This red bag: IMPACT number 3!

This previous weekend, it was IMPACT Conference number 3 for me! That means I have almost been in Switzerland for three full years - wow. IMPACT is our annual conference at church, and it is an event that I look forward to with much anticipation.

IMPACT is an event that brings together the C3 churches in Switzerland and is open for anyone to attend. It begins on the Friday night, continues all day Saturday and finishes with church on the Sunday morning. The first year I was in Switzerland I attended only as a participant, last year I coordinated all the food at the conference (the welcome drink on the Friday night, crossiants on Saturday morning, lunch, and 2 coffee breaks), and this time I was responsible for the events team which included all the food, plus the conference lounge, volunteer room and green room (for the speakers and pastors). So naturally my role this year included a lot more coordination and integration between different teams at church - logistics, security, decoration, registration, finance etc.

The months and weeks leading up to the conference were spent planning, having meetings, sourcing materials, making lists and finding volunteers. I had a great team consisting of 2 levels - the first consisting of the 4 people who were responsible for the different sections that fell under my responsibility, and the second being a group of volunteers who helped during the conference. There is no way I could have done it without them. They were willing, effective, and showed initiative and positive attitudes. It was a pleasure to work with them all.

I took Friday off work and started the day doing the shopping for the conference supplies at aligro (a warehouse type store). I was grateful for the help of some others too - this was a big job. After arriving at church we unloaded and I started with my set up - sorting out food and all the necessary equipment, assembling furniture, inflating couches, moving furniture etc. It was really fun to watch the transformation take place!

Later in the day more of the team arrived and it was time to prepare the welcome drink - 250 non- alcoholic cocktails and a couple of snacks. Friday passed in a blur and before I knew it it was time to go home.

Saturday's first task was to pack 300 lunch bags for the conference participants as well as get ready for the pre-conference coffee and croissants. Then it was on to preparing the first coffee break, serving and cleaning up after that break, cleaning up after the kids lunch, serving the adults their lunch, cleaning up, and then preparing, serving and cleaning up the second coffee break which included helping the kids prepare and serve cocktails, and then the final clean up and pack away. Needless to say I made myself quite comfy on the couch when I got home!

On Sunday morning there were no official tasks for me other than helping with the final clean up. Probably the most challenging part of the weekend was deflating and trying to pack away the couches - we wrestled with the heavy plastic to get it back into the bags! Just a little workout to round-out the weekend :) I was exhausted by the end, but so satisfied. I know the conference touches people's lives, and that makes it all worth it!