Full Days at Fall Conference

I can't even begin to guess how many locations we're all staying in this week for JV fall conference! Along with every bed filled at Malenovice, the 400 of us are in at least five other hotels, and some (like me) are staying at home.

So this is a familiar scene in the morning as people are walking from the parking lot or from other hotels, to come in for worship at 8:30 in the tent!

This morning I walked in with these two.

This is the first fall conference that both Caleb (our son) and Jacob (son of Dan and Laura Hash who co-founded JV with us) are attending as JV staff! Caleb and his family arrived two weeks ago to Albania, and Jacob and his wife arrived in Poland to serve there. It's very special to have them here!

In between our two morning sessions, we gathered all 400 of us for a JV fall conference picture. I don't have the full one yet, but I have this one of everyone taking selfies!

This morning I was in Dave's session, where he dealt with the issues of gender that our society is facing. One of these days I'll post the links to his talks. They were profound, sobering, and hope-filled.

One of Dave's hallmarks of teaching is involving the audience, letting them give feedback, answer his questions, and share their thoughts. Even in a room full of 200, he still does it!

This afternoon I was downstairs in our old meeting room (well...it's still a meeting room, just not one that's large enough to hold a group of 400!) for a special rehearsal.

Tomorrow night we're celebrating JV's 25th anniversary, and there are a few surprises for everyone that will take place!

After finishing that, I hurried down the hill to one of our cabins to sit in on a master class workshop, taught by none other than Tyler!

Tyler is an excellent Bible teacher, and I learned some new things from him in his class on "Does the Bible really say that?"

In the evening it was back down to the cultural house in Frydlant for our evening program. This year we have the privilege of sitting under Dr. Michael Reeves teaching.

I've heard about him for years, but not read anything he's written nor heard him in person. What an absolutely treat and privilege to sit under his teaching!!

If you ever get a chance to read his book, "Delighting in the Trinity", you are in for a rich experience. He spoke on that tonight and I was very moved by it. I can't wait to read the book now!