Worship Leading…..in AUSTRIA!

So last night was the final performance here at IPAI 2011! This morning those of us went to lead worship at a small contemporary church in Kufstein, Austria. It was amazing! They kept wanting us to sing more and more. His message was also wonderful. He had bruce translate for him so that we could understand as well. It was really cool to see people from every tribe, tongue, and nation in such an intimate setting worshiping God will all they had! Tonight is our last night here in Germany and tomorrow Reese, and Myself will wake up uber early to catch a train to the airport at 5:55 am…..ugh. then we will fly at 9:50 from Munich to Atlanta, have a two hour layover and land in Birmingham at 5:07! total flying time about 12 hours…….yay……I am so blessed to have had this wonderful experience this summer. And to really help change the world and make a difference. So until next time. Bis Spater!

 

Hamburg Experience

We arrived back to Keifersfelden at about midnight last night after a long day of traveling from our wonderful visit to Hamburg. Every morning we had an intense dance class with Kati, a gifted dancer who is currently in “Sister Act”. We did lots of stretching and strength training along with learning an awesome dancer combo that pushed all of us as dancers. Kati has a very evident love for dance and it was so infectious. It was a very fun but tiring experience. Then we would have vocal technique masterclasses with Eva Maria, the head of the voice faculty at Joop Van Den Ende Academy. Her ability to listen to a voice and then immediately address problem areas was amazing to me. It such an enlightening experience but also confusing as we are now trying to fully grasp the new places she took our voice to. It is such a blessing to me to under the teaching of such gifted and experienced instructors. In the afternoon we had masterclasses with Ralf Schaedler, the casting director for Stage Entertainment. First everyone did a mock audition for him and he got to hear us all sing. Then, he worked with specific people on their songs. He spent alot of time trying to help people connect emotional with their songs and was very successful. At times we joked that we felt like we were in group therapy. Ralf really revealed the depth that is in the soul of all of us and brought that into the performance and it was very moving.

It was such a incredible experience to see all of my new friends succeeding to such a great extent. We all had an emotional moment after one long, tiring, frustrating day in Hamburg where we all let out our feelings in dance rehearsal. Christopher, our instructor these past weeks, wisely took the moment for all of us to focus on why we were happy and blessed to be here instead of letting us beat ourselves up. It was an incredibly God-glorifying time as we reflected on the journey we had been on and the supportiveness of this company we are blessed to be a part of. Reese summed our group feeling up wonderfully saying he would rather see the rest of the group succeed more than he even wanted himself to succeed. That is a strange thing to hear in the theatre world often filled with divas and competition. But, it is the wonderful spirit that God has put over this company. Praise be to Him!!

 

In hamburg….finally

So im currently in the hostel in Hamburg after a loooooong day of traveling on a bus for about 10 hours. Sleeping in any position i could find that was comfortable. Once we got to Hamburg we went straight to Stage Entertainment Headquarters and had an INTENSE dance class for an hour and a half. then we all sang through our songs. (which went really well) tomorrow is the beginning of the end of the germany experiance for a while. The intensives fly by so fast and then we travel back to Kiefersfelden, have our performance the next day, then the program is over. So continue to keep us in your prayers as we go through this exciting experience! I will say i can not wait to have a big ol’ Milos tea waiting for me when i step off that plane in birmingham. But for now, im going to go to sleep and rest up for a long exciting day tommorow. Bis Spater!

 

ugh

This blog is going to be verrrrry short. For at 3am our bus leaves to make the drive up to Hamburg for our workshops at Stage Entertainment Headquarters. Seeing how it is already 10:15 over here, i am in need of sleep. These intensives are crucial to us as Musical Theater Performers for many reasons. We get to see the European audition market, which is way diffrent to the US. And we also get a few days just being around the head of the company in something other than an audition setting. We get to have masterclasses with him, he comes and watches us in our exhausting and INTENSE dance classes we will have and gets to see who we really are. You just dont come by this often in the real world. Some people will be looking for jobs to come out of this. This will be my second year at IPAI thanks to a generous scholarship by the bavarian arts council. And with that i hope to be one of the people to have a job opprotunity to come out of this. Please pray that doors will be opened and the Lords will, will be done. Also keep Adam and Rebecca in your prayers as they travel about Hamburg looking for locations for the church plant team to live, and a venue to start the church at. Love and prayers to you all! Gutte Nacht!

 

Hamburg Bound!

Here we are about to head off to Hamburg in about 8 hours! After 2 weeks of preparation, we are going to the musical theatre intensives in Hamburg. Everyone has been packing up their duffel bags and rehearsing music in order to be ready to go at 2 am!! These next three days may be the most intense we’ve had. We will be going to dance class, masterclasses, and performing at the Joop Van Ende Academy. It is a very exciting but also nerve-racking time! I have been constantly reminding myself that worry is a sin and just to rest in Jesus through this experience and He keeps proving Himself faithful. We have almost eight hours of travel by bus ahead of us tomorrow so there will be plenty of time to sleep then. But all of us are trying to keep our bodies healthy and go to bed early. We also all stocked up on food for our trip. Our gracious hostess here at the Hotel zur Post had all kinds of sandwich stuff and fruit and candy set out for us to take. Needless to say, I have a full backpack! Pray for all of the participants here for safety as we travel and wisdom and grace as we encounter some influential people and great opportunities in Hamburg. Now I need to try to get some sleep! In His hands…

 

Munich and Meals!

So yesterday we had the day off from the usual full days of rehearsal and masterclasses. So myself and 4 other of my friends went to Munich for the day. We started off with lunch at the Augustiner Brauhaus, then went shopping at all 5 of the H&M’s haha. THen we finished the day at the world famous Hofbrauhaus! MMmmmmm Apple Strudle! Needless to say it was an extremely fun day! Today was a full day of all of the Musical Theatre students in a masterclass each performing a song….which took forever! Afterwards myself and a few other students from UM went to eat dinner at Bruce and Darla’s house to talk about the Hamburg Church Plant. A team of myself and a few others have come together to start an arts church in Hamburg, Germany. This experience is exactly what UM wants us as students to do. The motto “Changing Lives to Change the World” really does apply to this. With my past three years at UM i have changed for the better and in doing so, will now have a chance to change the world and lead others to his kingdom. I ask that any of you reading this blog pray for our church planting team relentlessly and without ceasing. Pray for job security for myself and the other performers, since our visas will be strictly performance artists that is all that we will be able to do to make money. Second, pray for a venue for us to start this church in. We are hoping to find a run down theatre or cafe preferably, but its what God wants in the end….not us haha. Third, pray that God will provide us all with a house large enough to house all 8 of us, that way cost will be cut on housing and food. Thank you in advance for your prayers! Till next time!

 

The Sustainer

Well, Thursday night was our second performance here in Germany and we had a packed house (actually, it was a gym). We had so much fun and the audience really seemed to enjoy it. We have actually run into several people on the streets who attended and they always come and say “Super! Super!” or in one case, show us a video they took from the performance. Friday was thankfully a very relaxing day and we just took it easy and went o Kufstein, Austria right across the border. We shopped a H&M and some other stores and just enjoyed each others’ company. Then we returned to Keifersfelden in the afternoon and played on the playground in town before a girls night of dinner and a movie!

Today we had rehearsal the majority of the day and a run of our solo songs later in the afternoon. God is continuing to show Himself faithful. I have learned so many great new things from my voice teacher, Elizabeth Eaton. I feel so blessed to be learning and applying new techniques to help my voice reach its God-given potential. It is easy to get distracted by all the progress and new friendships. But, I am constantly reminded of how much I need Him every hour. He is my ultimate Sustainer and the Lover of my soul. In success and in failure, He is good!

I already can’t imagine leaving this place and these people who have become so precious to me during the course of IPAI. Thankfully, I have a little while longer before I have to!

Performance Tonight!

Hello! Yesterday was our last rehearsal for our performance tonight with the Musikapella. The Musikapella is an “oom-pa-pa” band as we would say in the States. The members of this band are considered almost professional and let me tell you they sound like it. They incredibly performed and interpreted the pieces they played ranging from opera classics to “Dancing Queen”. The entire Musical Theatre and Opera company of IPAI performs one great number with them from the opera Die Fledermaus. Our MT company is performing musical theatre classics like “Wilkommen”, “Seasons of Love” and “Money, Money, Money”. Our finale number is “Coming Together” written by Jason Robert Brown. This moving song was written in reaction to the 9/11 attacks and the unity in the U.S. that followed. UMobile graduate, Peter, has done the staging for this number and I think it really enhances the message of the song. This song has so much potential to touch people where they are and change lives and that is what I pray happens.

In addition to preparing for our performance tonight, we have all been anxiously looking forward to going to Hamburg on Tuesday. People are practicing the sides they have received from shows that are currently being cast by Stage Entertainment. Others are trying to memorize songs they have already received, all in GERMAN. I am trying to remain focused on the Lord, foremost, and on the goals I have set for myself here as well as taking care of my body by getting enough rest. Thankfully, tomorrow we have another off day and some friends and myself are planning on doing a little traveling as well as relaxing. But for now, I am off to dance class!!

Aghh!

Sorry guys!

This past week has been uber crazy here in Germany. our internet goes in and out and when I finally have some free time to blog….I’m usually exhausted! haha But aside from me not blogging recently,  today is a good day. It started raining last night! (I love the rain!) Also, it’s cooled off the temperature here which is not bad at all, but I love cold weather. The cool thing is when it thunders, since we are situated right next to a mountain range, we hear the thunder echo and bounce off the mountains making the it last for 30 seconds or more! SO COOL!  We have a performance tonight with the local orchestra, (mainly woodwinds and brass and percussion). What’s funny about that is that they are playing an ABBA medley, an Elvis Tribute, and Michael Jackson songs. Hey…i guess they love the 80′s. (But who doesn’t right?!!)  I am getting tired of the food a little though, it’s hard to eat healthy when the choices are usually pork, pork, or pork….with pork sauce. haha, But the food is REALLY good! I just have to watch what i eat because it is so delicious and everything is usually fried…..even the vegetables! They make these strange patties out of cauliflower and fry them. Well. speaking of food, it’s time for lunch over here! So, Bis Spater and tchuss!

God Of The Nations

GruBGott!! (Greetings in the Name of God!) Yesterday was our first day off since starting IPAI. We spent it relaxing at the lake on the German-Austrian border which was about a 30 minute walk from our hotel. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was incredible. We spent our time at the lake jumping off rocks and even swimming across the lake twice! The rolling fields met by the incredible mountains continually draw my mind to the Creator. Yesterday a cloud was sitting on the top of a mountain and my friend Amanda and I were reminded of in Exodus when the Lord rested on the top of Mt. Sinai concealed by a cloud and the people couldn’t even touch the base of the mountain. What a privilege I have to know such a great God!

Later that night the UM group and some others went to a church service in Oberaudorf, Germany with Mrs. Darla. She shared with us their family’s story of moving to Germany and their ministry there, much of which was facilitated by a godly woman named Rosalie. Rosalie was a bridge builder for the Earnests and the community and is also the namesake of Bruce and Darla’s unborn child. After we saw this special woman’s grave, we went to a non-denominational church service called JumpStart. It was an incredible experience to worship with believers in another language. We did sing some English praise songs though. One of the most moving was the spiritual “Wade in the Water”. Another special moment was when we prayed the Lord’s Prayer, our group in English and the rest of the church in German. It truly reminded me our God is the God of all the nations.

Then, last night, we had girls’ night with most of the IPAI musical theatre girls. We just hung out and shared stories from our lives. While I can’t share specifics, know that God is moving! He has placed us all here in Germany at IPAI for a purpose greater than musical theatre. I have been consistently blown away by His love, mercy, and grace for us. Until next time, Ciao!!