Conference #3 + Photos

Thanks for praying about the conference in Taunton, MA. It went very well. Although all the conferences have gone well overall, I think this one was the best yet.

I was encouraged to see that people were challenged for missions through the conference. On the very last day of the conference, after the last service was over, a boy who had been in my Sunday School class that morning came up to my table and started asking lots of great questions about Africa and about Bible translation. That might not seem very remarkable, but I was encouraged because he had looked pretty bored with everything all weekend. But it seems that the Lord is getting hold of his heart after all. Please pray for this boy; he is on the verge of his teenage years, when so many important decisions are made that will affect the rest of his life. Pray that he will serve the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly.

I finally got around to uploading some photos of my recent conferences at Elyria and Taunton (sorry, didn't get any photos at Lindale). Here's some selected ones:

The missions banquet at First Baptist of Elyria.


Still at the missions banquet at Elyria. This is a closeup of one of the food tables. The decorations are painted styrofoam maps of Italy, Africa, and Brazil (the three areas represented by the missionaries at the conference).


On the second day of the conference at Elyria, they had a shower for all the missionaries. Each table was groaning with gifts for all of us. My gifts were on the table at the far end, with the yellow tablecloth. Well, most of my gifts were on there. There were several that wouldn't fit on the table! What generous people!


A skit on the last night of the conference at Elyria. A young man considers missions, but hesitates when "demons" tempt him to put it off until a more "convenient" time.


On the last night of the conference at Elyria, Pr. Quick challenges the congregation to consider what the Lord would have them to do regarding missions.


For me, one of the blessings of missions conferences is getting to meet and hear from other missionaries. At the conference at Silver City Baptist Church in Taunton, Massachusetts, I enjoyed meeting the Townsley family, who are raising their support to plant a church in Terryville, Connecticut. They did a great job singing a special number together as a family.


On Sunday morning, I taught the combined Primary and Junior Sunday School classes. Here I was demonstrating how to wear a typical African woman's garment.


Another interesting item from Africa. "Anyone have a guess at what this is?" James Townsley thinks he knows! (It was a percussion instrument like a tambourine, made out of wood, nails, and old, flattened bottlecaps.)


On the last night at Taunton, a missionary church planter to the deaf spoke, and brought along with him a great group of deaf Christians from his church. It was so neat to watch them "singing" with their hands!


Missionary to the deaf, Jim Bracelin, preaches in spoken English and American Sign Language simultaneously. His message was great, and very memorable: every Christian is a "co-missionary" (giving and praying for missions), a "go-missionary" (answering God's call to the mission field), or a "no-missionary" (disobeying God by neglecting missions). Which kind of missionary are you?