Annual Convention 2009

This year's convention just again showed us God's faithfulness and about answered prayer. When we left last year's convention I didn't think there would be any way we would be able to accomplish what we needed to do this year. Amending, arguing and approving our new constitution would be no small task. I was pleased to see that we had LOTS of people show up to be part of this decision. While I don't know how the over 300 delegates compares to other years, the church seemed way more full than in years past. But despite passionate feelings and strong opinions, God's grace prevailed. It passed 233 to 66! I can honestly say that it was a time where I could truly feel that the Spirit was at work and His fruits were lived out. Not everyone got their way but I am sure that God's will was done in our work there! To Him be the glory!

As with every convention, the best part is seeing friends! It is such a joy to spend time with so many people that we love so much! Not only did we see friends from Fergus and all over the country but made new friends as well! The pastors' wives were able to get together twice, which was so encouraging to us in the ministry. It is so sad to think that now we will only see each other every other year. I'm not sure how we'll survive that long!!!

the guys at the pastors' dinner

Adam and Rebekah Ekelund hosted their 2nd Annual Seminary graduates BBQ dinner on Sunday afternoon before opening service. It is the perfect opportunity to see so many of our friends! Thanks guys, we had a fantastic time!

Ekelunds & Taguchis

Zeke and Nik

Cool hair Nik!

Me and Anya

Caristy and Elias

Ryan and Jay

Ren and Anya

Because Chris and I were without wheels this year, we decided to board at the girls' dorm at Hillcrest. When we arrived on Friday night we already knew there were going to be some challenges. The biggest one was having an 11:00 curfew! At 11 pm the doors were locked and if you weren't in, well... When we checked in the RA asked if that was going to be a problem. Our reply was, "Um, yeah." Staying on the fourth floor of a 100 year old building without air conditioning was also interesting, but we were warned and brought a fan to help keep the room a bit cooler. And it does seem a bit strange to have a boy sleeping in your room in the girls' dorm. :o)

After loading all of our stuff up to our private suite with our own bathroom, we were feeling pretty warm. So we set the fan in the window and headed out to cool off and take a stroll around Fergus Falls. The night air was perfect and we walked around town until well after dark but arrived back 20 minutes before our curfew. Much to our surprise the door was already locked. For a moment we just stood outside the "castle" wondering how exactly we were going to get back inside. We had no car, no keys (they wouldn't give us one anyway), and no way of getting hold of anyone inside. Stories of students sneaking in and out of the dorms after curfew started rolling through our minds. Thankfully we kept our cool and had Chris' cell phone. Then we remembered that we had received a call from the HLA office earlier that day. The machine picked up. At the very end of the message was the extension to the office in the girls' dorm. No answer. But at the end of their message was the cell number for the RA on duty. Bingo! Chris hung up the phone, repeating the number to himself while he dialed. A few minutes later the door opened and we were let back in.

how'd we get SO MUCH STUFF???

After three days on the road, sleeping in rest stops and Wal-Mart parking lots, we were ready for a hot shower and a good night's sleep. We turned on the water in our "Hello Kitty"-curtained shower and waited for the water to turn hot. And then we waited some more. After a few minutes Chris pronounced the water "maybe lukewarm". That was not what I had in mind. I made up my mind to storm downstairs and demand to know where my hot water was. Chris urged me to "give it a little more time to see what happens". After a very long 6 minutes the water ran hot. (Thankfully subsequent showers took less time to run hot)

We climbed into the bottom bunk that night ready for a good night's sleep without the noise of traffic, trains or airbrakes. A double bunk is a bit snug after being used to our king-sized mattress, but totally do-able. What wasn't do-able was the fact that every time one of us moved both the bed and the floor creaked. After a few restless hours we got up and dragged the mattress to the floor for a quieter night.

the view from our suite

While it was quieter, we noticed that it really wasn't any cooler in the now very stuffy fourth-floor room. Chris got up to turn up the fan in the window and realized that the air from the fan wasn't the cool refreshing breeze that he had expected. I guess that's what happens when you only open the inside window and leave the storm window shut.

The weather the remainder of the week was rather stuffy and so both windows remained opened the entire time. Even when it poured on Tuesday evening, it really didn't seem to cool off much in the room. Neither of us had considered the open window that evening until Chris went to get his book off our makeshift windowsill bookshelf for a bit of reading before bed. His book had made a wonderful sponge and soaked up all the rained that had blown into our room saving our other books from a similar soggy fate.

All in all it was an awesome trip and we are so grateful that we will be meeting in Fergus again next year!