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Even though this has been only my second time at WonderCon on the behalf of the CCAS, it is quickly becoming one of my favorite conventions. The dates were April 2 through April 4 at the Mascone Center in San Francisco, California. There is not the media and movie frenzy that has come to dominate the San Diego Con, nor are there the extravagant displays that I’ve grown accustomed to seeing at San Diego. Just comic books fans, vendors, publishers and the like. The crowds are very large, but not claustrophobic where traffic may come to a stand still for minutes at a time. If you want a comic book convention that was like San Diego ten years ago, WonderCon is it. The fans engage you in conversation more frequently because they’re not carried away by the swell of the crowd.

I arrived on Thursday afternoon. Getting in the convention and setting have become routine. It went smoothly and allowed me enough time in the afternoon to relax, get some dinner at one of the local restaurants and spend the rest of the evening unwinding at the Mosser Hotel. Describing the rooms as small is an understatement. But they’re clean, comfortable, and enough for me. Lord willing, I will stay there again next year. It is only a two block walk from the convention center.

Friday morning started off with a bang. A gentleman asked me how I reconcile where Jesus says turn the other cheek with the God of the Old Testament who wipes out entire cultures, men, women, and children. Fortunately I was able to answer his question, much to his surprise. Then there was the woman who didn’t if she could follow Christianity because of the rules and regulations, and how often she breaks them. The Lord allowed me the privilege to share with her God’s grace and that our walk is one of learning and growing. Eric Jensen brought over tracts produced by the Fourquare Mission Press. We also had Nate Butler's "Betrayed" tract, that was especially popular with the young children. There were at least 1,000 tracts and most of them were gone by mid-Saturday afternoon.

The CCAS reached out to the gay community to see if they would be interested in sharing a panel with the CCAS on how our respective groups are portrayed in comics and how we want to communicate a deeper dimension of who we are. They seemed very interested and we plan to follow-up on this possible open door. The panel could be, “Gays and Christians, What Do They Have in Common?”

And though I thoroughly enjoyed last year’s con, this one was even better because of the Christians that volunteered their time and allowed me some time to enjoy the show. Dan Conner, Peter Gonzalez, Paul Lopez, and Buzz Dixon all manned the table. Peter and Dan manned the table on Friday afternoon for a few hours. Dan broke out the crayons and offered free sketches to anyone interested. Needless to say, that was a hit, especially with the children and their parents. Paul, Buzz and Paul’s friend, help break down table that Sunday. Then Buzz hauled all the merchandise back down to Southern California. Through years of experience, we were able to pack everything in small cars. I am looking forward with great anticipation to what the Lord will do in upcoming years with the CCAS.

For me, this is an exciting time and I am humbled that the Lord would allow me to be a part of it. We are seeing the CCAS expanding to establish a presence at four major conventions in the western United States, San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Tuscon. We are meeting Christians at every convention who did not know that the CCAS existed. The CCAS is looking to have panels the cons at Phoenix in 2010 and San Francisco in 2011. Continue to pray for the CCAS, because it is your prayers that the Lord has opened these doors to us. Pray for the CCAS, that the Lord would continue to provide avenues for us to share the gospel, in Phoenix and San Diego in 2010 and in the future.