Good morning

Me filming, David Saw performing...

Good morning friends!

I hope you all are doing well and that life at home and school are treating you well. Please feel free to e-mail me updates on your life so I know how to pray for you and so I am not completely disconnected. I miss you all so much and wish each and everyone of you could be here to see what this place is really like. AMAZING! :)

As I sit here in this beautiful cafe with the sun rising outside, I find myself in awe of who our God is...the one who made this all. There are days when I still struggle a lot with why I am here...but then Warren Pettit, the artist's instructor, asks us the question, "What do you as an artist want to say?" And that is where it lies...what do we want to say? I don't know...but I am trying to figure that out. I write songs about my passions and heartache. I write about the feelings deep inside and the pain I see outside. My thoughts are flooded with those of this past spring and summer. The accident at TU, my month in Alaska, relationships, friends moving away, the list goes on and on. I simply struggle with how to put it all back into words. These concepts are so huge when you try to think of them all at once. Currently I am writing a song about one of my campers from this summer. It is about the pain in her life and how the world doesn't notice it. Kinda weird for me to say I am writing a song, much less one that is sad yet gripping. I give a lot of credit for my song writing to my roommates and to my friend Kyle. They have all helped me so much in working out words and a tune to the mess of stuff in my head...hey, I'll get this down some day...haha!

This week we had an artist visit us on Tuesday night. I had the opportunity to videotape him for this broadcast they will be putting together. I am excited that I was asked to continue to use my film skills. His name was David Saw. He is a really fun guy...great artist. It simply amazes me that I sat there and videotaped for him!!! I mean SWEET!

I continue to go through my days not believing I am really here...it feels like we won't be here any longer than 3 weeks. But I am, and I will be here for longer. ...weird! But I am excited to see how God continues to use this time here for His glory. I am so excited to see what happens at the end of April when all is said and done...:)

Thank you all for your continued prayers. They mean so much to me and I can truly feel them as I move throughout my day. May God bless you all in your many endeavors. :-P

Love,
~Kels

PICTURES!!!

sunset: from the plane
house: the house I want! haha
people: Jake, me, Josh, Kyle
girl: Liz...one of my 4 roommates
me: singing at the showcase :)

In one week...

In one week....

Moved to an Island.
I have made 22 new friends.
Performed 2 songs.
Made 1 music video.
Eaten the most amazing food...yeah we have an incredible chef cooking for us. :)
Written 2 songs.
And learned more "Kelsey" lessons...aka: learned more about myself.

I have cried.
I have laughed.
I have been disappointed.
And I have been appreciated.

I cannot describe to you what thoughts fully flow through my head, but I know that I am supposed to be here. I still wake up every morning asking God why...He simply whispers, "In my time." So I wait. I trust. And I continue to strive forward.

For those of you who know me you know I am hard on myself, you know that I have lost confidence in myself in the last few years, and you know that I was very nervous in coming here. I can't say that I am totally confident and I don't give myself a hard time and that I'm not nervous...but instead I have learned to work with these things as partners to my music and aids to my "Kelsey Lessons." Though I may go to bed thinking "I can't do this," I wake up knowing that I am right...I can't, but God can. It is with Him that I will be able to write songs and share my heart. It is through Him that dreams I have had all my life will become reality. I will write, record, and perform my own music...music I am writing (on a tight one song a week schedule). I am excited to use what God has given me. I am blessed to be in this place for sure.

The people are nothing like me and yet we have so much in common. We all come from different schools, different homes, and different backgrounds yet we long to develop our talents and work to make our way into the music industry. We all are serving a God who loves us and has given us these dreams and now this opportunity. We are all here this semester and we long to work together to see our friends succeed. It is GREAT!!!

I was talking with someone the other day and they asked me if I wanted to be in the music industry when I was done. I said I dono...they said, well if you want to be this program will help you get there. That thought hit hard...I have heard it and I have know it in my head, but the fact that I can actually be reaching for my dreams with all my heart is an incredible thought. I still want to pursue my film director dreams...but maybe I can do both! and that would be AWESOME!!!

I am excited to see where this semester will end up. The thought of being amongst all these incredible musicians is inspiring. I love to be able to talk to others and bounce ideas off them. This is an amazing place with awesome people. We are located in kinda the middle of nowhere...which is simply perfect. We are on an island. We are eating amazing food. We are writing and producing music. We are living our dreams! It doesn't get much better than that.

And yet...

Life is hard. There have been moments of frustration...like when I forgot the words while singing this last week, or when I sit for an hour or 2 with no connected thoughts to put into a song. There are times of heart ache when I feel completely out of my element, when I miss those that know me best...that can see the hurt when everyone else is fooled by my smile. I am at times stressed and overwhelmed...but I know that this will be the hardest yet best experience I have ever ventured to do. I thank God constantly for this opportunity. I miss my friends and family so much, but I am confident in where I am.

Thank you all for your prayers, e-mails and letters of support. Please know that I am blessed to have you as a part of my life. Also, please send me update e-mails and prayer requests. I miss and love you so much! God bless you!

smile...it's good for you,
~Kels

Saying goodbye for me is probably a thousand times easier said than done, and this week has been full of them. I left my house in MI on Tuesday after many goodbyes to family and friends. Now, I leave tonight from Taylor University after spending the last 3+ days with my friends here. It has been hard to think of leaving. I miss them all already. My friends mean so much to me. My roommate and the rest of First East Olson will be greatly missed. I really can’t imagine a semester with out them, and yet here I go.

I have now spent a week in Florida with my parents. It was so good just to chill with them for a week before heading to the East Coast. I loved the time I got to spend with my mom by the pool :) and my dad after his meetings in the evening. I have been on many trips with my family, but it has always been with my brothers and sisters...so it was so great to just have them to myself.

I now find myself on an island in the Atlantic ocean. The place is a little campus/camp area kinda in the middle of some woods. It is so great to be here with all these people. Everyone is so friendly and so fun. We have already begun to bond well and I anticipate I will make some great friends. I am living in a room with 4 others. Nikki, Kris, Whitney, and Liz. They are all so sweet. I think we will get along just great!

I miss home very much and all my friends at Taylor...but I am excited to get into classes and the swing of things. Thank you all so much for your prayers. I look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to e-mail me at kelsduf@gmail.com or if you want (and I would love) you can send me letters at:
Kelsey Dufendach
Contemporary Music Center
450 Lambert's Cove Rd.
P.O. Box 188
West Tisbury, MA 02575

I love and miss you all!!!

~Kels