Urbana 09: He Dwelled Among Us, DAY 1

I was up almost 24 hours straight in coming to Urbana 09, in St. Louis, via Switzerland and my Christmas vacation with family. After the first leg of my long trip, Geneva to Newark, I sat in the airport with a 5 hour layover...dead tired...feeling sick...worn out...and almost giving up. The thought crossed my mind numerous times to cancel my trip. I would think to myself, "If I start to feel even slightly worse, I am going to Philly to get better." That never happened. Now I am here at Urbana 09, the largest North American Missions Conference in St. Louis Missouri that happens every three years, and am so grateful I hung in there and that God gave me the resilience to push through...

Day 1:

I met up with my fellow co-workers from WHM, David and Caitlin, to finish setting up our booth at the Urbana Convention Center. By the time we were open to meet friends and potential missionaries at our booth, we were pumped with anticipation. Our booth is amazing. People who visit the booth hop onto one of our computers, sign into facebook, and become a fan of WHM on our fan page. Yesterday, open for 3 hours, we added about 100 friends! Besides that, I was able to meet and talk intimately with several individuals who are looking to hear God's call here at Urbana. They are looking to see if missions are right for them. A couple of times God allowed me to share my testimony of missions and how God has radically changed my life since my call about 6 years ago.

The night finished with about 16,000 people worshipping God in the Edward Jones Dome (where the St. Louis Rams play football). What an amazing scene and experience!! I still have yet to experience anything as exhilarating as this worship time at Urbana. If God is in the midst of us when 3 are gathered....how about 16,000??? 'Nuff said!

"He Dwelled Among Us". The theme for Urbana 09. From the first chapter of John, this verse begins to define what the Incarnation means in all aspects of life.

Day 1 is complete....Cant wait for Day 2! Be back to share more!

Pictures: Worshipping w/ 16,000 brothers and sisters

Me at the WHM booth