Hey Everyone,
As many of you know my summer has been packed full of adventure. I’ve been on Missions trips to New Orleans, Mississippi, Chicago, North Carolina, and South Carolina. There hasn’t been a moment where I have been able to stop moving until now.
God has shown up over and over again on these trips, and I am so glad that I had the privilege to be a part of them, and I am so excited to share the videos I’ve made from this summer to showcase how God has been moving in the hearts of these students.
To be honest, I really thought that I was just going to be a fly on the wall on these trips. I thought that I would try to be in the right place, at the right time, and my storytelling ability would be the primary way that God was going to use me this summer. BUT, I did not realize that God was planning on placing me in the right place, at the right time for real opportunities to disciple and encourage trip participants. There is no question that God will, and already has used the stories that I have been able to share to bring people close to Him, but beyond all of the camera stuff, God has been up to something powerful.
On each and every one of these trips I had the opportunity to meet a whole group of new people and hear their stories. It’s really amazing how well you can get to know a group when you are spending 24 hours a day with them for 5 days in a row.
As trip participants and I rubbed shoulders, I got to know them and they got to know me and hear my story. I even had the chance to share my testimony to the group in Hilton Head, SC. They heard about how I moved across the country to Georgia on a step on faith, and how God has fought for me, and how provided a job for me doing the very thing that I have always longed to do, and how God is sustaining me and providing for me through the generous hearts of my ministry partners.
I had a lot of students and adults ask if I was getting paid for these trips. I told them that I was, but that it was barely making even. I mentioned that I could honestly make 40, or 60, or up to 80 thousand dollars filming weddings, but instead I decided to film short term mission trips while basically living out of my car because that’s what the Lord has called me to do. I could see by their facial expressions and reactions, that this really challenged what these students, and even some adults believed they were supposed to do with their life. What if instead of chasing the biggest paycheck, they prioritized being obedient to what God was asking them to do?
One student in Particular, Sam, on the Hilton Head trip became a close friend in a very short amount of time. Sam was asked by his church to create a video to share with their congregation, but he had never been hired for a real video job before. I ended up driving around with Sam to each ministry location and sharing with him all kinds of tips and tricks that I have learned from all my filmmaking on different types of projects.
As I was praying about the trip, it was clear to me that God was asking me to help Sam and to befriend him and to encourage him in his work. I could see myself in Sam, I remembered how nervous I was shooting my first video projects. I remember the fear of missing the shot and how stressful it seemed to be in the perfect place at the perfect time. I also remember the pressure to meet all the expectations of everybody that is waiting to see your creation. I was so blessed to shoot with Sam for a whole week, and it was a blessing to me to be able to freely equip him with all kinds of creative advice, and be the light to him in what may have seemed chaotic and uncertain.
Over the course of the summer I had numerous students come to me with tears in their eyes, asking me to pray for them, pouring their heart out to me about what God was doing in their lives. These trips and these experiences were so powerful. I feel so grateful to have been a role model in this short and joyfully exhausting summer. To lay my life down in hopes that these students can be like young versions of myself, learning from me the life lessons that I had to learn the hard way. The deep connections and friendships that I have made of the course of the summer was so unexpected and so beautiful, and worth more than any amount of money. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord used me for more than just videography this summer. And I am so grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness to use me in any small way.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and financial support throughout this summer. All of you have allowed me to be living on a mission with my life, and your continued support will allow me to live on mission in the next season as well. Without each and every one of you I wouldn’t have the opportunity to participate in these things that God has made me so passionate to do and share. May all of the fruit from this summer increase to your credit in Heaven! More videos coming soon 🙂
in Freedom and Power,
Ben H.
