Let Us Not Shy Away from Difficulties
By Joséphine Porimate

My name is Josephine Porimate.  I am from Benin. Born in Natitingou, a small town surrounded by mountains, in the north of Benin. I work in this same city. I started working in 2013 as a volunteer literacy supervisor in a Bible translation project called "ATRABIWA." In 2014, I became the finance manager of the project. From 2016 until today, I have worked in the department of Scriptures promotion (PSE), which today is called ISE. I took classes at i-DELTA from 2017 to 2019. This is where the Lord directed me. In summary of what I learned: ''The LORD cares for our development when we think of the development of others.'' We give what we have learned and the Lord takes care of teaching us new things through other people.

I have often taught a few lessons with my coach Andreas during workshops, but I had never led a workshop. I find that there is a big difference between teaching and leading a workshop.

When I returned to my community after my first year of i-DELTA in 2017, I started to make shows, commercials, dramas in French and also Waama language. I posted them on social networks for feedback. I had no reliable equipment, but I recorded them on my phone, then processed them on Audacity. The listeners called me to express appreciation and encourage me, and others called to give me feedback. After the second year of i-DELTA, I used the cell phones of my parents to train three of my nieces to take pictures and to film according to the different techniques of framing, zooming, and panning because I didn't have a camera. After a week of learning, I made a 10-minute film with my nieces as videographers. Then I edited it according to what I had been taught at i-DELTA. It was not perfect but I do not regret having tried it, because I learned through my mistakes.

Joséphine enseigne aux stagiaires comment monter un film dans un atelier SIL à Kara, au Togo.

Joséphine teaches trainees how to edit film at an SIL workshop in Kara, Togo.

Leading a course is one of those occasions when the Lord transforms us. Our whole personality is in activity. It takes prayer sessions. While leading this workshop, I learned to accept the mistakes of others, to be gentle and rigorous at the same time. In the teaching team as well as with the participants, it is necessary to have a high level of presence of mind, patience, and constant communication throughout the workshop.

Challenges



The students do not have the same level of understanding, so it requires more repetition and dynamism for everyone to understand.



Sometimes a teacher’s or participant's computer has problems. This delays the workshop. Two of the participants were sick and went to the hospital for two days. More sessions were needed with them after they recovered.

Advice



When we learn new things, let us apply them at once in our community. If there are mistakes, let us redo and refine as much as possible. Expose our work to the community and let them be observers. Analyze the effect of the product on the community. This allows us to make decisions that can improve our impact and performance. Let us not shy away from difficulties, whether in our professional life or in other areas. The Lord shapes us through them. As soon as the Lord guides us, he supports us despite the challenges. Let us pray, stand firm, accept our mistakes, listen to the advice, and never give up. I am still waiting to discover other characteristics and attitudes with which the Lord wants to enrich me.

Thank you to God and to all those who have supported me, you have been channels that the Lord has used for my growth. May the Lord bless you!

Joséphine Porimate is from Benin, West Africa. She recently led an Audio & Radio Production Course in Cameroon as part of her Media Trainer professional development plan. The course was offered by IMS and subsidized by JAARS. You can contact Joséphine at josephine_porimate@wycliffebenin.org. This article was translated from French to English with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) and edited for accuracy by Paul Erkert.