8 a.m. was the beginning of the convention for us Friday morning, although 10 a.m. was the official time registration opened. Set up only took about an hour, and the vendor hall was large and spacious.

Our speaking schedule was quite full, so Maxwells were often coming and going. The young people’s sessions were met with enthusiasm and gratefulness, which gave us an extra measure of joy. Hearts were extremely open to the messages Dad and Mom shared! They were blessed by many parents coming up after sessions, asking questions and commenting. Throughout the weekend, people expressed their gratitude for us being at the convention.

After hearing Christopher’s Evangelism session, we heard of two young men, who, closely watched by their father, handed out nearly fifty tracts each at the nearby bus stop during the lunch break.  One lady told mom that her daughters had been so blessed by the Keepers at Home session they had come to her with tears of joy.

Our music was the most challenging time we’ve probably ever experienced. The reason? A prom was just beginning on the other side of the wall (which was really just a movable partition), and the DJ was revving up the music. At first, it truly felt like a spiritual battle: it sounded like the Tower of Babel coming from the other room, and then you had our side. Two CheNH leaders went to see what could be done about toning the noise down. After the first song, it felt a little easier to push out the distractions and concentrate on the task ahead of us, plus, by that time, the noise had quieted down to a somewhat manageable level, although some of the family was still struggling to keep going.

It ended up that the manager of the hotel became the “go between”: and he worked to keep the music quiet during Dad’s Building a Vision session, for which we were very thankful.

Since the vendor hall closed at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and Dad and Mom’s last session was ending around 4:45, it was decided to move the book tables to outside of Dad and Mom’s session. Joseph, John, Anna, Jesse, and Mary headed up the process, but they had so many helpers, the move took only a few minutes! Thank you to all those who pitched in.

Thank you, Lord Jesus,
for a fruitful three weeks!

Sarah

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain” (James 5:7).