Happy fall to you all! I trust you are all doing well. This last month has been a rather full one. We made a great transition and launch into the 4th quarter of the year. For several months, we have been working on a lot of internal changes to how we operate in the media department. Starting this quarter a lot of those changes went into place. So, while not the most exciting of times, it has been lots of organizing, adjusting, and building new systems. A lot of the changes we are making are freeing us up from a lot of the more mundane tasks we take care of so we can work on larger projects, which I am quite excited about.
Speaking of these larger projects, the first one is already upon us. The rest of the team and myself have been hard at work on a big capital campaign for the large campus expansion currently under construction. We are creating a series of short mini-documentaries about the base here in Lausanne highlighting the different aspects of ministry we are involved with, the history of the base, and the specifics of the property development. Getting to dive into some more serious video productions and the strategic planning of the campaign has been quite enjoyable. I have stepped up into the role of the project manager & scriptwriter, which has been a bit stretching. I have a bit of a knack for being able to see a whole project and how pieces come together. However, working on timelines, managing tasks, and ultimately being responsible for making sure things stay together on a project that will be ongoing until June is a whole new level of detail planning I am not used to. It has been quite a challenge and even stressful at times, but I am learning and growing a lot through it.
One of the other major things I have been involved with is the creation of a monthly newsletter for the base. It has been a bit of a pleasant throwback to my time working at the newspaper. Writing, editing, finding & shooting photos, and crafting a well-rounded snapshot of the base’s ministry as a whole has been really enjoyable. The combo of having experience working at a publication and being a native English speaker has really set me up for the role of putting the whole thing together. My enjoyment of the process and enthusiasm certainly doesn’t hurt either.
On the personal side of things, I am doing well. Life has been to a degree rhythmic lately, lots of long days, pressing forward, working near the limit of my abilities. This has lead to quite a number of stretching moments. As I mentioned earlier, I am doing my best to take it all in stride and learn as much as I can. I have found encouragement in the book of James, specifically the first chapter, where it speaks of perseverance.
“And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed lacking nothing.” – James 1:4
He expands on this idea much more, but this verse really captures the heart of the idea for me. As we choose to persevere our character is being refined through the work of the Holy Spirit. This means we can take heart in the knowledge through hard times we are being refined to be more like Christ.
I recently got a pass for the public transport and rail network in Switzerland, which gives massive discounts on tickets and fares. The rail system in Switzerland is incredible and the small size of the country makes trips even to the farthest border no more than 4 hours. I am looking forward to doing a few day trips around the country with just me and my camera. I love exploring the 4 Cs: cities, cathedrals, castles, and cool spots. Rest assured, I will have some fun photos to share, so stay tuned for that 🙂
As always, thank you for coming along with me in this adventure of faith,
Ben