Mark de Boer
Okay, one or two more stories from the States. The conference theme was ‘Proclaiming the mystery’ (derived from Colossians 3), and to add some fun to it there was a mystery to be solved, somewhat like the game Clue. Mira had the privilege to play Hercule Poirot and present the solution of the mystery, which she did in a marvelous way of course. And guess what, our team won! The prize was even a nice one: the recently released ‘Discover God’ Study Bible. On the picture you see Ron and Christy, co-hosts of the event, dressed up in a twenties-style zoot-suit. Cool!
Throughout the conference, we heard many stories of how God is moving in Africa, Asia, America and Europe. Steve Douglass shared how he saw a church planting movement in India, growing from one a few years ago to thousands today through rapid multiplication. We also noticed that there seems to be more fear for the rise of Islam among Americans than we have around here. The topic was brought up frequently, and although I think awareness and factual knowledge is needed, we should focus primarily on proclaiming Jesus. Love casts out all fear, so to speak. Anyway. We traveled back home together with Javier, which guaranteed a lively talk just about anything. It was a good time.
