Newspaper Coverage

On July 22, the local New Orleans Paper did a great story about the youth gathering. Click the link below to take a look:

The Times-Picayune

Gentilly Terrace Elementary School

Here are a few shots from our day of service. We didn't even know what we were doing until we got on the bus this morning! It turns out that we got to do the finishing touches on the hallways of Gentilly Terrace Elementary School, just in time to surprise the parents and students at the start of the school year. The principal of the school has been trying to get it painted for two years, but did not have the budget. The school was flooded during the storm and had water up to the windows for several days. We met the principal and she shared that having the groups come has inspired the faculty to include the junior high kids to continue the project by having them paint the upstairs hallway. The principal's goal is to empower every single child to graduate from high school.

Our group worked incredibly hard to make sure our area was spotless when we left and they did a wonderful job! Here are some of the pics, and take a special look at the video below- there's messages for you!

Day of Service!!!

Mmmmm Crawfish!

It's a little bit warm!

So it was definitely hot outside today, really, really hot! But we spent the morning in the air-conditioned Interaction Center in the Convention Center. It was basically a big playground/information center/store/fun activity/a thousand other things that was the length of 6, count 'em 6, football fields. Unforately I (Pastor Sarah) forgot my memory card for my camera and my phone so I had to go back to the hotel to get them. I did however run into a ton of wonderful people I know and get some good Old Lutheran gear the store! I hope Kevin likes his present!

It is a beautiful thing to see so many people committed to "living lives worthy of the gospel." The Holy Spirit is the part of the Trinity that we say is the creator of community. Well, the Holy Spirit is working fast and well at the National Youth Gathering this year. Everywhere we go we make new friends! God is also working in the midst of the 16 of us as a group, strengthening relationships or building new ones. However, this kind of overstimulation did get a bit overwhelming a few times and I think we are still learning how to move and function as one organism and not just 16 individuals. We are getting the hang of it though...slowly but surely. It is an adjustment for all of us who are used to looking after mainly ourselves to remember that every decision we make affects the rest of the group. But these are life lessons that we will take away from New Orleans and back into our day-to-day lives.

We are also getting ready for our service day tomorrow! I pray that we will all get rested and ready to go so we can be fully present in that experience! Today we walked along the river and I was able to share with some of the group just why the Hurricanes were so devastating. I think it makes a difference when you can look at the river and imagine it overflowing into the streets.

Please pray for us as we prepare our hearts to be one small part of God's justice for all in the world.

God's Peace to you!
Pastor Sarah

Some pictures for your viewing enjoyment

Hurray for Day 2!

Here is a brief update straight from the mouths of our team members:

Anthony: Everyone's our best friend
Sean: The taxis are "great" but Frances disagrees.
Conner: I got the most high fives.
Allie: We met AGAPE!!!!!!!
Savannah: There's lots of long lines...everywhere.
Eric:We met lots of new people- and they are awesome people.
Denise: I think the weather has not been as bad as we all expected.
Dustin: Three Green Peas are awesome.
Stephanie: It's hard to walk on these sidewalks with crutches! Hi Mom!
Brooke: The mashed potatoes were gross...I was disappointed. And it rained and it was amazing!
Brian: Food's great.
Leslie: My feet hurt but I'm still going shopping tomorrow.
Michelle: I heard an awe-inspiring speaker tonight.
Pat: We saw lots of great T-shirts, but ours is the best.
Frances: I had a grrrreat lunch on Bourbon Street! I thought that pirate was a statue.
Pastor Sarah: I'm pretty sure we have the best group here! And everyone loves California!

We Made It!

I'm not going to lie. Today has been a loooooooong day. Everyone had to be to the church at 5:15am, so we all had to get up really early to start with. Then we had a few mishaps getting here. Unfortunately someone (not from our group) ran over Stephanie's big toe with their suitcase and it ripped off a portion of her nail. We took here to the doctor here and they were really helpful, but she is on crutches for a day or two. Please pray for her!

Yes, it was a process and a lot of things did not go according to plan.

But now that we are here, we can really feel the love around us. We just barely made it to the first mass gathering, but the part that we did experience was incredible. The picture posted here (I'm too tired to figure out how to rotate it right now) does not even do it justice. At the center of the stage is a cross that is probably 40 stories high- reminding us of what we are focusing on. Our speakers were amazing, the music was awesome. We really made it!!! We looked around and there were Lutherans as far as the eye can see!

The youth have been such good sports all day long. I have not heard any complaining- just positive attitudes and patient hearts. They didn't get to eat lunch and we didn't get dinner until after 10pm (That's a long story.) But they are all still having a blast and glad to be here. I also appreciate the way that they are taking care of each other and being appreciative of the other sponsors. I am very proud to be their pastor.

Tonight the theme of the mass gathering was "Speak the Truth." Part of our calling as Christians in the world is to not be afraid to speak the truth about the world and speak the truth to the world. I pray that God's truth can be etched into our hearts this week.

Here are a few more fun photos from the day:

Less than 24 hours to go!

For nearly a year now we have been getting our hearts, minds, and wallets ready for the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans and now the day is nearly here! Tomorrow we will leave at 5:15am to head down to LAX. We'll be joining 40 other people from the Central Coast who will be our travel partners across the country. That seems like a lot of Lutheran teenagers, but it's nothing compared to the amount that will be gathered in New Orleans for the week: 36,000 people!

Personally, I am excited for this trip for a few reasons:

1. This is my first time to a national youth gathering- I've been hearing about them for years.
2. We have a great group of people going from Saint John's.
3. I have had the privilege of going to New Orleans 3 other times and this will be a great 4th trip.

Once right after the hurricanes I co-led a trip of 12 college women from SD to the Gulf Coast to do hurricane relief work. We did all sorts of labor in people's homes and around the city of Ocean Springs, MS. The second time was a year later I was chaplain as a group of 200 college students from St. Olaf (my alma mater) spent spring break doing hurricane relief work. Our group mainly helped build a food bank from the ground up. The third time was when I was MC at the Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza last January. All three of those experiences were formational for me as I was discerning my call to be a pastor in the Lutheran Church, as well as in my Christian faith. I hope and pray that this trip will be as inspiring for the youth as my past trips have been for me.

God is doing great things in New Orleans. I have experienced that first hand. I am so glad that we get to be a part of it!

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow morning- bright and early!

Pastor Sarah

20 days and counting!

Here is a picture from the 2006 National Youth Gathering in San Antonio! If you can imagine 36,000 people who all share a common bond: Christian faith through the Lutheran lens. That's like the entire population of Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, and Oceano combined coming together in New Orleans this month- but the majority will be high school youth!

We'll be staying at the Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria just off of Canal Street and you will be able to follow our trip here on the SJ Youth Blog!