Conference

This is my first time participating in a conference quite like I'm at. It's centered around mission workers who serve in a couple of dozen conferences, but then invites children and teens, mostly from within a hundred miles, but also from much farther away. I like the people I am meeting and they are all doing interesting things. For me, it's also been a challenge--mostly in a good way--to try to explain what we do and where we live to different age groups. I'll have talked to elementary, jr. high, high school, and adults by the time I'm done, and also will have preached at two friends' churches (one is a large suburban congregation and the other is a set of yoked congregations). It's an interesting place to be. I like the setting also. It's at a college campus, but one in a rural area. I get to see horse-drawn carriages, there's a beautiful lake and some nature courses, and there are various critters around (I've seen a snake, frogs and rabbits, etc.). Our kids are too young now, but it's the type of place we could maybe go as a family. I remember my Aunt Nancy has a camp her family went to, and David and I went to a camp when we were school-aged. This might be a nice compromise. Originally I thought I'd have to leave on Saturday and get a hotel, but I think I can stay an extra day if I'm willing to switch rooms. I'm hoping Saturday can be a grading/catching up day. I also found out I can visit one of my best friends from high school on the way home. I feel like this has been a productive time and I've gotten some things done. Emily's having a tough time with the kids back home. Three kids is a lot, even for four adults, and Eli's pulling some nighttime shenanigans. Hopefully things will settle out, but she's (understandably) nervous about our next conference and the transitions facing us. I'm thinking now might be a good time to check out a bunch of books from the library and to see what they have to say. Sometimes it helps just to hear what others are up to. Sometimes with the kids I still feel like we're pretty low on Maslov's Hierarchy of needs (is that right?). We're working on food and sleep and shelter. We're still a ways away from self-actualization. It's still at the survival stage.