The youth's thoughts on our trip!

" I liked meeting new people from all over the country. Bob and Larry (bus drivers) were veggie. The seafood was good! The hotel was HUGE!"
             -Cortney Weiss

"This was so fun! I loved seeing so many Christians together praising God. The food was sooooo good. And the elevators were so fun. I hope I can go again sometime."
             - Kayla Ross

"Trip was amazing. My favorite part was the dome. It was amazing to see and worship with so many people. I think this gathering has changed many people for the better."
             -Sam Nycklemoe

"I liked this trip. I made a lot of new friends and talked to even more. It was amazing how well everyone got along, especially with 33,309 kids."
             -Peter Jones

"The energy was unbelievable and everybody WANTED to be there. Having Agape and Switchfoot was awesome. they really got people dancing! Singing every move I make and Blessed Be in the convention center was fun. We showed them 'our version' of some of the songs and had a lot of energy."
             -Lauren Sanberg

"I really enjoyed walking through the city and getting to see how different it is from Minneapolis. The people in New Orleans were very kind and fun to talk to. When I get home I am going to remember to bring Jesus' grace to others.  I also really enjoyed listening to some of the speakers.
             -Karyn Vadnais

"The 2012 youth gathering helped me to really grow as a person. Everyone that I met was welcoming and kind. There is no better feeling than having 33,309 youth singing Jesus Loves Me at the same time. I feel like I learned so much about the culture, the people, and the soul of New Orleans.This trip was truly life changing and I wont be forgetting it!"
            -Avery Gaboury

"I really enjoyed meeting all the different people and sharing new experiences with them. I enjoyed learning a new culture and seeing the city. I hope to take home the positive, loving attitude that I witnessed throughout the New Orleans community."
              -Maddie Kinn

"The things I liked best about the trip was the nice hotel we stayed in, in New Orleans. I also liked the super dome concerts. Another thing I liked was being able to help others."
              -Dan Bakkum

"I really liked our trip to New Orleans! A few of my favorite things were" daily closings at the dome, beignets, and the concert from Switchfoot. We great together as a group over the week and know each other well. I hope that we can continue to practice peacemaking, justice, and discipleship as we return to Minnesota."
             -Erik Jones

"I loved how nice the people were in New Orleans. They are so friendly. I loved when it was raining and then the flood, because when we walked through all that water it was a good experience in a way. It helped be to better understand what the citizens if New Orleans went through after the hurricane."
            -Falisha Jackman

"I liked the huge worship in the super dome. Also, I liked going to the French Quarter and shopping. The food was amazing!! Especially the beignets. Meeting new people from all over the country  was one of the best parts too!"
           -Kylie Anderson

"It was super fun having worship at night with 33,000 other Lutherans. And I met a lot of great people on the trip and became better friends with people from Zion. I felt like we were one big family at the end. I definitely wont forget the experience."
           -Andrea Paulson

"This trip was so much fun! I loved meeting new people and trying new things. This will be something I remember forever. I am so glad I got to come!"
             -Arianna Giorgi

"I loved the trip! The bus ride there and back was great! I even had fun when we broke down. I really loved the culture down in New Orleans. All the people were fun and welcoming and I didn't even know them! I brought home so many cool souvenirs, I hope I can go back sometime in my life!"
             -Katie Porter

"The 2012 Youth Gathering had countless joyful and comedic, not to mention helpful moments. One was the French Quarter. I thoroughly enjoyed the culture and shopping that was available to me in that area. The super dome was a high light for me in many ways. What I enjoyed most was by far time with my old and brand new friends!"
              -Alex Will 

"The one thing I will take home is the love of God and Jesus. I loved the jazz and the people of New Orleans. I made more friends on this trip than I have ever had. I loved the food we ate. YUM! This was my first trip outside of Minnesota. Loved it!  P.S. New Orleans Rocks!"
              -Jake Thompson

"This trip was amazing! Seeing how many people truly love God is incredible. My favorite part was getting close with the people in our youth group but also meeting new friends!"
              -Sally Kron

"On this trip I discovered getting to know kids from all over. I feel so close with all the kids from church. Leaving this trip I feel so much closer with God and I learned so much. There is still so much to learn and ask but this trip has helped me move along faster. I made a second family!"
               -Megan Fischer

"I loved getting to go to the super dome and the feeling of having 33, 309 other Lutherans to hang out with. I also loved getting to meet new friends. I wish we would have gotten to do our service project, but it is ok. I had so much fun it was one of the best weeks of my life!"
               -Cole Birklid

"I enjoyed the culture and the speakers were great. The rain was cool, even with a little flooding. The bus was fun. Finally I enjoyed meeting and reuniting with other Lutherans."
               -Karl Nycklemoe

"Some of the highlights of our trip were getting so much closer to all the people. We are like a family now. This most definitely was one of the funnest things I have done in my life. The crazy nights at the dome, the walking all around NOLA, the dances, meeting people, and hanging out with my friends was a blast! I miss the atmosphere already. #CWTS12   #ELCA  #FRIENDS  # SACKATTACK"
               -Tessa Williams

"I liked the food because it was delicious and new. The music was really good down in NOLA. The bus ride was a great bonding time with others from our church. The dances were fun because everyone was there and the music was bumpin'!"
            -Nicko Bye

"I loved the bus ride to and from New Orleans. I also loved the food and all the new people I met. I enjoyed the super dome shows at night too. I also loved the speakers at the dome. They really impacted me and this became a life-changing experience for me!"
           -Katie Halek

"I will never forget this trip! It was a so much fun and such a good experience! One of my favorite parts was being able to meet so many new people from different states. Also the amount of people in the dome!!I got so much closer to my friends and Jesus! It was life changing!"
            -Lucas Manke

"This trip was really an amazing experience. I loved the super dome and everyone in it! I also loved shopping and eating those nummy beignets. But probably my favorite part was getting to know everyone so much better on this trip. It makes me feel like we are one big family!"
          -Natalie Bye

"The ELCA National Youth Gathering was one of the greatest trips I have taken. Despite the problems with flooding we still managed to keep high spirits throughout! My favorite part was probably the amount of energy that resonated from the super dome." 
            -Caleb Birklid

"I had lots of fun on this trip. some of the unexpected things were the most enjoyable. For instance the large amounts of rain and the bus breaking down. Both threw us of schedule but ended up being fun in their own ways!"
              -Mitch Goodmanson

"This trip was one of the best weeks of my life!!!! x10! I love dthe atmosphere of everything, how everyone was so friendly. Being at the dome was amazing! I loved spending time with my church family! I will miss this a lot!"
              -Hayley Severson

"New Orleans is such a cool city. I had a lot of fun there. I liked hanging out with my friends and making new ones. I liked the food there. I tried gumbo, oysters, and beignets. I also enjoyed the worship services at the dome!"
              -Emma Santa

"I liked everybody that  was there all together in one place. Also, I liked how everyone was so friendly with everyone! I loved spending time with my church friends that I don't get to see that often!"
           -Lucas Tiede

" I enjoyed getting to know people at our church and people from across the nation. I liked experiencing a different culture than what I am used to. It was awesome to see how the people of New Orleans even after suffering a tragic natural disaster, can come together and be one as a community. I feel very inspired by the people of New Orleans and their welcoming spirits. I am very blessed to have gone on this trip. I have learned and grew so much in my faith and I am taking away many life skills and memories I will carry out the rest of my life. Thanks mom and dad for an amazing experience! Love you!"
              -Lindsay Jerome

"I liked meeting new people from all over the country. I had a lot of fun on this trip. I made stronger relationships. I learned about discipleship, peacemaking, and justice. Louisiana is a very different place than Minnesota, culture wise and how it looks."
            -Linnea Tiede

"This trip was so amazing. I can never forget the great times! One of the amazing fun things I did was go to the dance. I met so many people there! Everyone was so nice everywhere we went. We sack attacked people. Funnest thing was seeing people and everyone gave high fives. I really want to go back!"
             -Kiley Bloch

"New Orleans was great! I loved being able to talk to and meet many people from different states. My favorite part of the week was getting to see how much of a difference that 33,309 people can make. Another one of my favorite parts was Switchfoot and how the music brought us all together, made us one and "fueled the fire". For me the entire week was an experience of a lifetime. The culture, the stories, and the overall welcoming atmosphere. I truly fely as if God was there keeping us safe. Especially when the good Samaritan's from Georgia stopped and picked us up when our bus broke down. I hope to continue to spread God's word and return to the next youth gathering in 2015!"
         -Michaela Lundborg

""There were a lot of fun things about our New Orleans trip. One was the concert every night at the super dome. It was really fun to have all of the 33,309 youth all gathered and singing together. Another fun thing was the trip some of us took to get beignets. They were amazing and worth getting up early for. Everyone, whether they were native New Orleans, or other people from different states, all were very nice. The whole trip was worth while and I wish I will have a chance to go back!"
              -Samantha Meek

"I loved getting to meet people from all around the country and learn about them. I loved getting closer with people from church and meeting people from our church. Having 33, 309 people in the dome for worship was unforgettable and all together it was amazing! Just literally everything was so great and amazing! Also it was super fun trying yo get signatures from all the states!"
           -Sarah Nienaber


        

Our bus story- a true god sighting!

Well I am sure most of you have heard our bus adventure from Sunday evening, but for those of you who don't know.... We were making great time, expecting to get into our hotel in Missouri by 11 that night. We had a good lunch stop, we were on our second movie at about 6:30pm in Batesville Mississippi when we busted a tire! The bus driver started to pull over when the engine died as well. We coasted to the shoulder where Bob and Larry got off to see what happened. Todd, one of our adult leaders also got off to help...(he has a background in bus mechanics!) they discovered that when the tire blew, a piece flew off and hit the circuit breaker, hence the bus dying. Our youth waited patiently in the grassy ditch while we figured out our next move. It was going to be a while so we decided to stay in Batesville, Mississippi until the bus was fixed. Just as we were contemplating the details a bus pulled up behind us. A group from Ephesus Baptist church was headed the opposite direction to their mission trip, saw us stranded on the side of the road. The one youth on their bus spoke up and insisted that they turn around and come help us! They offered to take us to wherever we needed to go for safety. Wouldn't you know there was a Hampton hotel at the next exit 3 miles away. We were planning on staying at a Hampton in Missouri so we simply had to transfer our reservations to this location!!!! We thanked the people from Ephesus Baptist ( by the way, our theme verse for the gathering that we studied all week was Ephesians.... And Then Ephesus Baptist comes to our rescue....hmmmmm)and assigned rooms for the night. We ordered pizza for some while others went to Burger king across the parking lot. The trend of the night was bacon sundaes for dessert! Pretty interesting! Kids were in their rooms by 10:30 since they all voted that we be on the road as early as possible! I think they all miss their beds....and families too! Our bus was fixed at a nearby shop. While the bus drivers waited for the tow truck, a local stopped and dropped off water and food for them! Such hospitality here in Missisippi! We were all up by 4:30 am this morning and on the road by 5:15am. I type this post on my iPhone as we continue our 16 hour bumpy drive today! The bus is quiet now. Everyone is sleeping... I have a feeling we will be watching a lot of movies today. Despite what has happened we are so grateful for all those who accommodated to our needs. God sightings everywhere!!! Everyone was calm through the whole thing! We truly are blessed with such great youth and adult leaders! See you all soon! Pastor Mollie

Saturday and Sunday

We had a great last day and a half of our trip. Great seafood for dinner Saturday night followed by a powerful last dome night! Some of the highlights included: - a sketch of law and order done by children with a closing that read- want justice? Grow up. -God - finding out that 3 beignets equals 24 slices of ham! - an awesome Switchfoot concert!!! We all got to bed at a reasonable hour so we could be up by 7:30 to load the bus at 8:00am. We headed to the dome for probably one of the largest Lutheran Church services ever! We sang hymns, confessed, and were forgiven. We heard the Word, and a wonderful sermon from Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson! We were on the bus by 11:50 and were on the road home by 12:05! Pretty slick! With everyone leaving the city at the same time you can imagine the traffic. But Bob and Larry had it all planned out and we were well on our way!

Saturday.... morning- practicing discipleship

Today we practiced discipleship.  The Minneapolis Area Synod gathered in one of the ballrooms in our hotel for worship and small group discussion time. We talked about our 7 faith practices: Worship, Invite, Study, Give, Encouragement, Serve, and Pray.

The youth have now dispersed  into small groups with adult leaders to do some shopping in the French Quarter before meeting for dinner at Deanie's. We get to be on the floor tonight for the last DOME night.... This is the most entergetic spot with lots of room to dance and be close to all the action on stage! Pictures to come....but for now please enjoy thse pictures from our morning!

 

Dan the man!

 

Small group discussion time

 

Clap your hands!

 

Dancing and singing!

 

worship!

Friday- Practicing Justice- service day

Friday was our day to do practice justice. This was the day we were assigned a service project somewhere around the city of New Orleans. There was a variety of projects each group was assigned. For instance some groups went and helped run day camps with kids. Others cleaned out swamp lands. Some groups went to help at a food shelter.
Our group was given-environment sustainability. We were not quite sure what that meant...but we were up for anything.

A group woke up extra early to head to the famous Cafe Du Monde for beignets!

 

Sugar coma anyone!?

Good morning!!!

It started to storm about 10:00am...lots of lightning and thunder!!!  We waited the storm out until there was a break to venture the 3 blocks to the dome where we would meet our bus for our project.
Our walk over was a wet one. We tried to avoid larger puddles at first, but it was no use... water was EVERYWHERE!
We ended up crossing the street in water up to our knees!

 Needless to say we got pretty drenched... but made it to the dome safe and sound!
It was kind of a learning moment for these kids to get a little bit of a glimpse of how quickly New Orleans can flood...just with a storm....its no hurricane, but still pretty crazy!

Once we got to the dome we had some waiting to do as service projects were getting re-assigned and moved around due to weather. We had Subway lunch provided for us, and sang some songs till we knew more information!

 

Our group stood up front and taught the larger group a song! "I've got joy, down in my heart. Deep deep down in my heart!"

This gives you an idea of only a fraction of the people who were just in our group to serve that day. They estimated 12,000 serving a day for 3 days!

Our service companion Hilary informed us if the weather held we would be heading to deconstruct a couple houses, and salvaging most of the materials so they could rebuild new houses! Pretty cool!

Sadly the weather didnt get much better. We were given the option to head to the convention center for a few smaller service project options... one including hearing a man's story of his experience living through Katrina and watching a short documentary on the breaking Levi's in New Orleans. 

One of our saving graces from the day was when we hoped on our random bus assigned for the service day... it was our original bus drivers... BOB AND LARRY!  It was so great to see some familiar faces! 

They accommodated to our needs and were able to drop us off at our hotel directly, instead of back at the dome and making us walk home in the rain! It was a ray of sunshine in our day of being flexible, go with the flow Lutherans!

We had some Chinese food delivered to the hotel before heading to the dome for more speakers, singing, and dancing. 

It was a rainy day, with times of waiting, sitting, wondering, and changes. Our kids were AWESOME through it all! No whining or complaining. They made the best of every situation and have had such greta attitudes this whole trip! We are so blessed with this group!

  

Thursday's Adventures!!

Today we were up and on the move at 7:00am to head to the Convention Center where we started off with a worship then the  kids were set free in our interaction center where there was lots to do!

• zipline
• habitat -building walls
• giving blood
• donating hair
• break dancing lessons
• anti-bullying
• bumper bikes
• photo booth
• giant swing
• make your own music video
• prayer labyrinth
• prayer stations
• and SO MUCH MORE!

so you can understand we were busy bees! There was a spa for the adult leaders with hand and foot massages, soothing music... a good relaxtion hotspot

After we all had lunch at the River Walk again, we split into two groups. One group went to the french quarter for some shopping and walking around. The second group headed back to the hotel for some down time and socializing.  All of this walking was in the rain...by the way. :)

We headed to the dome for night two of music, dancing, and awesome speakers. Here are a few quote from our speakers tonight as they focused on the topic of discipleship.

• We are not gonna know we are Christians by our T-shirts or bumper stickers. We will know we are Christians by our love.
• It is not through our works that we earn salvation, but through our works we demonstrtate and show are salvation!
• In the West, people have watches. In Africa, people have time. (in relation to showing up, being present with one another)

tomorrow- Friday- will be our practicing justice day. We will be heading out to do service with CORE. Stay tuned for pictures from that experience and updates!
Have a great night!

'til next time,
Pastor Mollie

more pictures

 

Haibitat work in the interaction center!

 

working hard!

 

Go Nicko Go!

 

Sam and Erik....lookin great!

 

The dome from the outside

 

The group is posing!

 

Inside the dome,,,the stage

 

all the youth with their cell phone lights during a song!

 

the crazy crowd heading in the dome!