Anddd on to Week 7!

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the late post today - my computer has been at the Mac/Apple store this week for some renovations and I JUST got it back today! But because I haven't had my computer, I haven't been able to work on arranging and recording music this week - especially since my computer is the only one that has the programs and software for that. And plus, my mentor/worship pastor was still on vacation this week. So, it definitely has been a pretty relaxing week!

I actually only went into the office on Wednesday and Thursday, and worked from home on Friday - still managed to work about 15-20 hours this week though! Since I got my computer back at noon today, I didn't feel the need to go to the office - a good 20-minute drive - and decided to just catch up on work that I had missed at home. I mostly finished the orchestra music that I have been trying to arrange...I just need to add a few touches to it for expressions and dynamics - my project for next week.

When I went into the office this week though, I still did my weekly tasks of stuffing bulletins and taking care of the order of services for the pastors for Sunday. I also cleaned the communion trays from this past Sunday - which actually took a little longer than I thought, but they did get cleaned! Then, I decided to help out my worship pastor by getting all the music ready for Sunday since I think he just got back tonight and I don't want him to be too stressed out at the early morning sound check/rehearsal on Sunday morning.

This week, I also led Thursday's orchestra rehearsal and it went very well! Unfortunately, only half of the members were able to attend because the youth were at a church camp this week, but we still managed to polish different spots in the music in preparation for our performance on Sunday, July 15th. I'm excited that everything is coming along so well!

All in all, even though it has been a pretty relaxing week, it has also been a productive week. I got some work done and I can't wait to do more things and even face more challenges in the rest of my internship when my pastor comes back from vacation next week!

Oh, and one last thing...practicing has been much better these past 2 weeks since I wasn't at the office as much. I'm finally able to feel a bit more at ease with my own responsibilities as a music student. Although my repertoire is not up to a point where I want it to be, it is definitely coming along and I am very encouraged by the progress I am making right now! Hopefully it continues to be this way! :)

Thanks again for your constant support and prayers. I say this in every post, but I truly appreciate it!

In Christ,
Andrea

Halfway Through

Hey everyone!

This week marks the halfway point of my internship! 6 weeks in and 6 weeks to go! 

This week has been a particularly busy and chaotic week – it’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) week for the kids at the church. The theme this year is MegaSports Camp: Go Beyond the Gold, where each child signs up to be trained in a sport for 4 nights, while also receiving God’s Word into their lives during the ‘halftime’ sessions and rallies at the end of the night. I have always loved VBS – it is such a joy to watch all the kids who came out, had fun, and some even accepted Christ as their Savior. It was cool to watch them get very excited for each night with the video episodes about a heroic story – filmed by the video staff at the church that featured many other leaders of the kids’ ministry. This week, I had the opportunity to be a “huddle coach” (devotion leader for the halftime sessions) for the volleyball team and talked about how to be a member of God’s team. Some of the kids in 5^th & 6^th grade were also a part of “Ignite” ministry, helping the other kids in VBS engage in the worship songs and stories through skits and human videos. They put a lot of work into it, coming to the church early in the morning every day this week for practice.

Because of those kids, the church was quite chaotic during the daytime since things are needed be done each night. However, the other music intern, Sam, and I were still able to record a few songs of the list our worship pastor gave us for the choir music. He recorded it to his computer while I played the different parts. Through this, I am learning how to record music through MIDI (keyboard) and how easy it was to make it ‘perfect’! It was a great learning experience for sure!

For the rest of the hours, I started writing another orchestral arrangement of a few songs for the orchestra ministry. Unfortunately, it has been a really slow process because it is taking a while for me to think and write harmonies, but I feel like I’m getting faster and faster at it as I have more experience doing it.

That’s pretty much all I did this week. I didn’t work as much in the office because I helped out with VBS from 5:30-9 every night and it took much of my time, but I still managed to still learn a lot about what I am doing, even when I am helping out with the children’s ministry! 

That's all for now. Time to face more challenges in the next 6 weeks! Thanks for your prayers, support, and encouragement - they are truly appreciated! :)

God bless,

Andrea

Good Week With New Experiences!

This week has been a good and encouraging week, perhaps the best week yet because I was actually doing something…completely new and I was put out of my comfort zone!

I spent most of my hours this week arranging music for the orchestra ministry that I am creating from scratch. It was a lot of hard work! Recruiting people was already hard, now I actually have to write the music...because we don't have the "right" instrumentation for regular orchestra music. I’m not so good at composing and arranging music in general that arranging orchestra music served to be a greater challenge. But I did finally get them done for our first orchestra rehearsal Thursday night...took me about 2 weeks to get 1 piece done though! I’m definitely learning as I go especially because I’ve never exactly started an orchestra before. Nevertheless, it was a good week of writing music and just learning even from the musicians during rehearsal on Thursday. What was to be a 3-person orchestra grew to be a 16-person orchestra! It's incredible how God works! I’m so blessed that He sent those people my way and we are all able to share our gifts and talents with one another!

This week, I also had the opportunity to lead worship for the first time…and it was good that my worship pastor was also up there with me to help me along the way. I was very, VERY excited when he told me that we were going to try and start doing some worship leading this week. It was for a Wednesday night adult Bible study, which had a smaller group of people than Sunday morning – a good way to start, especially because it’s a different crowd and feels more “awkward”. I was more nervous because of the fact that I hate hearing my voice through a microphone...let alone, singing! There is a reason why I'm a piano major! I never consider my voice to be all that great, but I'm learning...or trying to, at least! It was definitely a new experience for me!

As Wednesday night rolls around, I became more and more nervous but just like performing on the piano, my nervousness faded as I stood up on stage and started worshipping. In that moment, I just felt a sense of peace coming over me and I began to see my passion for leading worship began to grow. I began to see more and more of what God’s will is for my life, as my calling to this vocation continues to be confirmed. Although I still do not know his exact plan for my life, I know that ministry is no doubt a part of it – I really love and enjoy working at the church the past few weeks and it has given me more joy and happiness each day. I’m thankful for many people at the church who gave me encouraging comments that continued to lifted me up. And I’m especially very encouraged by my worship pastor and mentor who constantly encouraged me each step of the way, giving me advice and critiquing me when and where needed. It’s really a blessing! This whole week has been a great learning experience for me all around and I’m truly blessed to have encouraging people around me to speak to me so that I can continue to create a character of Christ within myself and become His humble and faithful servant. 

However, as I'm going through my internship, it has been very difficult to spend time practicing with the piano (as I have addressed in the past few blogs). I have less than 4 months to get ready for my senior recital and I'm completely overwhelmed because nothing is up to a point where I want it to be. I've been more and more discouraged as I practice and it has proven to be very, very challenging. Although I have not lost my passion for the piano and performing, I am beginning to be hesitant in the plans and expectations I had set for my own life. I have realized in myself more and more that I need to start letting go and surrendering everything to Him. He is my Rock and Strong Tower, my very present help in time of need - a devotional that I read last night when I was at the peak of discouragement. I need strength and wisdom each day to get through because He is faithful to His children. "Lord, help me rest in Your promises."

And that is my prayer request this summer, friends: patience, humility, strength, and wisdom through these challenging times both within my internship and my own life. Again, I thank you for your constant support and prayer for me...I truly, truly appreciate it!

God bless,

Andrea 

Week 3 Already?!

Hey everyone! I'm back with my internship update for the week...I can't believe that it's already almost mid-June and the weeks are flying by fast! 

This week has been a good week – a better week than the last few weeks, mostly because I actually did something! :) However, it has also been one of the longest weeks I've ever had - I have been staying at the church for 11 hours each night. So THIS is what it's like to be a part of the worship department...now, I feel the pain of my worship pastor and his assistant! They work hard to make things happen...it's incredible how much work behind-the scenes they do other than just leading worship on Sunday morning. Seriously, this was very eye-opening for me!

On Tuesday, we started planning Christmas services...yep, we're going to make a big deal out of it! I'm really excited to be a part of its beginning stages, but sad at the same time because I won't be home until a few days before Christmas this year (school runs late!)...but we are planning lots of videos, music, and fun into the services and we have some really cool ideas for it! Actually, my pastor and the other intern pretty much thought of everything...I just sat and wrote things down for them. As you can tell, I'm NOT at all that creative...and I can't just work in a group setting or something! 

Tuesday night, I had my first orchestra ministry meeting...it's happening! Unfortunately, only 3 people showed up, but hey, that's a start! 11 people total are signed up and I'm going to make it happen no matter what! First rehearsal will be held next Thursday so right now I'm trying to arrange the music so that with the appropriate instrumentation. Actually that's pretty much all I did Wednesday and Thursday. I got most of the strings part done...so I just have to add the clarinet, trumpet, and trombone parts in. My thinking right now is that they'll probably just double the strings part because we definitely need a fuller sound...and then I just have to add articulation and dynamic markings, which shouldn't be too bad...but then I have to practice conducting it before rehearsal so I'LL actually be ready and know how to conduct it! So, still lots to do but I'm excited to see what God's going to do with this ministry this summer! 

Thursday night was my first worship rehearsal where I actually play! Yes!!! :) I was sooo excited! I finally get to play the keys after a long time not being a part of the worship team for a few months. I’m continuing to see how much I really love doing music ministry! Ahh, excitement! 

On Friday, I did my normal Friday routines in the morning (stuffing bulletins and make sure everyone gets a copy of the "order of services" for Sunday), then met with my pastor about the paper I'm supposed to write in a couple of weeks. He'll be on vacation for the last 2 weeks in June so I figured it'd be a good time to do it now, so we can work towards something if we need to improve it. This was probably one of the best meetings I’ve ever had with him. We were able to connect and communicate with each other and I learned a lot about worship leading from him, especially the leadership and pastoral aspect of it, giving me some advice and warning me of some things I will encounter as a worship minister. He is putting a challenge for me to lead worship in the next few weeks: co-leading worship during Wednesday night service next week and doing it on my own when he's gone on vacation - then the same thing for Sunday services. I think this is best because I need to start with a smaller "audience" before diving into our huge church services...that scares me...and excited me at the same time though! So, we'll test out some songs and have me sing/lead through them Tuesday afternoon of next week just to get used to microphones and stuff (ugh, I hate how I sound through the microphone...so awkward!)...

Overall, I’m very encouraged this week, especially after my meeting...things are definitely looking up (hopefully it doesn't stop here). Thank you so much for all of your prayers...they are appreciated! I’m continuing to learn with others seeing their strengths and weaknesses as well as my own. Through this internship though, I'm able to see more of God's calling in my life and that is the best part! :)

Until next time,

Andrea

Life Update!

Hey everyone,

So here's the blog I promised you about in a couple posts ago about my life updates, especially regarding grad schools, senior recital, music, etc. Just a warning though, this will be a super long post, mostly because this allows me to "talk through" the craziness in life right now...

After classes and exams ended this past spring, I had 1 week to get ready for my 1-week Discipleship class back at Wheaton. That week, however, I also started doing my internship - well, only observations, but I was at the church at least 6-7 hours a day. While going through the internship, I was also reading 2 books and writing 2 papers for the class because they were due on the first day of class. The class itself lasted for 5 days, 5 hours each day...yeah, it was a LONG class. On top of the 2 papers, we also had to write 3 more papers for the class due a month from the last day of class, so June 18th. When I was packing for that week, I decided not to bring my music along because I figured I'd rather finish all my papers the week I'm at Wheaton and not worry about them when I am actually interning the rest of the summer. Well, that worked out well! I finished all my papers by that Friday AND I even had a few hours to squeeze in some practicing time (and just borrowed the music from the library). That week, I literally felt like a non-conservie! My class started at 12:30 PM and I woke up around 8 AM NOT to practice, but to write papers. It felt weird...but I guess it was good to experience as well!

The class itself was incredible! I'm so glad I took the class...the professor had incredible things to say and I came out of the class learning a lot! There was only 1 other undergraduate student and we were in a class together last semester so it was good not to be the only young one there...the rest were graduate students and I had a blast getting to know them as well! Another exciting thing was that one of those graduate students in my class was from Indonesia. At first, I didn't think too much into it but he asked me to be his friend on Facebook and it turns out that his wife is my mom's cousin! Yep, you heard right! It's been more than 30 years since my mom talked to her cousin because they got disconnected when they were younger, but they re-connected...through Facebook! This was truly a blessing! I wouldn't have been able to meet them if I didn't take this class! It was nice for them to invite me over to their house and we were able to re-unite somehow, even though I never knew them growing up! God is so good!

Alright, back to life: after I got home from the class, I immediately started my internship...officially (which you can read about each week in this blog). Thankfully, I get Mondays off from the internship, so Mondays and Saturdays (and Sundays) are my days when I can really sit down and practice for at least 6 hours, while also trying to fit in some time to practice violin. I also teach for a few hours on Monday since that's the only day I can actually teach, so my day "off" is not exactly a day off! I feel a bit disappointed that I'm not able to practice as much as I wanted...especially since I realized my senior recital with all of my grad school repertoire in less than 19 weeks. October 13th is coming sooner and sooner. Why won't time stop for once?! It is quite overwhelming...I'm worried that I won't be able to get everything polished and memorized by then! Yeah I've learned all the notes but that's only the beginning and I have about 4 months to pull it together somehow. 

As of grad schools, I've actually researched them last summer and got information from them. Decisions and applications are getting a bit complicated because I will not be entering grad school for piano right after I graduate with my undergrad. If you don't know, I was accepted into the Accelerated MA program in Christian Formation & Ministry (focusing in Children's & Families' Ministry) at Wheaton - which basically means that you finish your Masters in a year. The way it works is that you take some classes (up to 16 credits) of the Masters program during your senior year of undergrad. Well, unfortunately things aren't looking quite that way. Because I'm currently a double major trying to graduate in 4 years, I don't have that much room to fit in 16 credits. In fact, I only have room for 10 credits to take my graduate classes...so I'll be taking grad classes in the fall. Yeah, call me crazy...I don't know what I'm doing...

(Stay with me here, I know it's a bit complicated to grasp and it doesn't end here...)

The problem with my schedule is that I'm not sure if I'll actually be able to graduate in 1 year for my Masters. I can only if I take 16 credits per semester as a graduate student...which I heard is called suicide, but doable. So right now, I'm not even sure if I can make it happen in 1 year...or if I have to stay for the summer right after my undergrad. Who knows. Again, decisions...

So because of this program, I can't go right away to grad school for piano. Here's where it gets MORE complicated. I actually have to apply and audition this upcoming year as if I'm entering grad school for piano in the fall of 2013. And then, I'd have to defer my decision to a year later. The reason I decided to defer instead of just applying the year after is because I'm already preparing a huge list of repertoire for my senior recital and I wouldn't be able to spend that much time with the piano the year I'm finishing my MA at Wheaton anyway. So, I've had to change plans on grad schools based on their allowance for deferrals, looking into some that I really didn't want to go to. I've narrowed the list down to 7 schools and I'm so glad I actually finished the applications for them the past few weeks. Now, I just have to practice and audition! 

SOOO, this has been my summer and what I'm dealing with in my head. I'm really loving interning at the church and doing music ministry - and more than ever do I feel God calling me into that ministry. At the same time, I still find joy in practicing piano and performing (just not the sense of frustration because I'm behind). In the fall, I'll be starting my senior year and my "first year" of my MA, along with my senior recital, grad school applications & auditions, chapel band, theory TA, orchestra, and teaching piano. I really cannot feel more blessed for all of these opportunities but thinking about all of this drains and overwhelms me! Soooo much to do! 

So yeah. I'm overwhelmed...perhaps the most I've ever felt. But I can still feel God's presence and peace in the midst of it all. I'm really learning how to trust and surrender more than any other. I like to have things organized in my head and if I draw my cards right, it'll all work out. Well, God is definitely telling me otherwise. I know He wants me to let go and let Him take care of things...everything! It's been a challenge for me to walk through this process and I'm asking for His help each and every day. I would appreciate your prayers at this time as well. There are many decisions that I need to make regarding all of these things, and I pray for wisdom from Him. He has the master plan for my life. Who am I to control my own life? Besides, I'm here on earth to glorify and praise His wonderful Name! I'm reminded each day during my quiet time and devotions that even though I often fail, God still loves me because His love never fails! I know that I'm not the only one struggling with this, so I pray that if you are in this position, you will also overcome this obstacle. God is truly faithful and He will never leave us nor forsake us. Just hold on to that promise. 

Well, that's about it. A part update and a part reflection. Thank you so much for reading about my life and struggles the past month since the semester ended. I'm thankful for each of you and for your constant support, encouragement, and prayers. Let us all continue to live our life as best we can for the sole purpose of glorifying our heavenly Father! To God be the glory!

In His love,

Andrea

The Internship Continues...End of Week 2

Well guys, this is the end of my week 2. Unfortunately, this week turned out to be a little more frustrating than last week. If you didn't read my post last week, I mentioned about being stressed out because I have nothing to do - or at least very limited things to do. This week, the same thing happened but a little worse. I did try to find something to do for myself though, and my worship pastor's assistant gave work for me to do so that was good.

To recap though, I attended my first staff meeting on Tuesday, which was pretty cool! It was 45 minutes of quick updates from each ministry within the church and it was cool to hear about the stories through the work God is doing in our church! We also start renovations this week in our new facility, which is so exciting! It looks different already...JUST from the carpet removal from the wall. Then, another intern and I met with our worship pastor to brainstorm some ideas as we move to our new facility. Lots of "big plans" coming up and we're hoping they'll actually happen! :)

Wednesday, I didn't do much, mostly because my worship pastor ended in the ER that morning! He did something to his back the night before and doing much better now. So that morning, I just did more research on orchestra music, contacted several people, and trying to find things to do. We had our service planning meeting that afternoon (although delayed for an hour) and got some ideas going for the next few Sundays. That night, I recruited some young students for the orchestra ministry I'm reviving and attended the youth group. Unfortunately, only 1 extra person signed up - but I'm still praying for more!

Thursday, I had a meeting with the worship pastor from Westgate Chapel to get some ideas for the orchestra ministry. Although I'm glad that some people have graciously volunteered, I wish more would sign up! I'm just praying and hoping more people would be involved in the coming weeks. Lots of ideas (and music) were given to me at that meeting though and I'm excited that this is actually happening at Calvary! I did a lot of research for the rest of the day at work, for other kinds of music that is appropriate for the level of the musicians, and thinking through little details for the ministry. I stayed that night for worship rehearsal so I can learn about the sound system - I was so overwhelmed to sit in the sound booth and just literally starred at the different buttons to figure what it does. So complicated! This is definitely one thing I want to learn before I leave my internship.

On Friday, I didn't really do much around the office...I wish I did though. I cleaned the communion bread and cup holders with Windex - who knew that thing gets so dirty?! Then, my Friday routine of printing out the order of service and distributing them to respective pastors and places around the sanctuary. Then, I spent an hour stuffing bulletins with paper for sermon notes and list of graduates (graduation Sunday this Sunday!)...that took a long time! The bulletins came in the late afternoon, so I waited a while for that thing to arrive...but it's finished. I was also assigned to do some research for music ideas for the upcoming Christmas services - since we'll be in the new building this Christmas. I didn't get too far on that, because it's not as easy as I had expected! Oops.

Well, there goes my week. This week, I've been struggling a lot with the idea of "what am I doing as my internship?"To be honest, my first answer would be: “Umm…I’m not too sure.” That’s exactly how I feel about this internship. I feel like there is a lot to do as a worship pastor and there isn’t one specific thing that working on or anything...besides the orchestra ministry, I guess. Because of a few special services this summer and my pastor being on vacation 2 weeks in June, I haven’t been able to play in the worship team or lead worship – which somewhat upsets me, because the vision I had for this internship, is to learn how to lead worship and become a worship pastor.

Well, I really shouldn't complain - I'm definitely getting acquainted with the duties of a worship pastor - which is quite different than what I had imagined. My pastor has definitely allowed me to be involved on most of these "administrative" side of things so I really appreciated that. Lots of planning for services, music, production teams, bulletins, graphics, video, and the list goes on and on. So yeah, I'm learning a lot - but not what I had envisioned. So I think I just need to change my mindset and attitude and work through it because I really am learning, just not in the way I had wanted. I know it will take a while to get used to – I just hope in the bigger realm of things, I can walk away from this internship learning a great deal. Right now, I just have to think outside the box, and it has served to be quite challenging for me, but I continue to pray for God to give me the patience and ability to learn when I am out of my comfort zone.

I'm definitely being reminded to be thankful in the midst of different challenges this week. Gotta push through. I would appreciate your prayers in this process. Thank you for your constant support for me!

In Christ's love,
Andrea