Gone to Guam- VI!: Conference Completed!

This was an experience I will long remember and cherish. There was literally a record turn out according to Celia's calculations of past MEC conferences till now. It flowed in a seamless way from presentation to presentation. We kicked things off on Thursday with my presentation to set the stage for pastoral counseling. Pastor Fred was next up to discuss his use of counseling in his work as a pastor and in conjunction with our Branches ministry at Gateway. Friday morning Pastor Fred preached at the campus chapel. Friday night at the conference, I again led with a brief presentation on encouraging the stories of others which was followed by Jim Sawyer. He gave a spectacular theological talk about shame and its connection to the shepherding call. Today our morning focused on skill building and the afternoon ended with a panel discussion where the on campus counselor Kaki, and two former students of the seminary counseling class joined us.
The discussions were rich, particularly this afternoon. I was deeply touched as one of my students on the panel talked about how his learning about counseling has impacted his life in very profound and practical ways. Kaki gave an impassioned call to her fellow islanders to step up and seriously embrace caring for souls in the face of tough issues that have long been culturally avoided.
Pastor Fred noted ...what has been happening here is changing that aspect of culture. There were many moments where I couldn't help tearing up. It is difficult to capture how profoundly grateful I am to be part of this.
On another note the work team from Gateway arrived late yesterday. So today we ended our day by joining them for a late afternoon snorkel and group dinner at Dr. Kabob (my island fave)! God gifted us with a stunning rainbow and ethereal light cast on the cliffs. A near perfect day! Some photo's attached.