Friday's events started with a lunch at a restaurant that gave the visiting missionaries the opportunity to get to know one another better. Later on they came back to the Fellowship Hall for more food and fellowship with the Story Family. What a joy it is to sit down with a missionary and learn how the Lord impacts their lives on a daily basis!

During the Children's Missions Conference missionary John Lehn first came into the classroom in a hooded parka saying he was someone who had heard about God but wasn't sure God existed. "How do you know that God exists?" he asked the children. They were quick to give him several answers to this question and others that he asked. Later John came back as himself and told the kids about the country of Croatia where he serves and what his life as a missionary is like.

In the missions conference Jane Hampton gave a presentation on her and husband Tad's ministry to the talibe boys of Dakar, Senegal. Talibe are boys from the surrounding villages whose parents send them to cities to study the Koran under Muslim teachers. By showing Christian love and compassion to these boys with food, medical and dental care, the Hampton's ministry has opened up doors into the Muslim world that had previously been closed.

The keynote address was given by John Evans, a professor at a seminary in Kenya, Africa. His message centered on how the entire Bible speaks of Jesus and the Gospel, not just the New Testament. Repentance and forgiveness of sins is the message Jesus drew from the Old Testament that is to be spread through all nations. With repentance comes forgiveness - that's great news then and now! It is thrilling to be part of something so much bigger than ourselves - mission work!