From Mobile to Montgomery

Continued notes from the road ...

Tuesday
Curtis told us we could have a late morning for sleep, so we didn't show up until about 11 am. Unfortunately, we missed the showing of the Cameroon promotional video that Meredyth Earnest (Conference Communications Director) had shot and edited. I watched it later ... fantastic!!

We had lunch with Bishop Goodpaster and the Cabinet, and had a chance to bend the Bishop's ear about some projects. Then we sat in on the rest of the business session.

At one point, after yet another speech on the floor by a presenter, David Sen turned to me and asked, "Are they preaching or giving a report?"

I laughed hard and said, "Both!"

Enjoyed a seafood buffet in the evening. It seems to be a Tuesday-evening tradition in Alabama-West Florida. Two French-speaking Africans showed up to meet David. One is from Togo; the other is Congolese. Both are members of Government Street UMC in Mobile, and attend a Sunday night Francophone Bible study. I think David was relieved to be able to speak French for a little while ...

Wednesday
The last day of Conference was all about ... buying books at the Cokesbury display. Sorry, Leah, but I couldn't help myself. I picked up two books on missions (including Donald Bosch's classic, Transforming Mission) and a book about U2 and Christian faith.

We were back at the hotel by noon and then went shopping. I bought a few DVDs for the kids and some new clothes for Mallory's upcoming birthday.

Thursday
Curtis picked us up and drove us, first, to Brewton UMC where David and I were fed a meal of fried catfish, cheese grits, and strawberry shortcake. We gave a presentation about the Mission to a group of about twelve church members.

Then we quickly hopped in the car and drove on to First UMC, Montgomery. As we pulled up in front of the large, stone church, David gasped and said, "It's a cathedral!"

We showed our "Red Dirt Roads" PowerPoint presentation in front of a crowd of about 25, mostly members of the church's active Mission Committee. Even the Bishop and his wife showed up!

We checked into the Hampton Inn for some rest, where I plopped myself in front of the TV just in time to watch the Mavs bounce the Heat in Game One of the Finals.