National Missionary Conference

This past weekend, Tim and I, along with the kids headed to Cincinati. We attended the National Missionary Conference. They have wonderful programing for the kids, classes for the adults and all types of exhibits.

Tim basically worked at the Diamond Willow booth the entire weekend. This is the place where he has done mission work the past 5 years. He has a passion for the Native American people right now! He was there to answer questions and get people interested in going out there for missions or even just donating money (seems missionaries always need money), and praying for the work at Diamond Willow. He loved it!

I went to several of the classes they had available. Most were pretty interesting. Sometimes it was hard to choose a class to go to and others times I "just knew" which one I was supposed to attend. I would also just hang out at the DW booth and answer questions the best I could.

The kid programming was wonderful! They offered classes for all ages of kids. The boys went on 2 different field trips (bounce zone and children's museum). The got to play all types of video games and have Bible lessons. They had a great time. Emma even enjoyed her classes. I almost felt a little guilty because she had to go by herself but at 4 she doesn't have any problems making friends.

There were TONS of exhibits! Everything from Christian colleges, insurance, bookstores, and so many mission trip opportunities! There were 150 commitments this weekend to go into full-time mission work!

There is something wonderful and draining about being around 5,000+ missionary minded people. I have so much respect for those that are willing to pack up and go to the farthest remote areas of Africa or try to go into "closed" countries. It almost makes me feel inadequate! However, I do know that God is using me here.

At some point down the road Tim and I are hoping to go into some sort of full-time or part-time mission work. We would like to be self-supporting so we have some time before that could become a reality. Right now, I could see us on the Indian Reservation or off to Germany, in the inner city of Indy - who knows! I just know that you can't "tell God your plans" because He knows the plans He has for us we just have to be patient, quiet, and listen. We are willing to go where he wants us to go - all in His timing.

We are already planning on attending next year. It will be in Tulsa, OK. It is the weekend before Thanksgiving should any of you be interested in going. We would love to see you there!

Also, you can check out Diamond Willow at: http://www.d-w-m.org/index.asp