UPDATE ON CA

Dear Friends! I’m so sorry for not posting like I wanted to... It was sooo crazy! Okay, so here is the long update!
Monday: My crew and I got up early and ate a McDonald’s breakfast in the hotel room, had our morning devotions and just prayed that the Lord would have His way and that He would get the glory through this project. Then we all headed to Nick’s house. It was so exciting to see him again! Alan, Brian and Jacob got to meet Nick for the very first time. Some of us followed Nick to his office to get footage of him at work in his work surroundings. We had a full day of shooting interviews relating to the Life Without Limbs ministry, his testimony and to who he is as a person. We had an amazing time just hanging out with Nick, eating pizza with him and enjoyed talking and catching up on what’s been going on in our lives. Alan did such a great job interviewing Nick and Nick did an excellent job opening up to Alan, we captured a lot of good stuff! The Lord was definitely directing Chase and Brian’s (my cinematographers) hands and Kay’s (my photographer) hands as they persistently concentrated on each shot and interview section. They were on the go constantly! With having everyone doing what needed to be done. That gave me the opportunity to sit and listen and to make sure that all the particulars questions and certain discussions were unfolding. With this being my first time to direct a documentary, it was hard a times, but I learned so much. I was feel so blessed with a team that backed me up and was there to help me with anything. It’s going to be great working with them on the post production part.
Later, that evening, the team and I headed out to go grab some dinner at a small Mexican restaurant to chill until it was time to head to Nick’s house to spend some fun time with him. When we got to Nick’s house, and got out of our two PT Cruiser’s, we could hear loud music playing. We walked inside and there was Nick playing all his favorite songs on his computer’s play list. He had a stereo that had surround sound which made us sing out hearts out, we laughed a lot watching Nick lip-syncing to Josh Groban songs, Michael Buble and to some older tunes.. I just sat in his house, in awe, that God truly was putting this whole thing together. We talked about doing the work of the Lord, living out the mission that He has specifically assigned us to, running the race, not giving up and being persistent in our daily walk with Him. Our sharing time was so rich and beneficial. We were going to watch a movie, but decided not to…all of us were so happy we didn’t. It was an amazing evening!

Okay, so we drove back to the hotel, relaxed, and then went to bed. :) We knew we had a full day ahead of us!

Tuesday: LOL! All of us had a difficult time climbing out of our comfy beds. But, eventually we made it to Nick’s house and cooked a yummy breakfast for him. We made pancakes and cooked up some sausage, had toppings that consisted of butter/syrup melted together, whip cream, strawberries and blackberries. We ate outside on his patio and enjoyed the fresh air. After breakfast, we got some footage of us hanging out with Nick on the couch and got some group snapshots on Nick’s favorite red chair. Every moment spent there was so memorable!
Nick had a lunch meeting and so we all took our time to get prepared for the “measure of a man,” interview that we were going to be doing later on, got some rest, went location scouting, picked up lunch and then headed to the park to meet up with Nick and Kyle (one of Nick’s caregivers). The interview went really, really well! I was encouraged by everything Alan and Nick addressed and was touched by the way they presented the questions, answers and how they interacted with each other.

Afterwards, we headed to a local golf course and got to see Nick putt! It was amazing! I got to golf some as well…but really…I stink at golf! :P Our next stop was Nick’s Uncle Batta’s house, which was actually located by Paramount mountain (the real Paramount mountain). Chase and Brian exclaimed, “Guys, this is like a filmmaker’s holy ground!” We all cracked up! Oh wow, with being Texans, we were all enthralled by the gorgeous scenery of the mountains! Chase and Brian were able to get footage of Nick swimming and him doing his back flip. I was the only brave girl who decided to be adventurous and take a swim as well! Later on, Uncle Batta came out and started sharing some advice that we all were so appreciative about. He is so wise and has such a beautiful heart for the Lord. For me personally, what he said was what I needed to hear, it truly reinforced what I have been trying to walk out. God is so good about bringing certain people to say specific things that His sons and daughters need to hear.

Then it was time to say goodbye. It was definitely hard for me, I cried later on. Just thinking how fast the trip went and how awesome our Lord truly is! His hand is so mighty! His ways are so above our ways and thoughts so above our thoughts! He is good!
We all hugged and took photos, grabbed a bite to eat with Kyle at a California Pizza Kitchen, headed back to the hotel to regroup, pack up and then crash for the night.

Right now, I’m on the plane, heading back home. I’m tired of course, but I feel so energized to put my all in every area of this project. I believe that the Lord is going to use this film to touch my generation, and Lord willing, others. To bring revelation to the men in our time, to be the mighty men that the Lord is calling them to be. The measure of a man, is not how tall you stand, how wealthy or how intelligent you are, because I’ve found the measure of a man, and it’s what inside the heart that counts. (Taken from the song by 4Him, “Measure of a Man.”)

Now: Right now, the plans are for me and my producer, Saphrin, to meet twice a week to log and look through all the footage that we have shot and then forward it all to our main editor, Nathan Webster. Saphrin and I have also talked about possibly traveling to some of the film festivals around the US to help promote and connect with other filmmakers who would be willing to help with the marketing aspect. We have a lot of work cut out for us. But, we are sooooo excited and thrilled that we are apart of this project, to be able to assist in the advancement of His Kingdom through the arena of media. I still find it mind boggling that I’m directing this documentary. I guess it’s because filming is not my cup of tea, or my greatest passion. I’m truly doing this because of passion behind the content of this film, the calling I felt from the Lord to do this and because of the vision and mission of Nick’s ministry. It’s the Lord directing and orchestrating this documentary! I truly would not be able to do this without Christ and my amazing crew! Thank you Saphrin! You are the best producer ever!!! :) Thank you Chase, Brian, Alan, Mom, Kay and Jacob! You are all incredible!!! :) I’m looking forward to working side by side with ya’ll in the months that follow.

Nick, thank you so much for giving us those two days! It was such a tremendous blessing and all of us enjoyed every minute of it! Thank you so much for your hospitality. You truly made all of us feel at home! Also, Monday night was so much fun, and yes, I’m glad we didn’t do a movie too! We’ll be praying for you and your ministry!

Alrighty friends, I’ll close for now, but I will keep posting weekly, keeping each of you informed on the process of this production adventure. Thank you so much for your prayers and e-mails of encouragement! Keep up the praying!

Because He Lives,
Steph