Farewell FRC

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

Well, to be quite honest I have been kinda avoiding writing this post because it is not easy to write. This year, I have really been praying for God to help me fulfill his will in my life and though this is easier said than done I feel he truly doing just that. God has really been speaking to me and my family and in that God has decided to move me from Flamingo Road Church. It's been a few months since I felt this tug from God and though I have been trying hard to ignore it, I just can't. While I was at the Hillsong United Conference last year, Brooke Fraser said something that has stayed in my mind ever since. She said that when God has a plan in your life, you just can't run from it no matter how hard you try. And that's exactly what I tried to do. I have no doubt in my mind that it was God who brought me to FRC, and in the same way, there is no doubt in my mind that it is God that is taking me out and though this has not been an easy transition, I am at peace with God because I know I am fulfilling his will. I will miss every single one of you FRC readers like you have no idea and I am so thankful for each and everyone of you guys. FRC has been an amazing place to worship and you have all taught me something. I have truly found a family at FRC. My new church home is now Church by the Glades. I have been attending the church for about a month and a half now as I have prayed for God to speak to me and he clearly has confirmed that this is where he wants me. I am so excited about this new journey and am even more excited that you readers will be along for the ride so stay tuned!

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

AMEN!!!

Week/Weekend Re-cap

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

Well, first off I would like to send out my sincere apologies to you guys for kinda disappearing for a while and not posting. It's been an extremely busy week with school, work, and church so I figured I would update you on what's been going on.

Big Test!!

During the week I had to take a big test on the board you see above!!....This board is called an SSL and is a world famous board. They say that about 80-90% of the music we listen to today was recorded on an SSL. In fact this board has been on quit a trip. It originated in Nashville, Tennessee then made it's way to London, England where Duran Duran recorded an album on it, yes that's right Duran Duran recorded on this actual board. From there it made its way to SAE Miami down where it currently resides. I couldn't believe it but I was one of the two people in my class that got a 100 on my test.

In the Studio

- I also got to record a drum track for a friend's project. I'm not much of a drummer but I really wanna get better!!

Thanksgiving Event

For Thanksgiving I had the opportunity to do sound for a community outreach event we had with the FRC Hallandale band. It was a great experience and great practice for me considering I would love to get into the Live Sound Industry. I got to be there and experience first hand the from the setup, connections, sound check, show, and break down. I love being part of a church that can impact our community in such a powerful way!!!

Weekend

                       

This weekend I also had the opportunity to worship at FRC's Hallandale Campus. The worship was awesome and I got to play electric guitar for the first time, and my sister got to play acoustic guitar for the first time. I don't consider myself much of a guitarist but I wanna get better. I also got to lead and play electric guitar for our spanish Hallandale and Cooper City services. The weekend's set list in general was awesome!!!

English

• The Time has Come - Hillsong United
• One Way - Hillsong United 
• You Alone are God - Hillsong 
• Hosanna - Hillsong United 

Spanish

• Your Grace is Enough - Tu Gracia Senor - Chris Tomlin 
• Majestic - Majestuoso Rey - Lincoln Brewster 
• Came to my Rescue - Me Viniste a Rescatar - Hillsong United 
• Mighty to Save - Dios Puede Salvar - Hillsong 

As you can see, most of the songs we did were from Hillsong so you can imagine how happy I was when first I saw the set list. 

Well that pretty much wraps up my week/weekend....thanks again for sticking around!!! 

"The Big Lime Green Bass"

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

As most of you know, I am a multi-musical person. However, one of the instruments I enjoy playing the most is the Bass. Well, this past weekend was absolutely awesome. I got to play one of my favorite Hillsong United songs on the Bass and got to lead "Mighty to Save" on the acoustic guitar which reminds me....I would like to send my most sincere apologies to the Collins Family. During, our rehearsal I accidentally wacked our awesomely talented singer Benay Collins in the mouth with my guitar and chipped a little piece of her tooth off. Benay, If you are reading this, I know I said it a million times but once again, I'M SO SORRY!!!

Well, apart from the beat downs I gave with my guitar. something quite unexpected happened to me on Saturday night. I was walking back to the green room after greeting a few people in the lobby in between the 5:15 and 7:00 Services, when suddenly a lady stops me and smiles. She said,"excuse, can I tell you something?". I didn't hesitate and said, "sure, what's up"

Now allow me to pause there for a second. I don't want to sound egotistical or big headed because I am not, but usually when people stop me like that I'm used to them saying something like, "you guys did awesome", or "That song was great", or "where can I find that song?". However, what I was about to hear was no where near that.

She started by saying "That lime green bass guitar...". I expected her to say that she thought it was nice looking or something, but nothing could have prepared me for what she was about to say. She simply said, "IT'S WAY TOO LOUD!!!", which I have heard plenty of times, so I was like ok whatever. BUT THEN!!!.....she began to tell me about how it's way to loud for everyone, and that her entire small group ended up leaving the church because of my lime green bass guitar. At this point, I was stunned!!! Should I apologize?? Should I get mad???So I just smiled and said, "I'm sorry to hear that, I'll try to be more careful". I smiled and walked away, but was still very shocked. I mean, what do you do when someone tells you that people are leaving the church because of you. (She didn't say that directly but you know what I mean). Well, needless to say, I meditated alot on it and prayed about it too and God gave me alot of peace about it. Ultimately, we cannot "please" everyone and I'm sure there are people at church who think the bass isn't loud enough (myself included). During the remainder of the weekend, I had alot of people approach me saying that the worship was very powerful and It really did touch them alot. Just one comment like that totally makes me forget the original not so good comment. To know that God could have chosen me to take part in something that touched someone's life is absolutely awesome. And if that isn't enough, on Monday I was extremely bored at work, and I was reading my usual blogs I subscribe to. Occasionally, I will go back to the archives of blogs and re-read old posts. Well, this time I decided to check out Heredes' old blog posts. What I found ended up hitting home. I found a post called Change Seats. (Check it out) That was enough confirmation for me!!! Thanks H!!

Impacting...One Backpack at a Time 

Well, I've been gone for a while. And I honestly can't say it's because i've been too busy to blog. I'm just not really the writer type. Even in high school, my worst subject was writing. So please bear with me as I try to make this more of a habit. Anyways, last week was an awesome week for me, although very busy. Whenever I was not at work, I was either at school, or at church, all while trying to stick to my commitment of going to the gym 3 days a week (not easy). Last week, FRC's New Website was unveiled, and is looking very cool. I was lucky enough to be able to help with some of the graphics. Hats off to the great media team for putting together an awesome site.

On Friday night the FRC Hallandale Beach team got to play at the Hallandale Summer Camp Event they were having. We had volunteers giving away water, and an info booth for people to learn more about FRC Hallandale. It was a great opportunity to reach out to the community and show them who we are and why we are here. Sunday was even better, because not only did we have our highest attendance number all summer, but our spanish service also had their highest attendance number ever. It was awesome to see. Afterward, we had a picnic where we gave away 200 backpacks in less than an hour. We had food, drinks, face painting, and games for the kids, and lots of fun.
And you know, God really used that weekend to really speak to me, and open my eyes to what an impact we are making here in Hallandale Beach. From feeding the homeless every week, to having different outreach events. It's just a blessing and an honor to be a part of it all. Seeing as I am a member of our Mag team (Worship and Tech Team), I am usually at different campuses all the time and haven't really considered one campus as "my home campus". Usually when I am not playing anywhere, I'll just head to Cooper City and worship there. But like I was sharing with my family, being part of everything that went on there at Hallandale last weekend really made me feel at home. Even when maybe my sister or brother in law are not there with me, I just feel like I'm with family whenever I am there. And the greatest feeling of all is that I know I am making a Kingdom Difference. I'm so excited about what's taking place here at Flamingo Road Church and with the Vision God has given us as a church. And I am proud to call FRC Hallandale Beach, "My Home".