Our time in Dayton, OH, at Interchurch Holiness Convention

Well, I uploaded some pics one evening when I was too tired to do much else, and so I'll try to caption them. 

Last week Jonathan and I were able to attend IHC again. I thought we couldn't go this year if we went to PNG, but Jonathan still had enough free miles that we were able to get a non-stop flight from Denver to Dayton, hotel room, and rental car for zero dollars. 

Of course, one of our main reasons for going was to spend a bit of time with our daughter Crystal!

She was singing in the Penn View choir there, as well as 

in the mass choir. 

I got this photo of Penn View choir getting ready to practice because I didn't know if I could get a good picture later at a distance with my poor cheap camera.

Here is Crystal, right in the middle of everyone lining up.

With her many practices and staying with a friend, we didn't get to spend much time together.

Plus it was not easy to find each other in the middle of thousands of people!

I enjoyed Joy Budenseik, author of Reconnecting with my Belly Button, a story of her adoption and search for her biological parents.

Joy shared an object lesson at the Women of Worth meeting that I hope to share in Papua New Guinea with the village Sunday School teachers.
It was exactly what I was praying for--an object lesson using simply your own hand!
I want to share with the PNG village teachers (who I was told have nothing) that they don't have to have all the stuff we have in America to be an effective teacher.
They just have to use what they have--even if it is just their own hand.

It was worth going to the Women of Worth meeting just to hear that object lesson.

Lorena Glick is now leader of WOW, instead of Sis. Sankey--two diametrically opposite personalities.

Lorena and her husband are former PNG missionaries, and while we were there, they spoke to us about our upcoming trip to PNG. 

Below is the Asbury's adopted daughter with her new baby.

And the proud grandparents, who manned the Ropeholders booth, part of Mission Helps just down from us.

We were pleased to have Gerald Hoch introduce himself to us as someone who knew my family, and also former missionary to PNG. He had many interesting and encouraging things to say about going over there. This is he and his wife.

I couldn't resist getting this snap of Phil and Heather Dickinson's baby girl. The Dickinsons were a few booths down from ours on the same aisle. I love Heather for her cheerful smile, creative ideas, and friendly ways.

These three Spanish girls from Florida were so excited to see our display and the photos of the Spanish church in Ft. Myers that Mission Helps crews spent many days helping with. One or all of these girls had been present at the dedication and were so thrilled to see the picture of the crowd they had been in! They took a picture of the picture!

This was the international service, where the man at the podium, a doctor from India, 

shared the story of his conversion, with Matt Maloyed, youth pastor at Beavertown God's Missionary Church. 

The doctor was saved in the hall of the hospital in Pennsylvania, thanks to the gracious witness of an older couple in the Beavertown church.

Afterward, we were privileged to shake hands with this doctor, and also to exchange contact info with Matt Maloyed, who is trying to put together a work team to come out here to CO to replace the roofs on the church and parsonage in Denver, as well as remodel and fix other things like carpet and linoleum. God's Missionary Church is helping with the financing and is hoping to send a young pastor who knows Spanish.

We're so excited about this development, and Jonathan is eager to participate later this summer in the Denver remodel of our sister church.

It was a delight to reconnect with a girl from my graduating class at Allegheny Wesleyan College,

Shaun [formerly Cox].

Dayton mayor appreciates this church convention using their city. He had all his office workers wearing "IHC Days" buttons last year one day for a special "IHC Day." Here a newscaster is apparently interviewing one of the IHC men for the news.

One man involved in IHC told Jonathan and me as we waited in a long line at a local McDonalds

that the worst catastrophe the city expects at this gathering is a penny getting stuck in the escalator!

There are hundreds of young people and children besides thousands of adults, 

and simply no issues that the city has to worry about.

The only negative thing we heard was when moderator James Plank commended the audience on their good behavior and witness in the community--with one exception.

He had been told that one of the men from IHC people had gotten angry when someone cut into line in front of him at a hotel desk.

"Thanks to you, the local pastor here cannot invite that hotel clerk to his church," James said in no uncertain terms.

"You need to deal with that kind of carnality. In fact, the altar here is open right now!"

All Jonathan could say as we sat there was, "Ouch, ouch!"

Good for James Plank. Zero tolerance of unkind and grouchy behavior. 

Below is the gathering of Penn View alumni in one of the meeting rooms of the convention center.

Leonard Raub had financed the get-together, and Jonathan and I were so grateful for a way to get some supper (delicious pizza, chips and pop) without having to wait a long time in line. 

I took a picture of this pizza warmer on wheels. On the bottom, a sort of candle is burning to keep the pizzas warm.
We got to meet Crystal's English teacher from Penn View there,  and the young couple who is considering coming to pastor at Denver.

The last service had the mass choir, and people watching online saw Crystal better than we could 

sitting along the side! Naomi French had showed up to surprise her relatives, one of which was Justice Maley, who is also in Penn View choir.

Jerald Glick was director of the mass choir.

During this service, there is always the calling of the states (and some countries of the world), something James Plank admitted was a "bunch of nonsense, but we like it!"

This calling of the states focuses on where people are from, rather than focusing on what church they belong to. 

The Dickinsons stole the show by their whole family hollering really loud and whipping out flags of Columbia and Argentina from near the top of the middle section of the audience. 

I just love fun, creative things like that.

After the service, Crystal accompanied us to our car out in the parking garage. We had to hug goodbye.

I tried to snap a photo before she disappeared behind this truck to go to the elevators, but my camera is poky about snapping pictures. So she is gone behind the truck. Does the dark picture mirror my sadness?

I had to try to ignore a pang of loneliness. I miss Crystal.

I told myself, "I still have Jonathan!"

And reached for his hand. 

We crept slowly down the winding lanes, to the tune of horns honking cheerfully.

I couldn't help laughing.

IHC is truly an uplifting and joyful experience. We appreciated many things about it and are thankful to be part of this wonderful crowd of people.Yes, we are all imperfect, but this is a very upbeat and joyful time together, focusing on unity instead of differences.