The Nice Thing about My Job is . . .

 

May, 2002

 

There are, in fact, so many nice things.� Ever since January, when I received this assignment to work on our french evangelistic website for the Campus Ministry, I have been wondering when the honeymoon would wear off.� Usually with any assignment or job description, there are pluses and minuses.� In my present assignment I am blessed to have so many good things that the down side is really not that noticeable.

 

++I am working with words, learning to be a web magazine editor.

�

My parents will tell you that from toddlerhood onward, Catherine loved books and words.� At university I studied literature.� I had no idea at the time how God could use all of the millions of words that I crammed into my head.

 

At one point in my life, because of heath problems, I could actually sustain only a very limited amount of reading and writing on a daily basis.� I remember thinking that if the Lord chose to heal me and give me back the capacity to read for more than a few minutes a day, I would like to serve Him with my abilities to read and write.� Website editing is one fulfilment of that desire.

 

++I am working in French.

 

Since I moved to Ottawa a decade ago, I have always managed to have some portion of my working life with Campus Crusade in French.� At times, only a small minority of my work was in French.� This was often a frustration for a couple of reasons.� I dearly wanted to use my energies to reach french-speaking people.� I also needed to improve the level of my French in order to work with university-educated Francophones.

 

In working as an editor for our new french website, I find lots of opportunities to use my French daily.� What is more, in monitoring the quality of the website, I finally have a way to improve the quality of my own french language skills.� I can see an improvement already in the four months that I have been on this assignment!

 

++I am working to reach the francophone world with the gospel.

 

Our website is a french copy of an already existing english website.� It is geared for post-secondary students who are connected to the Internet.� It is envisioned that the french website will be the first of multiple foreign language versions of the same website.� We anticipate that the site will attract french-speaking young people not only in Canada, but in Europe, Africa, and the Antilles (West Indies).� It is a project that truly has a global scope.

 

++I am working on the frontiers of the known world.

 

Website evangelism is a new field that is just developing.� The medium of the Internet as well as the younger generation who use the Internet each present challenges for the evangelist:� AHow do we best reach people through this medium?@ AWhat are the opportunities and the limitations of this form of evangelism?@ AWhat grabs the attention of a 17-21 year-old web surfer long enough for us to point him towards Jesus?@

 

My present assignment requires me to be on a big learning curve right now.� I am developing language and computer skills.� I am learning about editing and project management.� I am also learning more about the people group that we are trying to reach: french-speaking, post-modern minded students.� The challenge of all of this learning is exhilarating, even if it is a bit overwhelming.

 

-- Do pray for the minuses.

 

C���������� The sheer volume of work to be done and the amount of learning in order to be effective in the task gets overwhelming sometimes.� Pray for health, strength and a focused mind.

C���������� Pray for balance with my family responsibilities.

C���������� Pray for wisdom in investing in face-to-face ministry opportunities with real people through church and an Alpha course.� I don=t presently have a lot of time for these relationships.

 

Again, a big thank you to all of you who, through your prayers and support, enable me to be engaged in the Lord=s work.

 

 

����������������������� Catherine