“Life Is Short, The Art Long” Greece 2023
Mr. and Mrs. Media Buff go to Greece.
I never thought I would make it to Europe, let alone Greece, but I did!
In the Summer of 2023 I was contacted by my long time friend, Ian, who works with Global Partners, an organization that takes a strategic approach to launching and growing local churches in global communities!
Ian asked if I would be interested in filming their international conference, or Amplified Missions Summit, or Mission 1:8 Summit.
I’ve worked with Ian on multiple youth events over several years, filming content at these events and producing recaps very quickly, so he called upon me (his 2nd pick after the 1st fell through, lol…) to document their conference. I just adore Ian and his family, and I value opportunities to continue working with Ian in whatever ways I can.
I’ve also already worked with Global Partners before, back in 2016 I helped them with the same conference, at that time it took place in upstate New York. I did daily recaps as well as a few additional videos. More on that here.
After Ian asked if I could join in 2023, I had to speak with the Mrs., because we had to figure out what to do. Do I just go? Do we both go? Do I got with my wife AND daughter?! How do I plan a trip to Greece a couple months after a pre-planned trip to Florida on the budget of a college Freshman.
Once we decided YES to the trip, and that the Mrs. and I will go without our daughter, we had to make up our Will…! We didn’t want to be international and have something happen to us and our daughter be up a creek without care! Then we had to juggle flights and timing. Global Partners covered all the expenses aside from my wives flight, which was amazing of them.
From there, we packed up all the equipment and flew to Greece! I’d never been overseas before, the farthest I’ve been was Guatemala in 2016. The flight was LONG, the layover in Germany was scary but Greece was a comepletly new scenery. I’ve lived in Indiana my whole life, and aside from Mexico and Guatemala, I’ve not been anywhere so foreign, so seeing the blue Aegean Sea up close and experiencing a new culture was fantastic.
Once I arrived, we got settled in and I got started documenting. For the Mrs., this was a chance to have time to herself, but also for us to have time together when we could. She got to explore the hotel we stayed at and relax with time away from our daughter for an extended period of time, something that hasn’t happened since before her birth in 2018!
I documented the entire event, creating 3 recap videos, a Donor Thank You video and a Teen Recruitment video all ON SITE.
The Teen Recruitment video, or NEXT video I’ve embedded here, involved following several students throughout the week. I showed them working together, but also individually to make it look like they were in their own state, as they were from all over America. I also interviewed all of them.
Aside from the work, the Mrs. and I had the opportunity to spend time together at meals, boating to a local island with a small chapel on it, walking around the town we stayed in and visiting Athens, Greece! Athens was incredible. As you’ve read on my blog before, I’ve been involved in church and a Christian for decades, so having the opportunity to visit biblical locations was so amazing.
I want to again thank Ian for the opportunity to travel abroad and the opportunity to experience the world!
- The Media Buff
The title of this blog comes from Philosopher, Hippocrates, where in one of his works he wrote that “life is short, and art is long”. Interpreted more simply as "art or artistry can be more long lasting than the lifetime of the artist." Video is often my art form, and doing it in such a beautiful place has been very rewarding.
