My Next Step

So, for a while now I have been praying about what is the next thing that God wants me to do.  My commitment here in Australia is now complete and I have several options.  One, is continuing here, making more movies, another is going home for about 6 months and trying to get film jobs to learn the craft better, and also to make some money, another is just coming home for good, and see what was available.  The option that looked the best to me was going back for about 3 months and working to raise some money and to reconnect with friends family and my supporters back home.  But the more I prayed about it the more I realized how much I like it here and how effective my ministry here is, and not just the filmmaking side of it.  We currently have 75 students on base (about the most there have ever been here at one time).  And, normally, in a situation like this I would seclude myself in my office and avoid even learning their names.  But something has changed in me, I want to get to know the students and to feed into them.  And I realized how much that the campus here has poured into and invested in me in the way of helping me to grow and become the leader that I now am.  I also started to see that the season is changing, the campus is done feeding into me, now I want to feed back in to the campus.  So, the thought I me being away from ministry here for even 3 months is just too much, I have decided to stay on here, renewing my commitment for another 2 years.  I will be coming home right before Thanksgiving and leaving right after Christmas.  Once back I will start to work on developing an internship that will follow the School of Digital Filmmaking.  The goal of the internship will be to help the students gain a better understanding of being a filmmaker, though continued involvement in the process of creating short films.  Along with that I hope to be able to help out in any way possible with the running of the Discipleship Training Schools, which are the core of YWAM. This may be helping out with the recording studio, coming along side the students or the staff encouraging them, or maybe even just helping to wash dishes in the kitchen.  But whatever it ends up being, I'm so excited to get be a part of it.

New Videos...Here Now and Coming Soon!

Setting up a shot on the set of Trouble at Big River

So as my descriptive blog title promises we have a new video up, well sort of new. Last year, as an in class exercise to teach the students how a set works, we shot a western that I helped to write with one of the other staff members. This video was called Trouble at Big River and became an instant hit around the campus here. You can view it on our website here. Since our students this year also needed to learn how a set works we shot it again.  Trouble at Big River '09 is now up on our YouTube site, its awesome you should check it out.

As the second part of my title promised new videos are coming soon. As part of the school we competed in a 48 hour film blitz.  The school broke up into three teams of three, with a staff member assigned to each, to help.  Each team had 48 hours to write, produce, shoot and edit a short film.  I ended up producing and directing.  It will be online sometime towards the end of October.  I'll let you know when its online.  It's called Half Dozen, and is a Fairy Tale in vein of the original Grimm Brother's fairy tales.  So get excited and look forward to it!