God is so good. Such a common cliche, yet it never ceases to be true. As I progress in my walk with the Lord, there is always more of His goodness to discover. His infinite goodness is there for all of us to seek after our whole lives. We will never reach the end, but we are invited to discover as much as we can. This is something I have been meditating on over the last few weeks, and I hope it brings some encouragement to you as well.
Due to the short lead time for this first one, most of the attendees are from nearby. However, we have groups from places like Australia, South Africa, and the US who want to come for our future seminars!
The Create & Communicate Seminar I talked about organizing & preparing for last month, was a smash hit. For 3 straight days, the 10 of us in total went on an exhilarating ride of digging deeper into what it means to be creative, how to bring God into our creative process, and some practical training. It was so refreshing, challenging, and exciting to be surrounded by so many creative people from all around the world. We had 10 nations and 4 continents represented with a diverse mix of backgrounds and interests. The attendees all had an incredible time. Even in the 3 short days, we spent together, you could see the growth in each student as they were creatively challenged.
One of the attendees came from a small YWAM location in France. She was their only person working in the area of media and was quite burnt out. Over lunch the first day, she said she felt like there was nothing left for her to give. Sadly, her story is not an uncommon one in the creative field. However, by the third day, you could see the excitement and passion that had dried up spring back to life in glorious display. She was energized with ideas and concepts, eager to return and put what she had gleaned into practice in her ministry. For me this was such validation for all the work and effort we poured into pulling the entire thing together.
The days leading up to the seminar were the most challenging for me. There were many points where I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. I would fill our office whiteboard with to-do lists, clear them, and fill it up again time after time. Then the day before, things started to click into place and suddenly everything was going according to plan! It genuinely took me by surprise after spending days in what felt like chaos there was all of a sudden order. Normally, in situations like this, I would be more than a little stressed out. However, there was also such an overwhelming sense of peace in my heart, we were going to make it. It was one of those moments where I could feel the peace that surpasses understanding. God is good!
After the seminar, we had a debrief meeting with our team and the two main speakers. Both of them mentioned how extraordinarily easy it was for them to come and speak. Coming from people who spend more than half the year traveling all over the world speaking, this was high praise and very reassuring. The days were full and rewarding. Starting every morning at 8:30 we had lecture-style teaching until lunch, hands-on workshops all afternoon, and then more lectures after dinner until 9:30 or 10 at night. It was so much to take in and yet so good. Both Susi and Joseph are such powerful speakers, it was impossible to not walk away with your creative juices buzzing like a beehive. It was so powerful.
As most of you know, I will be making a trip back to Montana in September. While newsletters are great, I would love to connect in person and share more about what is happening over here. There is so much that doesn’t make it into these updates and I am itching to share more. While I am state-side, I am looking for places to share what God is doing in and through the ministry over here. So if you have churches, small groups, or even would like to meet one on one please let me know and we can arrange a time. I have many stories, projects, photos, and maybe even some chocolate to share! 🙂
I will be in Montana for almost the entire month of September. 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
Finally to finish off this newsletter, here are a few photos from a photo walk I took around the city of Lugano:
As always, thank you for coming along with me in this adventure of faith,
Ben