Did you think I was gone for good? I’m not amazing like Brad – I can’t write about things when I’m tired anymore. Plus, I don’t have a phone/camera at the ready to capture the best moments. You’re stuck with iPad photos and a weak narrative.
Wednesday morning we left Seward at 4:00. Throughout the whole trip we had rain, but the first three hours were dark and stormy, so the night sky would light up every so often. It would have been beautiful if it weren’t so scary. It let up for a little while, then got worse.
Our driver got us there with no trouble, so for that I am eternally grateful. The day’s presentations and dinner were wonderful. There was an illusionist after dinner who had a great Christian message, but I don’t have a photo of that. I was a bit distracted wondering where the mist in the air was coming from that made the spotlights look cooler. Lloyd has a mist machine for dances, so I consider myself an expert. (Ha.)
The exhibit hall had many wonderful displays, but I laughed out loud when I first walked in. All of the Concordias were represented: Ann Arbor, Irvine, Portland, etc., but they had these sweet little round-table displays and one or two representatives with a handful of free pens. Can you see what’s in the background?
Seward’s booth was HUGE!!! They created a big ol’ room and filled it SO much give-away swag! Shirts, blankets, coozies, lip balm, pens, magnets, pins, santizing wipes in a Concordia dispenser – just gobs and gobs of stuff. The identifying display (the tall thing) had t.v. monitors all over it and it was so tall! I confess that this was my first thought:
It was loved by all. Concordia Nebraska cranks out nearly all the Lutheran teachers for Synod, so this was their wheelhouse. It was great.
My sessions were good, and I took a little time to walk around our area, but foolishly didn’t walk to the arch. It was freezing cold, though, so no real loss.
My very favorite was the ending keynote before closing worship. Sally Lloyd Jones is the lady who wrote The Storybook Bible, and she was simply wonderful. She told the story of how she came to be an author during a very dark time in her life. She had lost her job and didn’t know how she would keep her apartment in New York City. She passed a construction site and thought about how a huge skyscraper starts as a giant hole in the ground for a very long time. The hole is deep and ugly, but the foundation is being laid for something incredible yet to come. It was awesome.
Worship was incredible, also. The A Cappella choir was there and I saw people I knew, including some CDC coworkers and Todd and Kathryn’s daughter.
However, coming home, the effects of sitting down for so many days had taken their toll. My knees and hips just can’t handle crossing my legs for so long. It was a great trip, but it’s good to be home.
Brad says
That sounds like a great conference. Except for the driving through storms.
…and your drawing looks like something I’d see on Reddit. Hehe…