Between taking calls, buying pizzas, texting co-workers and talking to friends, it is clear that Jorge Vallejos and Rachel Swartzendruber Miller are living the busiest of weeks.

Vallejos is the director of the convention planning for Mennonite Church USA, and Swartzendruber Miller the assistant director. The buck stops with them all week long in Columbus.

To an onlooker, their work appears hectic, stressful and mabye even scary at times. But when asked how the convention was going, Vallejos replied, “quite well” except for a few “logistical issues.”

Swartzendruber Miller said, “I love it. It’s draining, but I love it.”

Vallejos said one challenge of the week is figuring out the right number of buses for transporting youth to hotels in Dublin. He doesn’t want semi-empty buses polluting the Columbus air but he also wants to make sure there are enough buses to get everyone back safely.

Vallejos said that so far he hasn’t received many late-night phone calls, adding that there have been no major emergencies or injuries. He described the convention to date as having gone “pretty smoothly.”

When asked what it has been like working under Vallejos, Swartzendruber Miller said, “You can tell he loves what he does. He trains you and lets you go. I feel like I’m learning from one of the best.”

She said she is grateful for the trust that he bestows.

“It makes me want to do the best I can for not only Mennonite Church USA or the convention, but for him, because he put his trust in me,” she said.

The level of trust is about to significantly increase. This is the last convention that Vallejos will direct. When the church gathers next in Pittsburgh, Swartzendruber Miller will be the planning director. Vallejos, meanwhile, will be moving from Goshen to Atlanta, prepared to begin a new assignment that, as of now, “only God knows.”

Speaking of his role as director of convention planning, he said, “I will certainly miss it but I’m not going to miss the short nights.”

Vallejos said that Swartzendruber Miller is ready to assume charge.

“She’s extremely well organized and a wonderful communicator, full of ideas,” he said.

Since Swartzendruber Miller’s freshman year of college, she said, she has known she wanted to work for Mennonite Church USA. She plans to work as director of conventions through at least 2013.

“I am very excited, honored and humbled to be head director,” she said. “I feel at home.”