Greetings! I trust you are all doing well. There has been a lot going on in the last month and I am really excited to share what has been happening.
First off, I was finally able to move into the 1-bedroom flat after some delays. The apartment is located in a cute old house. Over here it is quite common for larger older homes to be subdivided into a collection of smaller individual living spaces. I was set to move in at the end of the year, however, the building had some unexpected maintenance issues come up that delayed my move-in until the beginning of Feb. Never the less, I am so glad to be in the new space. It is quite small by North American standards however, after spending 3 years in Switzerland it feels massive. The apartment is made up of 3 rooms (kitchen/dining room, bedroom, and bathroom) and is situated under the roofline of the building. The building is named “Clos Mélèze” (meaning Closed Larch) and has 2 other larger 2-bedroom flats in addition to the one I have. Currently, both of the others are empty with some of the maintenance the building is undergoing.
I have gotten quite settled in, hanging things on the walls, organizing my kitchen the way I like, and enjoying the process of making it feel like home. I was also able to bring over my furniture which I had in storage since July. I was especially happy to have my own bed and Kallax shelves to use again. The bedroom is quite large and I have it arranged so I have a small office/working space tucked behind my larger Kallax shelf. This is one of my favorite aspects of the new place as I finally have room to do some painting and linocut in my downtime. Overall, I am just feeling so blessed to have the place. Being an introvert, having a quiet, peaceful, restful space to return home to at the end of a long day is so wonderful; something I have learned not to take for granted.
Following up on my last update, we had a very successful filming for the online course. For the filming, we took over the base’s music studio and practice room for its superior acoustics. With the students from the communications course, we transformed the room into a full set. This included lighting, staging, and camera rigging. Then the next morning, we all showed up to the set at 6 am to begin the recording. We had to start early, so Maureen, the course teacher, could catch her flight to South Africa in the afternoon. The students did an excellent job helping to man the set, each taking on different roles and responsibilities to keep things running smoothly. In addition, Maureen was brilliant in her teaching despite never having had to teach at cameras for such an extended period of time. All of the technical details flowed incredibly smoothly and we didn’t have to do any reshoots. Because there were no reshoots needed, we finished ahead of schedule and were left with a couple of hundred gigabytes of footage to take into post-production. The filming was exciting for me on a couple of levels. First I was excited to see the students stepping up and experiencing working on a set for the first time. All of them really enjoyed the experience. Secondly, I am really excited to see more online courses produced. The last couple we have created have been extremely impactful and there is so much more potential beyond where we have gone to reach & encourage people all over the world. Lastly, I just really enjoy working on a larger project. There is something about the extra planning, processes, and flow that I find thrilling. Because of some other projects and initiatives, we haven’t been able to begin the post-production just yet, but I am looking forward to diving into it in the coming months.
Speaking of the communication school students, it has been amazing to continue working with them on the practical side of their learning. Over the last several weeks, it is amazing to see how far they have come, both in understanding and ability. They have also taken up the mantle of doing photography evangelism in the city, are creating all kinds of amazing projects, helping me to do photo coverage of events, recording and editing podcasts, and so much more. I have also enjoyed getting to see how each of them functions as a creative – how they approach projects, what resonates with them, and where each of their passion points are to guide them as they develop the potential God has placed in each of them. I have dedicated so much of my life to working in this area, there is something so joyous about helping others along in their own journeys down the same path. As I look back at my own experience, there were a number of key people who imparted to me so much that has brought me to where I am today. My hope is through working with the students I can “pay it forward” and be one of those people to help them progress. I have learned that those kinds of investments into the lives of others are one of the most impactful and fruitful things that can be done in life, building a legacy that can echo into eternity.
As always, thank you for coming along with me in this adventure of faith,
Ben