Candidate Seminar - Day 10

Slept in a little today. Packed and oops.... I had used a cable lock to secure my laptop to the hotel desk. All week I had kept track of the key. Some days I even took my laptop with me to sessions. I didn't use my laptop much on Sunday, and also later realised I couldn't find the keys to the cable lock.

I thought, "Certainly it will turn up." We unpacked/repacked everything and dug through every inch of the car......no joy. So, I went to the front desk and borrowed a big pair of pliers, using them to cut my way through the cable. When we get home I'll have to get a locksmith to open the lock that is still locked onto the side of my computer.

We made our way toward Messiah College for the Missionary Enrichment Conference. The are sessions in the morning and evening in which pastors from countries all over the world are speaking about how God has blessed their congregations through the worked of ABWE. This is ABWE's 80th anniversary year. It's more than patting ourselves on the back. It's renewing (for some) and igniting for others an understanding of how the good news about Jesus Christ is being preached all over the world. ABWE missionaries have had the privilege to start churches in numerous countries. Now, in those same countries indigenous Christians are taking up the work of spreading the message and sending out missionaries. In other areas, like Central adn Eastern Europe, ABWE is working to support existing churches to grow and multiply. Also during Missionary Enrichment, the new appointees take part in Candidate Seminar II.

So, anyway, we got to Messiah college, registered, and found our dorm. It's everything that you would expect from a underclassman dorm. Brick walls, little beds, bathroom is down the hall. Marge and I are roommates, but we have to sleep in separate beds because we just wouldn't fit together in the little single beds. It's actually kinda fun.

Our room is right by the loading doc so Marge opened our window and had me hand all of our luggage through. It's weird to feel like I'm in college again, but it's also fun. Our Candidate Seminar workshop today was on Evangelism and Discipleship. It was challenging and informative.

Since this is Missionary Enrichment, there are active missionaries here that are on furlough, retired missionaries, and others. So in the evening we are all together and we heard from a pastor from Hong Kong and then a pastor from the Philippines.

I was asked last Saturday to fill in for the individual who originally was supposed to play bass guitar with the worship team. It was fun and quite challenging. It's been a good day, and right now marge is trying to sleep while I sit here typing.

Good night.

Adam