Quality may be subjective, but quantity is not. This was clearly the most attended GYC ever, with well over 3,000 attendees on the opening night, and reports of close to 6,000 attendees on Sabbath. It has come to be a powerful movement.

This year’s theme was “unASHAMED” (yeah, capitalized like that). A little irony for me was that in the last year or so, I took down my personal unashamed.net website. I’m laughing. Maybe I was just ahead of my time. (The good news is that all of the worthy articles from that site are now available on this one, or will be when they are finally edited.)

The Meetings

The main (plenary) meetings at GYC were very good.

David Asscherick’s presentations were all first rate, and hit on important themes. His talks were titled, “Unashamed of the Crucified Christ,” “Unashamed of the Creative Christ,” and “Unashamed of the Coming Christ.” These talks could be summarized, respectively, as: (1) recognizing the scandalous, foolish reputation of First Century Christianity helps prepare us for scorn in our day, and the death of Jesus for us must remain a vital theme; (2) Jesus’ creative power, understood through a literal, historical understanding of Genesis 1 and 2, is essential to our message and mission today, and there is no place for Christianity, much less Seventh-day Adventism, in a theory of Darwinian origins; and (3) we need an urgency in our evangelism that is not based on current events, but instead is grounded in the urgency of human need.

My great disappointment with conservative Adventism is its tendency to focus on doctrinal correctness and mission activity to the exclusion of Jesus-focused discipleship. If it can be successfully argued that Christian doctrine stands or falls with Genesis 1 and 2, it is even more obvious that Christian practice stands or falls with our connection to a living Christ. Sometimes we conservative Adventists come across as straight-laced religionists bent on evangelism and orthodoxy, but come up short in living as followers of a risen Lord. I include myself in this, because in reflection on my own life I often see more theory than substance. But of this I am certain: If Jesus is not a living reality for us today, all of these other things we do are vain and empty.

For these reasons, David’s presentations were a breath of fresh air, because I felt that he spoke not merely as a conservative Seventh-day Adventist, but as an ardent Christian. I think that is essential.

Many of the meetings, and not just David’s, are now available for download on GYC’s website. (They are also available in audio format on AudioVerse.) They will also air eventually on 3ABN, and be available from 3ABN on DVD.

The Seminars

I went to the first couple seminars, and then for various reasons — somewhat contrary to my wishes — missed the remaining ones. All the seminars looked good, although it was hard to find ones that particularly interested me. Many of the topics seemed all too familiar. I guess that is a symptom of going to GYC for so many years. Obviously GYC needs to cater to the new recruits, and not aim at the generation of no-longer-youth.

The first seminar I wanted to attend, Dr. Pipim’s, was totally full. Instead I went to one about reaching people in one’s community, and it was quite good. I got into Dr. Pipim’s seminar about new spirituality movements for the second seminar. It was a good message, although I can’t say I learned anything new, since the topic is a bit of a hobbyhorse for me. He did throw out some cool soundbites though: “Liberals are nice people with bad ideas. Conservatives are people with good ideas and difficult personalities.” He said we need the liberal’s niceness, combined with the conservative’s biblical fidelity, and I agree. “What we call a ‘liberal’ today, in the past we called ‘backslidden.’” (Both quotes slightly paraphrased due to my poor memory.) He went on to say that the term “liberal” is a gloss that makes spiritual problems sound like just a variation in an acceptable spectrum than runs from liberal to conservative. The same could probably be said for “conservative.” He also said he didn’t particularly care for the relativistic terms “liberal” and “conservative,” and I feel likewise. But they are terms in common use, so we have to deal with them. I should add that this seminar was about holiness versus the nebulous spirituality of new spiritual movements; the part about liberals and conservatives was just a short tangent.

The Testimonies

One thing you can always expect to hear at GYC is a lineup of great testimonies. There was an incredible, miracle-infused testimony by a woman named Deniza Hush, former Muslim and New Age practitioner. If you can listen to the recording of it, by all means do so. There were also other testimonies of young people doing evangelism, and more.

The Panels

There were two panel discussion at GYC, both on Sabbath.

If there was one low point at GYC for me, it was the morning panel, which featured a number of highly respected church leaders, including Mark Finley, Mike Ryan, Don Schneider, and several others (all GC vice presidents, I believe). The questions put to these leaders were very good — dealing with subjects such as the promotion of evolution and homosexuality at particular SDA educational institutions, inefficiencies in church organizational structure, and inequalities in how the church treats “too liberal” and “too conservative” ministries and organizations. The early answers were good. But their later answers were evasive and unsatisfactory. Although I disagreed with only a few minor things that they said, it was these leaders’ inability to directly answer these critical questions that left me disappointed. But there is no need to take my word for it; listen, and decide for yourself. Despite their weak answers, it seemed that the great body of attendees were strongly united on most or all of the topics presented.

(On the topic of the promotion of evolution and homosexuality within the church, the response of the leaders was that these conflicts shouldn’t happen, faithful members should make their voice heard to the respective boards, members should work through the system, and the intellectually honest thing would be for those with divergent views to remove themselves from their church positions. However, it’s obvious that members have attempted to follow this advice, without seeing the problems corrected. Eventually firmer steps have to be taken, because the false teachers in question have responsible, teaching, administrative positions. But the panelists were unable to give a definite answer about how this problem should be stopped. Likening the situation to Jesus’ patience with Judas was inappropriate; despite Judas’ internal struggles, we have no reason to believe that Judas was openly teaching contrary to Jesus. The reference to the situation with J.H. Kellogg was valid, but we are already past that stage; these problems have already come to fruition.)

The afternoon panel was much better. It was focused on more everyday subjects (how do you find a mate? what are some Christian guidelines for music? what does the Bible say about homosexuality? how can someone trust God who has been sexually abused as a child? and others), and the answers were biblical, practical, warm, and at times witty. It was just an enjoyable discussion to listen to.

The Exhibits

There was a fairly large showing of exhibitors this year; it seems to feel more and more like ASI all the time.

I was attending GYC on my own dime, so I was not officially working 3ABN’s booth. But I did help out a little, mainly because I wanted to observe how things were going. Our booth had many visitors, and the items we were giving away seemed well-liked. This was especially true for the Origins DVD that we made especially for this event, featuring a 3ABN Today Live program with David Asscherick and Sean Pitman on the subject of creation versus evolution. Another new item that moved well was our Rapid Bible Reference cards.

I was glad to see the EGW Estate present, and showing the new beta of the Ellen White software for Mac, since I’ve been involved in that project. Mac laptops seemed to be “the computer to have” at this year’s GYC; they were everywhere. So I was glad to see the Mac software receiving attention.

Pan de Vida had a great booth with a strong showing of beautifully designed, spiritually rich materials. They seem to have a knack for producing content that looks and tastes fresh.

My brother’s new book Deeper sold reasonably well. I was told he sold over 100 copies at the event. (I designed the cover for it, so am glad to know it’s moving.)

Friends

The abundance of friends attending GYC is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it is good to see everyone. On the other, there is little time to spend with any of them. People are always on the go, and when there is a moment to catch up, they tend to get mobbed.

Most of the time at GYC events I sit alone or with strangers. I wouldn’t say this is exactly my preference. I always look for friends to sit with, but somehow I can never find any (or else they are already sitting with others), and eventually I give up trying. At mealtimes I just follow the flag-wavers to whichever table, and sometimes I end up with people I know, but most of the time with ones I don’t.

So if you were at GYC, and we didn’t get much time together, please don’t take it personally. I’m glad I got to see some of you, to know you are still alive and working, and to catch up a bit.

Coming soon: Generation of Youth for Christ, San Jose.

From the website: “This year, GYC 2008 will be held in San Jose, California, on the dates of December 17-21, 2008, and you’re invited! Hosting its seventh annual conference, GYC’s theme this year is “For This Purpose.” How do we find this purpose? By listening to, and studying God’s Word. Interesting speakers such as Justin Kim, Randy Skeete, Radim Passer, Chelsy Jourdan, Alistair Huong, Doug Batchelor, and more, will lead us in studying how we can reflect Christ’s character. This conference will change you! You will discover yourself thinking and planning differently — you will truly find purpose in your life. As of July 13, registration is open, so sign up now!  Please see the registration information and download the form below. For more information on how you can promote GYC in your church or to your friends, please send an email to info@gycweb.org or go to our resources tab and enter your information under the Sign up for PR packet section.”

]]> http://michaelprewitt.com/2008/09/generation-of-youth-for-christ-conference-668/feed/ 0 http://michaelprewitt.com/2008/01/army-of-youth-website-1306/ http://michaelprewitt.com/2008/01/army-of-youth-website-1306/#comments Sun, 13 Jan 2008 03:17:01 +0000 Michael http://michaelprewitt.com/?p=1306 Continue reading →]]> If you are a Seventh-day Adventist young person, or have interest in youth ministry, check out the Army of Youth website. This is a new (still in beta) website, aiming to be a ministry hub for Adventist youth, incorporating features from social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, but with a strong spiritual purpose. It was announced at the 2007 GYC conference, and it sounds very promising.

So far there are only a small number of things you can do there, and the interface is a little hard to navigate for certain things. But it’s coming along, and the developers are active. It’s a good time to claim your username!

I’ve noticed the membership count has been steadily growing, and will soon hit 1000 members. It might even happen this weekend!

In my opinion the spiritual highlight of this year’s GYC was David Shin’s third talk, “The Tipping Point of Revival.” It really challenged me to deepen my prayer life and give more attention to personal devotions. If you missed it, try to find a copy of the video. It will eventually re-air on 3ABN. And I believe it will also eventually be released on the GYC website. The testimony by Steve Kasperbaurer was also excellent. By pure chance, I later ended up sitting in the same row as Steve, and consequently at the close of that service we ended up praying together. I was impressed by the depth and sincerity and directness of his prayer. I believe he is a true man of God.

Props to my friends, Alan and Nicole Parker, who by various accounts had a sell-out seminar at GYC on dating, sex, and marriage. (Of course, they had an unfair advantage. Advertising a seminar on sex and marriage at a youth convention is like pouring chum into a shark tank.) I didn’t go, partly because there were some other seminars I really wanted to attend, and partly because I had this nagging fear that if I stepped through the door, Nicole would be tempted to use me as an illustration.

My brother Eugene Prewitt led a GYC seminar on the 1888 General Conference convention in Minneapolis. This was a subject that interested me in my early years of exploring the Adventist message. In high school I bought the book 1888 Re-Examined, by Robert Weiland and Donald Short (kind of a hefty study for a little high school kid), although I later came to disagree with the authors’ theological conclusions. I also read various books and articles by E. J. Waggoner and Alonzo T. Jones, including The Glad Tidings and Christ Our Righteousness. Ellen White had much to say about the 1888 conference as well. It was certainly a pivotal point in Adventist history, right up there with the apostasies of J. H. Kellogg and Desmond Ford, and the first publishing of the book Questions on Doctrine, in the scope of its affect on the Adventist church (and its gradual theological fragmentation). Sadly, many Adventists do not seem to be at a point where such history can be appreciated by them, largely because theology itself has taken a back seat to subjective experience and just-be-good-ism.

I had a fun time getting back from GYC. I had purchased a round-trip pass on the Super Shuttle between the hotel and the airport. But when I called the night before, they said they didn’t have me in their system. Moreover, they didn’t have any available seats at any time the morning of my flight. The best they could offer was a refund. Next, I called and reserved a taxi to pick me up at 4:45 a.m. The next morning at 5:00 a.m., after waiting ever so patiently, I called again, and was told that all the taxis were busy, and I’d have to find myself another ride. I finally caught a random passing taxi at the front of the hotel, and made it to the airport. At the airport I went through a long line to use the self-service check-in system. But the computer said they didn’t have my ticket in the system. So then I had to wait through another line, and everyone in that line had a passport for international travel. It look a long time for just those 4 or 5 people to finish their business. Then I had to hurry to get to my gate. Fortunately my flight had been delayed, so I had a few minutes to rest. At the gate for my connecting flight in St. Louis, I learned the incoming plane had been delayed due to winter weather, and would be probably an hour late. This was at around 9:30 a.m., and my flight was scheduled for departure at 12:55 p.m. At around 2:30 p.m., we were informed the plane would be delayed several more hours, and leave at around 6:00. At around 3:30, we were told the flight had been canceled altogether. Fortunately I was able to find a van shuttle to take me home. The challenge was finding someone who could get my checked-through luggage to the baggage claim, so that I could take it home with me. But eventually that was done, and everything went smoothly from there.

GYC was great, but it was so good to be home.

I had hoped to have a Christmas tree, but a full week before Christmas all the local suppliers (including Wal-Mart, Menards, Home Depot, Lowe’s) were completely sold out. I don’t really care for artificial trees … they just seem so fake … so this year we went without a tree. Well, not completely. My rubber plant and ficus did extra duty as stand-ins.

My rubber plant decorated with Christmas lights — not too bad:

All the gifts around the plants:

Because Eugene and Heidi were in a hurry to get back to OHC, we had Christmas a day early this year, on Monday. So for me, it feels like Christmas is already past, even though today is Christmas.

Eugene and Heidi with their pile of winnings:

My mom and Heidi did most of the cooking, but I did contribute a little bit. I found a recipe for “Apple Cranberry Crisp,” and made that. The ingredients in the mixing bowl looked so good, I had to take a picture. I may post the recipe later.

Granny Smith apples and cranberries — the two key ingredients in Apple Cranberry Crisp:

Heidi and Eugene purchased this beautiful bouquet that decorated our table:

We had a really nice and filling Christmas dinner. But I didn’t get any photos of it. The photo below is from our much lighter supper.

Eugene, Heidi, and Mom:

Finally, in the evening we played a game of Rummikub, and then watched a video (The Privileged Planet). It was a fun day, and I really enjoyed the time with family. Seems like all too soon it was over.

I arranged my own hotel through Priceline this year, and that saved me a little money (it was $60/night). The hotel I got was the Hyatt, right next to the convention center, and one of the main hotels other GYC attendees were using. My room was nice, with a king size bed, and a nice 15th-story view of downtown Minneapolis. For some reason the thermostat was a little flaky, and the wireless internet ($10 extra per night) was very poor — worse than dial-up. But I had a comfortable place to rest, and everything else worked well. Nothing I couldn’t live with.

All of the main meetings (plenary sessions) were very good. I especially enjoyed the testimony by Steve Kasperbauer, the 1888 panel discussion (since my bro was in it … and because the content was good ), and all the presentations by David Shin. Steve’s testimony was absolutely incredible. If you didn’t hear it, get it. I believe it will be available from the GYC website eventually.

The seminars were good, although not really the highlight for me. I enjoyed one of Mark Finley’s seminars (“The Shaking and the Sifting”), but it was so packed that I could not get in more than once. I attended two seminars by Nathan Renner (about friendship evangelism); I enjoyed hearing his testimony, and the other content was good, but a little too heavy on the theory of why, and a little too light on the subject of how, for my tastes. The surprise for me was two seminars by Bruce Ashton on the topic of music. I was expecting the usual “how to tell good music from bad” approach, but it wasn’t really that at all. If an attendee could look past the fact that Bruce read everything from notes, there were some really awesome concepts to glean. I would even dare say revolutionary concepts for the worship services at many medium to large churches. The main gem was a clear explanation of the purpose and nature of worship, and the consequential implications for what passes as worship at many churches. In a nutshell: Most churches fashion their worship services to please the congregation, or visitors, or “seekers”; but real worship, and all decisions about style and format and content, should be about pleasing God alone. In this light, much of the music labeled as “worship” music has nothing to do with worship at all, even if it is acceptable in a larger framework.

This year’s outreach was challenging on at least three fronts: Many people weren’t home (it was just before Christmas). Those that were home were often not interested (Minnesota is a hard area to witness in, as numerous GYC attendees noted). And it was freezing cold. If not for a block of apartments that we were able to enter, I wonder if I’d be nursing my second case of frostbite on my toes. Still, it was a good experience, especially in light of all that was accomplished by the group in total. My partner and I had a really nice talk with a woman who seemed genuinely interested, and I was able to pray with her. I hope that she will sign up for the studies.

3ABN’s booth was in a prime location this year, and although I was not there officially representing 3ABN, I pitched in at the booth a few times. Greg and Jill did a great job of manning the booth. We made observations that hopefully will help us be better prepared for these kinds of events in the future. The booth seemed to be quite popular, and it was great to hear all the positive feedback from attendees both young and old.

3ABN’s booth, with Greg and Jill, and our president, Jim Gilley:

GYC is always a great place to catch up with friends, and make new ones. Although I am probably one of the worst people for remembering names and facts about people, I gain some satisfaction from seeing familiar faces (even if for the life of me I can’t remember who they are or where I recognize them from). At last year’s GYC I learned that if I really, really try to remember, such as by utilizing various memory association tricks, I can actually remember new names pretty well. In fact, I still remember the names of the two persons from that conference that I tried this technique with. Ironically, I’ve never seen them again.

I saw so many friends at this year’s conference, I can’t really name them all. But it was a blessing to talk with them and learn what’s new in their lives.

Eugene and Heidi:

One of the beautiful churches in the area (note the low clouds/mist — the top third or so of the skyscraper in the background is completely hidden):

I’ll be back home on the 23rd, just in time for Christmas.

In December I am planning to attend the GYC conference, December 19-23. Just yesterday I finalized by airfare and hotel reservations. Glad to have all of that out of the way. I’m still not sure where I will actually spend Christmas, but there is a good chance it will be here at my home unless I have a new car before then. The same holds true for New Year’s Day. It will be the first time I’ve been here at my home for those holidays in a number of years, maybe five years or more.

The highlight of this year’s conference, judging by most accounts, was the messages by David Asscherick, although there were also great messages by Samuel Korangteng-Pipim, Peter Gregory, Gerard Hasel, C. D. Brooks, and others. David seems to be an unusually gifted speaker, someone who has mastered the art of communicating truth to this generation. He has a powerful style of delivery, one that is articulate, entertaining, Biblical, hard-hitting, and well paced. He is one of my favorite presenters, and judging from the audience responses, he is on the right track with lots of other people as well. I learned a lot just by observing him. I think I have the knowledge and refinement to be a good speaker (and have been told I am a gifted teacher), but unfortunately my brain doesn’t work as fast as his does! Still, the experience of hearing him at GYC has prodded me to have more boldness and drive.

The young people eagerly responded to David’s appeals, coming forward by the hundreds each night. In some ways the response was almost “too much,” because in such appeals there is a lot of peer pressure to go forward even without a personal commitment, which is a recipe for spiritual problems later on. I would be more happy if there were fewer but more pointed or specific appeals at GYC (such as the call by Jeffrey Rosario for more Spanish-speaking youth to rise up and be counted). I responded to several of David’s appeals myself, and enjoyed the opportunity to pray with others who went forward.

As much as I enjoyed David’s messages, I must admit I had a couple reservations about them. First, I felt his message, “What Do You Expect?”, which dealt with God’s power in the here and now, never came round to answering the question of what we should expect. He clearly indicated that God is able to do as much now as ever, alluding to such things as Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. But he never said what this means for us at GYC. For example, why waste time with community surveys if we could just go out and raise dead people, heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, and so forth? I can almost hear someone responding that God doesn’t want us to focus on miracles so much — but then, in the light of David’s message, what is it that we are to expect from God? The answer to this question was never clearly fleshed out.

Second, I disagreed with David’s definition of faith as “seeing as God sees.” While seeing as God sees is a valuable skill, it is still true that faith is often most needed precisely where we cannot see as God sees. That is, faith is not so much about seeing (awareness, knowledge) as it is about trusting and accepting with intent to obey. Faith is, as Ellen White said, “the eye that sees,” but it is not like the all-seeing eye of God. Christians are often led “by a way they know not.” They walk in faith, not because they see as God sees, but because they trust the sight of God who leads them. I would rather hear someone say that faith is “accepting and living by that which God reveals.” Having said all that, it is undoubtedly true that we need spiritual vision to see beyond the material world, and live in the light of eternal realities. To that end, I appreciated David’s message very much.

The Sabbath afternoon outreach was a highlight of the conference. I joined hundreds of young people who went out into the greater Baltimore area to sign up people for free Bible studies, in preparation for evangelism to come. Our bus signed up 20-some people, which seemed to be about average, besides leaving many more sign-up cards at houses which other residents may respond to later. In all, more than 700 people requested Bible studies, a very good result for an hour’s worth of work, especially in Baltimore. It was very satisfying to see how eagerly some people desired studies; one man cheerfully approached us, almost demanding we come to him, even though he did not live in the community.

I enjoyed working at 3ABN’s booth a little. My friends Greg and Jill were the ones officially manning the booth, but I dropped in a couple times to help out for short periods. It was fun interacting with visitors. Sometimes I felt like an almost ignored nobody among the crowds at GYC, but working at the booth I found that people passing by actually smiled and acted friendly. It was a welcome experience. I can tell why Greg and Jill enjoy doing it!

I also pitched in at the prayer room a few times, leading out once. The number of participants was always small, averaging about five or so. But we had great times sharing with one another, and it was another way I could feel I was making an impact at the conference, however modest it might be.

The seminars and networking session were, frankly, only so-so. I did enjoy a seminar by David Asscherick on recreation, but it was an overflow seminar, and without a place to sit I was among many who were asked to leave. Another seminar by Lewis and Richard Walton was well-presented and thought provoking. I had high hopes for the networking session, but it was tediously presented and it seemed the “networking” aspect would never materialize, so I left. (A number of friends in the same session stayed for greater or lesser lengths of time, but also left eventually for the same reasons.) There could have been a very meaningful and productive dialog; I can only hope the other networking sessions fared better. I am tempted to volunteer for next time, because I am certain I could have done a better job.

I believe GYC is nearing its maximum size. At this conference there were signs that long-standing principles of GYC are fraying at the edges. This is no fault of the GYC leadership, but simply reflects the limitations of their personal influence, values, and policies over such a large and diverse group. The current mission focus is popular, and draws a much wider audience than the previously stronger personal holiness focus. (Obviously both are needed. It is the tip of the balance that I am drawing attention towards.) The potential for drift lies in the likelihood that GYC attendees will trickle into leadership roles. Without fortifying of GYC’s core values, this will result in gradual compromises. This is a hard thing to spot until it is too late. For example, the response to the conservative music at GYC might lead an observer to conclude that the attendees have conservative musical tastes. But I can extrapolate from personal experience that a significant number of participants at GYC have musical tastes that would make certain GYC leaders’ hairs stand on end! This is just one example. If GYC is to continue growing, the leadership will need to strengthen the degree to which their values are represented by the attendees and, more importantly, by the more active and involved participants. This is the only way to avoid the slippery slope. But I have confidence in the current leadership, and hope they will move wisely.

I cannot close without mentioning the social aspect of GYC. It was great to see many friends and acquaintances. As with previous meetings of this type (GYC, ASI), there are many people to see, and precious little time to visit with them all. I also made a few new friends, but it is doubtful whether I will see them again, or, if I do, whether I will remember their names! Going from southern Illinois to GYC is like being taken from a little fish bowl and being dumped into a tank at the Baltimore Aquarium. Suddenly there is a bewildering array of choices, most unfamiliar, and by the time I start to feel oriented, it’s over. I can only hope that someone will launch an online community for GYC-types, so the networking can continue after the event is over.

In 2007, the next GYC is scheduled to be in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (The travel headaches are already flashing before me.) If you’ve never been to a GYC event, and want to grow spiritually with lots of other sincere young people, I highly recommend it.

I didn’t take many photos at GYC this year, but here is a handheld, no-flash photo taken from the trenches:

Here’s a picture of the happy couple:

On Tuesday we ate lunch together at Earth’s Harvest. I learned via my brother that a local girl named Michelle Wilson is organizing a Midwest Youth Conference, a regional GYC-style gathering for Seventh-day Adventist youth and young adults in the Midwest. Later I talked to Michelle, and it looks like I may be helping in various ways. I am a major GYC fan, having been to every GYC since the start. I think it is a great movement, and look forward to participating directly.

With the help of my friends the Santos family, I found a hotel not far from campus, which I shared with Samuel Santos. We arrived late Friday night, maybe 30 minutes or so into the main meeting. The featured speaker was Mark Finley of It Is Written, and all of his messages were excellent. I also enjoyed seminars by Dr. Ron Clouzet, who is a faculty member of SAU and previous guest speaker at the General Youth Conference (GYC) meetings. The messages were clear and powerful, and I felt blessed spiritually to be there.

The SEYC meetings are modeled after GYC, and many of the SEYC officers are previous GYC attendees. SEYC is regional, so the number of regular attendees was significantly less than GYC’s. There were not as many seminars to choose from, although the available ones looked impressive. The event was shorter, running from Friday night through Saturday evening, with an outreach planned on Sunday. Unlike GYC, the event was free, except we had to arrange for our own lodging and meals. My friends Diana and Sara Santos and Jenny Brain took care of my meals, including an awesome Sabbath lunch with vegan lasagna and two kinds of cheesecake. Yummm!

It was great to see so many people: My good friend Adrian is an SEYC officer, and he introduced me to some of his friends. The 3ABN road crew was there, along with others from my home area, including most of our local church young adult group. I was surprised to see my cousin Greg with his wife Linda, and Crystal and Wendell. We spent a few moments catching up, and I gave them a “backstage” mini-tour of 3ABN’s production truck.

On Sunday I stopped at my mom’s house on the return trip to see if I could fix her computer. It had been practically totaled due to runaway virus and other infections, and seemed to have other problems as well. (Note to self: Never, ever, ever recommend an eMachine to anyone! For that matter, I kept asking myself why I hadn’t bought her a Mac. None of this ever would have happened.) I had a major unexpected setback: My mom had asked her phone company to discontinue service. No phone meant no internet, which meant major hassles getting the computer up and running. It took me all day, but I finally got the computer to a semi-usable state (everything installed but the anti-virus software, which perversely refused to install). Unfortunately I was not able to do more, since I still had a 6-hour drive ahead of me. As it was, I got home a little past midnight. Nice to be in my own bed!

Oddly, my camera refused to work virtually all weekend, so I was unable to take any pictures of my friends or SEYC. However, I couldn’t resist snapping this photo of a horse and buggy passing by my mom’s house: