in a sea of 16,000 folks

So I got to end the year 2012 by attending a conference in St. Louis called Urbana. (Ur. Ban. A.) This is a conference that occurs every three years for those that have the burden to go out to the nations. It isn't focused on bringing in the best worship leaders or widely-known pastors or raising awareness for a great cause. Instead it purely focuses on the W0rd and and plugging students in with sending out companies. It is a time of community, deep discussions on the Word, hundreds of seminars covering various topics, and absolutely beautiful worship that breaks your cultural norm.

But here are some of the highlights of my five days at Urbana:

My roommates. I had to place my own housing, which meant I was to find random strangers to live with for the duration of the conference. I was slightly skeptical that there was even a hotel room reserved for me and was nervous about living with four strangers. But it turned out beautifully!! Two girls are roommates in Michigan and the other two go to school together in Tampa. Thus, I was a fifth wheel..but enjoyed every second of it. We got along great and had a blast with each other! My four random roommates evolved into four friends and sisters.

Ria, Bethany, Jessica, Yesenia and I

 Worship. I had previously been to Passion and have worshiped along side 16,000 plus folks. But a change of pace at Urbana was that each night focused on different cultures and their style of worship:  African, Asian, European, Hispanic, and Native American. Not only did the worship team sing in those various languages but so did we. I learned songs in Hindi, Mandarin, French, Spanish, and Swahili. But one of my absolute favorites was singing the Revelation Song chorus

"Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You"

 in Spanish, French, Mandarin, and English. The dome was filled each of these native speakers..so it was a great representation of the passage Revelation Song is about.

Random bumpings. I had already been told that there were two gals from Serbia attending the conference and was challenged to find them. I was stubborn and didn't want to use technology to help me find them. I attended a seminar on the Eastern Orthodox church, in hopes that they would attend. Luckily, a guy asked a question since he was Serbia himself. My eyes got to wide and used the opportunity to take a creeper shot of him. Then the guy beside him mentioned that he would be attending school in Serbia next fall. I knew I had to work up the courage to speak to them. (Marko in the long sleeve white tee...and the guy beside him with the scarf will be studying abroad.)

Marko is from Novi Sad and we knew folks in common. And he mentioned that he also came with two Serbian girls. I couldn't contain my excitement. But he then began talking with the priest that gave the seminar. I then mentioned to the student that I had friends in Belgrade that would love to meet him next fall. Later on that night, I was walking in the conference center meeting up with my roommates when I noticed Marko's shoes and that he was walking with two girls. I glanced at their name tags, and upon realizing it was the girls I was challenged to find, I stopped them in their tracks. I told them that we had mutual friends in Belgrade. Unfortunately, we were not able to meet up anymore during the conference, but I was able to find them in a sea of 16,000 without the help of Facebook, text message, or email. Success!!!


New Year's Eve.  This was our last day/night at the conference. To ring in the new year, we had communion and danced the night away worshiping the faithfulness of G0d. Oh it was perfect!! The communion was a little different from what I am accustomed to, but that gave me opportunity to share with my roommates how I view communion. But it was absolutely the best way to ring in 2013. And it didn't hurt that it was snowing again for the third day. This Mississippi gal was uber excited!

At Urbana, I got to dive deep into Luke, hear the W0rd brought by shepherds from around the world, be encouraged by those that have suffered great losses and faced grave persecutions, talk with those directly involved in going to the nations, and gain four beautiful friends!