Greetings from the Frases!
We hope that you are enjoying all the festivities that surround this wonderful time when we celebrate the birth of our savior! For us this year, this season marks not only the celebration of Christmas, but also the great anticipation of the arrival of baby number two! She is due Dec 26th, but in reality could arrive any time between now and then! We are so excited and can't wait to meet her! This excitement is also met with busyness as we hurriedly try to get our home ready for the chaos of two babies to ensue. We are busy pulling Ella's retired baby gear out and getting it ready to be used again, setting up the nursery, cleaning the house from top to bottom (Annie is in full time nesting mode) and trying to accomplish all of these things with a VERY active 16 month old on the loose. This poses quite the challenge, but we are doing our best! I am chuckling to myself as I write this and look at our half decorated Christmas tree. HA HA! Well, somethings gotta give right?!
Please be praying for Annie as she is very uncomfortable in these last few weeks of pregnancy. The Baby is causing her sciatic nerve (this is a nerve that runs from your back all the way down your legs) to act up. Also, her hip and tail bone joints are out of socket and this makes even slightest movement involving her right leg or hip painful. She has been going to physical therapy for it, but the more pregnant she gets the more painful it gets, and the less they can really do to help her.
Working with Students: Some of the students in the Discipleship Training School (DTS) and the School of Worship (SOW) have had the opportunity to come and record some of their own songs in the studio. It has been a great experience for us in the studio to work with them, because all of the songs have stemmed from what God is doing in each individual life. The studio staff, doesn't get to have that same daily interaction with the students as their school staff do, so it was very encouraging to us to see how God is working in them and then be able to be a part of that by helping them put it in to a song. A song that can hopefully uplift them as they listen to it in the future, and speak to others who will listen to it as well. It is a privilege to help make music a backdrop to ordinary lives; to to be able to take what God is doing in an individual's heart, and turn it into music; a language that transcends so many languages and lifestyles and can speak to so many people.
Working with Locals: We also had a retired local pastor named Miles Finch (Euguene Petersons brother in law, not a plug but kind of) come to Studio 501 to record an audio book. Pastor Finch did his ministry in the town of polson just fifty miles down the road from us. We recorded the book, all twenty four chapters in four hour and a half sessions, so it took us about a week. At first glimpse we thought it might be a boring week but his book drew us in right away. The book is called "Somewhere by Chicago" (which you can get on Amazon not a plug, but I highly recommend it.) It is simply stories about his ministry in Polson Montana and the amazing life transformations he has seen in his church; his experiences just being the pastor of a church. The stories were amazing, and it is eye opening and very uplifting to hear the stories of how God can intervene in even the most broken person's life! The main purpose for this project was so that he could give this book to a blind woman in his community who wanted to read it but couldn't. What a cool reason for him to do this, and a rewarding way for us to spend a week of our lives!
To the Nation and on to the world!: On top of all of this we have been mixing what we call the "YWAM Worship Album." Our base has made connections with some people in LA who want to help get YWAM worship out there to the masses. Some people from our base have been able to collect worship songs created by "Ywamers" from all over the world and record the music and vocals for them. The music was recorded here and the vocals were done in LA. Now Studio 501 is taking what they have recorded and mixing it into an album. We have two songs close to being done then eight more to finish. We are excited to get these songs out there! There are so many talented artists and musicians in YWAM and we hope that these songs can be a beacon of God's love and faithfulness to those out there who need to hear it.
In the Studio
Under construction: The construction of the new Studio 501 has come to a bit of a stand still. We are putting in a special raised flooring system which will be raised four inches off the ground. This is for sound and recording purposes. We will be pouring individual cement slabs for each of the four separate recording rooms that will make up the studio. The reason construction has come to a halt is because we originally budgeted 5,000 dollars for this floor but it turns out the floor is going to cost us 15,000! A bit of a difference! So we are waiting on the Lord to provide the money for this floor. As we (the Studio 501 crew) have been praying about what to do, we definitely feel we are supposed to wait on God and trust him to provide this floor. We have a plan B for the floor but every time we decide to veto this special floor because of money and go ahead with plan B we feel God saying through numerous confirmations not to settle for B and to go with this special floor that will really benefit our studio. Even though it is disappointing that we didn't make our goal of opening the new studio by the end of November, we trust God telling us not to settle, and are encouraged that if this is what he is telling us to do, he will provide. It is a good reminder that God wants to give us the best, and that he cares about even the littlest things concerning our lives, even when it is a floor. YWAM Montana has seen miracle after miracle of God's provision over the twenty five years that it has been here. We are eager to be a part of just one more of these miracles and excited to be able to share that God story with you! You can be a part of the God story too by praying with us that God will provide this floor so that construction can resume. Together we can all look forward to watching God move in this way!
So Now What?
Since the construction of the new studio is on hold, Justin and the Studio 501 crew have been busy in the old studio working on some different projects and getting some hands on experience of how to run a studio. Justin is gaining many new skills. He is learning how to mix songs, learning Pro Tools, and learning how all of the equipment int the studio works. It has been a steep learning curve but it has been a wonderful experience for him so far. The following are some of the areas where they have had a chance to serve.Working with Students: Some of the students in the Discipleship Training School (DTS) and the School of Worship (SOW) have had the opportunity to come and record some of their own songs in the studio. It has been a great experience for us in the studio to work with them, because all of the songs have stemmed from what God is doing in each individual life. The studio staff, doesn't get to have that same daily interaction with the students as their school staff do, so it was very encouraging to us to see how God is working in them and then be able to be a part of that by helping them put it in to a song. A song that can hopefully uplift them as they listen to it in the future, and speak to others who will listen to it as well. It is a privilege to help make music a backdrop to ordinary lives; to to be able to take what God is doing in an individual's heart, and turn it into music; a language that transcends so many languages and lifestyles and can speak to so many people.
Working with Locals: We also had a retired local pastor named Miles Finch (Euguene Petersons brother in law, not a plug but kind of) come to Studio 501 to record an audio book. Pastor Finch did his ministry in the town of polson just fifty miles down the road from us. We recorded the book, all twenty four chapters in four hour and a half sessions, so it took us about a week. At first glimpse we thought it might be a boring week but his book drew us in right away. The book is called "Somewhere by Chicago" (which you can get on Amazon not a plug, but I highly recommend it.) It is simply stories about his ministry in Polson Montana and the amazing life transformations he has seen in his church; his experiences just being the pastor of a church. The stories were amazing, and it is eye opening and very uplifting to hear the stories of how God can intervene in even the most broken person's life! The main purpose for this project was so that he could give this book to a blind woman in his community who wanted to read it but couldn't. What a cool reason for him to do this, and a rewarding way for us to spend a week of our lives!
To the Nation and on to the world!: On top of all of this we have been mixing what we call the "YWAM Worship Album." Our base has made connections with some people in LA who want to help get YWAM worship out there to the masses. Some people from our base have been able to collect worship songs created by "Ywamers" from all over the world and record the music and vocals for them. The music was recorded here and the vocals were done in LA. Now Studio 501 is taking what they have recorded and mixing it into an album. We have two songs close to being done then eight more to finish. We are excited to get these songs out there! There are so many talented artists and musicians in YWAM and we hope that these songs can be a beacon of God's love and faithfulness to those out there who need to hear it.
Getting the Good News out there!!!
As you can see by what you've just read, the work being done in Studio 501 goes far beyond just recording music. God is using Studio 501 as catalyst for getting the testimonies of God's love and faithfulness out to those who so desperately need to hear them! You are a part of that too with your prayers and support! Thank you so much! We look forward to sharing with you in the New Year, many more stories of how God is using Studio 501 to get the good news out there!
We wish all of you an amazing Christmas and an even greater revelation of God's love for you in the New Year! Stay tuned for the news of our daughter's arrival!
Justin, Annie, Ella and Baby Girl
