National Missionary Convention

The first National Missionary Convention met in Springfield, IL in 1947 and the 60th was held this year in Cincinnati, Ohio. For Greta and me is has always been a chance to meet long-time missionary friends and folk who have supported our work over the years. This year's convention was no different except it is getting larger every year. Over 6000 people attended the Cincinnati convention and there were about 700 different booths and displays from missions, mission agencies and mission related works all over the world.

We enjoyed having lunch with John and Anne Blackburn at a near-by English tea house. The Blackburns have worked in China for several years and are moving to the new team in Verona, Italy, so we will be serving them as their Field Coordinator for Team Expansion.

A lot of our time was spent at the Team Expansion booth meeting with friends, supporters and people interested in missions. Every year we make dozens of contacts at the convention with people who are interested in serving in missions. We try to connect them with the right place and type of work for their interest and talents.

Our Pictures of Verona, Italy

Verona Italy

Copy the link below and paste it into the address line of your internet search engine. Then click on the "Watch Show" link just above the picture. Let me know what you think. As time goes on, we will add other shows.
The Coliseum in Verona, at right
is 2000 years old and still in use.



http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=photoserver&p=hopewell&AID=4950804&Pres=Y

Going Home Again

I think it was Thomas Wolfe who wrote a book of stories he called "You Can't Go Home Again." It is a theme that has occurred to me several times recently as I have talked with missionary friends about culture shock and the problems of adjusting to a new culture. Most people know that life will be different when they move to Africa or even Europe, but the are often more culturally shocked then they return home.
This past week-end Greta and I attended and I gave a dedication sermon in the first church we served as Minister just after graduating from Bible college - The Slate Valley Christian Church located on a winding country road north of the little town of Owingsville in Bath County, Kentucky. It was 1960, we were 22 years old and just out of college.
While not much has changed in this "Little Church in the Valley", everything is different, and so are we. So while I think Thomas Wolfe was right, you can't go home again, it sure is nice to try. Some old friends are gone, passed away or moved, but a surprising number are still there. One lady was a teen ager then and played the piano for the church is now a retired school teacher, retiring after 31 years of teaching. One of the church elders, whom I thought was much older then, is still there, still an elder and looks much the same. Others have changed so much I could not recognize them at all and we had a lot of fun guessing who was who.
It was also inspiring to see the church still thriving. It is not a "mega" church or even a "big" church. There were about 70 people there for the Sunday afternoon program. The little sanctuary was actually crammed. Everyone was happy to see the beautiful new stained glass windows, new carpet, church furniture and other projects they had completed and were there to dedicate to the glory of God. Probably most heartening was the large number of children. The church was established in 1898. If they keep going like they are, they can celebrate 200 years in 2098.