i figured tcx would be a good way to get things rolling again. i had planned on trying to blog every day to share stories, but of course that did not happen. trying to get internet access and time was somewhat difficult here!
it has been a great conference so far. we've had some interesting complications to deal with, even more so than other years, but God is still providing and moving here.
the staff always arrives a day early to prepare and enjoy a little staff family time. it feels great to reconnect with friends that i only get to see at conferences and through e-mail and phone calls. despite living all over the upper midwest region (wi, mn, ia, nd, sd) these people understand me and care for me in ways that other friends just can't relate to.
the students arrived on the 28th in a flood. this was the first year i didn't work in the actual registration room, so it felt a little strange to not greet them and check them in, but i am enjoying my role this year. i help lead a team of staff that is basically a gopher team. we run errands and perform tasks that other teams need help with to keep the conference running smoothly. it can be an interesting job ( like where can i find 4 track hurdles?!) and it is a great way to serve others. of course there are the headaches and sweat that comes with it too, but i think i've enjoyed it more this year than others.
our first session, we had a slight issue. our main speaker for the night, rick james, wasn't flying in until the last minute because his mother died over Christmas and the funeral was that morning. he then got stuck for 3 hours in traffic that did not move and missed his flight. so about 2 hours before the first session was supposed to start, we were without our main speaker. so my friend adam penning stepped up to the challenge and gave a great talk. i was on staff with adam at uw-madison. he gave a great talk on our theme "awaken" which comes from the verses found in ephesians 5:8-17:
8for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
"Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
we have around 1450 students here which is great! there are about 40 here from the fox valley. i've haven't had a lot of time to hang out with them, but anytime i do, they are so excited to see me and that is a great feeling. :)
thanks to technology, our morning session on the 29th, we were able to have rick james speak to us via skype! he was at home (possibly in his pyjamas!) and yet still able to speak to our students. what a blessing that was.
our other speakers this week are cheryl fletcher and darryl smith. if you want to hear any of their talks or hear other stories from tcx, check out www.tcx2010.com
darryl is the national director for student venture, campus crusade's high school ministry. we actually have a student venture conference going on here at the same time called fastbreak. i thought freshmen in college looked young, but i forgot how young high school students could look! :) its been fun to see them enjoying their own conference and join with us for the new years party.
we had a successful day of outreach with lots of fun stories coming from the fox valley students. in total 1121 spiritual conversations were initiated, 523 of those were Gospel conversations, and 79 people indicated a decision for Christ! the students are always so pumped up when they return, and this year, despite being completely soaked from the RAIN, they were still excited and couldn't stop talking about their day!
one of the fox valley students sharing her day of outreach story in front of the entire conference:
as the students shared their stories, a couple of my staff friends were on stage behind them writing the names of the people the students had shared with. it was really cool to watch and a great prayer spot the rest of the conference as they moved the boards out into the main gathering area.
i will admit i was quite tired by the time the new years party rolled around, but i did enjoy watching part of the dance competition and it is always a great feeling to pray and worship the new year in! singing chris tomlin's song our God (is greater) up until midnight with 2000 people is a pretty good start to the new year!
so happy new year to all of you and i pray that it is off to a good start for you too!
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