Winter Conference

Soon after returning from the States, Ryan and I were headed straight off to our student winter conference.  It was held up in Ngarauwahia (middle of nowhere), just north of Hamilton.  Conferences are always fun, and, well, quite long.  We were there for almost 6 days with students.  The main theme of the conference came from Philippians 3,

“...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

We learned about the goal towards which we are striving - understanding and experiencing the treasure of the Gospel.   What does it mean to strive, and where does our power and strength to strive come from.

Our flight to Hamilton was absolutely beautiful.  I took this quick photo out the window as we were taking off.  This is a view up the coast outside of Wellington.

Once we arrived in Hamilton, it was quite cold.  There was a frost on the ground each morning which was a little new.  We don't usually see a frost in Wellington so close to the ocean.

Set up for conference.  Cherie, Sarah, and I hung loads of bunting.

Wellington staff and students were in charge of the worship band, so it was fun to see them really go for it.  We also had a little bit of a sports theme with the Olympics coming up.

On one of the days we spend some time training students on how to share their faith with others.  I'm sure you've noticed that in Student Life we really value being able to share the Gospel with others, and how important it is that every Christian and communicate what it is they believe and why.

Later that night we had a dance party - Geek themed!  It was a lot of fun, and the costumes were hilarious.

Including my husbands....ghetto geek.

There were a lot of geek glasses floating around, and suspenders...

On the last night we had a nice banquet for the students, where the staff actually serve the meals.  Here are most of the Wellington girls:

And Ms Sarah and Joane:

And lastly, a group shot of all the Wellington students!

It really was a great conference, and I'm thankful for some really encouraging and challenging conversations with students.  I know they were challenged and trying to process things they were learning.  And conference is a great time for that :)