This is a video of our choir's performance of the Testimony Project! I had to cut out some of Jesse's spoken word in order to upload it, so you can read the rest of it at the end of this post!
And here is an excerpt of Jesse and Hilary's impressions of the mission from their latest newsletter.
Jesse's Spoken Word: I Thirst Ok, gather around just listen for a minute, sir, I'd like to take a second tell you two simple words, these words perfectly describe my life's problem since birth, every fight in my life comes from two little words, these words describe the answer to the question of why, the problem of addiction is defined, in two words at one time. I thirst... I thirst…
These two words hold so much power, these words are the reason that drugs are devoured, it's our Lust after power, it’s why men purchase sex for an hour and then leave a human being there to cry in the shower. I thirst….
See, me, I remember this sensation, demanding pleasure now, opposite of patience, this crazy sensation that I was born inate with like Windows on a Dell came with pre-installation, and I hate it, relations with women never seemed to quench this thirst, and when I put my hope in people it just left me worse, like I'm riding through life driving my own hearse, living for a high or to die, whichever came first, I thirst….
I thirst for acceptance, I thirst after something and this thirst is relentless, I don’t know what I search for but my search is just endless, and the more that I try, the more that I'm desperate, desperate for life, desperate for meaning, desperate for anything that seems to complete me, so from weed to mushrooms to LSD, from cocaine to pain pills to ecstasy, and I promised it would never get the best of me, but it left me empty, dead and addicted to everything. I thirst…
I’m just saying, man I searched for a cure but there was no way to tame it, 'cause this thirst that just burned was a thirst for my maker, for a love relationship to know my creator, for the presence of God, for the love of a savior, I thirst… and I didn't know at the time but that savior was Christ, and He took this thirst when He purchased my life, and as he hung there bleeding, mocked and despised, He said two little words to help explain why, these words did not describe a physical sensation, it was the first time my savior felt the pain of separation, when my Christ said these words it was a Spiritual revelation, of the pain that billions of people every day are faced with, He was separated, for the first time in infinity, and the only pain that broke Him, was the same pain that was killing me, but he paid that price to buy my forgiveness and as he died he looked to the sky and He whispered, I thirst... I give up my Spirit, it's finished.
Usually, I like to go all out with making my blog posts aesthetically-appealing. But, this itinerary for our Gens Nova Choir mission trip is such a thing of beauty that I don't think the rest of my post needs much embellishment. I even put a frame around it for your viewing pleasure. ;)
It is hard to convey the amount of work that went into this itinerary! And I think that my heavenly Father had started work on it long before I did! One of the most important goals I had in mind for this trip was interaction with other young adults and making music together. My brother, Jesse, suggested we work with Brooklyn Teen Challenge, where he has served as an intern in the past. When I found out that BTC has a choir made up of rehab students, I couldn't believe how God had already prepared a way to achieve this goal! I decided to travel to Brooklyn in November and create a plan for a choir exchange with BTC. In this exchange, my Gens Nova students will be mentoring the BTC students in choral singing and music ministry. I believe this will be the perfect opportunity for these young singers to be mutually encouraged in their faith, develop their ministry and musical gifts, and form enriching cross-cultural friendships. With the exchange planned, I returned to Seattle in order to save for the mission trip through substitute teaching and begin preparations for my choir's visa interviews. After an incredible amount of research, preparation, and nervous waiting, they went to the U.S. embassy with 7 support letters, pictures of choir events, letters from universities and employers, references from pastors, deeds to houses and cars, birth certificates and authorizations, and even a letter from Congressman Reichert in hand! They were ALL granted U.S. visas. Seeing my choir's nervousness in this process and excitement when they got visas made me realize again how much this mission trip means to them and I am so thankful that I can help make it possible.
This itinerary is a mix of my favorite experiences from both past mission trips and choir tours, so it may seem a little unconventional! I am trying to find the delicate balance between evangelism and ministry opportunities, music education, sight-seeing, and developing relationships. I am so thankful that Hilary and Jesse (my sister-in-law and brother) will be with us sharing devotions every day, contributing their gifts in leadership and ministry, and helping us interpret our musical presentation of Jesse's testimony effectively. At this point, we have ALL of our plane tickets and visas payed for, which amounts to about $14,000!! We also have a good amount saved for our housing and I am working two jobs this month to save for our food and transportation. We are blessed to be staying at Living Waters Church in Brooklyn, which is letting us pay a minimal cost for our housing, prepare our food in their industrial kitchen, and rent a van for a discounted price. Would you consider helping us raise the rest of the money we need for our mission trip? If we don't raise enough, I will be returning to Seattle in March to continue saving until I can pay off the trip, so anything you can give will help me get back to my home and mission field sooner. I have a job, my apartment, and my ministries waiting for me when I return and it has been hard on my choir for me to be away, so I would love to get back as soon as possible! We are still lacking funds for our transportation, food, warm clothing, and sound equipment. You can read about how to give on the right side of this blog in the "Support" caption. Also, please pray for us! We have already been feeling attacked lately and many of the choir members have been dealing with depression, illness, and family conflicts. Please pray that God would use these struggles to prepare our hearts and refine our faith, that He would be on the throne in our ministry, and that we would honor Him in everything we do. Also, please pray that we will form real friendships with the people we minister to, that people would come to know our God, and for an anointing on the art we are creating in response to what He has done in our lives.
Thank you so much for all you have done to support me in my missions calling over the years! You have made this project possible and I hope I can honor your support by passing on this incredible blessing.
Coro Gens Nova singing in a hospital A choir member decided to decorate her folder with Psalm 13:5-6
I got to do some recording on this harpsichord at the local symphony
We bought plane tickets for our mission trip!...to New York!! I just wanted to give a quick update about our mission trip because we decided to make some changes. We were going to buy tickets for Germany, as planned, but found it too sad to leave so many choir members behind because we just didn't raise enough for many of us to go. So, we decided to bring Jesse and Hilary to New York and do ministry together there and we couldn't be more excited! We also will be going in February instead of December because we found a better deal on tickets. Please pray for us as we work to bring all of the details together, but it looks like God is already opening some unexpected doors. =)
