Monday, May 21, 2012

Quick Update!

So I now have confirmation that I will be going to Washington DC with GRN from June 27th-July 8th. That means spending the 4th in the country's capital! I'm very excited about that! The nice thing is that I'll only have to pay for food while I'm there. Everything else is well taken care of. That's good news for my support team, but prayer is certainly still needed :)

The event we are going for is called Freedom Fest (also known as Christ On The Mall). It takes place at the same time as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival so Christ can more easily be shared with the over 600,000 people that attend this celebration. In past years recordings in over 80 different languages were passed out. We hope to do the same, or more this year.

We will be setting up a booth on the National Mall, along with many other cultural and religious organizations. We'll team up with a group from Florida and one from Seattle, WA as well. Together we'll be handing out our recordings to anyone and everyone that may be interested.

Here's the website for more information about Freedom Fest 2012:

Friday, May 18, 2012

What exactly do I do at GRN? Well, I'm glad you asked!

Hello again!

Today I want to update you all and make sure that everyone knows exactly what I am doing with my work at GRN.

First off, I'd like to share a little video I put together for my supporters/prayer warriors/family/friends. Basically everyone who has encouraged me in countless ways through all of this so far. Enjoy!


Vimeo might be better quality if you're into that sort of thing :)

Aside from the details provided in the video, I'd love to share more about potential upcoming opportunities as well as some prayer requests.

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POSSIBLE NEW JOBS/TASKS (within GRN):

Video Production:
After showing a few folks around the office this video, they were quite excited and ideas soon came up about promotional/informational videos that had been an idea for a long time, but never actually happened.

I personally love doing this kind of work as it lets me exercise my creative side a bit more, so I offered to head this up if it was alright with them. The response was positive so it looks like I'll be getting to do more of this type of work in the near future!

Social Media:
Lately, there has been a large need for someone to work with social media at GRN and it has often been put on the back burner. I offered to help in this area as much as possible also, and it looks like Facebook is going to be a big part of that job. In this day and age, we're pretty much all addicted to Facebook anyway, so that should be manageable.

More details to come on this :)

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POSSIBLE UPCOMING TRIPS:

Washington DC:
I was talking with our office director today and it looks like there is a distribution trip coming up near the 4th of July in Washington DC. Apparently there is a large international festival there where many organizations (including GRN) go each year to hand out materials/recordings.

I was invited to possibly attend in order to get a better and refreshing grasp on our outreach opportunities and to see how the recordings I've been working on actually effect people.

This would be approximately a week trip. It's in the early stages as far as me attending, so I'll keep you all updated as things progress.

Nepal:
Another possible trip is one to Nepal (where GRN actually has a base). As far as my knowledge so far, it would consist of a small team of 10-12 trekking around Nepal (it's called the "Trekabout") and sharing/getting to know people in various towns/villages. We will use GRN materials to assist in the process and experience the culture there as much as possible.

The trip would be closer to 4 weeks and would be led by one of the staff from Australia. The trip would likely begin on December 27th, 2012.

Still a lot of praying to do on that one, so more details to come.

Australia:
I know I've mentioned Australia many times, and it IS going to happen. At this point it's more of a matter when. But it's been narrowed down to either this summer (where I'd stay for a shorter time and return to the U.S. office after receiving some training), or closer to October (in order for me to better prepare for the Nepal trip and leave directly from Australia).

stay tuned on that one as well :)

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • Direction for where God wants me investing my time while serving at GRN, and a continued passion and excitement while working in the office.
  • Guidance for possible upcoming trips (Washington DC, Nepal, Australia) and which ones to really go after.
  • Homesickness -- I do miss Oregon (how can you not) and I would love prayer that I would be looking forward and excited with the current path God has me on; That I wouldn't miss anything He has to teach me here.
  • That I would be seeking God's wisdom and creative hand while working on videos and other new jobs around the office; that new projects would take off smoothly and ideas would flow at a healthy and happy pace.
PRAISES:
  • New and fresh ways to serve during my time here. I'm really excited about these jobs!
  • I love my new church and being able to serve on worship team here! I am getting to play drums with them at least one time a week and am finding some great times of fellowship from it.
  • Fantastic weather, great roommate, serving God every day at work, bike riding, rock climbing, music fellowship -- many great things. GOD IS GOOD!
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Sorry these things get so lengthy, but I hope this gives you a slightly better glimpse into what's been happening around here lately.

God bless you!

-Matt

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