and changes in life. The thing about looking back is that it is much like looking in a book. You don’t worry because you know things have resolved. I can look back in my life and see how at a time I was scared and confused, and seeing how I got through. I know now that I will find my next steps, either purposefully chosen or something I just might land into. But there is a mystery and suspense of not knowing those next steps that is both exciting, and more often than not, rather scary.
One thing about mystery is that it forces us to trust God. I have finally learned that I need to trust my life to God and follow his plans, it is what has led me out here, it is what will lead me on. This trust is further strengthened by times when things don’t seem so sure. It would be easy for me to make my own plans, to go my own way. I can’t explain it, but I just can’t let myself do that. So it is His plans, not mine.
Faith is a tricky thing. I’ve heard it said that faith and fear are mutually exclusive, that you can’t trust God and be afraid. Personally, I think that statement is completely wrong. Now I am sure faith is following God and not being afraid, God can grant you peace when choosing to follow Him. But here is another, and for me much more common example of faith: When every emotion, every logical stand and every muscle in you body is telling you are making a catastrophic mistake, and your head keeps telling you that you are doomed and you still decide to trust and follow what you believe God has set before you. That is real faith, that is a faith that strengthens your relationship with God. Once you go through that you start beginning to realize that God is more trustworthy than your instincts, your emotions, your body, and your logic. You begin to trust God more.
In years to come I will look back and my life and stare in wonder of how my life has been molded and shaped. I can already see some of this now. Just looking back from the person I was five years ago the the person I am now, there is no small change. I can only guess that in another five years I will see similar steps and changes in life. The thing about looking back is that it is much like looking in a book. You don’t worry because you know things have resolved. I can look back in my life and see how at a time I was scared and confused, and seeing how I got through. I know now that I will find my next steps, either purposefully chosen or something I just might land into. But there is a mystery and suspense of not knowing those next steps that is both exciting, and more often than not, rather scary.
One thing about mystery is that it forces us to trust God. I have finally learned that I need to trust my life to God and follow his plans, it is what has led me out here, it is what will lead me on. This trust is further strengthened by times when things don’t seem so sure. It would be easy for me to make my own plans, to go my own way. I can’t explain it, but I just can’t let myself do that. So it is His plans, not mine.
Faith is a tricky thing. I’ve heard it said that faith and fear are mutually exclusive, that you can’t trust God and be afraid. Personally, I think that statement is completely wrong. Now I am sure faith is following God and not being afraid, God can grant you peace when choosing to follow Him. But here is another, and for me much more common example of faith: When every emotion, every logical stand and every muscle in you body is telling you are making a catastrophic mistake, and your head keeps telling you that you are doomed and you still decide to trust and follow what you believe God has set before you. That is real faith, that is a faith that strengthens your relationship with God. Once you go through that you start beginning to realize that God is more trustworthy than your instincts, your emotions, your body, and your logic. You begin to trust God more.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Death/Redemption (November Update)
A couple of weeks ago, a few of us at Media Village got to go film a project for a group called Victory Outreach.
The part of the ministry we worked with was a program designed to help people who wanted to get off the streets, out of drugs, and gangs. It is a twelve month program with a seventy percent success rate. People who finish the program either go out and get jobs and get back into society, or they stay on and staff and help disciple those still in the program.
The building we went to was being renovated, it will be able to hold two hundred people, right now it houses around fifty. The waiting list for this program is over two thousand people long.
Our main task for the day was to do interviews with some people who had been through the program as well as some interviews with students going through a three month program to help them grow as leaders, also with a focus on urban ministry.
To say it was impact-full hearing some of these stories would be an understatement. One of the girls who was now helping lead the women’s house used to be heavily into drugs. She said that there was a point that she would go out with drug dealers just because they would give her drugs.
One time she threw something at him and he began to beat her. And she didn’t care, she thought that was all she was worth.
It hit me then that this is how satan has these people. What a grip he must have on you if you believe yourself to be worth so little. In the end that is how people see each other, satan makes us believe that we have no value.
The story ended well for this girl. She found God, got out of the life she was leading and now helps lead other young women to new life in Christ.
We filmed several stories just as powerful. It is both sad and amazing to hear stories of such pain and redemption. But I don’t think I could have prepared myself for what we did next.
We had gotten permission from a gang leader in the nearby ghetto to go and interview him.
So we got there, no script, no plan so to speak. We just set up the camera, help the microphone over their heads and followed the conversation for the next hour and a half.
We got the life on the street, directly from someone who was running them. Every couple minutes someone would hand the leader money from a drug deal that was happening at the door of the house. Crystal meth is their main drug.
What caught me the most was the kid. They had a thirteen year old child who was with them. He was their main drug mule, their main gun runner, and the person who they sent out to rob people. He had those jobs because he needed to prove himself.
He had a gang tattoo on his arm, and had already proven himself by stabbing an enemy of the gang. He started working with them when he was nine. Of the hundred and fifty or so members of this gang, the leader said that fifteen to twenty-five of them were kids.
There are many more things I can write about that hour and a half. I think if we just aired the conversation, things in the world might change a bit.
It is one thing to hear stories about how God has redeemed someone from out of a lifestyle. It is a different thing entirely to see people who still have no hope. Never before had I seen so much death and redemption in one day.
During the past week or so the video interns have started working on Public Service Announcements for child sex trafficking. This has been a topic on my heart for quite a while. And it has been really great to be able to work on something that will make an impact toward this.
I have spent a lot of time wandering around the Love 146 website. They are a group working to end child sex slavery & exploitation. If you have some time please check them out.
www.love146.org
Here are some rough stats:
-It is estimated that at least 27 million people are currently enslaved around the
world; many have been enslaved through being trafficked.
-United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) now believes that the number of children
trafficked each year is around 1.2 million. (2006)
-Approximately 800,000 people annually are trafficked across national
borders. Around 80 percent of these victims are women and girls and up to 50 per-
cent are minors. The majority of females are trafficked into commercial sexual
exploitation. (2007 Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. State Department)
--About $28 billion of this is generated from commercial sexual exploitation.
(International Labor Organization)
We are working on a series of eight PSA’s and are hoping to air them on TV here in SA. Because it is a growing tragedy here, and with the 2010 World Cup approaching the number of trafficking is expected to increase.
Again, thank you so much for your prayer and support. This has been a trying month but I would not have traded it for anything.
God Bless,
~J
The part of the ministry we worked with was a program designed to help people who wanted to get off the streets, out of drugs, and gangs. It is a twelve month program with a seventy percent success rate. People who finish the program either go out and get jobs and get back into society, or they stay on and staff and help disciple those still in the program.
The building we went to was being renovated, it will be able to hold two hundred people, right now it houses around fifty. The waiting list for this program is over two thousand people long.
Our main task for the day was to do interviews with some people who had been through the program as well as some interviews with students going through a three month program to help them grow as leaders, also with a focus on urban ministry.
To say it was impact-full hearing some of these stories would be an understatement. One of the girls who was now helping lead the women’s house used to be heavily into drugs. She said that there was a point that she would go out with drug dealers just because they would give her drugs.
One time she threw something at him and he began to beat her. And she didn’t care, she thought that was all she was worth.
It hit me then that this is how satan has these people. What a grip he must have on you if you believe yourself to be worth so little. In the end that is how people see each other, satan makes us believe that we have no value.
The story ended well for this girl. She found God, got out of the life she was leading and now helps lead other young women to new life in Christ.
We filmed several stories just as powerful. It is both sad and amazing to hear stories of such pain and redemption. But I don’t think I could have prepared myself for what we did next.
We had gotten permission from a gang leader in the nearby ghetto to go and interview him.
So we got there, no script, no plan so to speak. We just set up the camera, help the microphone over their heads and followed the conversation for the next hour and a half.
We got the life on the street, directly from someone who was running them. Every couple minutes someone would hand the leader money from a drug deal that was happening at the door of the house. Crystal meth is their main drug.
What caught me the most was the kid. They had a thirteen year old child who was with them. He was their main drug mule, their main gun runner, and the person who they sent out to rob people. He had those jobs because he needed to prove himself.
He had a gang tattoo on his arm, and had already proven himself by stabbing an enemy of the gang. He started working with them when he was nine. Of the hundred and fifty or so members of this gang, the leader said that fifteen to twenty-five of them were kids.
There are many more things I can write about that hour and a half. I think if we just aired the conversation, things in the world might change a bit.
It is one thing to hear stories about how God has redeemed someone from out of a lifestyle. It is a different thing entirely to see people who still have no hope. Never before had I seen so much death and redemption in one day.
During the past week or so the video interns have started working on Public Service Announcements for child sex trafficking. This has been a topic on my heart for quite a while. And it has been really great to be able to work on something that will make an impact toward this.
I have spent a lot of time wandering around the Love 146 website. They are a group working to end child sex slavery & exploitation. If you have some time please check them out.
www.love146.org
Here are some rough stats:
-It is estimated that at least 27 million people are currently enslaved around the
world; many have been enslaved through being trafficked.
-United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) now believes that the number of children
trafficked each year is around 1.2 million. (2006)
-Approximately 800,000 people annually are trafficked across national
borders. Around 80 percent of these victims are women and girls and up to 50 per-
cent are minors. The majority of females are trafficked into commercial sexual
exploitation. (2007 Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. State Department)
--About $28 billion of this is generated from commercial sexual exploitation.
(International Labor Organization)
We are working on a series of eight PSA’s and are hoping to air them on TV here in SA. Because it is a growing tragedy here, and with the 2010 World Cup approaching the number of trafficking is expected to increase.
Again, thank you so much for your prayer and support. This has been a trying month but I would not have traded it for anything.
God Bless,
~J
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Thoughts on Recent Events
This was inspired by a friends bulletin on Myspace. the part in brackets is part of their post.
[When the people of the United States live a life above reproach, we will have leaders who are above reproach. When the people of the United States live like they care about orphans, widows, or aborted babies, we will have leaders who care about orphans, widows, and aborted babies.]
In our country the leadership reflects the people. If you are upset with the new leadership of our country, ask yourself why they got elected.
So, here is a question for you all
Do you think abortion, homosexuality, murder, fatherless children, orphans, poverty, sex trafficking, drug abuse, etc is good?
Think about this:
Imagine abortion clinics closing down, not because it has been made illegal, but because the mothers of unborn children value the lives of their children.
This is the world a little less broken
Imagine no same sex marriages, not because of legislature, but because each man and woman knows how they were designed and loved by God.
This is the world a little less broken.
Imagine orphans finding homes, and a family who loves them.
This is the world a little less broken.
Imagine fathers trusting God and not bailing on their families.
This is the world a little less broken.
Imagine the elimination of systemic poverty, because the world chooses to give and rehabilitate those on the streets and in the shacks.
This is ushering in the kingdom of heaven.
Imagine the end of sex trafficking, prostitution, drugs, gangs.
These things are all on God's heart.
We, as the people of God are responsible to do what we can. If you love God, love his people.
-"Of all the commandments, which is the most important"
"The most important one" answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these"
Mark 12:28-31
Martin Luther King Jr said we need to battle hate with love.
If we call ourselves Christians, and if we seriously concerned with seeing God's will done on earth as it is in heaven. Then is is our job to do something.
I challenge all of you to pray for our country. Not against our leaders, but pray that they will be men and women of God, and that they make good decisions for our country.
David never went against Saul, he supported him as much as he could.
God has a history of making great leaders out of less than perfect people.
Now, I may not agree with our new president's policies, but one thing we saw this week:
We saw America elect a person they thought would be the better leader of our country, despite his race, and family background.
And that in itself is the world a little less broken.
[When the people of the United States live a life above reproach, we will have leaders who are above reproach. When the people of the United States live like they care about orphans, widows, or aborted babies, we will have leaders who care about orphans, widows, and aborted babies.]
In our country the leadership reflects the people. If you are upset with the new leadership of our country, ask yourself why they got elected.
So, here is a question for you all
Do you think abortion, homosexuality, murder, fatherless children, orphans, poverty, sex trafficking, drug abuse, etc is good?
Think about this:
Imagine abortion clinics closing down, not because it has been made illegal, but because the mothers of unborn children value the lives of their children.
This is the world a little less broken
Imagine no same sex marriages, not because of legislature, but because each man and woman knows how they were designed and loved by God.
This is the world a little less broken.
Imagine orphans finding homes, and a family who loves them.
This is the world a little less broken.
Imagine fathers trusting God and not bailing on their families.
This is the world a little less broken.
Imagine the elimination of systemic poverty, because the world chooses to give and rehabilitate those on the streets and in the shacks.
This is ushering in the kingdom of heaven.
Imagine the end of sex trafficking, prostitution, drugs, gangs.
These things are all on God's heart.
We, as the people of God are responsible to do what we can. If you love God, love his people.
-"Of all the commandments, which is the most important"
"The most important one" answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these"
Mark 12:28-31
Martin Luther King Jr said we need to battle hate with love.
If we call ourselves Christians, and if we seriously concerned with seeing God's will done on earth as it is in heaven. Then is is our job to do something.
I challenge all of you to pray for our country. Not against our leaders, but pray that they will be men and women of God, and that they make good decisions for our country.
David never went against Saul, he supported him as much as he could.
God has a history of making great leaders out of less than perfect people.
Now, I may not agree with our new president's policies, but one thing we saw this week:
We saw America elect a person they thought would be the better leader of our country, despite his race, and family background.
And that in itself is the world a little less broken.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Wholeness (October)
I am not sure if I’ve ever shared with anyone what first drew me to YWAM. In a word it would be this: people. Let me explain that a little further.
June 2004 was my first contact with YWAM. I had been out of high school for a little over a year, and had only been seriously following God for around two and a half years. After high school I joined the youth group as one of their small group leaders, and every summer the group does a missions trip.
This year’s trip was to Cancun, Mexico, and who did we team up with; you guessed it YWAMers. The thing that really stuck me with these people was how genuine they were. Following God was not about going to church, or being happy all the time. God was about love, and change. Change as in God wouldn’t automatically make life better, but He would change you, make you more like him. And this is not an easy process. This ten day trip introduced me to the idea that just because I was a christian, I didn’t need to have it all together, and therefore I didn’t have to pretend that I had it all together.
Another thing I have really grown to love about the YWAM community is how God seems to permeate every aspect of life. What I mean is this: at home, with friends, or wherever, God or christianity was not a huge topic of discussion. It seems that God was only talked about in church, or at Bible Study. YWAM was the first time I was within a community where at any moment God could enter a conversation. And man, that was freeing.
It reminds me of a paragraph in a book called “Knowledge of the Holy” by A.W. Tozer. In there Tozer is talking about how if a celestial being came down to earth and joined in one of our day to day conversations that it would be bored out of its mind. Why, because this being has seen and knows the true God! What importance is there in NBA rankings or the the new car we are looking to buy. And although these thing are interesting and important, they are nothing compared to God. and yes so much of our lives are focused on these things.
I think this is because so many of us have compartmentalized God. And I really think that takes away from some of the power of Him in out lives. Just think how different things would be if we would spend more of our day just talking about God, or even realizing that we have the freedom to talk about God.
I think once we let God be active in every aspect of our lives then the world will change.
Trust me, I am no expert at this yet, but that is one amazing thing about God is that he shows us something, and then teaches us how to grow in that.
Meeting people who were an example to this really made me realize how I need it in my own life. And those are some of the reason I love being with YWAM.
I am really excited to see what God will be doing while I am down here. these past few weeks I’ve gotten to work on a couple of rather exciting projects. First, I got to record a chinese translation for the Global Day of Prayer Project. Now, this thing took me a grand total of four hours of work, but the implications of this thing is massive. This video is being sent to China. As many of you know the church growth in China is the (or one of) most rapid in the world. You probably also know that China is a closed nation that does not allow christianity. So being able to work on a video that will help encourage the church in China is really amazing.
Another project that I have gotten to work on is a short film for one of our local Cape Town churches. It is about quite a few things but mainly addresses hypocrisy, trust, and family unity. It was a fun project to film and as of today is proving to be a bit of a task to get the sound edit the way I want. The basic story is about a family where the father and mother are going through some shaky relationship trouble. They get into an argument before church and the teenage son takes off with his skateboard. The parents and the daughter head to church, completely disconnected and putting on the “everything is great” mask we sometimes love to put on for church. Anyway I won’t give away the ending, cause that just won’t be fun, plus I fear I may be boring you already. I do have to say that it deals a lot on James chapter 3.
A couple weeks ago about half of the Media Village production team headed down to Argentina to attend and film a massive conference down there for Harvest evangelism. This is a ministry Media Village has worked with closely and it was awesome to have the team come back and share how God has been using their videos to effect people around the world.
As I said most of the team was gone for two weeks, this did not include me. So I was chilling here in Kalk Bay with little official work to do. (And trust me I’m not complaining.) In my quest to fill the hours I finally started getting my Matthew study project up onto my computer. So I now am almost finished with chapter 1 of this project, which really makes me happy.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. God bless you
~J
Prayer requests:
-That even though projects can be repetitive, I need to see the big picture on how they are being used by God.
-That I keep in my Bible, my time focusing on reading the word is definitely not as often as it needs to be.
-I have found a church here in Cape Town, and just that I can be actively involved and growing in the community there.
June 2004 was my first contact with YWAM. I had been out of high school for a little over a year, and had only been seriously following God for around two and a half years. After high school I joined the youth group as one of their small group leaders, and every summer the group does a missions trip.
This year’s trip was to Cancun, Mexico, and who did we team up with; you guessed it YWAMers. The thing that really stuck me with these people was how genuine they were. Following God was not about going to church, or being happy all the time. God was about love, and change. Change as in God wouldn’t automatically make life better, but He would change you, make you more like him. And this is not an easy process. This ten day trip introduced me to the idea that just because I was a christian, I didn’t need to have it all together, and therefore I didn’t have to pretend that I had it all together.
Another thing I have really grown to love about the YWAM community is how God seems to permeate every aspect of life. What I mean is this: at home, with friends, or wherever, God or christianity was not a huge topic of discussion. It seems that God was only talked about in church, or at Bible Study. YWAM was the first time I was within a community where at any moment God could enter a conversation. And man, that was freeing.
It reminds me of a paragraph in a book called “Knowledge of the Holy” by A.W. Tozer. In there Tozer is talking about how if a celestial being came down to earth and joined in one of our day to day conversations that it would be bored out of its mind. Why, because this being has seen and knows the true God! What importance is there in NBA rankings or the the new car we are looking to buy. And although these thing are interesting and important, they are nothing compared to God. and yes so much of our lives are focused on these things.
I think this is because so many of us have compartmentalized God. And I really think that takes away from some of the power of Him in out lives. Just think how different things would be if we would spend more of our day just talking about God, or even realizing that we have the freedom to talk about God.
I think once we let God be active in every aspect of our lives then the world will change.
Trust me, I am no expert at this yet, but that is one amazing thing about God is that he shows us something, and then teaches us how to grow in that.
Meeting people who were an example to this really made me realize how I need it in my own life. And those are some of the reason I love being with YWAM.
I am really excited to see what God will be doing while I am down here. these past few weeks I’ve gotten to work on a couple of rather exciting projects. First, I got to record a chinese translation for the Global Day of Prayer Project. Now, this thing took me a grand total of four hours of work, but the implications of this thing is massive. This video is being sent to China. As many of you know the church growth in China is the (or one of) most rapid in the world. You probably also know that China is a closed nation that does not allow christianity. So being able to work on a video that will help encourage the church in China is really amazing.
Another project that I have gotten to work on is a short film for one of our local Cape Town churches. It is about quite a few things but mainly addresses hypocrisy, trust, and family unity. It was a fun project to film and as of today is proving to be a bit of a task to get the sound edit the way I want. The basic story is about a family where the father and mother are going through some shaky relationship trouble. They get into an argument before church and the teenage son takes off with his skateboard. The parents and the daughter head to church, completely disconnected and putting on the “everything is great” mask we sometimes love to put on for church. Anyway I won’t give away the ending, cause that just won’t be fun, plus I fear I may be boring you already. I do have to say that it deals a lot on James chapter 3.
A couple weeks ago about half of the Media Village production team headed down to Argentina to attend and film a massive conference down there for Harvest evangelism. This is a ministry Media Village has worked with closely and it was awesome to have the team come back and share how God has been using their videos to effect people around the world.
As I said most of the team was gone for two weeks, this did not include me. So I was chilling here in Kalk Bay with little official work to do. (And trust me I’m not complaining.) In my quest to fill the hours I finally started getting my Matthew study project up onto my computer. So I now am almost finished with chapter 1 of this project, which really makes me happy.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. God bless you
~J
Prayer requests:
-That even though projects can be repetitive, I need to see the big picture on how they are being used by God.
-That I keep in my Bible, my time focusing on reading the word is definitely not as often as it needs to be.
-I have found a church here in Cape Town, and just that I can be actively involved and growing in the community there.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
New Things
I would have thought, going into sound for video that I would be started off working on some small project. You know, something that would introduce me gently to this whole video field. Well, one good and bad thing about being the only sound guy not working with a school is that you are the only sound guy available for projects. So my first project is doing sound for a couple of movies for a massive, multi-denominational congress coming to Cape Town in 2010. So my first experience in film will be going out to quite a few people. So let me just say that so far this is both intimidating and exciting to be a part of this.
As many of you know, I have spent the last 4 years or so studying audio and audio recording. It is an amazing blessing to be able to do this in a mission setting. Most of the first three weeks I was here I spent on a video shoot running sound. This past week and a half has consisted more of editing and helping students out here with voice overs for their student projects.
The project that has been taking most of my work time has been for the third Lausanne Congress. Its a massive multi-denominational congress focused on uniting the world church and figuring out how to reach the world, and focus on reaching the currently unreached. The last one of these was in 1989. Traditionally, I have never been a huge fan of large, Christian gatherings. I don't fully know why. I think it's that in many cases they just feel impersonal, over programmed, and well, unreal. That and I have seen so many occasions where people go to some conference, or retreat, or meeting, they discuss change, or get inspired... And nothing happens. They just go back to normal life until the next conference, retreat, or meeting.
This was a bit of my take on this whole congress originally. That was until we started doing interviews. We interviewed a lot of the key players for this thing and every one of them had this deep seated passion behind their voice. Every one of them is excited for this thing, and most of these people have been working in ministry for 30+ years. And after being in ministry that long and be anticipating God to do something that much, I am sure God is going to move.
You ever have those moments where God just reminds you of something?
I think sometimes when we feel God is distant, or haven't kept up on our time with God, we start praying and even thinking that God is distant. A few time in Psalms David asks God "Why have you hidden your face?" or "Why are you far off?"
We feel like that and get into this habit, in the back of our mind that God is distant.
Well I was praying the other night and this sort of just hit me. No words, but it was like God was saying " I am here too."
God is just as much right next to us as he is far off. Sometimes the only reason we are far from God is that we don't let him Get near us. God is just as near us when we feel the warm fuzzies (as they are sometimes referred) or when we feel nothing. God is Always near.
I think when we believe in a distant God he begins to feel less real. I think thats because we need a close God, one who knows us, and we know him.
Thank you all so much for supporting me, I hope you are all well. I pray that you all continue to grow close with God.
Prayer requests: That I can settle into a local church. I am also hoping to join a local ministry that focuses on helping people out, and really reaching the hurting and lost. Media is an amazing tool, but I think it is very clear that I need to reach people directly too.
God Bless,
~Jeff
As many of you know, I have spent the last 4 years or so studying audio and audio recording. It is an amazing blessing to be able to do this in a mission setting. Most of the first three weeks I was here I spent on a video shoot running sound. This past week and a half has consisted more of editing and helping students out here with voice overs for their student projects.
The project that has been taking most of my work time has been for the third Lausanne Congress. Its a massive multi-denominational congress focused on uniting the world church and figuring out how to reach the world, and focus on reaching the currently unreached. The last one of these was in 1989. Traditionally, I have never been a huge fan of large, Christian gatherings. I don't fully know why. I think it's that in many cases they just feel impersonal, over programmed, and well, unreal. That and I have seen so many occasions where people go to some conference, or retreat, or meeting, they discuss change, or get inspired... And nothing happens. They just go back to normal life until the next conference, retreat, or meeting.
This was a bit of my take on this whole congress originally. That was until we started doing interviews. We interviewed a lot of the key players for this thing and every one of them had this deep seated passion behind their voice. Every one of them is excited for this thing, and most of these people have been working in ministry for 30+ years. And after being in ministry that long and be anticipating God to do something that much, I am sure God is going to move.
You ever have those moments where God just reminds you of something?
I think sometimes when we feel God is distant, or haven't kept up on our time with God, we start praying and even thinking that God is distant. A few time in Psalms David asks God "Why have you hidden your face?" or "Why are you far off?"
We feel like that and get into this habit, in the back of our mind that God is distant.
Well I was praying the other night and this sort of just hit me. No words, but it was like God was saying " I am here too."
God is just as much right next to us as he is far off. Sometimes the only reason we are far from God is that we don't let him Get near us. God is just as near us when we feel the warm fuzzies (as they are sometimes referred) or when we feel nothing. God is Always near.
I think when we believe in a distant God he begins to feel less real. I think thats because we need a close God, one who knows us, and we know him.
Thank you all so much for supporting me, I hope you are all well. I pray that you all continue to grow close with God.
Prayer requests: That I can settle into a local church. I am also hoping to join a local ministry that focuses on helping people out, and really reaching the hurting and lost. Media is an amazing tool, but I think it is very clear that I need to reach people directly too.
God Bless,
~Jeff
Friday, August 29, 2008
I would have thought, going into sound for video that I would be started off working on some small project. You know, something that would introduce me gently to this whole video field. Well, one good and bad thing about being the only sound guy not working with a school is that you are the only sound guy available for projects. So my first project is doing sound for a couple of movies for a massive, multi-denominational congress coming to Cape Town in 2010. So my first experience in film will be going out to quite a few people. So let me just say that so far this is both intimidating and exciting to be a part of this.
As many of you know, I have spent the last 4 years or so studying audio and audio recording. It is an amazing blessing to be able to do this in a mission setting. Most of the first three weeks I was here I spent on a video shoot running sound. This past week and a half has consisted more of editing and helping students out here with voice overs for their student projects.
The project that has been taking most of my work time has been for the third Lausanne Congress. Its a massive multi-denominational congress focused on uniting the world church and figuring out how to reach the world, and focus on reaching the currently unreached. The last one of these was in 1989. Traditionally, I have never been a huge fan of large, Christian gatherings. I don't fully know why. I think it's that in many cases they just feel impersonal, over programmed, and well, unreal. That and I have seen so many occasions where people go to some conference, or retreat, or meeting, they discuss change, or get inspired... And nothing happens. They just go back to normal life until the next conference, retreat, or meeting.
This was a bit of my take on this whole congress originally. That was until we started doing interviews. We interviewed a lot of the key players for this thing and every one of them had this deep seated passion behind their voice. Every one of them is excited for this thing, and most of these people have been working in ministry for 30+ years. And after being in ministry that long and be anticipating God to do something that much, I am sure God is going to move.
You ever have those moments where God just reminds you of something?
I think sometimes when we feel God is distant, or haven't kept up on our time with God, we start praying and even thinking that God is distant. A few time in Psalms David asks God "Why have you hidden your face?" or "Why are you far off?"
We feel like that and get into this habit, in the back of our mind that God is distant.
Well I was praying the other night and this sort of just hit me. No words, but it was like God was saying " I am here too."
God is just as much right next to us as he is far off. Sometimes the only reason we are far from God is that we don't let him Get near us. God is just as near us when we feel the warm fuzzies (as they are sometimes referred) or when we feel nothing. God is Always near.
I think when we believe in a distant God he begins to feel less real. I think thats because we need a close God, one who knows us, and we know him.
Thank you all so much for supporting me, I hope you are all well. I pray that you all continue to grow close with God.
Prayer requests: That I can settle into a local church. I am also hoping to join a local ministry that focuses on helping people out, and really reaching the hurting and lost. Media is an amazing tool, but I think it is very clear that I need to reach people directly too.
God Bless,
~Jeff
As many of you know, I have spent the last 4 years or so studying audio and audio recording. It is an amazing blessing to be able to do this in a mission setting. Most of the first three weeks I was here I spent on a video shoot running sound. This past week and a half has consisted more of editing and helping students out here with voice overs for their student projects.
The project that has been taking most of my work time has been for the third Lausanne Congress. Its a massive multi-denominational congress focused on uniting the world church and figuring out how to reach the world, and focus on reaching the currently unreached. The last one of these was in 1989. Traditionally, I have never been a huge fan of large, Christian gatherings. I don't fully know why. I think it's that in many cases they just feel impersonal, over programmed, and well, unreal. That and I have seen so many occasions where people go to some conference, or retreat, or meeting, they discuss change, or get inspired... And nothing happens. They just go back to normal life until the next conference, retreat, or meeting.
This was a bit of my take on this whole congress originally. That was until we started doing interviews. We interviewed a lot of the key players for this thing and every one of them had this deep seated passion behind their voice. Every one of them is excited for this thing, and most of these people have been working in ministry for 30+ years. And after being in ministry that long and be anticipating God to do something that much, I am sure God is going to move.
You ever have those moments where God just reminds you of something?
I think sometimes when we feel God is distant, or haven't kept up on our time with God, we start praying and even thinking that God is distant. A few time in Psalms David asks God "Why have you hidden your face?" or "Why are you far off?"
We feel like that and get into this habit, in the back of our mind that God is distant.
Well I was praying the other night and this sort of just hit me. No words, but it was like God was saying " I am here too."
God is just as much right next to us as he is far off. Sometimes the only reason we are far from God is that we don't let him Get near us. God is just as near us when we feel the warm fuzzies (as they are sometimes referred) or when we feel nothing. God is Always near.
I think when we believe in a distant God he begins to feel less real. I think thats because we need a close God, one who knows us, and we know him.
Thank you all so much for supporting me, I hope you are all well. I pray that you all continue to grow close with God.
Prayer requests: That I can settle into a local church. I am also hoping to join a local ministry that focuses on helping people out, and really reaching the hurting and lost. Media is an amazing tool, but I think it is very clear that I need to reach people directly too.
God Bless,
~Jeff
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