Convention Results

Yesterday was the last day of the ACE convention. My friend Rachel and her girls and I went up in the afternoon in time to see the exhibit room when it opened. Then after supper we went to the final evening rally, where a hoarse announcer read off the winners in each event and a stream of kids crossed the stage to get their medals.

Earlier in the day, Ben had been asked to do a command performance at the rally of his "That's My King" speech. I was over the moon, as only a small percentage of the platform events are asked to perform at the evening rallies. So I was tied in knots, and so was Ben the normally calm and collected, only he didn't clutch Paul's hand for dear life, and then he went on stage and knocked it out of the park, and got a standing ovation, and it was all wonderful, and then I could breathe again.

There are so many different events at these conventions that almost every child can compete and do well at something. Academics, track and field, arts, music, drama, photography, quilting, and a lot more. I wish I could have done something like this when I was in high school, being deficient in the two areas emphasized at our school--music and sports. I also wish my older kids could have gone to convention--Emily would have shone in drama I'm sure, and Matt and Amy in academics.

Meanwhile, it was very exciting to see each kid from our school place in something. Here are some results:

Girls' table tennis--Stephie S, 1st; Alicia R., 2nd, Kayla B. 4th

Bible bowl--the teams from Brownsville were 2nd, 3rd, and 4th

Science exhibit--Ben, 1st

Shot put--Preston K, 1st

Pace Bowl--1st

Basketball--2nd

Famous speech--Ben, 1st

Essay writing--Isaiah K. 2nd; Shane B. 5th; Trenton R. 6th

Short story writing--Felicia C, 6th

Woodworking--Ben 1st; Steven 2nd; Isaiah K. 4th

Mixed trio--2nd

Small ensemble--3rd

Checkers--Shane B. 4th; Austin S. 6th

Scrapbooking--Stephanie S. 2nd, Kayla B. 3rd, Felicia C. 5th

Photography--[there were lots of categories here and LOTS of entries, so we were especially proud of: Steven, 1st, color photo/animals; Isaiah K, 1st, color photo/computer enhanced; and Felicia C. 1st, b&w photo/ character trait.

Well, I think you get the idea and I'm not going to take the time to type out every result but I have the list in hand if you have specific questions.

However I will mention that the evening's individual awards ended with the CAP awards given to kids who score the most points by a complicated system of tallying awards won in academics, platform, music, and arts & crafts. To be eligible, they had to enter and place high in all those categories, and our fine son Ben got first place with a total of 59 out of a possible 60 points.

And then at the very last they gave out the Christian character award, which is THE award for the evening. During the week everyone observes everyone else as they all interact, from high-pressure moments in basketball to relaxed times in between events, and each school nominates another school for the award. We were sure the scales would tip in favor of Foursquare and their honest kid who lost the Pace bowl by telling the truth, but the announcer got up and presented it to Brownsville Mennonite, and we moms screamed for joy, and Paul and I went home feeling like this year's convention was a total success.

On the way home Ben was trying to keep talking to keep me awake even though he was wrung dry himself. "What is God telling you?" I asked him, referring to the evening's highlights. He didn't know. I told him that God was bound to take him through a phase where everything he did would be totally behind the scenes, unapplauded, and anonymous. And then he would be ready for something bigger. Which may or may not have been the right thing to say to a young man who had just had the heady experience of being on stage with everyone applauding, but, really, isn't that how life works?

And then we all got home safely and everyone but me slept in till 10:45 and was still exhausted all day.

Quote of the Day:
"They have harmony that gives you chills."
--Lisa the niece, a few weeks ago, about her cd of a singing Esh family, and now I find out this is the same family brutally ripped apart by an accident in Kentucky. God have mercy on the ones that remain, and may He give them a song again, someday. Here's a link.