Blog
New Studio Album Project
Hello friends!
We are super grateful for your encouragement and support since we first began singing together four years ago and throughout our first year and eight months of making a living as full-time musicianaries.
We are sitting on a bunch of new original songs that are just waiting to be recorded on what would be our second studio album. In order to make this project a reality, we need your help!
Please financially back our project and then share it with your family, friends and even your enemies :) Think of it as a pre-order. Every single dollar you give will go towards making our second studio album a reality… $1, $25, $500, or even $8,000!
By backing our project you will get cool rewards as a thank you for your contribution.
Please visit our Kickstarter page and pledge by visiting www.helpericandmonique.com
Blessings and love,
Eric & Monique
Testimonies from our Winter Tour 2014
A week ago we came back from our 2 1/2 month-long, 26 event Winter Tour over 4 states & 1 territory of Australia, as well as 3 countries!
We have been simply amazed with what God has done throughout this time. We still are trying to process all the things that happened and all the testimonies we heard. It was as though God used this tour to show us "this is why you are doing this".
We wanted to share with you some of the testimonies, things that we heard, and some photos from the tour. We want to thank you for your encouragement and support throughout this tour!
- A young woman found Jesus on her own through online Bible studies offered by Amazing Facts within the last month and came to our Stories & Songs concert where we told our testimony. She expressed how encouraging our story was and then had many questions about ARISE. She has desired to learn more about Jesus and is now considering going to a Bible college.
- On our first day in Germany we went to get some food for dinner at a small local supermarket. At the register we found out that they didn't take our card (a travellers pre-loaded credit card), but a nice German Christian man paid the €10 euro for our food so we didn't have to go find an ATM.
- Singing and speaking about the beauty of Jesus’ sacrifice as shown through the sanctuary at a church, which had just that week been doing a Bible study session on it.
- After we sang our song 'He Knows' at GYC Europe this one guy came up to us and said that he originally thought we were just another artist doing a cover of that song. He had heard it a few times being 'covered' by other singers in Europe. Then he realised we were the songwriters.
- A family who had been through multiple major health issues affecting each member of the family over more than the last half decade, came to church for the second time in several years. They said our coming to the church was providential and the music-sermon was exactly what they needed to hear in their time of emotional recovery.
- Multiple concerts had people who invited their non-christian friends.
- Hertz upgraded our European car rental for free to a much faster, more economical car, which not only made the Autobahn more fun but also had us filling up with diesel, which is a much cheaper fuel to buy in Europe.
- After a 'Gospel through Word & Song' concert, a woman came up to us who was struggling with a divorce, anxiety and depression She expressed how our concert and our relationship had given her hope for the future.
- We had a house concert that was rrequested only a week in advance so we weren't sure what to expect but we were blessed to worship God with about 40 people.
- An older guy came to a concert and had his first good conversation with the church pastor ever. He comes to church occasionally and has always been aloof.
- After taking the service at Warburton we dropped by the nursing home and got cosy together on a piano stool sharing one mic in order to share some songs and a message. It was amazing to share a message through Word & song about the character of God and the hope that Jesus is coming again soon. I had tears in my eyes as we sung the last song, which was one of our new songs that's based on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:10.
- Had a concert that was used as a part of a 'Last Empire' evangelistic series. A lot of people came from the community.
- The taxes on importing our CDs into Germany were much cheaper than we initially expected.
- A young woman from Latvia, who we had only known on Twitter felt impressed to make a special gift for us. Inside a bottle is special paper & Austrian lavender inside. She said it is a place to store all the blessings that God has worked in our lives. And when things are tough in music ministry we can read over them and be reminded of how God is working.
- Met a family from Nicaragua, who became Christian in Jordan and who know lives in North Iraq. They were in Germany for a holiday and just happened to go to Dortmund SDA Church the weekend before our concert. They came to our concert and one of the things they said was that God had brought us there at the right time for them to hear the concert.
- Having an in-depth conversation with a young guy about Monique’s experiences of following Christ after a concert and hearing that from that night’s concert & conversation God had inspired him to follow God unreservedly.
- A former Adventist came back to church for only the second time in years to attend our 'Gospel through Word & Song' concert.
- A young woman told us of how she had used our concert filmed at YiM conference last year in Germany at her local church in Bulgaria. She translated it all and then they played it in one of their church services.
- A young woman who had been coming to church for just a month and was getting baptised the next week came to our concert after a lot of indecision during the afternoon. Her atheist family has been very vocal against her since we decided to follow Jesus. She told us that she also struggles with anxiety that hits her when she has to go to work. She expressed that she knows that she brings this on herself through worry and stress beforehand. She thanked us for our testimony that we told during the Stories & Songs concert. She said that it encouraged her to trust in God and to give Him her worries & stresses about work.
- During one of our 'Gospel through Word & Song' concerts a woman burst into tears. After the concert she told me her story. That afternoon an Adventist friend invited her to our concert. They travelled an hour to get to the concert. That day she had signed her divorce papers. The last few months had been draining & incredibly difficult in multiple ways and she explained that she was a giver who found it hard to let others give to her. As a result of the last few months, she felt she had nothing left to give, but was struggling to allow anyone even God give to her. As she stood in front of me with tears rolling down her face, we said thank you. Thank you for showing me that I can let God take this burden. And that she was going to try to let Him give her peace.
- A young woman came to our concert and expressed that God had brought us to that church at just the right time. That very day she had been praying and struggling with giving over to God some things in her life and trying to trust God with them. She said that our 'Gospel through Word & Song' concert encouraged her to do just that.
- A guy, whose mum is a member of the church we went to, came to a Stories & Songs concert who we were told after, never comes to church events. He stayed for the whole concert & afterwards the pastor asked him if he'd be interested in coming to a dinner and Bible study at the pastors house the next night. He said yes!
- Our credit card was already kinda high going to Europe as we had to buy a needed digital piano last year... So with the flights and other travel expenses we got that card up to $8000 in debt, ouch! Before we left Australia, we thankfully were able to get it down to $5500... Anyways, while at GYC Europe we had a moment of “Did we hear God right? Did we make a massive mistake? Are we ever going to be able to pay this back?" God worked a miracle! Arriving back home in Australia we were able to pay off the entire amount down to zero! Praise God!!
- On the tour we really struggled at one point. The very next day, we had someone come up to us after the concert and say, "Keep doing what you are doing. Don't give up."
- We were able to put aside time to begin pre-production for our new studio album! We recorded the demos for all the songs we have written then were able to narrow it down to the top 12. Once we had these 12 songs we noticed they all naturally flow towards the same theme. We didn't even try to plan or write it that way! God is amazing! After putting them into a 'set list' for the new album, we listened through it and got incredibly excited! We can't wait to share them with you all!
So here are just a few of the testimonies we can remember from our Winter Tour 2014. The tour was so packed that we're still trying to process all that took place, it was so amazing! Look out for some exciting plans coming up soon!
Love & blessings,
E & M
How We Became Musicianaries - Part 4
At the beginning of 2013 we committed to full-time music ministry.
However, in our minds, we kept telling ourselves that it was only going to be for 6 months. It seemed safer. Less scary if you will. Then after six months the plan would be to move to Avondale College for Eric to complete his Theology/Ministry degree that he started all those years ago. Even though a major move in and of itself is daunting, to us, that option seemed a lot easier than the unknown life of the full-time musicianary.
So, we prayed and planned for six months of music ministry.
First up in 2013 was the Songs of Ascent 'Psalm 103 Tour' that would go from January till March in USA (Read about that tour here). Before we left Australia we were struggling in looking for tickets. They were all so expensive! We started to look around search engines. Researching different ways to put together the flight sectors to get it cheaper. We then realised that a make-it-yourself round-the-world ticket was actually the same price as a return trip to USA! Wow, sweet! That led us to thinking, "Could this be a door that God is opening for us to tour in Europe as well as USA??" So, we prayed. We struggled. We thought... a lot. Then, the ticket prices changed slightly and we knew we had to make a decision before they went up too much in price. So, we 'jumped'. We prayed both before and after we bought the tickets that God would use this decision for His glory. Even though we hadn't booked any concerts, we prayed that He would make a way for these events to come.
He did! Through the 11 weeks in USA and the 5 weeks in Europe we saw God at work. It was an amazing experience that we haven't to this day fully processed. We heard stories of struggles experienced and commitments that God inspired people to make through the concerts. After USA and Europe we went back home to Australia to tour the East coast. June was approaching and we came to a point where we couldn't see ourselves putting the brakes on music ministry. God had opened so many doors and we could visibly see Him working through this mnistryand we knew we had to keep going. It didn't help that people after concerts around this time would say to us, "Don't stop doing what you're doing" we saw this as a sign and our six month jaunt became one year... Oh, by the way, you can read about our first full-time year in more detail here.
So our first year of full-time music ministry came to an end and we were trying to figure out what to do next. We spent a few weeks struggling, praying and thinking over possible options. Could full-time music ministry actually work and be sustainable? We felt a strong need to be a part of a church community and to have a place to come back to after a tour. After being on the road for a year and being at a different church for nearly every Sabbath for 2 1/2 years we wanted a home.
All the while music ministry was happening, we still had Eric's unfinished degree in the back of our minds. Just the thought of the moving expenses of going up to Avondale College was weighing us down. Randomly, we then heard that Eric's degree was now being offered by distance education beginning in 2014. So, Eric contacted the Theology/Ministry department to see if doing distance education was a viable option. After praying about the situation we got to thinking about where we would want to live if distance education was the direction Eric would go.
At that point we were staying with my parents who live in South Gippland in Victoria. We have always loved South Gippsland. It is simply one of the most beautiful areas in Australia and for many years we had dreamed about being able to live just outside of Melbourne to be far enough away, but close enough to enjoy. Also, one of the churches Eric worked with in our first year of marriage is in South Gippsland. We loved that church! So, we began looking around for rental properties. On the day we began our search we found a cute, 3 bedroom house. It was on the coast and it had cheap rent. In fact, we found out that it's price had dropped $50 on that very day we were searching. We prayed about it and put in our rental application thinking there wasn't too much of a chance we would be chosen due to being newly self-employed. Two days later, Eric got an email saying he could finish his degree by distance education. Then, two hours later we got a phone call from the realtor saying we had been chosen out of about 15 applicants by the landlord! Praise God!! So, we moved in and began our second year of music ministry with a place to call home after tours.
So in a nutshell, that is the story of how we became full-time musicianaries.
The last year and 8 months have been nothing that I had imagined or could have ever predicted. Sometimes it's really difficult doing music ministry and being on the road can be incredibly tiring. We've learnt that numbers don't mean much. Often we can't believe the places we have sung in and how far around the world our music has travelled. But, the greatest reward is hearing stories from people of how God used our music in their lives.
For me, music ministry begins with an understanding that everything is only possible with Jesus at the centre. Every note. Every spoken word. Every concert. Every tour... And that if God is taken out of the centre, that will be the moment the music ministry begins to lose its purpose. With this in mind, we spend time before each music event in prayer and focusing on the importance of what we are about to do. Praying that God will be heard through our singing and speaking. That God will be seen and we will become invisible. And that He will help us to sing like this could be the last time we ever get the chance to sing.
Each tour has been unique in its own way with the people we meet, the stories we hear and the scenery we drive by between each place. Yet, they also have similarities that run between regardless of state, country or language. We have found that music breaks down barriers and speaks to the heart in a profound way when it is coupled with Scripture.
Overall, it has been overwhelming to receive so much encouragement and support from family, friends and people we have just met. We've noticed that God has a sense of humour and is always there to catch us when we take a leap of faith.
Becoming full-time musicianaries was not part of our original 'plan' or desire in life, but it came about through what we believe was the leading of our Saviour. We don't know where the road will lead or how long we will be on it. All we know is that we desire to follow Jesus where He goes and live a life dedicated to Him.
~ Monique
If you missed:
To Read Part 1 - Click Here
To Read Part 2 - Click Here
To Read Part 3 - Click Here