Oh Happiness...

(By: David Crowder)

"Oh Happiness, there's Grace.

Enough for us and the whole human race.

Friend or foe. Stranger or kin.

All who come, begin again.

Hard or frail. Rich or poor.

All in need, need fear no more.

Such a thing to give away!

All regrets, let go & forget.

There's something that mends all of it!

Oh Happiness, there's Grace.

Enough for us and the whole human race!"

Praise, praise. What a joy to hear. Happiness. Joy. Life. Freedom. Alive. Healing. Peace. It is all here for the taking. May God create in each of us a longing so deep. A longing for these things that He gives us, but even more than that, a longing for Him. May we be made deeply in love with Him. May we know Him more. To know Him is to love Him. Our King is far better than our minds can comprehend. He smashes the little boxes we try to build for Him: the ones of our expectations, understandings, efforts, and misinterpretations. May we know Him and fall into passionate, persistent, active love with Him. Oh happiness, there is grace. There is plenty. It is overflowing. Come to the never-ending well of life and drink. Come to the Father and thirst no more.

I have had an incredible journey the past couple of days. (I'll catch you up on work first and then write again about the trip to Italy I just returned from). It's so exciting for me to tell you about the joy it is to be here with International Media Ministries. The idea behind our work is to bring hope to the hopeless through media. "IMM is a creative media force putting the gospel within arms reach." Even in the most desolate parts of the world, people have the longing to be connected, to feel connected. They have cell phones, tv, and Internet access. We are jumping on those opportunities to touch their hearts through media.

I met a man on the plane (from Italy back to Madrid) last night that was from Pakistan. He was telling me about his view on the world's technology-dependence. He said that earlier this year, the Pakistani government shut down facebook throughout the country. He said the recorded 57 million facebook users in Pakistan went crazy. 57 million users; Insane. It made me the think of the addictive power facebook has had in my life. Cell phones, Internet, TVs, and facebook... it speaks out about our longing to be connected.

There are many projects going on here right now. One of them focuses on our apparent "need to be connected." It will be part of a series called Journey Answers. The short video production about "Significance" is in progress now. So many of us look to find our value in whether we get an email, a text, a facebook friend request, a call. What if our perspectives changed to see that significance can only come from Christ. No amount of popularity or connectedness will enhance our identity or make us more valuable. We are Beloved already.

Some of the things I have been working on here are a summer newsletter, a dvd label for an IMM program for college students called Go Borderless, and a 31-day prayer guide. I am still editing the newsletter, but it should be ready to mail soon. Same for the dvd cover. I am in the research process for the prayer journey. Each day for a month there will be an IMM person or project to pray for, as well as a nation of the world. It has blessed me to be able to research many countries and how we can pray for them. Just like the talk with the Pakistani on the plane, I realize how little I know about the world. I am realizing daily how many people there are out there who have never heard of a Bible or a man named Jesus. Millions have never had a chance to hear the greatest story ever told.

This is IMM's aim. We seek to reach the people that may never hear. It is the best news. When it hits your heart, it is so exciting to tell other people about it. Last week we had two Croatian guys here, going through media training to be able to impact their country through media. Another thing is that the production team just finished an "Open the Bible" series in French to reach the millions of French-speaking tribes of Africa (next to come will be a Mandarin, then an Arabic series). Javi is currently designing a new website, and Crystal is starting on a film series about human trafficking. There are so many projects rolling and much excitement. :)

Below are a couple of pictures of the projects I have gotten to do. For the Go Borderless project, I got to do a photo shoot in the hills to get the photographs. It was incredible. Below, there is also a project I did two weeks ago for a gentleman in the States. He heard about me through a design competition I entered and hired me to do a dvd case design. It was a blessing and alot of fun. Hard to believe you can do business across the sea. As of now, that's all. I will write later about my most recent adventure into the Italian country and the blessings I experienced there. Thanks so much for reading! Sending love and prayers for freedom & joy!