Well, here I am.
I've begun my final steps towards becoming a professional film maker. I am here in Grand Rapids, MI going to Compass College of Cinematic Arts. Now my hope and dream is to be in charge of making films, whether that be by being a director or, more likely, a producer. I just want to build my skills and use them to serve God. I so want to be OUT THERE, making films that will change lives, that will drive people closer to the God that loves them!
So. I have to comment on my life in the last year. "Whew." It's been so crazy!!! God has been working so directly and so powerfully in my life its not even funny. It really started with Josh Sandage, Dana Schot, Joey Meeuwsen, and I doing our Bond movie "Preceding Duty" for our senior projects. That was the project that launched me interest in becoming a film maker. During that time, I met Jessyca, who I dated for 8 months. It was very much a serious relationship, but in the end, it was clear that, though God used it very powerfully in my life (and boy did I truly learn who I was during those months...), it was very, very wrong. During that relationship, I also started my 7 month journey at Ecola Bible School. Going to Ecola has been the single biggest impact on my life. God got my attention. He gave me some of the bestest friends I will ever have (for eternity!). Also, I also applied to the University of Hawaii for their film program, and I got in! It was that same day that I found out that I was on the Summer Ministry Team (SMT). Anyways, God used that year to tear all of my idols down (girls.). By the end of first term, Jessyca and I were done (thank the Lord. It had gone on long enough.). During the middle of second term, I met Nikki. Now, she was great. Really really great! But by the end of second term, she didn't feel good about the relationship (for all the right reasons) and that was done. That wrecked me. I didn't eat for a week. I didn't want to go on. At all. But I did. I went home that weekend to fill out financial information for UH. But I realized that I didn't want to go there at all! So I went back to school that week with no idea what my future would hold. That first week back, I started forming some new friendships, and strengthened some old ones. It was at that point that i met a young man named David Spencer. He told me about a small film school in the mid west called Compass. My dad and I looked at it and prayed about it, and we both felt that it was were I needed to apply. So I did. And I was accepted! From there, life got better slowly. It was slow going. I felt very alone there for a while. But it was during that time that God said, "Dude. Rely on ME!" So, slowly, I did. I slowly crawled my way back into the society known as Ecola. It was during this term that I started the training for SMT, which lasted till the end of school. It was the single hardest thing I've ever done, saying goodbye to all my good friends... I'm so thankful that I was blessed with my SMT team. And so I began my summer quest: 8 Christian summer camps in 8 weeks. CRAZY! It was the most amazing summer of my life, and I'll probably write more about it later. Anyways, so that's the extremely short version of what has brought me to now.
Now. Ya... It's so weird being in another place, another culture really. It doesn't feel normal yet. But God is good! I'm here for a reason. I know that for a fact! So thus, I begin my journey. A journey I pray comes to something big, something amazing!
This culture is searching. Searching for the truth. I just want to be used by God to show that truth to as many people as possible!
This is John Friend signing off, at least for now :)
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