An Invasion of Youth!

How we managed to accommodate 13 guests in our home for the weekend is still a bit unclear, but it was a ton of fun. Last month I taught for a week for the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base in Jacksonville, FL. At the end of my last session I casually mentioned that if any of them were ever in Atlanta, they were more then welcome in our home. The school leader approached me later to ask how serious I was about the invitation. "Why do you ask?", I said. "Well, we're going to be in a conference in Charlotte, NC, and I'm wondering if we can by your place on our way home and stay with you guys for the weekend."

So the 8 students (18-21 years old) and 5 staff for this season's DTS (Discipleship Training School) converged upon us on Friday evening. We had a wonderful time picking up conversations initiated in JAX; drove up to Helen, GA; ate and fellowshipped a lot; and basically enjoyed getting to know each other better. Patrice and I love having guests in our home, so it was great fun. Josiah also enjoyed having the gang around, and didn't seem to mind being crammed into the back seat with a few of the girls.

The event was a great opportunity for us to get a bit of experience regarding what life will be like for us during The Confab, which is scheduled to begin on January 23rd. A few of the staff and students are interested in attending one of our confabs next year, so that was encouraging. The leadership couple, Todd & Sarah Thibault, hope to come back sometime for a visit as well. They are a very cool young couple who think way out of the box, and have a strong call to missions. Nothing thrills me more than the opportunity to positively influence young people who want to work full-time in some aspect of ministry, particularly foreign missions.

Homecoming & Fall Colors

Patrice and I spent the weekend in Cleveland, TN, at the Lee University Homecoming. We had an awesome time with Jill and Desmund, my sister and brother-in-law, Paul and Darlia Conn, and other friends and family. I graduated from Lee in 1980, so it was a blast to also be reunited with a few old friends that I was in school with so long ago.

One of the events was a 5K race, that Patrice excitedly competed in. She loves to run, and has participated in a number of half-marathons, and various other distance races. She ran a very good time, doing better than a lot of Lee students.

Coming home we drove through the mountains of North Georgia, enjoying the lovely Fall colors. This is my favorite time of year here in Georgia, and this must have been the peak weekend for the brilliant yellows, reds, and oranges.