Student Convention

     Well, we returned on Saturday evening safe and sound from our A.C.E. Student Convention in St. Cloud, Minnesota.  We had a great time while we were there!  If you have not figured it out yet, Tyler and I are not the best picture people, so I do not have any pictures to post for you to see.  I did take two pictures while I was there, which I will tell you about later...they will probably not be posted though.
     For most of the trip over there I rode in the boys' van, since Tyler was driving.  It was quite an adventure!  They did not stop eating from the time we pulled out of the church parking lot until we pulled into the hotel parking lot.  At one point I heard one of the boys say, "I don't think I have eaten anything for a couple of minutes, so I better eat something!"  There were also a couple of the boys that did not stop talking the whole time we drove!  For the last couple of hours I transferred myself to the girls' van for a little bit of sanity!
     Wednesday morning we were up and running early in the morning.  I had an early bird in my room who's alarm went off at 4:00 a.m., which was only 3:00 at home because of the hour difference.  We were all ready to leave the hotel by about 7:30, and thus started 3 days of extreme busyness!  On the first day I volunteered myself to time the track events as well as be in charge of the long jump.  About 15 minutes into it I was wishing I could be back inside.  It was cold and very windy and gloomy.  I was thankful after a couple of hours to finally be able to go back inside.
     That evening we heard our first message from Pastor Robert Watkins, who is pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Yucca Valley, California.  He was the perfect preacher for a large group of teenagers.  He kept them in tune with him and listening the whole time.  As a young boy he was sick often because of respiratory problems, and he spent that extra time in his room practicing magic tricks and ventriloquism.  I have never seen anyone do ventriloquism as well as he did!  I sat in amazement as I watched a lamb, a duck, and a spider take on personality and come to life right in front of my eyes!  I remembered how I struggled and struggled in college when we had a section on ventriloquism in one of my storytelling classes.  He "threw his voice" so well, and not once did any part of his face indicate that it was him speaking and not the lamb, duck, or spider.  He preached some very convicting messages for me, and I am sure for the teenagers as well.  You could tell that he loved teenagers.  He spent a lot of time during the day talking to them and playing games with them, etc.
     Something fun that I was able to do was judge the instrumental competitions.  As I sat in the room, looking at the nervous kids who stood in front of me, it brought back memories of me having the same nervous look and sick feeling in my stomach that they probably had.  It was very interesting to be on the opposite side of it all, looking for mistakes and giving notes on how they could improve.  I tried to be as positive as I could, remembering how discouraging it can be to get the judges' forms back, showing what all you did wrong.  Each person did a good job, and I comend them all for the work they did.  I think that playing an instrument in a competition is one of the most difficult things to do.  I would rather sing or give a speech any day!
     One minor difficulty that I developed during the trip was with my feet.  By Wednesday night they were HUGE!  I have never seen my feet this large...they were at least twice their normal size.  It was not only my feet but also my ankles and legs.  I could feel the skin on my legs stretching.  It was a very odd feeling!  When I looked down at my feet with my shoes on, it looked like bread dough rising out of two black pans.  When I took my shoes off in the hotel room I had to laugh because my feet looked like two ballons with little toes wiggling at the end.  I did take two pictures of my feet, but I really do not think that anyone wants to look at my nasty feet!  By Thursday morning, the pastor's wife, who is also a nurse, told me to go take my shoes off and put on flip-flops.  It was a blessing to be allowed to do that, even though it was not according to their dress code.  My feet are still balloon size, and I am afraid that they will remain that way until this little boy of ours is born!
     Our students did a great job in all that they competed in, and we were proud of them.  They also all had great attitudes the whole time, even though they were very worn-out and tired.  On Friday evening, after all was said and done, we celebrated by going out to Olive Garden.  It was also a nice way to sort of celebrate Tyler's birthday a day early.  We pray that the Lord was able to use the week to deal with the hearts of our students.
     For the return trip, Tyler drove the girls' van, which was so nice for me! The wonderful South Dakota wind was horrible on the way home, and it took all of Tyler's strength to keep the van, with the trailer, on the road.  I am sure that he was the most thankful to be home out of all of us!
     All-in-all, it was a good trip, and we are praising the Lord for that!  I am looking forward to next year!

**Note:  I really am sorry that no pictures have been posted for months!  I will try to post pictures about something sooner or later!