Happenings in Wilmington

Quick summary of the past few weeks:

1) It's actually kind of gotten kinda cold here. and rainy.

2) I realized I'm not going to be able to graduate on time. meh, i'm fine some summer classes.

3) Painted my apartment. Looks pretty good if I do say so myself.

4) A script I kept meaning to write in New York (ultimately I started and finished it the 4 days before the deadline, such is life) got accepted as the film we're going to shoot for my Senior Seminar class!

I wanted to wait to post on here til I heard from this class because it basically decided whether I was going spend the semester working on a film I wasn't that into, or something that could be the ticket to grad school or a job. Right now I'm leaning towards trying to get a job at Screen Gems here in Wilmington, proud home of One Tree Hill and East Bound and Down. (The Chad-ster left our fair city however. I'm so sorry Kelly.)

Either way it's super exciting to get have a group of people all working on something that I feel has a positive message that will hopefully get people thinking. I'd be happy to email people the script if they want to read it.

I hope you are all collaborating and continuing to: pass through, remain in, ponder over, think about, journey across, each and every threshold you meet. It's what artists do apparently.

nate

Ooo Ooo, Me Next!

To those whom I shared the best summer of my life thus far:

Greetings from South Florida.
I don't think I need to go to into how excessively I miss you all and the community we had, I figure we all understand that. What I will say is that I hope we all take part in a community right where we're at in our own towns and cities, and hopefully contribute in the ways we did in NY or even more as God allows.
But for us here on this blog...I'm glad this blog was started up. I figure it's a way we can check up on each other, pray for each other and all that good stuff. I'm hoping you guys will be praying for me and this next chapter of my life.
For those who don't know, or might not have remembered, I graduated August 9th with a Bachelor in Fine Arts. So what does life look like for me after the fact? Well, what I can say is that I have moved back to my hometown Davie [near Miami] and I'm looking for a job. Grad school won't be happening at least for another year. I don't think the reality of where I'm at has sunk in just yet. I think it's mostly because I've been traveling so much before and after graduating. But once I settle down and take a look around...boy, I'm going to need some prayers. It's real life I'm going to face now, and I know it's not all going to be easy. What I am looking forward to is having time to work on my artwork [free from academics] and getting familiar with the art community in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. I'm also back at my home church, and I feel God is leading me to work specifically with the high school aged girls. Pray for me about this. Oh and I should mention that I do have a job opportunity working as an assistant for a Nieman Marcus gallery, so if you read this soon, pray that this might work out, and if it doesn't that God would lead me to a better job.
I think that's all I'm going to write for now. I'd write more but I'm tired, and if I waited any longer to post it would have never happened, yada-ya, and so forth. I hope more of you guys post; it's been like 2 people for a couple weeks now, and me being the "quiet" one to post third...we've got to do better than this, folks. But honestly, I do want to hear from you, so stop hesitating and make a post, friend.
&&& I'm done.

-Joanna

From Nathan

Hi friends!

I hope the rest of your summers have been full of relaxation, fun, and continued growth. Katie, I so enjoyed your update...it sounds like God is working in great ways in the midst of such a hard situation. The students in your youth group are lucky to have such a centered and caring role model in you! I'll continue to pray for the situation.

Since coming home from New York, my time has been filled in a variety of ways. The week after I returned to Missouri, I was able to attend a Choral Music Educators Convention. It was so exciting! I was able to attend workshops regarding rehearsal technique, sing through new music, talk to other educators - what more could a guy ask for? :) It was a thrill for me to be listening and learning from such loving and talented individuals over the course of the weekend. One of the highlights occurred before a banquet everyone attended. Just before we were served, all 400 choir directors stood in the banquet hall and sang the doxology. What a special moment! Our God is so good to bless us with such diverse creativity and talent that we can use to glorify Him.

After returning from that trip I spent the next few weeks hanging around Springfield. The pace of life is much slower than the city, so that has taken some getting used to...I also have missed the community that we experienced on our project. Most of my friends are not in Springfield, MO this summer, so I am looking forward to seeing them in person at school soon. I have been able to spend a lot of time with my younger brother, Christian. He is such a fun person to be around! He will be heading to college this year, so I would appreciate prayers for him as he starts this new chapter in his life. I pray that he will be surrounded by godly men and women and continue to move towards the Lord in his search for what is true.

My family went to Chicago for several days last week! We saw a show, went to the Art Institute, a classical concert in the park (no - we didn't have to get up at 4:00 am), a pre-lollipolooza concert at the Apple store, and of course, shopped at H and M. It was a great time to spend with the family.

And now, I am looking forward to returning to Arkansas on Tuesday. It will be fun to share what God has been doing in our lives and begin sharing the blessing of the gospel of Christ with a huge group of new students! I also am planning on starting a musical theater performance troupe as I return to school. I'm looking forward for opportunities to build relationships and reflect Christ's love through that organization. By striving to reflect Godly character, I think that the whole creative process can be an expression of faith. I hope and pray that I may demonstrate "love that comes from a good conscience and a sincere faith." (1 Tim. 1:5).

I am so thankful that I have been able to live, worship, create, and grow with all of you this summer. You have challenged me to become a better artist, friend, and servant of the Lord. I look forward to staying in touch and encouraging one another as we seek the Lord and He transforms us into the artists that He wants us to be.

With love,

Nathan

Sooo, Lets Get This Thing Started!!

 I’d really love to hear what is happening since you’ve returned from project! What has God been doing in your life?? What can we be praying for you??

I’ll help get things started. Since returning I’ve had the privilege of photographing a close friends wedding. It was such a blast and it was also the day I got to see several friends since returning from project. Evan and I have begun dating :0). I’ve returned to work and, yes, even gone to a theme park. I've also been able to hear stories from friends who went on other summer projects and mission trips. It’s so exciting to hear how God works around the world and even in our own home towns. 

There has been another side to returning. Missing the strong community that we shared and trying to find that here. I have a few close friends, but it’s just not quite the same. We each have commitments, like jobs, that keep us busy and only allow us to see each other every so often. I seem to miss the simple things of nyc too, like walking everywhere. Would you believe I sometimes have trouble sleeping at night because it’s to quiet! No cars honking or people yelling. I’m not gonna lie, I get a little excited when I hear a car honk its horn…oh the memories. I’ve also missed the time we had on campus being able to rely on God in approaching people and sharing the Gospel. I haven’t had the opportunity to do so yet, but hopefully when classes start up that will change. 

God has, however, reminded me of why he has brought me home and my mission here. Some of you know that a desire of mine for the rest of the summer included being more involved with the youth group at my church. Well that has happened, but in fashion that I wasn’t quite expecting. I have worked with 7^th and 8^th grade girls for about four years now and have enjoyed been involved in their lives and watching them grow in their love for the Lord. The youth group is large, like 200+ kids large. However, there is a group of about 30 girls and guys ranging from 7^th grade to 12^th that I mainly work with and we're a pretty tight knit group. 

The Sunday after returning home from NYC, we all learned one of the students, Mike 17yrs old and an upcoming senior in high school, was sedated (basically put into a coma) in the hospital the night prior because of complications. He and his twin brother, Chris, were diagnosed with a disease in January called Ehlers Danlos disease. It causes the walls of the organs to be very thin and tear easily when stress is put on the body. The doctors knew to look for it in January because his older brother (and a friend of mine), Steve, passed away after an artery in his heart tore due to stress while driving. Even more so it caused their mother’s passing while giving birth to Chris and Mike.

Mikey was first put into the hospital because one of his lungs collapsed of a tear. While in the hospital his intestines also tore resulting in waste entering his body and causing it to go into septic shock. Thus, the doctors put him in a coma. We prayed fervently for God to allow his body to heal and for him to recover. To our surprise only a few days later he was awake, talking and fully alert! We were so excited and made plans to see him that following Sunday after church. While on our way to the hospital from church we received a text from a few people who made it there before us that he had taken a turn for the worst. Seriously? I was in disbelief. Once arriving, we were told he flat lined and had to be resuscitated. Immediately the doctors brought him into surgery and found his intestines had torn even more causing a large loss of blood. 

About ten of us waited for almost 2hrs to hear of any updates. Chris then came down with the news that the doctors didn’t think he would even make it through the night...everyone was speechless. Was this really happening? He was fine when I saw him before leaving for NYC. It was hard to grasp. We all sat in silence for a while wishing we could say something to comfort Chris, but nothing came to mind. Chris started to talk and what came out of his mouth were not curses towards God, or questions of why him and his family, but praises for the time he had been allowed to spend with his brother. Only 17 years old, never knowing his birthmother, losing his older brother seven months ago, just told he was about to lose his twin brother, knowing he has the same disease and to top it all off, his father was diagnosed with cancer last month, yet all he could do was praise God. We sat in silence for a little while more, cried, and pleaded with God to take Mike's pain away, but also for a miracle that he might live. 

Mikey passed away the following morning. We have grieved his loss deeply and will miss his presence here on earth, but through this pain has come even greater joy. We rejoice in the fact that Mike is pain free, reunited with his brother & birthmother, and praising Jesus face to face. Even more so, we have seen three people come to know the Lord through this circumstance! Praise the Lord!!

 Certainly not what I had expected for my return home, but I know the Lord prepared my heart during my time in NYC and gave me a better understanding of heaven that I have been able to share with the students. I wanted to share this with you so you could not only hear the testimony of this family's journey and their unwavering faith in God, but to confirm our hope in Heaven and in what we learned this summer. My friends, I know you are prayer warriors and I ask that you all pray for the healing process of the youth group and family. Pray that God will continued to be glorified through these circumstances. 

Sorry for the super long post, but that's what's been going on in my life. Now it's your turn to share! Thank you for your prayers. Love y'all and miss y'all dearly!

Your sister in Christ,

~ KT Crabb

Keeping Connected

Hey everyone!!

I hope y'all are doing well and I miss y'all so much! I was thinking maybe we could use this blog to keep each other updated on what's happening in our lives. It's also a great place to share prayer requests and maybe even plan for future reunions! Once you are invited you will be considered an author so you can make a blog post, post pictures and comment on other posts. This definitely doesn't replace seeing all of your faces each day, but its one way we can still stay connected. Happy blogging! :)

~ KT Crabb