Thoughts from 34,000 feet

Well, friends, we're on our way home...nearly missed our connection in Dallas due to mechanical issues in NOLA. But the airline folks in DFW were helpful and held the plane for us!

So now, cruising toward home above the clouds, I'm thinking about some of the people we've met.

The lady who called out her car window at an intersection, "Thanks for being here!"

The hotel maintenance man in the elevator who was so grateful that we acknowledged their work to keep the place clean. "You folks are mighty nice."

The young man (9th grader) on the streetcar who was the only member of his family to return to NO from San Antonio and was doing the best he could after having lost everything during Katrina. As he disembarked the streetcar, he stopped on the steps, turned back and offered his hand to me. "It was nice to meet you. Thanks." I'm still not exactly sure what he was thanking me for.

Every day in the Convention Center at 4:24 pm, everything would stop for a minute of prayer (based on Acts 4:24). We noticed that, by the end of the week, even the Convention Center employees were joining in that moment of silent prayer!

People on the street, servers in restaurants, workers at the zoo all asked, "Are you with the Lutherans?" When we replied in the affirmative, we heard gratitude and thankfulness in response.

Of course, it wasn't unanimous. It never is. There were a few less than complimentary remarks tossed our way by drivers trying to navigate through 37,000 pedestrians by the Dome. One blogger on the local news website called us "geeks and nerds" who would've gone to Florida for vacation if we "were at all popular." :-)

Still, the expressions of gratitude were numerous and summed up by the mayor of NOLA on Saturday night. Even our swamp tour bus driver commented that she had heard that "someone figured it would take one person working 4 volunteer hours a day over 98 years to do what you kids did in 3 days. Thank you."

And, as we have discerned in our group, this is just the beginning for us. We are to be advocates for those God loves and God has shown through Scripture that He has a special place in His will for the poor and needy. We have members of our group who have deep concerns for the environment. We met a young lady on the street campaigning for the wetlands of the coast. Her words came as a challenge to us in a broader way than she could have intended. "Y'all did some great work while you were here. Can you continue to care about us after you've gone home?" She was thinking coastal restoration, of course, but in her own way she echoed the words of Bishop Hansen who challenged us to be the wave of change back home.

Our students will have some energy and enthusiasm to "be the change" when we get home. I'm not sure what direction (or how many directions) they'll go but know that they will be seeking to dive into our creative God's imagination and find where they can serve. I hope that you will stand with them and encourage them in their endeavors. Even if you don't find yourself caring about the same things they do, please pray for them that God will bless their efforts to use the gifts he has given them in service to his people and his world.

A fire for justice has been lit. Fan it.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Monday Musings

by Solveig Geesey

Our day started with an early morning and a walk to the much anticipated restaurant "Mother's.". This "southern home-cooking" gave us the exact energy we would need to get through the rest of the day.

The next activity for the day was to take a tour of an authentic Louisiana swamp. But before we could even begin our walk, Jocelyn and I realized we had forgotten our money back in the hotel and needed to go back and get it. Normally this would have been a minor setback but because of a miscommunication with directions it became an exhausting, overwhelmingly hot, neverending hike.

Finally we arrived at the swamp and boarded the tour boat. The tour was really fun and interesting. Our guide narrated the entire ride informing us of all the different kinds of wildlife and history of the wetlands. We were able to see over 15 alligators throughout the tour.

Our last stop for the day was the French Quarter. We ate beignets at Cafe Dumonde and had a final Cajun meal at Cafe Maspero. There were so many shops to go in and hundreds of unique cultural things to see.

Today definitely had distinguished highs and lows but, ironically, the song that kept coming into my head was the one we had sang previously at the gathering, "I get down, He lifts me up...". I believe although we had to go through some uncomfortable situations, it was these situations that made the good experiences even more memorable. God is amazing and has shown me throughout this week that he can work through whatever way he sees fit. That is why we always have to keep our eyes and hearts open, so we can be ready to embrace God's love in any form at any time. This trip was truly an unexpected blessing and showed me that even a city like New Orleans, one who has been hit with so much disaster, can be rebuilt and made new with the help of God.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Grits and Gators

by Jocelyn Hogan

It's 8:00 a.m. and I'm awakened by Sophia telling me that we need to be dressed and ready to go in 15 minutes! I'm not well known for quick awakenings and fast movements in the morning. :-) Despite this, my roommates and I make it downstairs with 4 minutes to spare. We sleepily walked several blocks to a restaurant called "Mother's," which is world famous for their ham. (It was delicious.) Sitting there with egg and grits in hand, I realize that, due to my efforts to be on time, I had left the hotel without something crucial...money. Gathering Amanda, Solveig and Maren, we make the trip back to the hotel to grab money and necessities.

Our plan was to meet the rest of the group at the Riverfront where we were going to catch a bus to the swamp tour. Thanks to Mike's navigational skills (ed. note: she reads this to me with a classic and well-performed eye roll), we end up in the wrong spot and have to backtrack a few blocks but eventually make it there with 20 minutes to spare. :-)

The swamp tour was very interesting. We learned that the swamps are actually endangered. You expect animals to be in danger but not land. But every 30 minutes the wetlands decrease by the size of a football field. :-( The upside is that this problem is not going unnoticed. There are organizations that bring awareness to this specific problem and work to protect the swamps.

One "out of my comfort zone" thing I did today was hold an alligator. (Yes, it was real.) :-) After the tour, the group made its was to the French Market where we ate beignets and coffee. This held us over until dinner. The French Market was full of shops to buy souvenirs and gifts. With at least one bag per person we all meet for dinner at the Cafe Maspero. We finished the night by heading back to the hotel and having Bible study.

Overall this trip has been a great experience. Experiencing a new culture and immersing ourselves with their needs has strengthened us more as a group and as followers of Christ. Although our project was not building a school or a tangible thing, we were given the blessing and responsibility to be advocates for Christ and his creation.

Sunday Gleanings

by Mike Camin

I don't remember 'blogging' as part of the criteria for the trip, but every time I think of diaries/blogs I think of a quote attributed to King Louis the XVI from July 14, 1789, "Nothing to note". Some may recognize that as the date the French Revolution began. As the ruler of a splintering nation, I'm sure his later thoughts on that day were significantly more complex, but history will simply remember 'nothing to note'. When thinking about this trip, the quote came up a little more. Around a year ago, Pastor Dave asked me a simple question: "Do you want to go to New Orleans?" I said sure without really thinking about it.

I still can't remember what day or month PDK asked me to go on the trip. My life changed quite a bit, my involvement in the church expanded significantly, and yet… I have no idea what happened that day. Now I wonder what significant events have happened on our trip to New Orleans; will I be able to identify them and will I be able to know what future events started in NOLA?

We woke up this morning and went on a scavenger hunt for coffee. Unfortunately, we couldn't find an open coffee shop. It is Sunday, and most of the shops are closed for the day or have very short working hours. After seeing bits of the night life on previous days (nights) and a local describing the city as Corinth, we were a little surprised that they would honor the Sabbath. I think it is a southern city thing, but we still thought it odd you could pretty much buy anything on a Friday night, but you can't buy coffee on a Sunday.


It turns out our Bishop, Mark Hansen, is a pretty good speaker. It's almost as if he does it for a living. It was quite impressive to hear him give a sermon. He had several messages, but they all generally centered on going home and continuing to make a difference. New Orleans needs help, but our world needs it as well. We shouldn't leave what we have done in New Orleans. We should take it home and expand our service there.

Major talking points were environmental awareness, race discrimination, and religious extremists. (Not necessarily in that order, but I'm an environmentalist and it stood out) He discussed utilizing religious awareness and common ground to minimize extremist actions. I would have liked to hear more on the subject, but we didn't really have the time.

Another major theme was action only needs one person and it doesn't matter what kind of person we are. The Bishop pointed out that God used Moses for some fairly big jobs and he was a murderer. Neither is youth an excuse. I can't remember exactly what his words on youth were at this point, but he pushed for youth involvement and future actions by our younger members.

Last of all, as a side note, the Bishop vaguely resembles George Carlin and he has a pretty good hip-hop dance groove. I would have loved to get a photo.


Large church services are neat. I would definitely like to keep it to a once or twice in a lifetime event as I think it loses some of the family atmosphere of our congregation, but seeing 36,000 people at a worship service was a sight to behold. Also, pyrotechnics make church better and I will talk to Pastor Wandrey about incorporating a few into the 8:30 service…


We saw a white tiger at the zoo. He was pretty cool. The white alligators weren't as interesting, but mostly because they didn't move. Plastic statues may have been used as stand-ins.

A major rain storm hit at the zoo, but didn't slow our intrepid adventurers. It turns out my jacket isn't actually waterproof like I thought. And wood does indeed become slippery when wet. Thankfully, Amanda packed a first aid kit. However, it sounds as if life and limbs were risked getting the first aid kit to the wounded party member through the torrential downpour.


Kristen found something she likes to eat in NOLA. It is a good day for her.


More intrepid adventures into French Quarter… Jocelyn did a duet with a pretty cool street performer. We're not sure of the going price of a song, but he was pretty good and did a Christian worship song. We were all very impressed.

Worship, Water and Walking

by Maren Geesey

Waking up early is one thing but going to church with 38,000 other poeple and doing communoin is a whole different story. When we all went to church at the Superdome, I wasn't sure what to expect but once it started going it was actually very interesting. To start it off, the cross came out. It wasn't any other cross coming out; it was like a parade. THere were birds and umbrellas everywhere! After that (which seemed like forever because it was so long) it was a huge church service.

The one thing that blew my mind away was the communion. I was just trying to figure out how many people they had that were helping out. So that must of taken forever and one if I think the parade was long. Eventually it ended and afterwards there was singing and dancing. It was a pretty amazing sight, to be honest with ya.

Once everyone was done worshipping, we all went to the zoo. Now I think it was so funny when we weren't really doing activities outside all week but once we do go exploring, it rains. I'm not talking about sprinkles; I'm talking about raining gumballs! Now even though we had to get everything wet, we still had a blast. We got to see flamingos, white alligators, and everybody's favorite the orangutans. After we got all our souvenirs, we went back to the hotel on the streetcar.

Once we got back to the hotel, some people stayed at the hotel and some people went down to the French Quarter. We all had a great time doing our separate thing but now we all came together doing our daily discussion. I'm sitting, writing my blog and listening to our devotion.

Trying to contain everything that happened today is o hard but even though I might not get everything, I think I got the highlights. So good night for now and hopefully I'll be able to tell you more of our trip.

Advocacy Through Healing

by Amanda Marcoe

Today was another full day. It started on an early morning trek to the Convention Center for our learning activities today. These included workshops on Bible study, learning centers through study and activity and integrator (arts and culture) activities. One of the studies I went to with a group of our kids was called “Daring to be Different”. We learned from Biblical examples such as David, King Josiah and Samuel that you can stand for the Truth and make a difference even at a young age. We also had a little fun making our own masks out of paper, crayons and glue. But what impacted me the most was watching a movie that was put together from the stories of some of the people of New Orleans who lived through Katrina.

We all knew that Katrina was devastating, there’s no doubt about that. But to hear the stories of the people, to watch their lives go from a normal routine to tragedy in a matter of hours, was almost more than I could take. It was worse than my imagination. I watched a woman pointing to the barge that went through the first levee that broke, saying “those were my neighbors; they lived right there…and they’re still there. They couldn’t afford to leave.” We saw many residents flee to safety in the Superdome who didn’t have the means or desire to leave (from reasons such as no money to the fact that they lived through Betsy in ’65 so they thought they could take Katrina as well). During the beginning stages of the storm they were calm, just waiting it out so they could return home, not realizing that there would be no home to return to. After the initial storm the floods came. Some thought it was over and were caught by surprise as the water rose on the streets and in their homes at a very fast rate. This is why many of them became trapped.

When nature was finished with New Orleans the story had only begun. The most difficult thing for me to watch was the reality of the horror some experienced. Five kids were trapped in their house with their mom. Upon rescue the coast guard was told that their mom was in the back room and couldn’t breathe and needed oxygen. When they reached her she had already passed away, leaving these children alone in tragedy as they were taken in a boat from the house without their mother. One man reported clinging to his roof and yelling for help, only to watch a helicopter tell him no and turn to an alternate route.

The Superdome, being on higher ground, became a “safe place”, so people flocked there if they were able to get out of their houses. The very ramps we have been walking up everyday this week to hear speakers and bands were the very ramps in which people who were stranded filled. After the storm New Orleans experienced the hottest weather they had had in a long time, and these people were left in the blazing sun with no food or water to drink for days. People with children, with infants, the elderly in need of health care. They were all left without resource, without hope for days. People lined the hallways of the Superdome, right where we’ve been running through to get “the best seats in the house”, and they were dying there. People were dying and they had nowhere to put the bodies. There was no electricity or running water or bathrooms.

I found it very difficult to enjoy tonight’s program at the Superdome after watching how so many people had suffered right in the midst of where I was. As we’ve been learning all week about justice and how we can be a voice for those who don’t have one, I began to wonder if I could’ve done something to help the situation when others turned their heads. Call me naïve, but I had no idea how catastrophic Katrina really had been. Four years later I cannot believe how many residents have not returned and the many that have still are not able to live in their entire houses. They are living in the attics because the downstairs, kitchen and all, was flooded to the ceiling. Some still live in cramped fema trailers. Sidewalks and streets are cracked and uneven. Buildings still need painting. There is still a lot of work to be done.

If you’ve read some of the previous LCM blogs (particularly yesterday’s) you may have noted that many of us, including me, were disappointed that our service project was not tangible when there is still so much that still needs to be done here. But as we talked in tonight’s devotion we learned that if we are going to be advocates we must be able to look into the faces of those around us and see Jesus waiting to be served and cared for. Through our interaction with restaurant staff, people we’ve met on the streets walking to and from our activities, and more specifically our museum tour guide we’ve been doing the caring part, the serving. We have all as individuals been conscientious about our manners and thanking those who are working hard to serve us and we have listened to the stories of some of those people, which aids in their emotional healing. They need to be able to share with us where they’ve been and how far they’ve come. And by coming as part of the Gathering, we have contributed in a large capacity to the economic rebuilding of the city.

To be completely honest though, after watching such minute details of Katrina I would not have the strength or courage to come back here. And yet so many of the people have because it is their home, their heritage. And as one of the speakers tonight said, when we care for creation, all of creation (people who are different and people who are the same as well as our environment), we are honoring the Creator. Sometimes this gets us out of our comfort zones, makes it hard to do what we know we need to do. But when we listen for God’s calling and stand up when no one else will, we will be blessed.

Stand Up For Those Without a Voice

by Sarah Jones

My day started the best it ever can, a voice saying “We are going to go get coffee. Would you like some?” You don’t need me to tell you my answer. So on a very cheery note my day was started.

We started the mile walk to where we were meeting to start our service project and met a wonderful lady named Emily who led us to our lunch spot. (This was at 11:30.) I got to have some more wonderful ethnic New Orleans food (shellfish free!) and enjoy some time with other people. Our group was blessed to have a lady from Texas sit with us and we got a chance to learn more about her. We ate at this restaurant because the very room we ate in was used for the slave trade and that was part of the topic of the day. After that we took a short walk to a nearby hotel. We listened to a talk by a local Pastor about slavery and other issues with the church. He wanted us to know about all the people that are powerless and how we can speak up for them. I really enjoyed his talk. He brought up a lot that I had never thought about. After that we took another walk to the Civil War Museum where the woman there talked to us about the times in the Civil War as well as her story from Katrina.

One thing that I have not mentioned yet is this was our service day. Each group got to do a service project while they were down here. When you think of a service project you, like we did, think physical labor. For example, building a house or helping rebuilding a park. What I learned is that is not all there is. God called us to do something a little different. As you listened to what we did today you did not hear anything about physical labor. What we did is learn about problems that face our world today such as human trafficking, crime, and poor education. Our service is about our town, Coeur d’Alene, how we can go back and stand up for those with no voice and no power to have a voice. When was the last time you went to a city council meeting? The last time you went to a school board meeting? In these meetings, our city is formed. Yet we sit back and don’t get involved and then we complain about what is going on. We need to stop just saying what is wrong in our town and in our country as well. We need to stand up and say something about it. God gave us all great power and we just need to use what he has given us for the better. So, yes, we did not get to do a physically demanding project, and yes, it was disappointing, but just think of all the good that is going to come out of this way of thinking. Some of us are 18 or about to turn 18 and we can vote. That is a huge power and can be used greatly if the time is taken to care. So that is the wonderful knowledge that God chose to reveal to us today, and I am very thankful for. I want to be able to go home and with God's strength, be able to speak for those who can’t.

The best thing is our day does not end there! Our group then split into two. Pastor Dave, Nicky, and I went to the convention center. Why you may ask? BECAUSE I WON A PRIZE!!! I donated change yesterday and was entered into a drawing and won! I won a snuggie. That is a blanket with sleeves if you did not know. The other group went off to dinner (don’t worry, we ate, too). We met at the Superdome for our speakers and music. One speaker stood out to me. He had been a child soldier. His story was very touching. He was only five when they invaded his town and took him and the other kids along with his friend Kevin. They loaded them up and took them to the camp. They slit his arm and rubbed in brown-brown. For those who haven’t heard, it is a mixture of cocaine and gun powder. This makes your mind go crazy. Then they put a blindfold on his eyes and a gun in his hand and told him to shoot. Now only being five he could not hold it all by himself so one of the men helped him. They put his finger on the trigger and yelled “Shoot, shoot!” so he did. They took of the blindfold and on the ground was his best friend Kevin. Then they told him about how he was a killer and his family would never want him back. When they went to raid his first village though he ran and ran and ran as fast and long as he could and he got away. He tells this story not to make us feel bad but for us to have hope and to help those once again without a voice. So what I got from today is how we may feel powerless but we aren’t. We hold the power and right now at this very moment we are wasting it. We need to speak out and stand up for what we know is right. That is my goal and when I get back I hope you will stand by me and others as we take a stand.
God’s Peace,
Sarah

Meditation by Max

by Max Ralph

Today we had a blast in New Orleans! We had our service day today and we were ready to do our part in helping the poeple of New Orleans. We had a group lunch and continued our day by interacting in a Bible study with Pastor Patrick Keen about modern forms of slavery. Through Paul's letter to the Corinthians, we learned that we should not be divided by individual differences but be united by our faith in Jesus Christ. We ended our day by visiting the Confederate Civil War museum. We learned a lot about early New Orleans culture and general confederate life during the Civil War.

As our group reflected on our day, there was a general air of disappointment. Before today, we envisioned our Service Day Project as a very tangible experience where we would help the people of New Orleans in a very physical way and see the rewards of our labor right away. We thought we were going to be doing manual labor and helping people in need. While some groups did just that, we were faced with a different, maybe more challenging, call as Christians.

Since our arrival here, we have learned about the importance of and necessity for advocacy in our world today. At our devotions tonight, we recognized that we experienced this day for a reason. We recognized that we have been called to do something highly important. We have been called to START a project to help people rather than follow the actions of countless others who stand up for the justice of the less fortunate. We are ultimately called as Christians to identify an issue and make an effort to solve that problem. Advocacy can and must lead to ACTION.

So instead of going home feeling satisfied that we helped people [in New Orleans], we will go home with great intentions to help our community at home with the problems we face today.

~ Max Ralph

Wednesday Highlights

by James Bening

Hi. My name is James and we are in New Orleans. We went and walked around. We went to the Superdome and looked around in New Orleans. My favorite part of the trip so far was how big the Superdome is and the speakers and the music. So that is my favorite part. Thanks for supporting us.

Today's blog is brought to you by:

Nicky Page

"God's To-Do List"

I'm not good at many things, or, to say it more accurately, there are MANY things I am not good at: dancing, singing, writing (blogging), getting to know people, expressing myself, delegating, going with the flow, being proactive, trying new things, dieting, and so MANY more things. I've often said that if everyone has a gift, mine is helping everyone else feel really good about theirs, because I don't really have one of my own. I'm okay with this. I figure God intentionally made me this way for a reason, even if I don't fully know what it is. And I've gotten comfortable with this idea…maybe a little too comfortable. I can't lead a Bible study; God hasn't gifted me with the ability to inspire others in their faith. I can't read the lessons at worship; God hasn't gifted me with a fondness for public speaking (or reading). I can't lead the children in the chapel song; I'm not gifted in singing…or leading. And if I'm not capable of making a difference in my own community, I can't possibly be expected to do ANYTHING to change the world…right?

Today, however, I learned that one doesn't need to be gifted in leadership, or arts, or social skills, or anything really, to make a HUGE difference in the world. It started last night, actually. Marc Kielburger was speaking to us about his organization, Free the Children, a youth-driven charity which has built over 500 schools in marginalized regions worldwide. He told us about how he stopped reading the newspaper at one point in his life because it was just too depressing. He shared this with somebody—I don't remember who, but he was important (I'm also not gifted in remembering details, but look at me going outside my comfort zone to share the story with you anyway!), and this very important individual gave Marc a new insight on the paper. This person told Marc that he sees the newspaper not as an account of all the violence, anger, and sadness in the world, but as God's to-do list, delivered directly to YOU (um, ME)on a daily basis.

Since I was half-asleep during this guy's speech (remember, it had been a 28-hour day for me, through 12ish states, three airports, a bus, and a two-mile walk in the rain, carrying 6 Bibles, uphill both ways in three feet of snow!), I barely caught this part, but it stuck in my head. It did for several others in our group as well. We all thought it was a neat insight, something we'd never really considered before. And even as we chatted about it during last night's devotion, I thought to myself, "But what can I possibly do about ALL that?"

As we wandered through the 1,000,000+ square feet of the Convention Center today, I started to get an idea. Today, some of us pledged to use less plastic in an effort to reduce the harmful effect of this waste on our environment. We contributed to the construction efforts of Thrivent Builds and Habitat for Humanity. We gave money to homeless children. We learned about effective ways to rehabilitate juvenile offenders. We learned about the importance of peace in our hearts, communities, and the world. We learned that God calls drunks, adulterers, the disobedient, the ungrateful, the damaged, the weak, the oppressed, the ungifted, to do all sorts of really cool things. And it all starts with one person, doing one thing. And because God is so good, this one ordinary person, doing one unremarkable thing, changes the world.

You know, that could be one of the kids in this group. It could be one of us adult-types. It could be you. It could be ME…no, really. I can do so much good in this world. It doesn't take much, just a cause and the will of God. And as I think on the wonderfulness of this, I can't help but feel incredibly…gifted.

Bonus Blog!!

Hey everyone - Pastor Dave here live from the Interaction Center in New Orleans! Over 1 million square feet of action and adventure in the Morial Convention Center is providing us with countless...well, you COULD count them but it would take all afternoon...opportunities to learn, explore and play. They even have adult size inflatables to jump and run and fall in!! There was a parade at 1:30 with Bishop Hanson riding in a float as REX of the Gathering! Nicky and I will be doing the official blog for the day after tonight's program. Check out the live video link of the Gathering website to join us for tonight's program. Gotta go...I'm up next at the Guitar Hero competition!

Insanity and Unity

by Kristen Jussila

All I can say is wow! Today was insane! Most of us slept most of the afternoon because of all the traveling. Once 5:00pm came (which seemed like it never would), we all met downstairs in the lobby of the hotel. After we had all gotten down to the lobby, we headed to the youth gathering, which is where the exitement happened.

The youth gathering was held in the Superdome, the largest indoor stadium in America. Once our group stepped outside, I was shocked. There were kids everywhere! It got even worse when we got closer to the Superdome...you could see thousands of kids. I think this was the most amazing thing to me because I don't live in a big city and this youth gathering alone has more poeple than the city of Coeur d'Alene.

Our little group split up because some of us slept all day and hadn't eaten. Me, Sophia, Sara, Nicky and Pastor Dave went inside to find some seats. It seemed like the entire stadium was filled. There were 38,000 youth willing to do God's will! It's pretty humbling.

The best part was when they started the gathering. There was amazing music and really amazing speakers. It's hard to describe, it was so amazing! I can't imagine what the rest of the week will be like if that was only the first day.

Sophia's Blog

Tuesday July 21, 2009

Hello everyone!

Well, we made it through our first day; a day filled with five hours of driving, six hours of layovers, and 12 ours of flying. WOW! We started our adventure on time and stopped in Spokane to pick up Amanda and Max; after that we were off to Seattle. Even though our van was crowded and the AC was somewhat ineffective, we all made it there- with a stop in Moses Lake for snacks- in one, happy piece.

We had two groups flying out from Seattle: Group 1 was Amanda, Mike, Maren, Solveig, Kristen, Taylor, and myself; Group 2 was Pastor Dave, Nicky, Sarah, Max, James, and Jocelyn. Our group (Group 1) left around 8:00pm, while the other group hung around for four hours doing fun activities (I'm assuming). Our group landed in Los Angeles just as Group 2 was heading for Dallas; we would meet them there two hours later. Both groups sat around (mostly sleeping) in Gate 23 before we all headed to New Orleans. It was around six o'clock by then and we were all very tired; we arrived in New Orleans at around 10:00am Eastern Time.

Our first day was fun, pretty uneventful, but relaxing, and made all of us VERY tired. The time change is a little rough, but I'm sure we'll all get used to it. :) It was all travel and luckily we won't have to do anymore until next Tuesday! We're having fun on the trip and I hope we have an amazing and blessed week. Thank you for your support and blessings as we embark on this journey.

Thanks a million from New Orleans! =)

~Sophia Dunlap

---

Windows Live™ Hotmail®: Search, add, and share the web's latest sports videos. Check it out.

Big Vans, Water Bottles, and Airport Burgers

Well, friends, the trip over to Seattle went well. We left Coeur d’Alene more or less on time, stopped at two different places in Spokane to pick up Max (just back from Michigan) and Amanda (at Deaconness with her Mom), and made good time through the mountains. The AC in the Cd’A Homes 12-passenger van worked really well but didn’t quite make it to the back! Once we dropped everyone off at the airport, Nicky and I ran the vans to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church – Seatac where we were met by a very helpful gentleman named Courtney. After helping us park the vans in the safest place, he drove us back to the airport in his Prius. My first time in one and I was impressed. We rejoined our group at a Starbucks next to the security station. The early group, leaving at 8pm, had already check in and checked their luggage. Those of us going later had to wait to check in so we decided to do our first devotion together right there in Starbucks. When we finished, we took the group picture you see here and the first group headed off.

We got ourselves checked in and baggaged at the appropriate time and headed through security. All was going smoothly. And then it happened. A security agent lifted up a shoulder bag, southwestern style with a “Cruzando” logo on it and asked in a voice worthy of Darth Vader, “Who does this belong to?” Jocelyn, who was just coming through the gate, said, “That’s mine.” “We’re going to have to open your bag,” he stated flatly. She replied with her cheery smile, “Okay.” I had frozen in panic. Everything had gone so smoothly. We’d gone over what to do and not to do. How could this happen? My career was over!! As the security officer opened her bag and reached inside, I examined my possible escape routes and how I could extricate Jocelyn from this sticky situation. Of course, she would have to be on the run for the rest of her life and I would probably have to resign my membership in the “Amiable Airline Ambassador” Club and…wait a minute…what was this? A half-empty Dasani water bottle??!! Hadn’t we talked about WATER BOTTLES? Irony of it was she had tossed two of them just before approaching security. She just hadn’t remembered the one in her bag.

Isn’t that the way? No matter how hard we try, we just can’t seem to get it right. Even when we “do our best,” we often come up short. Praise God for His grace. Where we come up short, His grace covers our shortcomings. When we fail to give it our all, His grace strengthens our weakness. When we are uncertain and afraid, God’s grace gives us courage. Obviously, this airport adventure was pretty innocent and the whole thing lasted about 15 seconds and we moved on. We can do that even when our situations are more significant. Even in the midst of relationship difficulties, job loss, grief and sorrow, we can “move on” or at least move forward into the future confident that God’s grace will be sufficient to our need.

So…we moved on the African Lounge for some very spendy yet tasty burgers. Boarding our 11:20pm flight happened soon after and now – 4:18am CST – we are sitting in Dallas-Ft. Worth waiting for the final leg of our flight. After several different flights…some of us went SEA-LA-DFW-NO and some SEA-DFW-NO…it’s nice to be all together for the final leg of our trip. We are eager for the week ahead though right now, a bed would be nice!

PDK

Tick, Tick, Tick...

Here we are...less than an hour away from our day of departure. Lots of last minute questions, frenzied packing and last minute Facebook status updates! :-) The excitement is building and it's fun to see.

As for me, I am always ambivalent on the eve of a great adventure. So much can happen in the next eight days. How will God lead us? What will we learn about ourselves? Am I up to the challenge of leading and guiding these young people in this?

And then, as I look back, I remember. I am certain that I have always learned more than I have taught, been ministered to more than being the minister, and watched God work far more wonderfully than any guidance I could give. And God has always used the students themselves as my teachers. We are, after all, each one children of God and our Father works through all of us to help each one grow.

So I am ambivalent yet excited. Nervous but expectant. The trust of parents humbles me. The commitment of adults who give up their time to go with us encourages me. The enthusiasm of the students empowers me. It will be a life-changing week...and maybe not just for the kids! :)

Officially Less Than A Week

Yep, it's getting close enough to taste. (That cajun cookin' is strong!!) Our students are even commenting on their Facebook pages about their excitement and doing their own countdowns. Me? I'm not so thrilled with the temperatures we'll have to endure but, with God's grace, I'll survive. :) The gathering office told us to start walking now and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate so we have a headstart on the heat and humidity.

Sadly, we've lost another member of our group to a medical condition. So now we're down to 13 instead of the original 16. Our chaperone to youth ratio is climbing! We'll miss the three who won't be with us but trust that God will lead them into adventures of their own. As for the rest of us, it looks to be an exceptional trip. We're adding a trip to the Audubon Zoo, known for its rare white tigers and alligators, as well as a swamp and bayou tour. Toss in some shopping and food sampling in the French Quarter and we'll have a full experience in the Big Easy.

Speaking of Big Easy, one of the articles I read on the gathering website talked about the pace of life in N.O. Eaaaassssy. Nobody rushes. Those of us who are used to faster paces will need some extra patience as we adapt to the culture and speed of life in a different environment. Yep, that's what I'll be prayin' for...patience with the pace and patience with the heat. At least, I don't worry about patience with my travel companions. I think we'll be just fine.

Finalizing Details

Boy, there's a lot to keep track of in these final weeks. The airline has changed our itinerary a bit, our service assignment for N.O. was just released, and our travel arrangements to Seattle (to catch the aforementioned flights) are coming together. It feels like things are ramping up and I imagine that time will fly by until we're all standing in the parking lot with a slightly dazed look in our eyes and saying our goodbyes to family and friends.

We still hope to raise a little more money to lessen the expense for students and their families. We've done well, I think. The total cost for the 14 of us is $17,920 (plus spending money)! It amounts to about $1,280 per person and we've raised enough to bring the cost down to a couple hundred per person! If we could sell 20 more stock certificates at $100/piece....! :-)

Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement for our youth here at LCM. We're looking forward to sharing our experience with you all and putting what we learn to work for God in our community!

Blogging the Youth Gathering

Everyone going to the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans will be taking turns commenting on the experience. Check in for updates from the kids and chaperones!