I realize that this is 10 days after the fact…I was telling someone that doing a conference in Germany is like being in an alternate reality.  Normal doesn’t exist, it is just all about making the conference happen.

Wendesday, January 25th, rehearsal day 

It was nice to have a later call time today.  Because we started load in on Monday, we were able to come in a few hours later this morning.  Instead of sleeping in, Darren, Chris, Scott and I went for a run through a park near by.  It was nice to experience something normal during this week of crazy hours and tasks that I don’t normally find myself doing.

Wednesday started with sound check, then music rehearsal, an opening celebration dinner where the WCA Deutchland team welcomed the volunteers from all over the world, followed by drama rehearsal.  Here are some pictures from the day:

1. “Be Here Now” – We recreated Blaine Hogan’s piece from the 2010 Leadership Summit.  Ryan Trommer, who did the original animation, rebuilt it in German.  It was acted by Carsten Steir with direction from Mark Demel.  We were laughing because the video was created with Blaine as the actor, and Carsten was a little taller, so some of the words were slightly obstructed.
2. Volunteer Welcome Dinner – Karl Heinz-Zimmer welcomed everyone, and Bill Hybels cast some vision for all that God has done in Germany over the 15 years these conferences have been happening.  The creative arts and production teams get their food first, since we eat as fast as we can then get back to rehearsal.
3. Christy Anderson took a misstep and injured her foot.  The WCA team rallied around her and found doctors that could help her.  After her first ever ambulance ride, and some liquid ibuprofen, she is doing much better, directing the stage team from the seated position.
4. Nathan Miller has done an amazing job at monitors…as usual.  Lena Belgart, one of the vocalists was sceptical when she heard she would have to use in ear monitors, but now she is as convinced as the rest of us, that Nathan is really good at what he does.  This year, we were able to rent Shure wireless mics, so Nathan and our super star audio volunteer, Mark Gilbert, were able to do amazing work with great equipment.
5. A picture from near the back of the room.  We had to set up a delay PA (d&b!) and delay screens for the people that were furthest away.
6. My view from the front rows.

One or two more posts to follow.