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