Day 4 - Last day of the conference + African celebration!

​Another full but amazing day here. Today was the second and final day of the community leadership conference put on by HBC.

(click once on any of the photos in this blog post for an enlarged view)

This morning we heard three really wonderful main conference sessions. The first was from a local South African pastor named Jaco Strydom. We were all really moved by his presentation about living simply and living in community. The second was from our own Mona McDonald, who gave a powerful and practical message about caring for the children and youth in our community and about how God values life. Third and lastly Keith Matney ​spoke about worship and really connected with the audience through his message about worshiping in spirit and truth. What a blessing to sit under all of this wonderful teaching. 

After the main sessions we enjoyed another lunch made by ladies from HBC, and then went out to shop for some traditional African clothing to wear to the end-of-conference celebration tonight. Devona definitely won best-dressed!  

At the celebration our team was able to hand out certificates to each person who completed the conference. Where in the U.S. we might disregard a simple certificate of completion, they considered it such a high honor to receive them. They were so proud. 

Also, for the final portion of the celebration, we were honored to witness the graduation of two theology students through Hope Baptist Church. You can see by the formal graduation wear what a big deal this is. They were each given leather ESV Study Bibles and commissioned by Pastor Julius, Bishop Lawrence (the other man wearing red) and our teammate Pastor Fred. 

We discussed at dinner just how much we take education for granted in the U.S. It is much harder to come by in South Africa. They place high honor and high priority on education and training and that was evident tonight. Something we could learn from them.

What a great day. Resting up to start eyeglass distribution tomorrow! Thank you again for your prayers - we need them!