Sealing Time Newsletter - 2012 Year End Report

Hi Visitor,

            Sorry this is a bit late, but we've certainly been busy.  2012 was another blessing filled year for Sealing Time Ministries, and this year end newsletter highlights some of these blessings. The Bible tells us that from time to time we need to “recount the righteous acts of the Lord” (Judges 5:11). So we are going to take the time to do just that in the many exciting and miraculous things He has done through this ministry and its supporters. We want to say thank you to all those who have prayed for us and contributed financially to something greater than we could ever accomplish as individuals.

“Recounting the Righteous Acts of the Lord”

Note: Because we had to rush to take advantage of the equipment upgrade offer at the end of last year a few details got left out or weren’t complete at the time, or happened at the end of the year, that were quite significant.

November 2011: Near the end of November we came to the conclusion that we were outgrowing the company who was hosting our web site and we were also frustrated with the high costs of live video streaming. After weighing our options carefully we selected and purchased our own dedicated server. We customized it with high speed SAS RAID, and several other options and then sent it to a data center for a direct high speed internet connection. This upgrade not only gave us all the storage space and power we needed for our large website, but the machine that the Lord provided had a lot more power than we currently needed. Instead of keeping it all to ourselves, we felt impressed to offer other Adventist churches and supporting ministries reasonably priced website hosting and live streaming on our new server! This new part of our ministry continues to grow and we are now a full fledged cPanel hosting provider and Wowza Media Server live streaming company with a rapidly growing number of Adventist clients.

December 2011: As we mentioned in our last year-end newsletter we were asking for prayer and donations to meet the challenge of an upgrade to our video mixing system, due to a special one time upgrade offer/discount by the manufacturer on the new system of $10,000! Well on the last day, and down to the last 30 minutes!, we were still short of the goal by $5,000… and then it happened… we received the remainder literally in the last few minutes before the Sabbath began and we were able to fax in the order just in time! The Lord often makes us wait until the very last minute to test our faith, and well, our faith was certainly tested. We just could not think why the Lord would have made the company give us not only the special one time offer, but an extension on the deadline as well, if He did not have it in His providence to provide for the need. God is so good to His people.

Well, with no time to spare we drove to Utah to pick up the new system JUST in time for us get back to set up (overnight) and record our first program the next day in full high definition with Pastor Randy Maxwell (more on this below). The new system we upgraded to is the NewTek TriCaster TCXD450. It’s an incredible machine and its specs and abilities fill a several hundred page manual. Since many of you helped us reach this goal we wanted to at least tell you a little about it and show a couple photos before we go on.

Below are just a few of the new features of this hard working new system.

• 14 channel HD switcher
• 4-input HD-SDI, SDI, or analog HD or SD live cameras
• Built in HD web streaming
• Push one button to live stream, with simultaneous archive, and record
• Hot swappable recording drives allow ultra large events to be recorded
• Create and save complex switcher effects to a single button
• 20+ HD live virtual sets and advanced matte generation to get the look of a sophisticated studio setting in a limited space
• Simultaneous HD & SD out (for backwards compatibility needed at some locations)
• Connect multiple HD projectors or big screens for IMAG video output
• Use as a desktop or rackmount system (We were able to mount this in a mobile production truck mentioned later in this newsletter.)
• Multi-tiered software fail-safe system

Thank you again to everyone who prayed for us and contributed to this effort. You will see that this single piece of machinery was instrumental throughout the rest of the year, and is still the most valuable earthly asset we have to help make impressions on many people with the gospel messages presented by many of our churches finest speakers as well as many others that are just getting started.

Short Testimony: A friend of ours told us afterwards that he was sure that the video upgrade goal was not going to happen, but when it did happen he told us it really strengthened his faith in what God can do for his people! Amen!

January: On the Sabbaths from January 9 through March 3 we worked with Pastor Randy Maxwell and the Kuna SDA church to produce the “Experience Jesus Again” program. This series included topics such as forgiveness, deliverance, faith, rest, rescue and resurrection all in relation to the central topic of Jesus. (1 series, 1 speaker)

Prior to this time we had purchased a new video jib crane for getting new and unique camera shots, and the “Experience Jesus Again” program saw the first use of the crane in action and it provided some amazing new shot angles we’d only dreamed of being able to get.

March 29: For the last several years we had been using a compact, custom made rolling box to move all the equipment around. While this box certainly served its purpose and made our job a lot easier than moving and setting up each piece of equipment individually, it was beginning to show its limitations and it was getting quite heavy to lift. It was at this point that we experienced several vehicle problems that literally left us without even one functional, registered vehicle right before a production for Gem State Academy Alumni. With no way to get the equipment to the destination we prayed and began to make some calls to see if someone would be willing to help us with a radical ministry improvement. We have learned that when Satan hedges us in with problems, God usually has not only a way to fix those problems, but it’s been our experience that He wants to radically improve things! We felt a distinct impression that it was time to move forward and get a dedicated production truck. Well, after checking eBay and Craigslist, and even asking friends on Facebook if they might have seen a retired box style ambulance for sale (almost perfect for re-tasking as a production truck) a very kind young lady on Facebook shared with us a link to a Craigslist ad. We contacted the seller and after some short negotiations settled on only $1,500 for a running, retired full-size box style ambulance. There was only one main problem remaining, we didn’t have enough money on hand to purchase it. But, you have to understand God wants His people to learn to work together. After talking to several willing supporters we now had enough and we drove to Spokane, Washington to buy it leaking massive amounts of power steering fluid the whole way from our only semi-functional car (long story there). After a short inspection we knew it was exactly what we needed and went ahead and purchased it. We drove it home successfully; although a heater hose blew out about an hour from home, we were able to fix it with a simple bypass using only a pocketknife. A cement factory even came to the rescue with lots of hot water so as not to crack the engine block that was borderline overheating when we pulled in. (God provides for everything doesn’t He?) This upgrade solved both our short term need for a working vehicle and a long term need for a production truck. To God be the glory!

With the demand for mobile device access to video skyrocketing in the last couple years we began work to make our live and video-on-demand streaming compatible with mobile devices. Not having any mobile devices ourselves at the time made this quite challenging, because we had no way to test our progress or changes, but with the help of a friend we made our first broadcast that was compatible with both flash based players and iOS (Apple) mobile devices at the same time.

In an incredible irony NasaTV and Sealing Time Ministries were both working (via the Longtail video player forums) toward a common goal. We wanted one player, on one page, with a failover playlist that worked with nearly all possible devices. While both of us were working on it (the Longtail Video Player) neither of us had quite got it to function the way we wanted yet. After some help from Ethan at Longtail, and in the Lord’s amazing providence, we (STM) were able to put the pieces together and got it to work! Fact: We were able to post the snippet of code we both needed to the forum and we checked the NasaTV web site during the last shuttle launch (later in 2012) and the snippet of code was in use on one of their many streaming pages! So in some incredibly unique way, not only did God benefit our ministry needs, but we were able to in turn benefit, in a very small way, our space program. And again, the glory belongs to God!

March 30 and 31, we worked with Gem State Adventist Academy to live stream their 2012 Alumni Weekend. This was the first production test of the new live internet broadcast to mobile devices and it worked great! (1 series, 3 speakers)

April: We launched a new more aesthetic, interactive website in April. Our old website served us well, but it lacked many modern interactive features. The launch of our new website had a few quirks at first as we learned the new system, but we have worked out the bugs and it’s working great now and is quite reliable. It has some incredible new features one of which allows us to reroute any bad or outdated link to the new proper location or page on the fly. (If you happen to get a 404 error it will even suggest the correct page based on key words in the link you clicked or entered). This new feature allowed us to remap our old content pages to the new pages with minimal interruption to our visitors. With nearly 4,000 pages and only a couple full time volunteers this pretty much took the rest of the year. We rerouted the most popular pages as quickly as possible.

June 1-3, we assisted Gem State Adventist Academy with the live broadcast of their graduation ceremony as well as making quality graduation videos available. (1 series, 1 speaker)

June 12-16: We worked with the Idaho Conference to help produce the video and live web broadcast for the 2012 Idaho Conference Camp Meeting. The theme for this year was "Revive. Renew. Reflect Christ!". There were 6 presenters and 26 meetings. (5 series, 6 speakers)

June 25: In preparation for the need to record multiple simultaneous meetings at Redwood Camp Meeting with the new TriCaster, we took advantage of another special deal and upgraded the TriCaster from the 450 to 455 (a paid software update), this also added several other important upgrades such as sound routing improvements and added some safety and redundancy.

July 19-28, we were in Northern California again to do the video production for the 2012 Redwood Camp Meeting. The title for camp meeting this year was “Revival and Transformation”.
We produced materials there for 20 speakers that spanned 98 meetings! Most main meetings were broadcast live on the internet for those who couldn’t make it. We also brought our jib crane to get new and exciting camera angles. Special thanks to our team of volunteers for their hard work! (20 series, 20 speakers)

August 8, 9, we recorded the latest updated version of “Islam and Christianity, Daniel 11 Seminar” for Idaho Conference Evangelist, Tim Roosenberg. For this program we purchased a new high quality device to convert PowerPoint/Keynote slides, computer video and even desktop training so that the slides would be captured in pristine quality. We cannot express how much of a quality improvement this device made, and again we want to thank those of you who made this upgrade possible! (1 series, 1 speaker)

September 9: By this time our previous printer was beginning to show its age and Kelly (our production supervisor) found and purchased a new (refurbished) 4 color laser printer for improved color printing, DVD wraps and speed. This new printer can really print quickly and its prints are aligned better as well.

September 14-23: We recorded the lasted updated 10 part version of “Islam and Christianity in Bible Prophecy”. Tim updated not only his presentation but also the slides and graphics by Steve Creitz. The beautiful new slides were properly created for professional widescreen HD broadcast. The program was also translated live to Spanish and was both broadcast live and also recorded for the all the media forms. Just prior to this program we upgraded all our analog camera lines to digital HD-SDI, and although the cameras themselves were still analog HD the picture quality and sharpness were much improved, especially when running long distances or past large magnetic fields and power cords. Special thanks to Chip Doss at Edgemont Video (an Adventist video equipment retailer) for helping us with selection of the devices and cables. (1 series, 1 speaker)

September 15 & 22: On the 2 Sabbath mornings during the 10 part program we recorded an updated version of “Surviving Troubled Times”. This program contains some of Tim Roosenberg’s personal testimony through some of his trials in life. (1 series, 1 speaker)

September 27: Seeing the need for faster disc printing and the need for full color disc faces we proposed a deal with Tim Roosenberg to pre-order a large quantity of the 3 new programs we were creating for him so we would have the capital needed for a high quality machine. The proposal was approved and with this initial large order we were able to purchase a new, 6-color, fully automated (robotic) disc publisher for media creation. This new robotic disc publisher not only benefitted all of Tim’s new programs, but every single program we have produced since then, and all future programs! It also has the added benefits of not only being faster, but it can work around the clock when necessary! (Not on Sabbath of course.)

October 3-9: Ryan McCoy (speaker/director for STM) shared two new presentations that we have been working on that are nearing completion, on the subjects of “the shaking” and “Sunday Laws” with a small study group in the Walla Walla/Milton-Freewater area. Attendees were blessed and excited to discuss these topics. Once these presentations are complete we will produce these programs in a series of high quality media formats and study book forms.

October 31: As we had recently began our Adventist live streaming services we wanted to provide more features and ease of use to our many new clients so we set up a new streaming gateway with many new exciting features such as viewer stats, live viewer maps, bandwidth and viewer charts and more.

November 10: Recognizing the need for our “render” computer system to be able to create media files at a much faster pace, we upgraded it with an incredibly powerful video/encoder card. This has resulted in the ability to be able to encode videos about 4 times faster than we were previously able to.

November 20: We reached 10,000 “likes” on Facebook

Support and Donations

Please remember that your support and donations do not just benefit Sealing Time Ministries, but Adventist conferences, evangelists, pastors, churches and even other supporting ministries throughout the world. Also remember that our programs are available via the web from almost anywhere on the globe, and some have begun to air on Adventist television and even PBS! Also, please note that our ministry and equipment is dedicated to service for God and has never been used for secular business, commercials or productions and never will be.

Volunteers

As you can see, we are very busy, and there are times that we are a bit overwhelmed. If you appreciate what this family ministry is doing and would like to be a part of it, please consider volunteering some time. Most of the work is localized to our office, but we could use help in many aspects. Jesus said that “the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few” and this definitely feels like a reality sometimes. We do have some basic RV hookups if you are financially stable and might consider staying for a while. (We also have a couple open RV’s if you don’t have one.)

Thank You!

We want to thank all our supporters.  Your prayers and financial gifts are what make many of these upgrades and events possible.  We could not have done it without your generosity and spirit of teamwork.  We can't tell you how many times a donation has come in the mail or online and it arrived at the perfect time to cover a bill for overhead costs that is due, or make a much needed upgrade, or to get a piece of new equipment that allowed us to improved our quality while reaching many more souls for Christ.  We also want to thank our monthly supporters.  Monthly support is very important as it allows us to count on making sure the bills are paid and things happen on time.  Many times this has been what has seen us through financially tough times.  Next we would like to thank all our camera operators and volunteers (too many to list) and we would like to recognize their hard work. The people that watch these videos or listen to the audio from all over the world also thank YOU.  The spirit of willingness and teamwork of these volunteers has made many of these events possible.  We could not have done it without you!  We also want to thank the Idaho Conference, the Northern California Conference and Redwood Area Camp for allowing us to serve our church through media production.  When the lay people and the leadership work together a mighty work will be accomplished. God bless everyone who makes all this possible, but our biggest thanks is to our Heavenly Father who provides all good things for those who love Him.

Your support is needed in the following areas:

• Prayer
• Donations (any size, one time or recurring monthly, or asset or property donations) – http://www.SealingTime.com/support/
• Purchase one or more products or a gift certificate (You can also purchase a product and make a donation through the online store at the same time.) – http://store.SealingTime.com
• Volunteers
• Tell a friend! Share a link to a resource! Jesus is coming soon, don’t be shy!

Here is a short report of the Lord’s accomplishments
through this ministry during the 2012 year.

Programs/Products

• 31 new video/audio production series
• 1 complete new series every 1.6 weeks!
• 1 new media product every 2.9 days!
• 124 new media products.
• Produced 153 meetings/videos!
• Served 33 speakers at 8 special events in 3 states!
• Served ~65,646 unique internet visitors! (Visits are much higher.)
• Served 190+ countries! (According to the United Nations there are ~196 countries.)

We do not normally solicit donations but in this case we ask you to
please consider partnering with us to do a much greater work. 
Thank you in advance for whatever you can do for God's cause.

http://www.SealingTime.com/support/

Jesus is coming soon!  Are you ready?  Is your family ready?
Have you shared with someone today?

PS.  Did you know that Sealing Time Ministries has thousands of hours of Adventist media, from over 120 speakers, on a wide variety of subjects, all ready for you to utilize, either for yourself, your family, or friends?  If you are looking for something to do in the evenings, or this next Sabbath, whether Friday night, or Sabbath afternoon, we'd love to have you drop by and watch, listen, learn and share!

Thanks,
Ryan McCoy
Sealing Time Ministries
PO Box 1003
Nampa, ID 83653
Email Address Information
208.453.1844 (office)
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     “The Lord has ordained that the diffusion of light and truth in the earth shall be dependent upon the efforts and offerings of those who are partakers of the heavenly gift.”  {Patriarchs and Prophets 528.3}