The National Missionary Convention

We had the opportunity to attend the National Missionary Convention as a family. I was a little nervous about how this would go, but overall it was a great experience. On Thursday night we drove to Washington to stay with Jamie & Kara (my family) and their two girls. They were amazing hosts and the girls loved playing with Lilly. At the convention we saw lots of people we knew. One of my favorite things was eating lunch with the Davenports. Nathan & Lindsay are such dear friends, and we don't get to see them very often. We talked about eating in the hotel restaurant, but after checking out the long line we opted for eating our packed lunches together instead. It was such a joy to watch Grace & Addy play together. It was a reminder of what a blessing the bonds we share in Christ are. Even though we were eating simple food it was great to visit in person!

We also attended a PBT dinner with the Downings & Gorschs. It was a little crazy with all the kiddos, but I enjoyed the pieces of the inspirational message from PBT's president I heard (Grace had a melt down from being overtired). I am really sad we didn't get a picture of all the girls together. I feel so blessed that I get to be a part of the extended PBT family by helping with the Davenport's monthly newsletter. Only an awesome God can take a stay at home mom in the midwest and use her gifts to somehow bless bibleless people across the world.

One of the girls' favorite things was the big floor puzzle of the world that was at the Team Expansion booth. They did it more than once. We stopped by there a lot trying to connect with our friends Matt & Elsa (missionaries in Venezuela). But, Matt wasn't feeling the best and we weren't able to spend time with them.

While we were able to only attend one main session the conference was a good balance of family time, reconnecting with friends, and catching up with different ministries we have been involved with over the years.