The last week of October was an incredibly tough week.
We learned that there is a very ugly side of ministry and were looking it right in the face. We also truly learned that no matter how hard we struggle, how much we are persecuted, how how much we are disliked by enemies of Christianity... there is nothing that compares to the glory we will share with Christ when our days on earth are through. Romans 8:17
Though we were discouraged, our relationship with each other only grew stonger, as did our reliance on the Lord as our ONLY hope and ONLY comfort. I began to get excited that there was turmoil because it means something is being stirred up... "for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" 1 Cor 1:18
On top of all that encouragement, the Lord had something even more affirming in store for us at the Youth Convention in St. Louis. By Sunday afternoon, we were relishing in our weekend. The entire experience had been perfect, down to the smallest detail: the weather, our rental car, our hotel (right by the arch), the food, the people we met, the teaching, our time together... I had even metioned that absolutely NOTHING could make this weekend any better! haha!
One of the seminars we chose to attend was about middle school ministry. This particular seminar's teacher was Mark Oestreicher (Marko). He is the president of Youth Specialties, the organization that puts this conference together. Afterwards, we had a few questions for Marko concerning our particular middle school ministry. To clarify our question we explained our very unique situation of employment by 5 different churches- each from a different denomintation. I don't think Marko even heard our question! He was so ecstatic and intrigued by our situation. He asked for our contact info to hear more.
We received a call from him a couple hours later. He wanted to make sure we would be attending the general session that evening because he had a book he wanted to give us. We said yes, and were very excited to share more about what the Lord has done here in Lake City. At the session, the worship band finished and right before the speaker was supposed to go up, Marko came onstage and asked for Seth and Crystal Dady. !!! We were in shock! Reaching center stage, my main concern was keeping my knees from shaking too badly! There we stood, in front of 3500+ other youth workers, most of whom had been doing this for years and years, sharing the miraculous story of what the Lord has done in tiny Middle of Nowhere, Colorado. Right after Seth listed the 5 different denomintations involved, applause erupted from all around us! The Lord was SOOOO glorified in that place for the work He has done and the people in Lake City who were obedient to His call.
To top it all off, Youth Specialties wanted to encourage us by giving us $4oo to their resources store, 2 free convention passes for next year(worth $600), a free rafting trip for our entire youth group next summer, 300 finger rockets (the kids LOVE them!), and a Narnia gift basket!! WOW! We have never been so speechless with gratitude. Afterwards we were able to talk to several other youth directors who were encouraged by our testimony. Many of them asked "How do you do it?" To which we responded "We don't!! We don't know what we're doing!" haha, I'm sure that was REAL encouraging. Honestly, we were reminded of God's incredible sovereignty in piecing all of this together and pulling us along on the most incredible, most rewarding adventure of our lives.
