What is it about?
Every February, our church hosts a mission conference and invites several of the local pastors and foreign missionaries—whom we as a church support—to speak during the conference sessions.
Preparing a booth for the country of Tibet
Several months before the conference even starts, our church members divide into different groups, so they can begin preparing for the various ways of helping out during the time of the conference. These include anything from working in the kitchen (preparing food and snacks for several hundred guests), to watching children in the nursery, as well as participating in several special numbers and group presentations.
The most creative booth, voted according to the guests, :-) was assembled by the Career fellowship group.
To learn more about different cultures and countries around the world, several groups in the church are also asked to creatively display different aspects about a certain country. This year, our church created booths to represent the countries of Bangladesh, Turkey, Thailand, Tibet, Afghanistan, and China. Many of the groups were very creative in their decorations and displays of their assigned country!
For many, these annual mission conferences are also reunions for fellow seminary students and long-time friends.:-) Numerous pastors, visitors, and friends stay up into the early hours of the morning visiting and fellowshipping with one another after each evening session.
This Year’s Conference
This was our family’s second mission conference to attend. (Last year was our first, and we only had the chance to attend the evening sessions.) This year, around 20-40 local pastors (and some of their church members) from all over the Philippines attended this conference as well as 3 foreign Filipino missionaries. One of the missionary families currently lives on the field, while the other two are in the of process raising support for when they work overseas, which will take place within the following months.
Every year, these mission conferences have a certain theme, that is woven into all the messages, songs, and even special numbers. This year’s theme was in the form of a prayer, “Lord, Lay the World Upon My Heart.”
Some of Our Favorite Moments
So much happened this past week, that it is so hard to define our highlights and most memorable moments. Cleaning, cooking, listening, singing, visiting—we enjoyed it all!
For many, these annual mission conferences are also reunions for fellow seminary students and long-time friends.:-) Numerous pastors, visitors, and friends stay up into the early hours of the morning visiting and fellowshipping with one another after each evening session.This Year’s Conference
This was our family’s second mission conference to attend. (Last year was our first, and we only had the chance to attend the evening sessions.) This year, around 20-40 local pastors (and some of their church members) from all over the Philippines attended this conference as well as 3 foreign Filipino missionaries. One of the missionary families currently lives on the field, while the other two are in the of process raising support for when they work overseas, which will take place within the following months.
Every year, these mission conferences have a certain theme, that is woven into all the messages, songs, and even special numbers. This year’s theme was in the form of a prayer, “Lord, Lay the World Upon My Heart.”
Some of Our Favorite Moments
So much happened this past week, that it is so hard to define our highlights and most memorable moments. Cleaning, cooking, listening, singing, visiting—we enjoyed it all!
Even though there were times when we could only understand about 40% of the messages (some knew only a little English)—every single one of the sessions were spiritually encouraging and uplifting :-) It was neat to see the different lessons that God taught all of us through the preaching at this conference!
Visiting and fellowshipping with others was also one of our enjoyable aspect of this conference.:-) It was a delight to visit with those who came from faraway provinces and churches just to attend this weeklong conference. During breaks and after sessions, everyone squeezed in opportunities to meet new faces and catch-up with old friends.
Sarah and Paula (one of the missionary girls)
The last night of the conference we stayed up ‘til almost midnight visiting with many of those who attending the conference. (Many of the guests even stayed up until 3am visiting with one another! Nothing better than an all-nighter.:->)
We thoroughly enjoyed meeting and actually getting to know some of the missionaries and pastors. Every Sunday, we have seen their names listed on our church banner in the prayer section. So, it was meaningful to actually meet those whom we pray for each week.:-)
One of the missionary wives expressed, “It is such a blessing coming to this church! Everyone knows my name, and I know they really mean it when they say, ‘I’ve been praying for you.’” It was very encouraging to hear the various testimonies of the missionaries and pastors as well as to hear what God has been doing in their lives.
The day after the conference, we had the wonderful privilege of visiting with the Elupre family over lunch. It was such a joy to meet with them and get to know them more! They are currently serving in a closed country, so it was especially interesting to hear first-hand about their work over there as well as some of the daily experiences of Christians in Communist countries.
We were so thankful for the opportunity that we had to participate in and attend this year’s mission conference. It truly was a blessing and encouragement to us, in more ways than one.:-) It is our prayer that the Lord would lay the world upon our hearts, and that we would be willing and available to serve Him in whatever manner He calls.
We thoroughly enjoyed meeting and actually getting to know some of the missionaries and pastors. Every Sunday, we have seen their names listed on our church banner in the prayer section. So, it was meaningful to actually meet those whom we pray for each week.:-)One of the missionary wives expressed, “It is such a blessing coming to this church! Everyone knows my name, and I know they really mean it when they say, ‘I’ve been praying for you.’” It was very encouraging to hear the various testimonies of the missionaries and pastors as well as to hear what God has been doing in their lives.
The day after the conference, we had the wonderful privilege of visiting with the Elupre family over lunch. It was such a joy to meet with them and get to know them more! They are currently serving in a closed country, so it was especially interesting to hear first-hand about their work over there as well as some of the daily experiences of Christians in Communist countries.We were so thankful for the opportunity that we had to participate in and attend this year’s mission conference. It truly was a blessing and encouragement to us, in more ways than one.:-) It is our prayer that the Lord would lay the world upon our hearts, and that we would be willing and available to serve Him in whatever manner He calls.
"The power of a yielded life: God is looking for availability-not ability." - Pastor De Vera
(Please click here to see more pictures of our week)
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