Sydney

Hello! Thank you for reading this and I hope that you are blessed from some part of it.

First of all, I have to thank my parents for raising me and providing for me for the first 18 years of my life. I have come to a quick realization of their provision for me in all ways and I love them for it. Thanks mom and pop for being God's provision in my life for so long and for pushing me along into God's plan and blessing me with your support and encouragement. Also, I am incredibly grateful for my church and the influence it has had on me. Thank you all for creating an environment that encourages young men and women to lay down their life, take up their cross, and run the race marked out before.

This Saturday, I finally became a tourist and traveled to downtown Sydney and Manly Beach. The group consisted of Me, Matt, Anthony, a bass player named Will, vocalist Tess, and dancer/keyboard player Jimena. I learned that Will had received an e-mail earlier that day informing him that he would be playing in the extension service at the Northern Beaches. I'm slightly confused by God's planning here, but I'm glad for him and for the Northern Beaches as well. I had the opportunity to hear him audition and he is incredibly talented. Also, to get a ride for the Northern Beaches, you get picked up at 5 AM. Ouch. 

We took the train into Sydney and arrived at Town Hall. The city itself is incredible. I was very overwhelmed by the art and just started taking random pictures of architecture. I highly suggest a trip to Sydney if you enjoy beautiful places. We then took a ferry to Manly Beach and just walked around for awhile. Neither my words or pictures can really do the place justice though. It is really the most beautiful city that I have ever seen with a wide variety of art and culture. I also now have the desire to buy a longboard to cruise around school with. However, my logical Dutch side went through a quick cost/benefit analysis and I'm thinking that I'll stick with walking.

We ended up going around the opera house, eating at Darling Harbor, getting lost downtown 3 or 4 times, and having a ton of fun. On the train ride into Sydney, I was also able to meet a couple from Jenison who were in town because of the wife's job. She just helped to open up the Costco in the area and her husband came on vacation. Small world.

At Sunday Night Live tonight, we sang a brand new song. I have no idea what it is called or when it'll come out, but it was really fun to do.

This Saturday, Junior's dad went to heaven. If you pray at all, please pray for Junior and his family as they go through this really difficult time. Junior has been an incredible blessing to Me, Anthony, and Matt as new students here and we have been praying all the time for him and his family. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers so far. I hope that we can get in contact soon.

Fastlane

Hello friends and relatives! I hope that you're having a fantastic life and stuff! Thank you for coming to check up on mine.

Things have been happening very fast here in Australia. I'm not even really sure where to begin. Around the house, Matt has taken to calling me Moose because of my northern heritage. Dave calls me "The Epistle", because he is never able to remember which two of the four that my name is. We've been eating very well, and I have discovered the magical concoction of Nutella and Peanut Butter. If you have never been blessed with this combination, I highly suggest it.

On Wednesday at dinner, Anthony started talking about his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and the F-4 tornado that rolled through it in April. Seeing pictures of a disaster is different than hearing someone explain all of the landmarks and stories in what you're seeing. I was shocked to see and hear of the magnitude of devastation and also thankful to hear that God's protection was still active. If you pray at all, please pray for the city leaders and churches of Tuscaloosa. The rubble has finally been cleared from the streets, but the leadership is at a complete loss for where to go next. How do you rebuild an entire city?

This week has really put aside any fears that I may have had about the real heart and center of Hillsong Church. For awhile back home, I was slightly worried that because their music is so successful, Hillsong might be more about music, lights, and performances than about Jesus, hearts, and people. After three full days of lectures from the Hillsong Music leadership all about Jesus, the heart, and serving people, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am being taught by the right people.

The culture of Hillsong Music has really made an impact on me as well. Although the musicians and pastors are honored and respected, they are still all about being teachers and disciple makers rather than rockstars. They'll sit down and have a conversation with you or pray with you because they're genuinely interested. These are people that go out on tour to thousands of screaming people and come back to worship God in the congregation and build relationships with the people around them because that's what God has called us to do. They even treat their tours purely as ministry opportunities and hopefully you'll see that when they come to Michigan in August.

I have found a grand piano to play in the church and have practiced for hours already. God has also already used the piano playing to get me connected with the people around me as well. I met Sarah, who plays piano at an extension service on the northern beaches in Sydney. She informed me of the Yamaha store in Sydney where I can get the music that I want to learn this year and also of the fact that they need a bass player for the northern beach extension service on Sundays. I'm praying that God uses me wherever he wants me and that I can glorify him wherever (however, playing bass on the beach in Sydney would be awesome).

I haven't heard from Junior recently about how his dad is doing, but I'm still praying for a miracle in that situation. Also pray for me to continue walking in the spirit and focusing my life on God. Thanks for checking up on me, and I pray that your day would be blessed.

College

Today was the first official day of my college career. I'm excited.

"Intensives" began this morning at 8:30 in the Hub auditorium. I had no idea to expect or what intensives even are, but I soon found out. The first two weeks of school are called "intensives" because the days of school are longer and are filled with more lecture than anything else. However, I feel that I don't do the truth and teachings that are being poured out here enough justice when I call them lectures.

The first lesson was taught by a pastor of the adult connect groups that are here at Hillsong. He spoke about Identity (which, of course, God led me to study the night before.) and what it is that makes us who we are. It was powerful to hear the truth that our worth is not in the talents we have, the gifts we've been given, or in what we have done already. Our worth is found in Christ alone. With that knowledge in hand, we're supposed to serve God in whatever function possible, not just our "calling". Our service to God should be at all times, not just when we're comfortable to fill our church roles.

The next lesson was all about unity within the church and between churches (This is a subject which God had really placed on my heart back in Michigan). I was incredibly blessed to hear my vision for Grand Rapids spoken by the Hillsong Leadership and I am now completely confident that this is where I need to be for the education and training to live in God's plan.

This entire day of learning has been incredible for me and I can't wait to put the knowledge into practice in Hillsong Church and back home with all you guys. Thank you all for praying for me and supporting me into this place where I can grow and be built up by Godly mentors and leaders. I am confident in the Lord to bring me through this year victorious because "He who began a good work in me will bring it to completion".

Please continue to pray for Junior as he's hanging out with his dad in the hospital right now. His dad is currently at a point where only a miracle could save him now. I know this is very hard for Junior and that with God nothing is impossible. 

Also, I'm looking for jobs, trying to get a piano to practice at college, trying hard to keep my personal devotions going, and I've still been having some sickness lately. All of those are things you can pray for.

Put another shrimp on the barbie.

Hello sunny, warm America from cold, wet Australia! It's been quite a rainy week here and the walk to and from school has seemed longer than ever. Praise God for cheap umbrellas and lovely bus rides.

Auditions went very well! Thank you for praying me through that experience and into God's favor. I am unsure of where I am placed or what my auditions really even determine, but I was satisfied with the performance and was able to praise God while playing. I know that whatever happens, I am guaranteed to be used in a lot of places because of the lack of bass players here. In an intake of probably 100 worship students, 3 are bassists. 

At enrollment the next day, I had a few issues with the tuition payment stuff going on. However, God's favor found me there as well, and I am now fully paid through next July for tuition. As far as housing and other living expenses go, this year will definitely be a huge chance for God to be my provider. I am excited to see His provision and hope to remain in His plan.

Every Thursday night here, Hillsong has a service called Creative night, which is where all of Hillsong Creative is invited to worship and learn from the leaders of the Hillsong Creative team. The night was incredible and contained a sermon by J.D. (the lead singer of the main service) and a brand new song by Brooke Fraser (which was incredibly powerful). The whole night was covered in prayer and song. It was incredibly powerful for me to see the mind and direction of Hillsong Creative, which is completely after Jesus.

Friday, I was able to go to Marrylands with Junior again and worship and minister to the kids there. During the service, God completely took over and changed the message and led the worship. The band was once again, fantastic, and I was almost constantly in a state of worship or prayer. Afterward, Junior invited the entire leadership of Marrylands youth to our house for a barbecue. The chicken was absolutely fantastic, and being able to hang out with a lot of the leadership was very good too. The party also acted as a going away party for Junior. He is going to stay with his family in America for up to 3 months, starting this Sunday. He will be very greatly missed.

Starting on Tuesday are something called "Intensives". I'm not really sure what that even means, but it sounds.....intense.

Please pray for continued blessings on this household, as each of us newcomers are in constant need of God's provision. Thank you for your prayers and I pray that as you have blessed me, you will be blessed.

Mmmerica.

Hello friends! It's hard for me to believe that I've already been living here for an entire week now. It has been pretty amazing to see God's provision working through this past week to keep me healthy and in good company. Thanks for all your prayers to make that happen!

Yesterday, the fifth and final member of our house arrived. His name is Anthony, he is from Alabama, and he is another God-send. Anthony is here for the worship music stream at Hillsong and is going to play the Acoustic guitar. That means that in this house we have a singer, electric guitarist, acoustic guitarist, bassist, and a drummer. On top of that, Anthony is an artist in his spare time and sells his paintings for money (They are really incredible. I'll find out if he has a website or something and post that link). That means that in this house we also have an artist, an editor (Matt does that for his church), and a publisher (Dave does that for Hillsong). This also means that our house is completely American (Michigan, Idaho?, Alabama, Missouri, Texas).

Anthony also loves to cook, which was incredibly helpful as we made spaghetti and kangaroo sausages together tonight. He made the mushrooms, which went great in the spaghetti sauce. By the way, kangaroo does tastes a lot like venison sausage, except much worse and with an aftertaste that Matt describes as "Death". I can definitely feel my stomach agreeing with Matt's opinion.

I have to audition tomorrow for my placement in a worship team. During the audition process, I'll have to play the song "You Deserve" with the house band they have, play a song of my choice (I picked "Again I Say Rejoice" - Israel Houghton), take a quick music theory test, improvise over a simple chord progression, and play a couple scales. Please pray that God's will is accomplished in this audition process and that whatever happens, I'll still choose to glorify Him.

Thank you for all your prayers and for keeping me in your thoughts n' stuff. I miss everyone and hope to hear from you soon.

Good Eats

Hello once again America! As I write this, my thoughts are constantly being drawn back toward the youth group at home and the fantastic things that are happening in the lives of my brothers in Christ. I've been praying for y'all for awhile now and it is great to hear that God has laid hold of your lives. Blessings also to Josh and Ashley as they move into what God has planned for them at Living Hope.

This Sunday I finally met my third roommate, Dave. He's from Dallas and has been here for three years doing the worship stream here at Hillsong. Currently, he works for Hillsong Creative and is gone for days at a time. God has definitely blessed me with him in this house because of his very thorough knowledge of the phones, internet, automotive, electronics, computing, and political areas of Australia and has offered to help me in any of those areas during my stay here. 

I was also able to attend my first service at Hillsong Church. The music was, of course, phenomenal. Pastor Brian spoke a powerful message about the Holy Spirit giving the gift of wisdom. Most importantly though, I was able to see the heart of the organization that will be teaching me for the next year. What lies at the heart of Hillsong is preaching the gospel through music, ministering to the poor, and planting churches in areas where there are none. 

When I came to Australia, one of my goals was to use my Dutch heritage as much as possible to keep expenses down. After the first day of eating only Ramen noodles and microwaved frozen pizza (I hadn't figured out how to use the oven yet), I knew that something had to change. Matt agreed, and since then we've been cooking. So far, all of our meals have been under $10 total ($5 each) and have been infinitely more delicious and nutritious than Ramen (praise God). We've made Chicken n' Onions, Spaghetti and Pork Meatballs with ghetto garlic bread, and BLT's. We're thinking about making some steak fajitas soon or maybe even baked goods.

We're still one housemate short of a full house here, so please keep on praying for the right person to be placed here with us. Also, I'm beginning to feel under the weather with headaches and congestion, so please pray for my health. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers and I pray that God would bless you as you have blessed me. 

Junior

I didn't think I was going to be able to write another post this quickly, but it seems that God has greater plans for me than I can imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9). Yesterday, God revealed to me how much He has blessed me with fantastic housemates.

At about noon yesterday, Junior came in to my room and invited me to come with him to a Hillsong Youth extension service out in Marrylands. He plays guitar for the worship team there and thought that I would like to see what it was all about. We then started talking and he proceeded to teach me about everything from guitar chord inversions to the role of each member in a worship ensemble. He even used metaphors that I completely understood. (For instance, he compared a 4 part choral piece with a guitar to explain the different voicing of each string in the chord.) He then went on to share his entire story of God's provision for him in Australia and how he has grown since living here. Basically, God blessed me with the perfect teacher and encourager to be my housemate.

We went to the service later that day and set up all of the sound equipment and furniture at the local community center in Marrylands for the youth service and the regular Sunday church service. Matt and I were  picked to go make a pizza run with some Pacific Islanders who were there for the service. On the way, I got to talk with one of the Pacific Island girls about Hillsong Conference, which just completed this past Sunday. Apparently, Israel Houghton was one of the worship leaders for Conference, and I also learned that most Pacific Islanders are completely obsessed with him. Seriously, I mentioned that my parents had seen him in the airport once and she was incredibly jealous. Anyway, it turned out that the sound crew for the service was gone on vacation that week, so I was put on the team as a sound guy for this worship service. So, 3 days into my stay here and I'm already putting my talents into serving God. Awesome.

Thank you all for continuing to bless me with your prayer and please add Junior's dad to your prayers as well. He is currently having kidney and liver problems and needs a transplant very badly. I'm still praying for everyone back home and hope to hear from you soon.

Survival

After 20 hours of flying time and a quick sweep through customs, I have finally made it to Australia! Thank you all for supporting and praying for me to be here because I definitely would not be here without you.

God's provision has definitely been present through the entire journey here. On the first flight from Chicago to Los Angeles, I sat two seats away from a lady named Kate who is also coming to Hillsong International Leadership College for Worship Music. She spent three years at Colombia College for vocal jazz performance, but now wants to create music to glorify God rather than herself.

As soon as I arrived at college, I met Matthew, my 20 year old roommate from Kansas City, MO. He is also at Hillsong for worship music and plays the drums. He was the interim youth ministry leader at his church and decided that he wants to be equipped to glorify God in incredible ways and felt that Hillsong was the way to do it. Since we met, we have been unpacking, discovering strange oddities around our house (such as the orange tree, the motorcycle in the garage, as espresso maker, etc.), trying to figure out how to cook Kangaroo meat, and finding incredibly cheap ways to eat.

Due to jet lag, I'm currently writing this post at 4 in the morning, after falling asleep at 7 last night. The first night was a bit better, but this is still pretty obnoxious. The first night was also very strange because Matt and I moved into the house without meeting any of our 3 other roommates, so it kind of felt like intruding.

However, the next morning I met Junior. He's been here for 4 and a half years, completing 3 years of worship music training on guitar and now is working through a degree program that Hillsong has rented from some other college. God has definitely blessed me by allowing me to live in this house. Junior has guitars, pedals, an amplifier (hallelujah!), and all of the knowledge of the area that I will ever need. Also, he let me know the internet password (which has no cap), taught me how to use the oven (because microwaved frozen pizza just tastes terrible), and let me know a shortcut to the church that cuts 10 minutes off of the walking time. (However, it is highly suggested that I don't take the shortcut during the night because I could be attacked by snakes or spiders. Not kidding.)

Thank you all for praying for me and please continue to do so. I have seen the benefits of your prayers and am excited for what unimaginable things that God has prepared for me. I would also like to stay informed of  things back home and what God is doing in your lives so that I can pray and praise with you. Send me an e-mail at Pike67@hotmail.com or on my facebook page.

God bless you.