The beginning of July, my brother (Luke) and I had the opportunity to take the youth group to Orlando for the MCUSA Convention held biannually. I LOVE conference. I am an admitted conference junkie, so it was a no brainer that I wanted to go. Luke was more on the fence, but was willing to be an additional sponsor. The youth were just excited to go to Orlando.
The five days we were together were fantastic. They were surprised with the number of seminars offered each day. They tried some alone and with others. The worship experiences are like none other. There were about 1700 youth worshipping together in a room, singing praises to God, united in faith. It was spectacular. The bonding time for our group as we shared meals, new experiences, and living quarters was worth it. It was so neat to see them grow, discuss, question, discover, step out of their comfort zones, step up to challenges, meet new people, bond with each other, and catch the fire for the greater church body. Here are a few pictures:
While I was gone, Jeremy handled mornings and evenings with the girls, but they had play dates during the day so he could work. They love play dates. One day they spent with Johanna picking strawberries, playing in the sprinkler, and baking. Another day was with their cousins (Cale and Landen); they baked cinnamon rolls from scratch and played. Another day was with friends from school – dress up, Barbies, and bouncing on the trampoline filled that day. The first day was with Jeremy and his family at the Fredricksburg Fourth of July parade. Saturday ended the week with a day at home, and a night filled with fireworks.
They missed me…. but only a little. And that is the way I like it!
