This video played at all of the vision nights, and I never got tired of hearing it. I usually sat there and watched with tears in my eyes. In my previous post I mentioned how God pieced everything together, and here is one specific example...the story behind this song is pretty amazing. Here is what Lauree Austin (she put the video together) says about that:
"Well there are almost 10 different versions of the song on iTunes. I had picked one version by Joanna Martino because it was clear, it was a singular voice, it wasn’t overly produced, it was simple and beautiful. I needed to get Joanna Martino’s permission to use the song so I got on her website hopeful to find her management contact. She didn’t have any contact information. Bummed, I was poking around on her site and started to look through her photo album. I came across this picture that had the caption, “Me and my class after winning the Amazing Race in Slovenia.”
Weird, I thought. Josiah Venture does the Amazing Race with our English classes in Slovenia. I emailed the country director and found out that Joanna Martino, the American Idol finalist and singer that I had selected from the list on iTunes had come over to Slovenia two years before and served with Josiah Venture!!! I was totally stunned.
Well – I got the permission that I needed from her to use the song. But I also learned that she had recorded the song Mighty to Save because of her time in Slovenia working with the youth there! God had used it to show her his power and purpose there."*
God is good!
Mighty to Save - Joanna Martino from Josiah Venture | 2x3 Campaign on Vimeo.
*The whole story can be found here.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
JV vision tour
Four weeks, 11 cities, and 20 plane rides later, our vision tour was over. It was a crazy month, and I am still in awe of what God did.
It was, first of all, amazing to watch all the pieces come together. I have a big white board that's sitting in my office right next to my desk. And I have to smile every time I look at it. The board says this: 'Six Week Miracle' followed by a long list of things that needed to be done. This was written 6 weeks prior to the first vision night. It is so cool to see how God answered prayers, and took us through one step at a time.
There are many stories of God’s faithfulness. If you haven't already, you can read the blog from during the tour here.
Though busy and often lacking sleep, I walked away from each vision night refreshed, encouraged, and so excited about what God is doing! And as I think about the vision - to double our Kingdom fruit in the next three years - I get even more excited about what is to come!
One of the highlights for me were all the people I got to meet. God was so good to me to allow me to connect with some old friends, and at the same time, to give me the gift of new relationships. Here are just a few:
Charis drove to Peoria from Ohio, and it was so great to see her again! She was my intern last summer and has become a really good friend.
A team from Huntsville, AL came to our Atlanta vision night. What a fun reunion!
In Portland, I got to hang out with my friend Aubrey. We had a fabulous time!
I met this lady in Portland. Her name is Pamela Reeve, and she is an amazing woman of God. I got a signed copy of her book "Faith is..." in the Czech language. What a sweet connection!
It was, first of all, amazing to watch all the pieces come together. I have a big white board that's sitting in my office right next to my desk. And I have to smile every time I look at it. The board says this: 'Six Week Miracle' followed by a long list of things that needed to be done. This was written 6 weeks prior to the first vision night. It is so cool to see how God answered prayers, and took us through one step at a time.
There are many stories of God’s faithfulness. If you haven't already, you can read the blog from during the tour here.
Though busy and often lacking sleep, I walked away from each vision night refreshed, encouraged, and so excited about what God is doing! And as I think about the vision - to double our Kingdom fruit in the next three years - I get even more excited about what is to come!
One of the highlights for me were all the people I got to meet. God was so good to me to allow me to connect with some old friends, and at the same time, to give me the gift of new relationships. Here are just a few:
Charis drove to Peoria from Ohio, and it was so great to see her again! She was my intern last summer and has become a really good friend.
A team from Huntsville, AL came to our Atlanta vision night. What a fun reunion!
In Portland, I got to hang out with my friend Aubrey. We had a fabulous time!
I met this lady in Portland. Her name is Pamela Reeve, and she is an amazing woman of God. I got a signed copy of her book "Faith is..." in the Czech language. What a sweet connection!
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