Video-editing
Spring Highlights
March/19/08
It’s hard to believe that we’re already three months into 2008. Here are just a few of the highlights so far:
*Sean has been actively coaching and supporting pastors and leaders in the Japan Cell Church Mission Network. Sean took part in their annual meeting in January, a regional three-day conference last month, and is working closely with several of the pastors, in particular.
It’s been awesome to see pastors working closely together on a local and national level to bring revival to Japan. When leaders put Kingdom values above their own personal agendas, church rivalries and denominational differences, it’s amazing how freely and powerfully God can move!
*As a new member of CRM’s Creative Services team, Alice will be editing documentaries/promotional videos that portray what God is doing in CRM around the world.
In Alice’s first “official” project for the team, she will be assisting CRM’s main “video-storyteller” as he puts together a video of CRM-Singapore’s ministry. Please pray for Alice as she embarks in this new role!
*Kazu, a freestyle wrestler Sean led to the Lord and mentored since 2000, won the national championship in January! He is trying to qualify for the Olympics in Beijing this summer.
Please pray for Kazu, that he would be a light for Jesus as he competes, and for God’s favor and blessing in upcoming Olympic qualifying competitions.
*On a personal note, Rylee started sleeping through the night after just three months! Considering that it took Kadin over a year before he slept through the night, we are overjoyed to be getting lots of much-needed sleep!
Looking Ahead
*This spring promises to move at an even faster pace as we add Sean’s duties as the high school soccer coach at CAJ (Christian Academy in Japan) to our already full schedule.
Every year, we eagerly anticipate the soccer season! Very few activities provide such a unique opportunity to invest intensively in the lives of young men over an extended period of time (from one to four years). The lessons and character development in the young men can last a lifetime!
*We look forward to deepening relationships with friends the Lord has given us. Please pray for them… a hunger for Jesus, and a life-changing encounter with Him through their friendship with us!
*Please pray for more opportunities for Sean to coach and mentor emerging leaders for the church. And please pray for the Lord’s anointing in relationships where God is already using Sean to encourage, exhort, and equip men to live out their calling.
*Finally, please pray for Alice as:
-She continues building some great friendships with other young mothers
-She expands her role as a member of CRM’s Creative Services and Intercession Teams
-As she invests in other intercessors and worship leaders at our church
-As she manages two energetic children!
Thank you for your love, support and prayers!
*Sean has been actively coaching and supporting pastors and leaders in the Japan Cell Church Mission Network. Sean took part in their annual meeting in January, a regional three-day conference last month, and is working closely with several of the pastors, in particular.
It’s been awesome to see pastors working closely together on a local and national level to bring revival to Japan. When leaders put Kingdom values above their own personal agendas, church rivalries and denominational differences, it’s amazing how freely and powerfully God can move!
*As a new member of CRM’s Creative Services team, Alice will be editing documentaries/promotional videos that portray what God is doing in CRM around the world.
In Alice’s first “official” project for the team, she will be assisting CRM’s main “video-storyteller” as he puts together a video of CRM-Singapore’s ministry. Please pray for Alice as she embarks in this new role!
*Kazu, a freestyle wrestler Sean led to the Lord and mentored since 2000, won the national championship in January! He is trying to qualify for the Olympics in Beijing this summer.
Please pray for Kazu, that he would be a light for Jesus as he competes, and for God’s favor and blessing in upcoming Olympic qualifying competitions.
*On a personal note, Rylee started sleeping through the night after just three months! Considering that it took Kadin over a year before he slept through the night, we are overjoyed to be getting lots of much-needed sleep!
Looking Ahead
*This spring promises to move at an even faster pace as we add Sean’s duties as the high school soccer coach at CAJ (Christian Academy in Japan) to our already full schedule.
Every year, we eagerly anticipate the soccer season! Very few activities provide such a unique opportunity to invest intensively in the lives of young men over an extended period of time (from one to four years). The lessons and character development in the young men can last a lifetime!
*We look forward to deepening relationships with friends the Lord has given us. Please pray for them… a hunger for Jesus, and a life-changing encounter with Him through their friendship with us!
*Please pray for more opportunities for Sean to coach and mentor emerging leaders for the church. And please pray for the Lord’s anointing in relationships where God is already using Sean to encourage, exhort, and equip men to live out their calling.
*Finally, please pray for Alice as:
-She continues building some great friendships with other young mothers
-She expands her role as a member of CRM’s Creative Services and Intercession Teams
-As she invests in other intercessors and worship leaders at our church
-As she manages two energetic children!
Thank you for your love, support and prayers!
|
Looking Back
January/02/08
Happy New Year! We are excitedly looking ahead at what the Lord has in store for us this new year! And, we are also reminiscing about what the Lord did for us in 2007. The last twelve months went by in a whirlwind, full of many exciting developments and changes. We look back at 2007 with much gratitude to the Lord. Take a walk with us through memory lane…
We celebrated the birth of our second child on November 9th. It’s hard to believe that in 24 months we’ve gone from childless to a full house. Joy, joy, joy!
Growing pains seems to be an appropriate theme for our lives and ministry. Growing is never painless and requires a mix of faith and perseverance. In the natural, our family has grown. And in the spirit, we are pregnant with expectation as God is giving new depth to relationships we’ve been sowing into over the past four years here in Japan.
Something about having children on the mission field… far from taking away from ministry, has added depth to existing relationships and provided opportunities for new ones. It’s as if people suddenly think, “They must be serious about their love for Japan if they’re willing to have kids here!”
Kadin at 3 months with Meg at 20 days. Growing up together... Meg and Kadin today
Some things we celebrate…
*Our church is growing and hopes to purchase land in order to build a multi-purpose center where we can minister to the community in a variety of ways.
*God is using Alice’s passion for prayer through her involvement in CRM’s global intercession team and through mentoring intercessors in our church.
*Sean coached CAJ’s soccer team to their 2nd Far East Championship in three years.
*Alice obtained her professional certification as a video editor and produced her first professional video for the Japan Cell Church Mission Network.
*Sean completed a professional coach-training program that has helped him to more effectively empower, equip, encourage, and support leaders.
*New relationships with families as opposed to relationships only with moms and their children.
We celebrate all of this and much more. We praise God for you and thank Him for the part each of you have played in sowing into God’s harvest in Japan. May the Lord bless you richly!!!
Going Pro and Gold Medals
June/19/07
CAJ Wins Far East Soccer Championship in Overtime!
CAJ finished the season undefeated (a first for the soccer team) and won the Far East Championship for the 2nd time in three years. We give glory to God for everything the guys accomplished this year and believe that many of the lessons they learned this year will pay off for years to come.
Alice Goes Pro...
Thank you so much for praying for me, Alice, during my 5-day intensive video-editing class. It was very hard to be away from Sean AND Kadin, but our dear friends in Austin, the Grigsby's, took very good care of me while I was away! The training was very advanced, but SO helpful!
I was the youngest in the class, and felt a little intimidated being surrounded by true professionals in the film and media world. (One guy was flying out the very next week to shoot the music video for a well-known pop artist! ) I guess I had my own David and Goliath experience!
Thanks to all of your prayers, I was able to pass the certification exam! It was very difficult. I was one of only two in the class to pass the exam. I am now an Apple Certified Professional! May God use the skills and the training He allowed me to gain at the film school to spread His glory even more in Japan!
"Pro-bound!"
May/19/07
“Pro”-Bound!
From May 18th to 22nd I will be attending a week-long course at Austin Film School to become professionally certified in the Final Cut Pro video-editing software.
Why now? Independent film-makers, Hollywood editors, and corporate video and event producers use this professional-grade software and it is an industry standard. Although the learning curve is very steep, I have already produced a few projects with this software, and have reached the point where professional training is necessary for further advancement.
Some of you have seen some of the videos we’ve created to help supporters see what God is doing in Japan. This training will help me to do that even better, and open more doors for ministry. I have already been asked to produce several short projects for the church in Japan. Internationally, I will be working with CRM’s “visual storyteller,” Andy Silk, to shoot/produce promotional videos about Japan for the CRM website.
We pray that God will anoint this time of training in Austin and that God will continue to use these videos to open people’s eyes to the spiritual poverty in Japan, and that they would be moved to pray for Japan.
Here are some other exciting things happening:
Kadin is going to be a big brother! Mommy and baby are both healthy, and we praise God for another easy pregnancy. The due date is Nov. 6th. Please pray for us and for the baby as we prepare for this new addition!
Church growth: Our church, Kiyose Grace Chapel, recently moved into a larger space as we were bursting at the seams. God continues to open new doors of ministry, especially with young couples.
Coaching at CAJ: From May 21 to 25, Sean’s soccer team from the Christian Academy in Japan will be participating in the Far East tournament in Okinawa with teams from all over Asia. This year’s team has bonded more than any other Sean has coached up until now, spending significant time with each other on and off the field.
Please pray for traveling mercies; that the guys will draw even closer to God and each other; and that they will have a memorable finale to a great season!