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!

Snuggie for our Graduates!

Congratulations on graduating from high school, Eric and Anthony! We hope that your Snuggies help you to remember a few things: 1) You are awesome! 2) The Youth Group wishes you well as you prepare for college, and 3) God's love surrounds you and is as close to you as a Snuggie!

May God bless you in this new venture!

A Letter from Bud and Cherry in Moorhead

Saint John's Youth Group,
We received the prayer quilt you sent. Thank you so much. That was very thoughtful of you.

We also thank you so much for helping remove sandbags. What a great bunch you are!! We were getting pretty tired and it was so nice to sit back and watch those bags fly into the truck. There is one thing this flood did- it made us all realize what a treasure the youth of our country is. They came from several states and if not for them our cities of Fargo and Moorhead would have seen much more drastic flooding. The river is finally within its banks again. It was above flood level for 61 days and broke the record for the length of time it had done that...

Thanks again for all your help. Words cannot express the appreciation we have for all of you. May God bless you and keep you in his care.

Bud and Cherry Olmstead

Delores' Letter

Hello Everyone,

This is a letter that Delores sent us:

Thank you Ryan, Brian, Eric, Anthony, Reece, Brooke, Allie, Savannah and Pastor Sarah. Your help was really appreciated, so nice to meet you all. Am sending you the picture I took of you group on the sandbags. You can be so proud of the boys & girls that came with you. Tho't of them the next morning, how tired and sore they must have been. They worked so hard. Thank you all very much for your help. Hope they weren't too tired to go out Saturday eve.

-Delores