The Princess Conference

Well, I'm still here, although there were a few times during the past week when I just didn't know if I'd make it! The Princess Conference really eclipsed a lot of my time. Three evenings were taken up with making the centerpieces and the floral "crowns" for the girls, decorating, and one last rehearsal for the drama. By Friday we were already so tired, and the conference hadn't even started!

Laura and me making the flower crowns while waiting for the tableclothes to arrive (We made close to a hundred crowns in all!!)

Friday I left school at noon, well, as close to it as possible (I had to wait for nearly a half hour for a taxi to arrive) and headed to El Atrio (the SAM base) where day 1 of the conference was already in full swing. I jumped in to help with manicures and the craft, then quickly changed into my costume for the drama. The story (told in Spanish as was the whole conference) was about a princess who decided she just wanted to be ordinary, so she ran away from the castle to see what life was like on the street. It was based on the story A Parable about the King by Beth Moore, which is kind of the Parable of the Prodigal Son retold.

Here I am as a noblewoman, sitting in the square while awaiting the arrival of the king. Laura and Beth are my companions.

I think it was a success, although with a few surprises for the cast! The "trumpeter" (played by Jeff) was just going to pretend to play the trumpet, but instead he actually...I don't think "played" is the right word...made a sound that was so horrible we all burst into laughter instead of sedately leaving our seats to greet the king. Then at one point the naughty boys who were hiding in the tree, watching the king, were supposed to throw seeds at him. Well, to make it more realistic Janine supplied them with some small beads to throw. Unfortunately they were just a little too into character, and actually chucked the beads at us as hard as they could! Everyone was so impressed by our acting ability when we gasped in annoyance and pain...because it really hurt!

Other than a few minor inconveniences the first day went very smoothly. The second day (Saturday) I was able to participate for the whole day...and got more than I'd bargined for! The girls were divided into groups of five, with one "councilor" per table. Two of the councilors from the first day were sick on Saturday, so they asked me to fill in! Let me remind you that this is a Spanish only conference...yeah, I was not exactly qualified! Fortunately they put me at a table with three MK girls, one of whom is especially fluent in both languages, and she was able to translate for me. It went fine...I just smiled and nodded at the other girls a lot and tried to think of simple sentences to say.

Some of the princesses bedecked in the finest toilet paper...(one of the games, where each table had to design a dress out of toilet paper. A fun twist on the old wedding shower game.)

My group proudly displaying their new manicures - Emily, Laura, me, Brenda, Jessica, and Becca. (Can you pick out the MKs? =))

The conference was really fun...we had several activities followed by a short talk then small group discussion. We also served breakfast and lunch, and dessert! The theme of the conference (obviously) centered around what it means to be a daughter of the King, how to become one, what the future of a "true princess" will be like, our responsibilities, etc. It was an excellent topic, one that the girls could really relate to. After all, what little girl doesn't want to be a princess? And, as one of the speakers and my dad both pointed out, as daughters of God we really will live happily ever after!

Did I mention that even though we held the conference for two days, which allowed 80 girls to participate (40 each day) there was still a very large waiting list? Well, we took a vote and decided to go ahead and hold the conference for one more day...next Saturday! You can definitely pray that we all stay well and are recharged to do it all one more time!

One more prayer request...I've mentioned the Hause family several times...they are a SAM missionary family that Laura is especially close with. Beth, the mother, has been experiencing health problems for the better part of two years, and they haven't been able to much for her. She went back to the States for testing and treatement two months ago, but it didn't really help. So, Wednesday she is returning to the States indefinitely...she just really needs to get healed before she can continue with ministry. Please pray for her and the whole Hause family as they enter this time of separation (she and Jeff have four kids - Marie, who is in college in the States, Brittany 11th grade, Steven 8th grade, and Pablito 3rd grade). If the testing or treatments take too long the rest of the family will also return to the States indefinitely. Please pray for them!!