A couple of months ago I mentioned that we were working on preparing for a large outreach at the Montreux Jazz festival this summer called Regeneration. Over the first 2 weeks of this month, the outreach happened. We brought in Christian performers and artists from all over the world to perform, share testimonies, speak, and evangelize. It was an incredibly powerful two weeks with many people coming to faith. We also distributed Bibles in more than a dozen languages. For me, it was really rewarding to see the outreach come together in such a powerful way after all the work we have done in the months leading up to prepare. It is a good example of a lot of the work I and my amazing team does; helping to pave the way. As a result of the outreach hundreds of people received Bibles, were prayed for, and many also came to Christ. So exciting! I also did a lot of work photographing and documenting the outreach. Here is a little sample from all the images to give you a feel of what it was like:
One unexpected element of the last month came abruptly when on a Sunday afternoon, my beloved e-scooter was stolen from a bike rack where it was locked. This was both shocking and quite distressing as I have become quite reliant on it to get around. I had put almost 800km on it already this year. Because it was stolen, I had to navigate filing a police report which was a tedious process with the added stress of working mostly in French. Even while filing the report the office informed me that was essentially no chance they would recover the scooter. This was all quite discouraging and threw me for quite a loop. After waiting a week, I began to search for a replacement similar to the old one. In the whole country, only one came up. It was the newer and upgraded model to the one that was stolen (released a couple of months ago). Not only that but it was next to brand new at 2/3 of the original price! To top this off I received a sizeable donation from someone who hear about what happened. Between the donation and tips from the last couple of months of walking tours, I was able to purchase the new scooter. While it was not an easy thing to go through, it was cool to see how God still worked it out. It was remarkable to find such a good deal on a used one and even more so how the funding was provided for its purchase. This time around I got a much more serious lock and alarm box in addition to the newer model’s immobilizer that will hopefully deter any future interest in taking it.
The 3rd installment of the ReClaimed testimony series is here. This one tells the story of Minna and how God has worked in her life turning graves into gardens. There is such power in sharing what God has done in people’s lives. As we have gone through the process of working on these videos, I have even been so encouraged by the testimonies. We have one more episode coming after this one, and then we might start looking into a second season. We’ll see where the future takes it!
One other element of change coming my way later this month is moving. My current living situation is coming to a close as the rest of my roommates are or have departed. For the last couple of months, I have been on the hunt for a new place. After searching around, I got offered a nice little 1-bedroom apartment that comes available at the end of the year. I am really looking forward to having this place. It is a bit of an increase in cost but will be a huge boost to my sustainability. Additionally, without the need to organize roommates, it will be a very stable situation. However, I had to move out of my current place this summer, so I am moving to a room in the campus housing until the apartment is ready for me. I will have my own room, but the kitchen, living room, etc is shared among up to 8 people. By the end of this month, I will be moved over to the temporary place. I would appreciate your prayers, as I find these kinds of changes somewhat stressful, especially with the summer being quite a busy time already.
Looking ahead, I am quite excited about coming back to North America this fall for a visit. I will be spending the whole month of September in Montana & Alberta. With COVID receding, I am very excited that I can finally make a trip back to Canada after 3 years. My hope is to see many of you and share even more of what is happening over here (these updates are just the tip of the iceberg). If you have churches, small groups, or would even like to meet up one on one please let me know so we can arrange a time. I have many stories projects, photos, and maybe even some swiss chocolate to share!
The best ways to get in touch are over email, text, or Facebook Messenger.
My email is: benj@rockcache.com
My number is: (406) 309-0441
My Messenger is: m.me/ben.stone.99
As always, thank you for coming along with me in this adventure of faith,
Ben