Below are a few more pictures from our last conference in Duluth 3 weeks ago!
This church began to feel like our home after being there for a week straight!! Since it was right on Lake Superior, the view was beautiful and the air was so fresh. That meant lots of walks around the parking lot… 🙂
Sarah explaining the important principle of the two kinds of purity.
The best part of each conference is seeing the Lord work in girls’ lives. Here is an encouraging e-mail Bekah received from one of the young ladies in her discussion group. (We have permisison to share it.)
“… I went home and told my Mom about an errand I have to run. About 5 years ago, I stole 2 rings from a store and I need to get that right with God, which means admitting to that and compensating for them. I remember how much they were and I’ve calculated tax and added that on, so that’s where I’ll be today…The sermon [at church yesterday] was on idols, well, I don’t have any of those, right? I went home and I’ve started memorizing a list of verses that I found on the heart, a pure heart, a godly heart, a godly woman, a godly wife, and a godly marriage. Now I’m set! Well, I did want to share something with my Mom, something I’d hoarded away-love letters-from guys in the past. I realized those were my idols and I’m de-guying my life!!! We burned them all, and now she knows why my heart was always troubled. Well, we both do. I got rid of an idol that was forcing Jesus out of my heart, and with that gone….There’s only room for Him!!!! I’ve had SO much joy, Bekah, and no one understands, but they will. I’m going to be the brightest light for Him that I can…And a pure one!
P.S. I’m deleting my guy contacts and friends on Facebook. I will not be a “fisher of men”, just the one God intends- and until then, I’m waiting on Him and using my single years for His Glory!”
Special relationships made…
We made a list of some of the little details in which we saw God answering prayer. Here are a few of them:
• When Nickie was printing the name tags for our final Radiant Purity conference in Duluth, she noticed that the supply of pink paper was very low. With only about 2 hours before the conference began we were worried that we might not have enough. But God answered prayer and we had the EXACT number of sheets to print the nametags.
• There were 2 missing items that we really needed to find. After praying about it, we found them both in about 2 minutes!
• We heard many testimonies from small group leaders who had girls with specific needs assigned to their team and they were able to effectively encourage because of common family situations, personal struggles, etc. It was humbling to know that the Lord was guiding and blessing us even in the “regular” tasks of assigning girls to small group teams.
• One leader wanted to talk with a certain girl in her group alone. She prayed about it during the main session, and immediately after the session was over, this girl came and found HER, wanting to talk about questions she had regarding the gospel!
• My dad and Sarah had especially been praying that the Lord would bring 400 people to each Strong in the Lord conference. Including late registration we reached (and exceeded!) that number each time.
These are just a few examples of answered prayer. I wish I could record them all. It is humbling and very exciting to serve a powerful God who works in so many ways–many of which we often don’t even see or recognize!
The last morning my dad took us to watch the sunrise over the lake. What a special conclusion to the week.
As we were watching the sun rise, someone brought up the analogy of waiting for Jesus to return–our true Sunrise. The anticipation and excitement beforehand…the warmth and beauty after…what a clear picture we see, every morning, of that one day coming soon.
Our team of leaders, taking advantage of the beautiful picturesque grounds.
In Ohio we did the same schedule conference as Virginia. Strong in the Lord Conference, free day, Radiant Purity Conference. It was a great week! Everyone had their “tired moments” but the Lord’s grace is always sufficient and we were all excited to see how open and responsive the girls were to the lessons we were teaching.
Attendees
Leaders
My brother Stephen is a very alert person. Always aware of his surroundings, he notices details other people don’t notice. He stays on top of all the “behind the scenes” technical elements of running the conferences. Projectors, lapel mics, speakers, sound mixer, lights, video equipment, computers, printers, scanners, you name it… Stephen seems to instinctively know how everything works and goes the extra mile to pursue excellence.
Daniel and Stephen can fix just about anything, and they had lots of opportunities to put their mechanical skills into practice (i.e. we are good at breaking things). 
Singing with our staff on our free day
We also had a great game of Ultimate Frisbee game on our free day
The Radiant Purity Conference in Bristol, VA. The girls were very responsive and soaked up the lessons like a sponge.
In our “modesty panel,” we share lots of tips on how to put together modest outfits.
Here’s a true “behind the scenes” picture… Since Daniel recently edited the DVDs of the Radiant Purity Conference we did in Omaha last April, Sarah recommended we watch the skits as a “refresher” to help us with our acting. We are excited about our new DVDs… 🙂
We’re so grateful to Lindsay, Sarah and Loren who spent many hours in the church kitchen providing healthy meals for all of us (on top of all their other responsibilities and the hectic conference schedule). You may notice the large stack of Grandma cookies; we bought those for snacks for the conference attendees and…*smile*… we found we had a few too many. So let me just warn you, if you see any of our staff in the next few weeks, don’t offer them a “Grandma cookie”.
One morning while we were in Virginia, we were able to meet up with a lady who has been in contact with us regarding translating 
After both conferences in Virginia were over, we, along with several of the families who helped to host the conferences, sat around eating pizza and listening to testimonies and stories from the week. It was a very special time for everyone with lots of laughter and tears.
After our time of sharing, the guys packed the trailer…
…while the girls cleaned the church. Hannah (left) a former Bright Lights intern, is the one who hosted the conferences in Bristol. Thanks again, Hannah, for your initiative and all your hard work! 🙂 
After all the work was done Saturday night, we gathered around the piano and sang. It takes a while to wind down from the excitement of a conference and singing praises to the Lord was a great way to conclude the week. 
Adjusting cameras 
Samuel, Nathan and Daniel unloading another box of cables
Setting up the lights
Praying with our group of leaders before the conference starts.
Girls and mothers arriving
…picking up their name tags…
…and gathering for the main session.
Throughout the conference we go back and forth between the main sessions and small group times. The groups have names such as “Stars”, “Fireflies”, “Flashlights”, etc.
“What was your favorite part of the conference?” I often ask the girls. “The skits!” they often reply with a little grin and twinkle in their eye. 
We use the skits to reinforce what we’re teaching. This skit is called “The Conscience Skit” and teaches the importance of confessing your sin and keeping a clear conscience.
The “CBN Broadcast Skit” 
We concluded the conference with candles and encouraging the girls to “…Let Your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and praise your father in Heaven…!” (Matthew 5:16)