Urbana 06 - Video made by a group of students

This video was made by a group of students sent to Urbana by Midway Church Vietnamese Alliance - It gives a great little picture of some of the things at Urbana.

Urbana 2006 LORD YOUR ARE GOOD

Video of "You are good" shot at urbana by some attendee

Urbana 06 - Personal Reflections

Everyone asks me how it was and there is so much to say... Here are a few short stories that I think were really meaningful to me while at Urbana:

It's opening day and we're doing our first onstage rehearsal which is being coordinated with the dance teams for the opening ceremony. Things are going horribly - we are all making lots of simple mistakes and I am stressing majorly over a couple of new parts I'm supposed to play that I just learned hours before hand. Afterwards, I'm talking to our drummer, Bill, and basically feeling like things are falling apart and we're going to blow it. He reminds me that God has the power to cover our mistakes but honestly -- it just seemed too simple. The reality was that I didn't have time to practice that part and I just couldn't focus on the huge stage.

Then right before we went to opening night we were praying and I remember Betsy specifically praying that God would enable us to be free to worship Him despite the many distractions with the pressure and the huge arena etc... I suddenly felt at peace. Then the strangest thing happened....

Later that night when we were playing the opening song I totally blanked when we got to the new part. As I started going into a panic I looked down and saw my hands playing the right notes in perfect timing ... it was like I was watching myself from a distance. Then I felt God saying to just trust Him and everything will be fine. It still sounded too simple but it was backed up by the reality that God was there on stage with me and that in an unexplainable way He was playing through me. Thanks be to God for such a blessing.

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The other story is much shorter... The whole conference I was disappointed that my parents couldn't be there to attend. I felt like they were missing out on an important milestone in my life / a glimpse into what I do and where my heart is. One of my good friends on the worship team, Melissa, her parents decided almost last minute to come to Urbana. I met them and they were so encouraging to all of us - then on the last day after we had finished I went to wish them a happy new year and her mom gave me a big hug and kiss and said "this is from me" then she gave me another hug and kiss and said "this is from your mom who couldn't be here". I nearly fell over.

So Melissa's parents, if you're reading this then thank you so much for your love and care for all of us on the worship team. It was a blessing having you there with us all.

Picures from Urbana 2006!!!

Thanks for all your prayers! Here are some things I've heard from attendees:

"You guys [the worship team] are challenging me to rethink what God's church should look like in the world"

"I feel like my eyes have been opened to how selfishly I've been living my life for me and nobody else"

More stories to follow - enjoy the pictures, thanks again and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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