This coming Sunday, the 29th, the youth who went on the trip will be present at both worship services to share their experiences, as well as pictures and videos from the trip. We hope you’ll join us!

Once again, as a congregation, THANK YOU for all you’ve done for us. Peace!

Most of the other folks that were here for the gathering left today if they were bussing or flying back home. We’re not leaving for Pittsburgh until tomorrow afternoon which meant we got some time to RELAX! A rarity during the youth gathering… We did some shopping and ate some good food and had some fun swimming in the hotel pool.

Tomorrow, we have a variety of things we can do including sleeping in, shopping, or going on a cemetery tour and through the Garden District. It’s been a long, awesome week. I’ll upload the remaining pictures I have from today at some point tomorrow. For now, we’re ALL going to take a much needed rest. Peace!

The Practice Justice days are our opportunities to do service for the community of New Orleans. After heading up to the Superdome in the morning to meet for our bus departure and for some worship where we talked more about what Justice means and how we can use our service to “Love Like Jesus.” As one of the videos we viewed wisely said, today was not about serving, but becoming a servant.

During our bus ride to St. Bernard Parish where we were to be doing our project, we drove through middle-class neighborhoods as well as areas like the Lower 9th Ward which were the areas hit hardest by Katrina. As we left I commented that we’re staying in the city for most of the trip which is entirely normal with nearly no signs Katrina was ever there. It kind of makes us think that things are back to normal and “what’s there really to do?” However in areas we drove through today, many houses are abandoned with no hope of their owners ever moving back in because they just can’t afford it.

Our project for the day was Community Beautification. That was really all we were told and we found out more when we got there. Our bus pulled up outside of what used to be a community gym. Upon walking inside, the place was a mess. Totally full of trash and other item that were being stored there. We met Keith, Dwayne, and Keith’s son all of whom were helping to rebuild and rehabilitate this building. We began sweeping up, moving things around and putting a lot of the building’s contents into the dumpster.

After we broke for lunch, we had the opportunity to have Keith give us a little perspective about what he personally experienced during Katrina and what their hope was for the building we were helping to clean up. During the storm, Keith’s house was entirely flooded. He said that in St. Bernard the flood waters rose up to 18 feet. In fact, inside the building, you  could see discoloration on the basketball hoop’s backboard. That was how high the waters rose. His family fortunately all left safely and they are now currently rebuilt. But, it was nearly a year until they could even begin the rebuilding process.

As for the building itself, the parish of St. Bernard finally agreed to give it up to the organization Keith and Dwayne are a part of. The building won’t end up being a gym again, it’ll become a hobby shop and indoor racetrack for remote control cars. Keith told us that for those in the community it’s a great thing for kids and parents to do that keeps kids off the streets and doing something constructive.

Sure, today we weren’t helping a victim rebuild their home our something monumental, but we were making a difference in the lives of those members of the community that will give them one more place that can feel normal and give them a sense of community.

Before I wrap up this post, I want to share just a little bit about what we heard in the Dome tonight. We first heard from Greg Von Wald who is an 18 year old attendee of the gathering who spoke about changing the world. Citing the quote by Ghandi “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” he talked about the fact that if we want to do something to change the world we have to do it. While it’s easy to sit in a room full of Lutherans and say “I’m ready God, use me to change the world,” it’s much harder in reality. If we want change, we have to “be it.”

Our second speaker was The Rev. Andrena Ingram. Andrena is an AIDS activist who was once homeless with a truly trying past. Now, she works to be an advocate for change. She shared her story of how she was homeless, addicted to drugs and alcohol and a victim of domestic violence. Her story was truly inspiring, because given her past, it’s amazing what she is now! The end of our evening in the dome was a great performance by Switchfoot.

We really enjoyed everything today and the small ways in which we were able to make a difference. Tomorrow, we’ll have closing worship and then we get to have some fun until we leave on Monday. I especially want to give a huge thank you to our Prayer Partners for your gifts and prayers. Your little bits of encouragement to us really mean a lot. Don’t forget to check out our photo gallery (**CLICK HERE**) for pictures from our work project today. Until tomorrow, Peace!

Just as we began to leave breakfast, it started lightly raining but we continued walking. Then the rain really began to pick up in what can only be described as torrential downpour. We quickly made it to an awning where we stood for some time as we tried to wait out the storm. While standing there a man who was soaking wet came by on a bicycle. I remember thinking “Man, I’m sure glad I’m not him.” Then he stopped at our group and said “Umbrellas: $5 each” I have to hand it to the guy, he really took an opportunity and made something of it!

After we stood under the awning for a while, the rain still wasn’t letting up. We headed inside the restaurant but we saw that we were having no luck with the rain. So, we all piled into some cabs and finally (about an hour and a half late) got to the convention center. At the convention center, they had tons of fun activities for us including zip lines, ropes courses, inflatable rides, bumper cars, and mini-golf just to name a few. In addition to all of the fun, there were many worthwhile causes that we had the opportunity to participate in such as the Million Books Project, a blood drive, and hair donations.

Later in the evening, we headed once again to the Superdome for the night’s gathering. We got to hear several more speakers and great artists. We got to hear the music of Rhema Soul, an awesome pop and hip-hop group as well as the music of Lost and Found.

We first got to hear from Jamie Nabozny who suffered the harassment of his peers in school and went on to win a landmark legal case for it. Now he speaks up against bullying and educates young people. He encouraged us to stand up when we see bullying happening for all of those around us. We also heard from Diane Latiker who began an inner-city mission called Kids Off the Block and became a mentor to these kids in need.

Our Lights

One of the most interesting speakers we had tonight was Leymah Gbowee, who is a 2011 Nobel Laureate and a Liberian peace activist. The most powerful part of our speech came at the end. She told us how when she was a child one of her favorite songs was “This Little Light of Mine.” Each of us has a light, she said. She instructed us all to take out our cell phones and hold them up. What was first a dark arena became full of light. When we all work together, she said, this is what our lights can do. It was such an awesome thing to see of of the people with their “lights” held high!Tomorrow, we get to participate in our Practice Justice day. We will be serving the city of New Orleans in new and exciting ways! As always, don’t forget to check out our Photo Gallery (**CLICK HERE**) for pictures from today. More things to come, Peace!

Today, Thursday, was our Practice Discipleship day. That meant that we spent the day with the rest of the Southwestern PA Synod that was at the Gathering. Nearly 400 youth and adults gathered in one of the hotel ballrooms for worship and small group discussions. We spent the whole morning there learning more about the seven faith practices. They are: Serve, Prayer, Worship, Invite, Study, Give, and Encourage. After that, we split up into three smaller groups for lunch and our “Discipleship Tour.” The group I was with first ventured into the Food Court at the River Walk, but we found lines that went all the way around the food court. Needless to say we didn’t stay, but instead began to walk closer to our hotel and decided to see what we could find on the way there.

Along the way, we happened into a small restaurant that was connected to one of the hotels we passed. We went inside and the place was totally empty! We were able to have a nice sit-down lunch with our group and discuss some of the topics that were in the Discipleship Tour guide. It’s amazing how small things like finding an empty restaurant can be such blessings when you really need it!

After our groups reconvened at the hotel, we headed over to the Superdome in hopes of fulfilling Pastor Bill’s goal of getting onto the floor during the Gathering. Since today was our Discipleship day, we were allowed onto the floor early with our gold wristbands. However, by the time we got in, the group I was in (Pastor Bill included) got shut out of the floor…At least we still have a few more times to make a go at it!

Despite our setbacks with getting onto the floor, that didn’t stop us from hearing some of the amazing artists and speakers that the Gathering had to offer. We first got to see Tony Memmel who was an awesome singer-songwriter with a twist. He was born without his left forearm. He adapted to this unique situation by taking eight years to learn how to play the guitar, piano, and harmonica. He plays the guitar with an interesting duct tape sling of sorts that holds the pick on his left arm. The way Tony was able to overcome these obstacles and the way he works to inspire others to overcome theirs was really an awesome and inspiring thing.

Our next two speakers were Valerie Rivas and Megan Stubbs. They told about there mission work in South Africa and Tanzania respectively. They told about how God had called them to mission and ministry in those countries. In Valerie’s case, it helped her to see her calling to become a physician’s assistant so that she could help people. For Megan, it helped her to see others in a new light. She told of a common saying in Tanzania “Over in the west, people have watches. In Africa, people have time.” Although the people of Tanzania don’t have much to offer, they to have their time that they are always willing to share.

Our final speaker was Shane Caliborne. Like last night, he didn’t fit your typical Christian, or Lutheran image with his appearance. Shane talked about the risks of practicing discipleship. He was an incredibly inspirational speaker who really got everyone fired up. He talked about the fact sometimes we’re waiting on God and in fact, God is waiting on us. We’re just the conduit bringing him to people.

After Gathering in the dome, Community Life events go on. They range from the Fun Club (inflatable jousting, obstacles courses) to Taize Worship. Anything you want to do, you can for the most part find! We had an awesome day and can’t wait for another one tomorrow. Plus, don’t forget to check out our Photo Gallery (**CLICK HERE**) for pictures from today and yesterday. Peace!

One of the highlights of the trip for all those participating is getting to hear amazing music and speakers each night. We first heard from the Rev. Yehiel Curry who talked about all of us using the metaphor of good ol’ New Orleans gumbo. He said that we’re all just really ingredients in God’s big pot of gumbo and while we’re all different, blend to make a delicious meal.

Another speaker we had was Nadia Bolz-Weber. She’s a pastor in Denver, but you’d never know it from the way she appears…and that’s what her presentation centered around. She said that people really have this “idea” of what a Lutheran is and ultimately it makes no difference. She shared about her own walk of faith and how she came to be a Lutheran. It was a really awesome talk that I think everyone really enjoyed.

After we finished with Opening Dome, we were ready to leave when a huge thunderstorm began to move through the area. This meant we were kept in the dome for at least another half-hour and then had to run in the rain back to the hotel…such is life. We’re having a great time so far and are looking forward to tomorrow when we’ll “Practice Discipleship!” For now, I’m going to sleep…

Peace!

We began our trip this morning at 3:15 a.m. Far too early for most…our flight left from Pittsburgh at 5:50 a.m. and we got into Houston at about 7:50 a.m. Houston time. Now, we have a 5 hour layover in Houston from now until 12:51 when we depart for New Orleans. Right now, we’re discovering all of the wonders that Texas has to offer, at least as far as the airport goes Today, we’ll be checking into our rooms, and then at 7:00 tonight, we’ll be going to Opening Dome at the Superdome.

Hopefully, at the end of the day, I’ll be able to get online and share more about what we’re experiencing.

Thanks for your continued support!