What began as a cloudy and warm morning with a rain shower has turned into a very warm and sunny day here on the campus of Dordt College in Sioux Center where over 800 people have gathered for the annual RYS Convention.

On assignment for Christian Renewal, I arrived yesterday afternoon with time to settle into my room before watching some of the 15 buses discharge exhausted cargo returning from a day away at the Wild West Water Park.

This RYS convention boasts the largest ever attendance and two reasons are its reasonable fees and centralized location.

Following the sounds of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D,” I found three young women from DeMotte URC in Indiana: McCaela Moes reclines while Kyra Tolkamp turns pages for Megan Wetselaar.

Last night at dinner in the commons, I met many old friends and some new ones. Since Rev. Wybren Oord uses an email address with his wife’s name in it, I joked with Kathy about communicating for years, although it was the first time we’d met.

After dinner, I watched a bit of the volleyball tournaments and Jeopardy with game host Susan Hondred.

This morning I saw some of the runners complete a 5k race in heat and humidity that exhausts me when I walk.

Later I attended two excellent workshops led by Rev. Jeremy Veldman and Jody Lucero.

These times of teaching are interspersed with lots of activities to promote fun and fellowship. It’s a great experience that has exceeded my expectations.

Even the dorm bed exceed expectations; it is not a slab of plastic.