There are always pros and cons...

Working for any non-profit has its upside and downside. But sometimes these are easier to see when you work for a really big organization like World Scouting. For example, I am in a completely amazing location...Geneva, Switzerland. I have my own office with a window that looks out over a school yard.
 I have every tool of support and technology at my disposal. I have resources, constant internet access and the partnership of a 20+ person staff at the World Bureau working to bring strong programs to Scout groups worldwide. I am surrounded by knowledgable, experienced people. I even have my own phone extension! 
Especially for my program: Messengers of Peace, there is funding available for almost every reasonable request. We have even flung a few wild ones out there that may fly! The Foundation sponsors are talking about YouTube videos, Google Earth links, a facebook and twitter presence and iPad2 give-aways.
What's not to like?
But it does come with a downside. I am not working hands on with a grass-roots project where I see immediate results. The Messengers of Peace initiative is a 10 year plan...10 years, that is a really long view. And I'm only here for the first 10 weeks. I can only guess...and hope... where it will spread and the impact it will have on the lives of boys and girls just now entering Scouts. 
I am working to help establish systems that will be in place for decades to come. Ones that I hope will strengthen people and enlarge capacities so that the six world-wide regional offices can tackle some of the problems in their individual cultures systematically and with a real confidence that they are making a long-term difference.
Some of my classmates are able to see what their work is accomplishing. It is exciting. I am working with a lot of hope and prayer, but that can be exciting, too.