Jesusfreak Project in Israel

So now the lecture phase of the boarder Discipleship Training School has come to an end, and onto the outreach phase.

We have now been in Jerusalem for three days now. I have to tell you, it is really an amazing thing to wake-up and have a quiet time beneath the shadow of the wall of this great city! We have done a decent amount of site-seeing to get adjusted to the culture and the time. Never have I had such a hard time adjusting to the time difference.

Last night we met up with our contacts, a South African family, and hung out with the youth in a square not far from our hostel. The students hung out talking to youth and mostly listening to them about their loves, hates and jokes. I had the pleasure of talking with two totally drunk guys who asked me about fifteen times where I was from, always following it with “that's great!” and a huge hug.

Donavan, one of our contacts here, got married this morning at the garden tomb, where Jesus was raised from the dead. Drew and I got to film and take pictures of the couple as well as the wedding crowd of six.

As for other news, through a series of “random” events, I have reconnected with three other people from my film school. We are now making plans to come back here in January of next year to do a documentary on Palestine. I expect this will be far more intense than anything before considering it is focusing on such a hostile conflict, rooted in thousands of years of hatred from Muslims and Jews alike. Please be praying for everything to begin to fall into place even now.

Jesusfreak Project update

The Witness Project has been approved by iTunes as a podcast. What that mean is that whenever I finish a documentary, I can post them and you can automatically download them through itunes. It is free and if you do not know how to do it, here are the steps:

• Download itunes if you do not already have it from Apple. 

• Once you have installed it and opened it, click on the iTunes Store.

• Search in the top right corner for The Witness Project or Josiah Thiesen.

• A list of podcast may come up, so click on the Subscribe button next to The Witness Project.

• I recommend watching Valley View – Life Realities, it's my favorite cut of the documentary. 

I have also begun a blog on my website at witness.bluewingstudios.com/blog. I will be posting documentaries and other production notes there. You may want to subscribe through you favorite mail program, and then the updates will automatically be put into you inbox as they are posted. 

As for the Jesusfreaks project, things are going very well. The producers have chosen 6 students to narrow our focus and it really in incredible all that they have been through already. 

The X-Games was an exciting time in January for the students to see the riders they admire most compete unclose. If any of you were watch the men's super-pipe, it was our students who nearly tackled Shawn White after his run, as they were trying to give him a hug. Also, the students got a chance to talk with the women's super-pipe medalist, and Olympic Gold Kelly Clark. It was a great time to hear how she gets to do what she loves for the one she loves. 

With that being said, it looks like Drew (the other camera man) and I will be not only going to Israel on outreach with John Murphy (the school director) but also will be spending a few weeks in Bosnia to follow three of the other students as well.

Drew, Sam (one of the production assistants) and I put together a preview for a potential investor one night. You can see that here. And if you are interested in seeing any of the production stills, they are available here.

 I pray all is well with you and as always, I would love to add anyone to my mailing lis that wants to know what is going on or if getting these updates annoys you, I would have no problem removing you from the list. 

The Jesusfreaks Project

I have not been able to talk much about this project until now, because I was not sure how much the producers wanted me to let out. But here it is...

You may have had heard about the shooting that killed two staff members of the Arvada based Youth with a Mission school December 9th. My heart bursts with those that have lost, but more in anticipation of what God is going to do. We all need passion and both Tiffany and Phil were screaming examples of what happens when being a Christian actually means something.

So... for three years some producers have been trying to get a reality TV show done about what God does in student's life during a five month snow boarders Discipleship Training School. Since all that has happened, God has told them now is the time. Through a 45 minute ride I had with the producers to the airport and God's definitive “Yes”, I am accepting a position on their team of about ten that will be producing a documentary with hopes of it hitting theaters once we are done.

It is summed up as a Transformation Adventure. Transformation because months of living in community and allowing Christ to speak into your life has the tendency to rock your world. Adventure because, come on... snowboarding, mountains, world travel... that kind of defines itself.

School began January 7, and I had to be here January 3 for preproduction. We will spend three months in Denver, following them as they snowboard, go to class and learn to live together, followed by a two month outreach in other countries. 

I apologize for the length of this, but a lot to say to get caught up.