Old and New

I am in medical school now. I have been doing this for the past two months. I was actually in the middle of studying for an exam when I realized that I haven't shared any of what God has done in my life for awhile now. I have heard that these posts have been an encouragement to people, so I will continue to post when I have things to write.

Let's start with my transition to medical school.

I think that the largest difference for me between medical school and Hillsdale is the lack of friends. At medical school, I have a large number of acquaintances and funny people. I miss my friendships from Hillsdale though. Looking back, I can see how God worked to bring the right people into my life at the right time. I had many people who I could talk with about their relationship with God. I had opportunities participating and leading small groups where I could share what God had done in my life and encourage many people. I had a consistent group of friends who I could count on to be honest, open, available, and wise.

It would be nice if I could go to church with all of my friends. It would be nice if all of my friends came with me to medical school. It would be nice if I could work in a hospital with all of my friends, or live next to all of them, or hang out every weekend.

Suffice it to say, I have been lonely and nostalgic over the past two months. I have even thought of entering into the dating arena so that I could have someone to share life with.

I consulted God on this matter. I said, "Lord, I would really like to be in a relationship." He said, "Really? You really want to be in a relationship?" I said, "Yeah, I think it would be great to have someone to share my life with." God directed me to focus on the relationship that I already have with him, and pointed out that I had been neglecting it. I laughed out loud.

A lot of our interactions have been going like this recently. One time, when I was still working as a scribe, I asked God why I had been given that job. Work had not been going very well. I was frustrated with the healthcare system, the doctors I was working with and the attitudes of the patients. I said, "God, why do I need to be here to witness all this pain and sin? I don't need this job to become a doctor. With your recommendation, I can get into any medical school and do anything you want me to do. I don't even need to make money, because you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Why am I here?" God said, "What if I told you that the only reason you have this job is to preach the gospel? Would you be satisfied?" I thought about it for a bit. I was satisfied.

I think the major tension I have been facing is the great old question, "What is the meaning of life?" Is it friendship? Is it relationship? Is it a satisfying job? There are all sorts of answers that you can get with a liberal arts education. I'm going to avoid all of those and go straight for the truth.

In Philippians 1, Paul says that he is hard pressed between life and death. His desire is to die so that he can be with Christ, which is far better than living. Ultimately, he chooses to live because it means fruitful labor for the kingdom of God. I'm paraphrasing just a bit, but you really should read 1:19-26. For Paul, the meaning of life is fruitful labor for the kingdom of God. I believe that the meaning of my life is the same. I have the opportunity to be in a relationship with Jesus and bear fruit for the kingdom of God and then I get to die and be with Jesus even more. This is the purpose of life.

This also answers every worry that I have had about loneliness and purpose. I can understand that God brings me away from my friends and to places where nobody lives with Jesus so that I can preach the Word. I can understand that my loneliness draws me closer into a relationship with my creator. I know that frustrating jobs and coworkers are where Christ is needed the most. God leads me to places where I can bear fruit for the kingdom of God, even if it doesn't look pretty for feel good.

So I will not abandon my post. I will not shrink from the position Christ has led me to.

It is time for me to return to my studies.

John Mark

Charisma

I haven't posted here in a long time, but I think that it is time to begin once again. Sometimes when I need a reason to praise God, I'll come to this blog and read about what God has done in my life and how I was impacted. At one point I thought I was writing this for other people but as it turns out, I was the main audience. I also have a convenient amount of time working at the hospital which allows me time to do many things. I can't relay most of my experiences in the hospital due to HIPAA, but I'll use this time to reflect and write about the rest of my life.

I am a charismatic communicator. I have been told this in many ways by many people and I find that this quality is very useful to bring joy to people through humor and also to diffuse the tension in otherwise awkward circumstances. It helps when I am leading my small group. It especially helps when talking with bosses or teachers. However, charisma can also be a dangerous tool.

For starters, charisma is useless when talking to God. God will not be convinced of something by how well I can say it. I was recently apologizing to God for something and he stopped me and said "Talk is cheap". Ouch. I think it's pretty easy to start to believe that I can convince God of my apologetic sincerity because I have been able to convince other people or even myself. Looking back, I can see that the real battles in my life have been over choices of actions, not choices of words. I don't want to say that words are unimportant, but I will say that in regard to faithfulness, they are less important.

Charisma has also negatively impacted my friendships in the past. I find it easy to isolate myself by being able to direct conversation toward impersonal topics. A large part of intimacy in friendship is the mutual exchange of unfiltered ideas and desires of the heart. Those topics are also rather uncomfortable for me to talk about. The truth is, my desire to be liked is greater than my desire to be known. Charisma makes this possible for me.

I have an issue with personality tests. I think that they can been good tools for understanding other people. However, if you wish to understand yourself, they can be the worst. Here is my experience with personality tests: a series of questions in which I make a whole bunch of value judgments in different circumstances to determine what I value. That sounds great. The problem is, I get to create my own image of values which sound good to me but may have no reflection of my reality. If I really want to get a good look at what I value, I should look at what my actions say about me. For example, if I choose to have 3 slices of pizza for breakfast instead of a bowl of cereal, I can definitively say that I value taste and convenience over my health. When I choose to browse the internet at work rather than writing my med school application essays, I value entertainment over my calling to medicine. These are rather brutally honest examples, but honest nonetheless. 

Thankfully, we have a God whose will is for us to be more like him and a Holy Spirit to aid us.

Grace – Unmerited Favor

7/8/2013

In the summer of 2008, immediately following my freshman year of high school, I went to Impact Summer Camp. I had not yet begun regularly attending Living Hope Community Church with my family, but my sister brought me along with their youth group into an encounter with God that left me changed forever. Five years ago, I was saved during a worship service at Impact 2008. God met me where I was at and redirected my life. It’s always hard to explain what happens during a salvation experience. It’s much easier for me to point to the effects of my salvation. Australia, Cancun, Nicaragua, Hillsdale, Worship Music, Piano, Medicine, etc. All of these experiences, passions, and dreams came from what Jesus accomplished on the cross and accomplished in my life.

I told you that story to tell you this one:

A couple weeks ago, I heard that the worship team for Impact Summer Camp 2013 was in need of a keyboard player. I thought that the opportunity sounded God-sent, so I sent in an application and a short video audition. I received a positive response almost immediately. A couple days before the camp started, I received a phone call informing me that the bass player had dropped out and that the band would love to have me on to play bass instead. I informed them that Noah was proficient at keys and waited for a response. Today, the Impact band + Noah and I played the opening service for Impact 2013.

It’s amazing how quickly God can change a person’s life. God has pulled me back to the place I was saved only five years later to show me the incredible work that he has done in my life. Furthermore, he is giving me the opportunity to share that same saving grace with the next generation. It just makes me laugh to think about it.

I told you that revelation to share this lesson:

As a minister of God’s grace in whatever capacity, you will never know the full extent of what God accomplishes through your sacrifice and willingness to serve. The sinners who meet Jesus today are the saints and martyrs of tomorrow.

Surgery

6/25/13

Today, I had the opportunity to assist in a surgery for the first time. Yesterday, Mike Riley brought me into the operating room to see five gall bladder removals. Today, I scrubbed in with the surgeons and was allowed to hold the scope for four gall bladder removals.

The surgical procedure was quite interesting. To reduce the size of scars and lower the chance of infection, the surgeons will create four small incisions into the stomach rather than one large one. Long instruments are then fed through the four incisions and all of the surgical cutting, cauterizing, and even sewing are done underneath the skin. To see what is happening, a surgeon inserts a long camera and light into one of the incisions. This camera is called the scope. My job was to be the eyes for the surgeon.

God has given me a lot of time to think about surgery and what lessons that can be learned from it. Here are my thoughts:

1. The first step in surgery is cleanliness. Everything instrument used for the surgery is sterile. Every surgeon operates within a sterile field. The patient must be cleaned to reduce all risk of infection. The same has been true for my walk with Jesus. Before ripping out any weeds in our bodies, Jesus cleans us. I know that when I’ve been battling something for a long time and fail, I’m prone to respond by being indignant and channeling my emotional response into a renewed conviction never to fail again. The renewed conviction has always ended in failure that goes beyond how far I’d ever failed before. There is no emotional conviction, mental determination or physical sacrifice that can ever match the sustained power of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. God wants to clean you before performing surgery on your heart, mind, and body.

2. Although surgery is very clean, it is certainly not beautiful. I guess I had thought at one point that a removal surgery would be rather graceful and intricate. Nope. The human body is a massively complex system of sustained consciousness. But for all their complexity, our internal organs are not anything close to being pretty. Especially not gall bladders. A gall bladder removal mainly involves blood, bile, and cauterized flesh. Spiritual surgery has never really looked pretty either. When God puts things into light that have been hidden for a very long time, the revelation is usually disgusting. More than likely, spiritual surgery is going to be very messy and rather painful.

3. Surgery is worth it.

“Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” – Hebrews 12:10-11

Walk With Me

6/21/13

After a half-day of working in a village, the team had the opportunity to travel to a Mayan ruin called Ek Balam. The ruin was actually quite large and had a Mayan observatory, temple, and other buildings. The stepped pyramid was quite intricately designed. The steps on the pyramid were created uneven to slow down enemies during warfare. The Mayans were also smart with their observatory. Reflecting pools were built into the top of the observatory pyramid so that stars could be seen and mapped in the reflection instead of simply looking at the sky.

Yet for all their ingenuity, the ruins at Ek Balam pale in comparison to the small cave pool in the forest nearby. The term for these cave pools is a “cenote” (sen-oh-tay). The pool was about a 20 minute walk away. Swimming in the cenote was a very welcome break from the tropical heat. During my swim, I couldn’t help but think of the greatness and beauty of God’s creation. I had expected to be fascinated by architecture, but ended up enjoying a hole in the ground with water in it even more. God is certainly a brilliant designer. It’s crazy to think of all my trips to different parts of the Americas and Australia and know that there is so much more of God’s design on this planet that remains to be seen. I’m always curious to know what beautiful things that God puts into stars and onto planets that humanity will never even see.

I was by myself on the walk back from the cenote, so I began to pray. As I prayed, thunderclouds gathered above and signaled that rain was near. I heard the thunder and prayed for rain. I wanted to be drenched, not only with water, but with God’s spirit. However, no rain came. Finally, I decided to just wait and listen. In that moment, God decided to speak to me. I believe God said the following: “Walk with me, and you will get drenched.” Immediately, raindrops fell. By the time I got to the bus, I was soaked to the bone and exceedingly happy about it.

In my life, I can hear the thunder. I can see the vision. God has unbelievable things in store. If I walk with him, I will be drenched.

“Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” – Habakkuk 1:5.

No Hablo Espanol

6/18/13

I do not speak Spanish. This has become increasingly problematic, due to the fact that this missions trip is in Mexico. For the past couple days, I have been traveling with a team of about twenty people, including two doctors, some pastors, and many general helpers. We are the branch of IMA that ministers to impoverished Mayan villages outside the Mexican cities near Cancun. I have served in the past couple days by filling the prescriptions that the doctors issue to the villagers. Mostly I’ve just been filling orders for Tylenol, ibuprofen, and anti-parasite drugs. However, my position as a pharmacist also means that I have to inform the patients about dosages and other rather important details – in Spanish.

Out of every person who has come through the clinic, there hasn’t been a single person who has spoken English. It is an extremely humbling experience to be unable to describe what you’re trying to say or think. God has very much gifted me with the ability to encourage people. Without the ability to communicate, I’ve been unable to build relationships with any patients who come through the clinic. Even if I had the opportunity presented to me, I would not be able to share the news of the gospel.

As a person interested in future medical missions, this realization has greatly affected me. Missionary work is never a one-man show. The church has never been a one-man show either. I will always be at the mercy of God to provide the money, translators, workers, and organization to be able to carry his gospel into places outside of my sphere of influence. That being said, I’ve been working on my Spanish while I’m here and have been able to deal with most of the questions that are asked. I’m sure that God has slipped in the gift of interpretation here or there to help expedite the process.

God has me in the correct place at the correct time. The prayers have been much appreciated. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to write about the operating room!

Day Zero

6/15/13

At 3:30 this morning, the alarm on my phone politely informed me that my flight to Mexico would leave in a couple hours.  I’ve learned quite a bit since then.

This morning, I knew only a few things about this missions trip.

1.       Location – (Near) Cancun, Mexico.

2.       Purpose – Gospel, Medical ministry

3.       Leadership – Holy Spirit

Honestly, three weeks ago I didn’t even know that this trip even existed. By the time I applied online, I was already a full month past the last possible application date. Within those short three weeks, God provided all the resources, guidance, and grace I needed to get here. As of this morning, I didn’t know a single person who would be going on this trip in the first week (I’m vaguely familiar with someone who will be in the second week). As this whirlwind of events was taking place, God brought to my mind John 3:8, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Let me list a few of the blessings that I’ve been hit with in the past 20 hours:
                1. One of the doctors on this trip is a professor at the MSU College of Human Medicine, downtown GR. (The same med-school that I’ve been wanting to attend.)

                2. The flights and layovers gave me the time to read more than half of the new Bonhoeffer biography alongside Matthew 5-8. (Extremely challenging, highly recommended)

                3. A college student from Texas named John. He’s highly encouraging and a man after God’s own heart.

                4. A team that is ALL about helping people

I’ll post whenever I have internet access, which may not be until the end of the trip.

Thanks for any prayers you send my way!

The Grind

I'm going to conveniently ignore the fact that I haven't posted anything recently and just start from where I'm at now.

Obviously, I'm not in Australia anymore. Since this is the case, I won't be continuing to use this blog to inform you of how things are going in Australia and at Hillsong Church. However, I recently did some reading of my old posts and was greatly encouraged by how God had showed himself faithful and taught me important lessons in the midst of difficult circumstances. Since God is not restricted by oceans and borders, these lessons have continued here in Hillsdale. I hope that the things which I record here will bless you and your relationship with Him as He has blessed mine.

Here we go!

In my recent reading, I came across Psalm 39. Within the psalm, David sings, "Show me, Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is." After reflecting for a short while, I was hit by David's realization. Our days are indeed short. By most standards, I've already lived between a third and a fourth of my life on the earth. Meditation on this passage leads me straight into frustration with my circumstances. "What the heck am I doing in college?"

College is difficult. Often it can feel like treading water or just passing time. Even before I left Australia, I had misgivings about my decision to return and pursue medicine. In my mind at least, I was very comfortable at Hillsong. God clearly blessed my time at Hillsong with momentum, miracles, and success. It's very hard to leave such a charged environment for one which you can't be quite sure about.

However, I am sure of some things.

1. God is good. - This goes right along with his faithfulness. He was with me and carried me through his journey for me at Hillsong. He will be with me here.

2. God's plan is good. - An in-depth look at any creature, process, body part, atom, star, or force will show that God is at the very least an artisan. The time which I spend in college is not wasted. I believe that if God has me here, this is the very best place that I can be.

3. People are worth it. - If I'm going to endure anything at all, I have to change my perspective and realize that ultimately, college is not entirely about me. Yes, I will have the opportunity to grow as a person. However, the scope of God's plan for me at Hillsdale extends beyond the internal. Everyday I will come into contact with hundreds of people who need to see Jesus. I have the constant opportunity on campus to be a showcase of the power of Jesus to transform a sinner and sustain him.

I am sure that the reason for my placement at Hillsdale will be forthcoming and will be as exciting as anything I have yet experienced. As for now, I will continue in the knowledge that God is good and that people are worth it.

God's Goodness

"Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!" -Psalm 105:1

For a while now, I have removed myself from this blog mainly out of convenience. It takes effort to sit down and recount the things that have happened in my life. In my readings of the Psalms, however, I immediately hit upon the theme of declaring the works of God to all peoples. The Holy Spirit did that conviction thing that it likes to do and so now I've returned.

For the past two months, I've been at Hillsdale studying harder than I ever have in my entire life. I am taking 16 academic credits which include Organic Chemistry and Rhetoric and Great Books with Jackson (purported to be the most difficult teacher in the school). I am also taking piano lessons with a wonderful (and difficult) teacher as well as playing lead trombone with the Big Band and a small combo. Even with that schedule, the grace of God has given me the ability  to spend time at home and serve at church on the weekends and also build my relationship with my older brother. In hindsight, I don't see how those things are possible except through the supernatural. I am experiencing firsthand that when God gives responsibilities, he also supplies the time and resources that you need in order to be excellent in whatever those responsibilities are and regardless of how many you have. God provides.
Transferring from Hillsong to Hillsdale has been quite a change. The thing that sticks in my mind the most is the level of encouragement that gets thrown around. I believe that people of the kingdom of God should be people who encourage each other and use encouragement to minister to those outside the church. When I say encouragement, I don't mean that we should always be telling people things that we don't actually believe. If you're impressed with someone, let them know how and why. I guarantee that you'll stick in their mind as someone they can identify with and rely on. Wherever we are generous with our words, people will be built and God will be glorified.

If you ever have trouble finding a way to encourage someone, remember: "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8 

Hillsdale

Yesterday, God helped me transition my life into Hillsdale College. And God, yet again, reminded me that there is no possible way to know the extent of the plans and purposes that he has for us.

I am now living in a four-floor dormitory named Galloway with my roommate, Colton. So far, all of my fears were completely unwarranted. God has definitely positioned us together to bring Christ and the Kingdom to this college and beyond. I only know a few things about the man, but so far I've found out that Colton does missions work in Haiti every summer, plays guitar and wants to be involved in campus ministry, and also has a passion for teaching about the revolutionary war. I'm very thankful for being constantly surrounded with men and women who are sold out for Christ and I can't wait to begin the work that we have to do.

At this point, I'm aiming at being a chemistry major with a pre-med focus. Long term, I'd love to be an emergency room doctor wherever God places me, and do missions work for whoever needs doctors and Jesus. That is definitely subject to change, but I feel like God has confirmed that occupation for me in a number of ways.

Two weeks ago, I received a message from a man who I met and served with in Australia named Andreas. Andreas was originally from Germany, but was in Australia serving with Hillsong Church. He told me that he was going to be in Chicago for a wedding, but needed a host family to stay with in the United States. I asked my parents, they said yes, and for the past week and a half, we've had a German man living with us! I love that God is allowing my two ridiculously distant worlds to stay connected, and that my family is always willing to bless strangers with the comfort of a home. It seems like God is always unlocking something new within us, some gift that we've had a vague idea was there, but never knew how to use. God is truly a master craftsman.

Awe-inspiring verse of today: "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you" - Exodus 16:4

Plans and Purposes

I am excited to come home.

I believe that God has told me that his plan for me continues in Michigan at Hillsdale College. However, from what I've experienced so far, the promises that God gives you don't usually line up with the circumstances that you're in. I first experienced this in my run-up to coming to Australia in the first place. I knew that God had placed it on my heart to come, study, and serve with Hillsong Church. However, at that time, finances were impossible and it looked as if I would have to give up my goal of being a doctor for quite awhile.

As it turned out, God's word is true that "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." This year has been simply unbelieveable because of the opportunities and connections that God has placed here. While at Hillsdale, I'd like to be involved quite heavily in global medical missions. While at Hillsong, I've made connections with a wealth of nations that would've been impossible to connect with otherwise.

Serving with Hillsong has also given me a massive heart for my home church (Living Hope say whaaat?) and the city of Grand Rapids. It's amazing to me that sometimes God has to remove you from a place to give you a brand new appreciation for it. I can't wait to be back with my family and friends and step out together into what God wants to do in our city and in our nation. I have no idea what's coming up, but I can guarentee that it will be fantastic.

'Mmerica!

Hillsong Conference is quickly approaching!

Strangely enough, I've been allocated to a team called "Night Refresh", which means that I'll be cleaning toilets at 2 AM! Please pray for me.

 Other things to pray for :

-It's Ryan's birthday today. Send him a birthday prayer!

-Anthony has decided to stay in Australia, but is looking for a house to move into and favor for a job.

Thanks for all your support and prayers! I'll continue to update as much as possible!

John Mark

"Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told." -God.

Countdown

35 DAYS LEFT
I haven't written for a long time, but let's not dwell on the past.

Recently, God has been giving me opportunities to do things that I never could've even dreamed of doing. For instance, my housemate Ryan is currently working on a video announcement for his church in Canada and asked if I would write the backing track for him! It ended up being a lot more work than I initially thought, and I learned quite a few lessons about working with a director along the way, but I am really happy with how it turned out. The video is still going through the final editing, but maybe I'll throw the link up here when it's done.
When I go back to 'Mmerica, I'll be looking for a part-time job in production. For that, I'll need a portfolio of all the things that I've done with Hillsong in lighting and sound. Recently, God has been providing opportunities to work with amazingly creative stage designers for college chapel services and they have really helped to fill out my portfolio. (pictures later)

Also, I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I had a chance to work with my incredibly talented friend, P.J., on his short film which will be completed soon. During his film, I helped out during the shoots by taking the reference audio for all of the shoots. It was a completely unexpected opportunity, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. (link later)

Other things:
-Our house now has a ping-pong table
-Anthony might be moving to Norway next semester to work on a fishing ship.
-Matt has decided to stay for second semester
-Ryan is now a professional "busker", which means that he goes to malls with his guitar and collects coins that people throw at him
-and Brian.....can dance well? (link later)

This past week, I was able to hang out with my parents and cousins in Brisbane! I absolutely loved the kangaroo petting and people watching that we got to do all over the city. What I was amazed by was how quickly I became comfortable and ineffective as a Christian. I've realized that even though my tenure at Hillsong has made me incredibly effective when I'm in a structure and working hard, I still haven't figured out how to keep the same purpose in me during a break. Most importantly, I need to abide in Jesus and seek his kingdom and righteousness regardless of whether I'm constantly serving in church or if God wants me to just build relationships with my family for the week.

Things to pray for:
-Matt needs a job
-Anthony needs a miracle to get to Norway
-Strong finish to this season for me and an easy transition into serving God at home.

Thanks for all the feedback on the blog. It really helps motivate me to write more. I plan on writing more during the week so that I can continue to fill you in on the amazing things that God does. Thank you for your prayers!

Kingdom

Well, I'm back again! And this time, I can moonwalk.

You may ask, "How is that possible?"

Well, you're wrong. I can moonwalk.

Over here at Hillsong, we just finished up Colour Conference, which is a women's conference all about empowering women of the church with purpose and the plans that God has for them. As a man, I have the privilege of serving all of the delagates during the week. I was rostered onto the carpark team, which means that I was able to helpfully guide any drivers into their parking spots. As a member of the carpark team, I was privileged to be one of the first and last people to make contact with delegates as they entered and left the conference. I was the first and last impression that delegates had of the conference. Hillsong is really great at teaching the purpose behind the service. Before I actually served in carpark, I had no idea how important the team actually is. I think it's pretty easy to mistakenly think that "Amount of Time on Platform" = "Importance of Role in Church", but if there was nobody outside directing traffic, welcoming people into the building, cleaning the bathrooms, etc. people would never enter the building ready to receive the Word of God from the platform.

Yesterday, I was once again able to talk to the genius couple from Iran. Farshad still hasn't been able to find a job in the mining industry. I can't even imagine how frustrating it must be to spend 10 years getting a Ph.D. and be unable to get a job in a really growing industry simply because your nationality is questionable. As a connect group, we've been praying for favor from companies. I was also able to talk to him about how they use air cannons to create waves underwater and measure the seismic response of the earth to determine if there is oil in the ground. Absolutely fascinating. Elmira invited me back to the hospital on Tuesday to help her out in the reasearch. She said that they're starting to do tissue sampling to make conclusions about some of the surgeries. I don't really know what that entails, but I'm excited. I have Tuesday off of school anyway.

This past Sunday, I was able to get out to some Northern Sydney beaches and do some real surfing. It was a relatively calm day with only 6 foot swells, but as a beginner I was totally fine with that. I wasn't able to actually stand up on the surf-board, but that will come with time. I really want to get out and surf quite a bit more with the time that I have left here. Although 6 foot waves don't really sound that impressive, I found out quite quickly that a 6 foot wall of water can be pretty painful. I'm pretty sure that I realigned my spine during a particularly painful crash.

For a short stint in March, I got it into my head to be a vegetarian. After a couple weeks, I figured out that all I had done was replace my meat intake with chocolate, completely elimenating any benefits. I'm once again back to eating bacon. I've also decided not to illegally download anything from the internet anymore and I have opened up about half of my hard drive by deleting illegal things. Since that time, I've become more creative in my songwriting and have taken a strong liking to Sufjan Stevens. I'm currently trying to stop biting my fingernails.

The greatest revelation that God has given to me came through the book "Suprised By Hope", by N.T. Wright. The entire book is all about the hope that God has given to us through the resurrection of his son, Jesus, and what that means for our life right now. N.T. Wright explains simply that if we are Christians, we are also part of the Kingdom of God here on earth. If we are part of the Kingdom of God, we also are given the power of the Kingdom and the authority that comes from Jesus, the risen king. Our mission is to declare that the Kingdom of God is here and to prove that with the power that comes from the King. How crazy is that? It has absolutely changed the way that I walk around to know that I am constantly armed with the power of the holy spirit to heal the sick, raise the dead, and perform miracles in conjunction with the message that the Kingdom of God is here and available to all.

I hope that you take this same revelation with you into Easter and beyond and celebrate the mission and power that Jesus has graced us with in his resurrection.

Rain

I'm back again! Hello to family and friends, I really miss you all and can't wait to see you in July! Hopefully the summer in Michigan will be better than the summer that I'm having in upside-down land. The natives are saying that this has been the rainiest summer that they've had in 150 years or something. It has definitely been raining like crazy over here. Although, from what I hear, global weather has been a bit weird so far in this year. Thankfully, there are no leaks in our roof!

I recently had a wonderful trip to mini-America (Costco) and I've stocked my shelves with things to carry me through the next few months. I was told by a store worker that most of the stock is imported directly from America, so the entire inventory is dependent on what is actually let through the Australian customs. My haul includes giant cans of Swiss Miss, a couple huge jars of peanut butter, and way more toilet paper than we could hopefully ever use in this house.

I've also recently decided to start playing some serious electric guitar. My current goal is to be able to play through Anberlin's iron horse album, "Never Take Friendship Personal." after nearly a week straight of a couple hours per day, I've recorded the three guitar parts from the 1st song on the album and I've noticed a lot of improvement in strumming. I find that it really helps to record myself practicing so that I can hear what tonal adjustments that I need to make and also so that I am training myself to be consistent and in time.

Recently, I was convicted by the holy spirit about the fact that I illegally download quite a bit of music. After quite a bit of a struggle, I agreed and have deleted all of the downloaded stuff from my computer. Basically, half of my music library is gone. Ouch. I'm quickly realizing, however, that by downloading music, I was stifling my creativity. If I wanted to hear something new, I would go out and just quickly download a new album. Now, instead of going out to hear a new song, I'll just create a new melody or write some lyrics. Since I changed, I've written 3 new songs and many chord progressions. I've also done quite a bit more with recording, mixing, and mastering. God has good things in mind for us.

Lately, I've been reading about Elijah in 1 Kings. I've been noticing that Elijah does all of his miracles and prophesying with an amazing sense of invincibility about him. He tells kings to their face that they will be defeated, confronts the prophets of Baal, predicts droughts, etc. And he does all of these things without any fear or hesitation. The only time I can actually find a fault in Elijah's story is when he loses his attitude of invincibility and flees from Jezebel after she says that she's going to kill him. After some reflection, you really have to wonder where Elijah finds the courage to stand and speak the word of the Lord in the face of such strong opposition. Further reading showed me that Elijah often uses the phrase "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand...". Elisha also uses the same idea of standing before the Lord.

After contemplation, this really brought me to thinking about where I stand before the Lord. I know that 1 John 5 explains that if I believe that Jesus is the Christ then I am saved. I also read that 2 Corinthians calls me therefore an ambassador for Christ. It is an incredibly empowering thought to know that I stand before the Lord as an ambassador for him in much the same way that Elijah stood before the Lord. It definitely puts the fears that I have into perspective when I realize that I'm standing before the Lord. Especially when I see that Elijah only failed when he shrank back and ran away from a death threat. God is forever with me and I stand before him as an ambassador for Christ. His power is always with me to do whatever he has graced me to do in the moment. If that thought doesn't empower you, I don't know what will.

Love y'all

January!

Hey Peeps, I'm back!

It seems ironic to me that after a post about being faithful in everything, I have managed to go a full month without posting anything on this blog. Whoops. However, it seems that this is the perfect opportunity to enact a biblical principal laid out in Proverbs 24:16, "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again...". This is me rising again.

Alright, news. First of all, Junior has officially moved out. Anthony, Matt, and I were initially planning on moving into the new house with him, however the Spirit guided us to stay here. So rather than arguing, we stayed. Junior has also taken his blender with him and owns the dryer. Pray that we can buy it from him for a reasonable price. In his place, we've received a Canadian into our house. No longer am I, "Moose". His name is Ryan and he's from British Columbia. He came with his dad initially about three weeks ago and rented a camper van to tour the East Coast and apparently had some good times. So far, I've found out that he's a beast at acoustic guitar and can hopefully show me how to play decently. He's also thinking about getting an amplifier, which would help during jam sessions. I'm happy to have him and hopefully I can help him out on his journey here.

Brian has also returned from Shanghai. It's nice to finally start getting to know him. We've had all of his stuff in our house for about 2 months now and I only was able to see him about twice before he left. It turns out he has a replacement DVD player for our crap one. Hallelujah. Matt is coming back on the 27th with a bunch of audio equipment which we can mess around with. I'm excited to see what we can do with our house since we are once again filled with worship students. My job with Ecomed is now over after 4 weeks of solid full-time. The general response was that my work was very appreciated and they were very impressed with how quickly I picked it up. They'll also be keeping me on the books for casual work when they need it. Again, Hallelujah. Anthony is now a horticulturalist and working really long days on the beaches.

Tomorrow morning, I'm going to wake up at five, take two buses to Macquarie, and head to the Macquarie University to help prep and then observe three brain surgeries! An Iranian woman who just joined our small group is an ER Doctor turned brain surgeon. I asked her if there was any possibility for me to job shadow her. Turned out that the answer was yes and amen. Who would've thought that God would open up medical opportunities like this over here? How crazy is that! I'm not sure if this is God totally confirming to me what I think is his plan for me to go into medical work, but I'm up for the opportunity in any case.

I guess the main lesson that I've been learning lately is that if God puts a dream into your heart, it'll be him who makes a way for it. It gets really easy for me to take ownership of an idea and put it fully under my responsibility, forgetting that it was God who gave the idea in the first place. I get all worried about the success of something rather than focusing on the only one who can bring it to pass. If you're worried about the promises of God for you right now, I encourage you to remember whose responsibility it is to fulfill his promises and that your main goal should always be to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

I love y'all, and you should be hearing from me soon.
G'night!

Faithful

Gidday!
A few quick things: 1. My job as a warehouse worker with EcoMed begins on Monday, please pray for that. 2. God is still burning in me through this Summer and I still want to encourage you all. 3. I've received incredible feedback from people about what God has been doing in their lives recently. Thank you so much for that, I love it. Praise God.

This past week, everyone left. My house is now empty except for Anthony and I. The team out at Macquarie is at about half of its original roster and everyone is either home for the holidays or working. It is incredible how much of Hillsong Church is based around the college as a volunteer work force. Almost all youth services take a break over the Summer because there are not enough people to put one together. I'm definitely missing my family and friends around this time of year. I love you all and thank you so much for supporting and encouraging me to come to Australia.

Recently, I heard a message about the meaning of Faithfulness that really struck a chord in me and has changed a few things about the way I do life. The message stemmed directly from the parable that Jesus gave in Matthew 25:14-30, in which a man leaves and gives his servants an amount of gold to be faithful with. The first two servants both take their money and invest it to receive double the amount. The encouragement given to them is "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things." In stark contrast is the message given to the final servant who had buried his gold in the ground. Even though he ended up with exactly what had been given to him (No loss), the master says, "You wicked and lazy servant!". The point here being that faithfulness goes beyond maintenance. To be considered faithful in this case means to actually have a positive impact (bear good fruit) in the responsibilities that you've been given.

Applying this to my own life, I took a look at what God has given me and how I can be faithful in it. Do I take good care of my house and add value to it? Do I encourage my friends and add value to my relationships? Am I practicing my instruments, reading books, strengthening my body, writing music, giving generously, and asking God to show me how I can be even more faithful every day? Yes, it's difficult. However, the reward is to be commended by God with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things." Plus, God is with us to strengthen us and help us in every step. So please, go after everything that God has for you by being faithful in what you have already.

Hot

Hello!

A few quick updates: Day 38 of P90X, still going strong (haha...). I recently had a day at the beach where I learned how to surf! I'm officially a lighting operator for the Hub Auditorium at Hillsong and I am in the weekly rotation for Powerhouse! Now for the bigger stuff:

School is out! The official classes for the year are now over and Summer has begun. Monday is the official graduation date for everyone. However, some people have already left and it's really more of a formality anyway. On Thursday, instead of mashed potatoes, gravy, and turkey for dinner, I was treated to a nice Scotch Fillet and some strange beetroot salad for dinner at a really fancy pants place called Le Montage for the graduation ball. It was incredibly gorgeous and was a great opportunity to meet with some of the guys from the TV/Media stream and find out how God led them to study at Hillsong. The best part of the night was definitely the live music put on by members of college and our teachers. The amount of space that we had to dance to the music was too small though, so everyone ended up doing the penguin shuffle.

I got a job! For the past couple weeks, I've been praying for God to provide something for me to do in the Summer that will prepare me for the future and help me to pay my way through next semester. On Tuesday, I received an e-mail from my connect group leader that someone had phoned to her office about casual warehouse work over the Summer. I followed up, sent in my resume, and God provided favor and an interview for Friday. In the interview, God's grace came through again and I received the job. The job is to do packaging for a medical supply company called EcoMed. It's a 30 minute walk from my house and the hours are from 8-4:30 every day. God has definitely provided above and beyond all that I could hope or ask for. Praise the Lord.

A lot of people ask me what they can do for me to help me out here in Australia. Recently, through reading 3 John, I've realized how we can build and sharpen each other. John is writing to his dear friend Gaius and says in verses 3 and 4, "It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." I definitely don't feel like I have any children, but the greatest encouragement that I can hear from a friend or family member is how God is working in their world. As Christians, we need to be constantly fueled and built up by hearing how God is still working in circumstances today. John says that he has "no greater joy" than hearing this. Please continue to pray for me and help me however you can, but never withhold the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ from anyone. I'm sure they'll appreciate it. I hope that by writing down little snippets of God's faithfulness here in Australia and in my life, you are all encouraged in some way.

Gidday!

Busy

Hey people! It's day 13 of P90X and I've been faithful to my commitment every day. Thank you all for any prayers or thoughts that you've sent my way.

This past week has been an incredible whirlwind of activity at Hillsong Church. Because of that, I've been incredibly busy as well. On Thursday, a team of about 80 men were gathered to the Acer Arena to prepare for the album recording on Sunday night. We placed envelopes and cards in over 21,000 seats. It was definitely an incredible test of my patience and endurance to continue doing the most monotonous job ever for over 3 hours. I've found that most of my problems with patience come from my motives. If my motives in doing a job or putting forth an effort are not in line with the will of the one who can carry me through, then I'll get tired very easily. The only way to get through 21,000 seats is to realize who you're doing it for.

Friday and Saturday was Men's Conference. As with any good manly event, there were sports, music, and a lot of barbecuing. However, the most important sections were definitely the teaching and the worship. The theme for stage design this year was Top Gear. The best part was a section where the lead pastors from the Hillsong churches around the world came up and gave seven minute sermons. *Small sample of my notes: James 1: "each is tempted by his own evil desire...conceives...gives birth to death." Our desires determine the fruit that we produce in our lives. What do I desire and what fruit am I seeing from it? Am I eagerly desiring the spiritual gifts?* This incredible revelation came in a space of about three minutes and has completely changed my way of thinking about my desires and what I pray for in that area.

Sunday at Macquarie, we finally got our new digital soundboard. It is incredibly genius and simplifies almost everything about running sound out there and removes half of the cables that we were using. However, it also removes the position of a monitor engineer, so I won't be doing that anymore. On the other hand, I'll soon be hanging out with Jared at his house so that he can teach me how to run a fully digital soundboard. Tonight for powerhouse, I'll be doing my last assisting job as a lighting technician in the hub. If everything goes well, I'll be able to operate lights in the hub for anyone at any time.

Also on Sunday was the new Hillsong Live album recording. So far, this is definitely my favorite album that Hillsong Live has put out. There are so many songs that are beautifully written that allow you to simply belt out the praises of God. I heard that over 200 songs were submitted to be used on the album and those were narrowed down to about 15. For the recording, I was able to serve on the catering team. I served on a coffee cart with the staff at the arena until about the second song, and then I was able to praise for the entire rest of the night. I was right in the handicapped section, which gave me the opportunity to pray for a bunch of people in wheelchairs. The absolute best part of the night was during a song which has a chorus that goes, "We are running! Chasing after all that you are!". It was incredible to watch as a lot of people in wheelchairs fistpumped the air to the beat and praised God.

If you want to pray for me, please definitely pray for discipline. I'm really learning how to use my time well and keep a very tight schedule. I've been busy for the past couple weeks and I'd be falling apart if the Lord wasn't my strength. I need everything that God has for me every day, and I'm absolutely sure that prayer is going to help.

Glory

Hello friends! I am continuing to flourish over here in Australia, and I thank you all greatly for your prayers and encouragement.

For the past week, God has continued to train me and has placed in me a strong desire for more of Him and more of his gifts. I've been talking to a lot of teachers and praying with my bandmates for the spiritual gifts that God has for us and asking Him to enable us to love people more and more. I am incredibly thankful that God has placed me in the band that I am with here at Hillsong for my classes. They are ridiculously encouraging and are completely following after God with all of their hearts. Every Wednesday, we have an hour long prayer meeting where we grab a guitar and sing our hearts out and then blanket one another in prayer. It is incredible.

I've been talking to a lot of my friends about employment and different places I could work. Yesterday, I talked with my friend Michael about where he works and what they do. He said that he works in a production company warehouse and that they need more people to take on a lot of casual labor and help out in the warehouse. He said that I would be great for the job, except that involves a lot of heavy lifting. Thus, last night  I started P90X. I know that I've only got about 40 days until the beginning of Summer, but if I do as much as I can in the natural, I know that God will do the supernatural and strengthen me for whatever job that he has for me.

My favorite teacher at Hillsong so far is a man named Duncan Corby. He's my teacher for New Testament Introduction. His classes are always the most interesting classes that I've ever had and have completely changed my way of reading the bible. I used to read the bible to just find quotes that applied to my life and different verses to help me while I was struggling. While this is helpful, it isn't really that interesting. Duncan has helped me realize that each of the books of the bible was written for a specific purpose and that the writer was attempting to address an issue with their book. This is incredibly cool, because now I can go back and try to figure out the purpose of the book through the context, audience, and information that the author chose to include.

Duncan also encourages us to be really grounded in our words. Which is incredibly helpful to me, because it helps me to create really solid definitions of words that I usually only refer to in "church language" and define in a really ethereal way. For example, Glory. I've always thought of glory as one of those things that you really have to "feel" and can't really put a definition to, kind of like a feeling of warmth, or a feeling of affection. However, If I'm going to write songs that are really powerful in the church, I need to have a real idea of what I'm saying. So, through a word study, I started redefining Glory. Instead of some sort of undefinable thing, I've realized that glory is more along the lines of deserved, obvious, greatness. God is infinitely glorious, and for us to "glorify God" is to make his deserved, obvious, greatness more visible on the earth. That's an easy definition, but it really adds a lot more meaning when I sing or think about glory.

Rest

Hey gang! It's the end of spring break already and I've been resting pretty much the whole time. Hanging out with Will and Matt is quite a bit of fun, but I'm ready to get back into working all the time.

If there's one thing I've decided over this break, it would be that I MUST get a job during Summer. I definitely can not handle sitting around for 2 months watching movies and sitting around. Even if I'm just volunteering for church every day changing light bulbs and vacuuming floors, it's better than just sitting around. I've also learned that I'm really bad at resting. God has really been showing me how to relax with the guys and stay Christ centered with my hang out time.

Tonight at team night, I got connected with Matt Sharpe, one of the lighting assistants for the Hillsong main campus. We started talking, and he wants me to start doing lighting for Sisterhood services every Sunday to get training on the main board that they are using there. He also said that I could come into the main sanctuary and start programming light shows whenever there isn't anyone using it. This is going to be really, really cool.

I started looking for jobs with Hillsong maintenance and production, but with no luck. Please keep praying that God provides for me to be effective wherever he wants me.