17 August 2009

So here we are at the end of the day...and what a day...seriously it feels like two days in one.

The Conference went very well...a full house...even more than a full house...about half an hour into the proceedings chairs were added to the stage and that is where the Aussie's and Kiwi's sat for the rest of the day.
The conference began with a presentation to David from the Combined Pentecostal churches of Sri Lanka for his many years...more than 18 years...in the service of children's ministry in Sri Lanka. He was given a very impressive plaque...it was wonderful to see him being recognised for all the work that he has put in for such a long time.

There were lots of younger people in attendance - mainly women but some men also. They were all very keen and seemed to get a lot out of all the various sessions.

Pastor David spoke on the conference theme...INVEST!...and the local team went with a drama that David had written but they really brought to life. The main character 'Toffa' may have been played by a different actor to previous years, but Harsha really outdid himself.

It was all mild chaos in the change from morning tea to the workshops but finally we found places for everyone to gather and they proceeded. David spoke on the challenges in reaching and teaching boys. Julie's workshop was on the ministry to parents of pre-schoolers. Barbara spent some time going through some basics on how children develop and Carol looked at some creative teaching strategies for keeping kids learning. Sarah and Bethany led a group of young people on the importance of being a young leader and how to lead kids to trust in Jesus.
And that was just the first session!

The second workshop time started straight away...people shuffling to their preferred topic and we launched off again...it was such a privilege to speak to so many awesome children's ministry leaders and workers. They gave us their full attention and it is our hope and prayer that they were blessed and encouraged by our various workshops.

Pastor Sujith provided an amazing lunch for us...and a little air conditioned room to retreat to. Who would have thought that standing and talking could be so draining!? Boy was that room a welcome treat! With lunch done, Bethany ran a couple of hilarious games with the delegates, one involving men wearing dresses and stuffing balloons all over, and the second was sticking paper to your forehead and huffing and puffing to blow that sheet off. It gave us all a very good laugh...especially to see David trying to put a dress on! Also, a big thank you to the pregnant lady who donated the frocks.