Almost 70 children participated in the children’s convention at Phoenix 2013, according to director Amy Nissley Stauffer, who has just begun as associate pastor of congregational life at Hesston (Kan.) Mennonite Church.

The children, having just completed kindergarten through grade five, learned about prayer during their week together. They learned different prayers, including table graces and the Lord’s Prayer.

They also spent time praying for the delegates and made prayer leaves and bookmarks, which they delivered to the delegate assembly on July 5. The delegates also prayed for them.

Each day the children visited the exhibit hall, where the various agencies and schools led them in activities.

Nelson Kraybill, pastor of Prairie Street Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Ind., talked to them about how kids can live upside down. They looked at four stories from Scripture: the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14), the scribes and the widow’s offering (Luke 20:45-21:4), Jesus calling Levi (Luke 5:27-32) and the betrayal and arrest of Jesus (Luke 22:47-52).

The children made a daylong trip to the Arizona Science Center. Representatives from Mennonite Mission Network and the Lion and Lamb Peace Center visited them.

Jenna Boettger Boring and Darla Schrock led the children in music.

Stauffer said that the time with the children was exciting and that “the kids were able to connect with the denomination and to interact with the biblical stories.”