International Emerging Leaders Conference

Me with Maissoun & Zineb

The International Emerging Leaders Conference was a great success.  For ten days students from 11 different countries interacted, tackling environmental problems, while being encouraged to think outside of the box and to come up with creative solutions to global issues.  My students had an amazing time.  I was blessed to be in America, in my home state.  I got to visit with my family and a close friend a different points throughout the week.  Though our time together was short, it was a real encouragement to me.

In Richmond we stayed with host families.  My host family's son lives in Morocco, so I had an instant connection with them.  They have visited Morocco and totally understood the struggles that I have here.  They also are Southern Baptists who have done a lot of work with the IMB.  It was a real blessing for me to connect with like-minded people.  I feel that God really knew exactly what I needed that week.

With Adil at the Cultural Night
in traditional Moroccan dress

We started out at a camp called West on the James.  Most of the students had never slept in a sleeping bag, one girl commented that she didn't even know anyone who owned one!  We had some American cultural experiences as they carved pumpkins, went on a hayride and ate s'mores around the campfire.  Once we arrived in Richmond I made a beeline for Starbucks where I got a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  It tastes so much better when I don't have to do all the work to make it from scratch!  DC was a real highlight for my guys; they had never been there before and were especially excited to see the Lincoln Memorial, which is also my favorite.  It was a long and tiresome time, but also fun-filled and educational.

Here are the links to our pictures from the conference:

IELC Part I (Sunday through Wednesday) West on the James Camp, trip to University of Richmond, Tour of Collegiate School, Welcome Dinner,  Dominion Power Plant and Virginia Commonwealth University

IELC Part II (Wednesday & Thursday) MeadWestvaco, Monticello, the University of Virginia, and Environmental Presentation Night

IELC Part III (Friday) Cultural Presentations

IELC Part IV (Saturday through Monday) trip to Washington, DC