We Met Jesus in the Aiprort

Fried Gators (Alex O.+ Megan K. + Brad M.)

Today started like all the others, we marched our daily mile to the convention center. Today our theme was Listen, it focused on the woman at the well. We learned about how she eventually began to truly listen to what Jesus said. After the Bible study we split up into groups. Most of the girls went to a session called "Elimidate and Divorce." It focused on the "must haves" and "can't stands" of relationship qualities. The speaker was one of the funniest thus far. We decided to take a break from all of our "snacky" dinners and went out for some sea food!!! We had an awesome server named Ryan (yes, we did have some confusion between calling on the waiter and Ryan K.) We started with some appetizers ranging from fried mushrooms, to barbecue shrimp, to crab cake, to fried alligator!!! It even got better for dinner. Five of our adventurous ones ordered a whole lobster!!! After an intense meal, we journeyed to the Superdome for an intense worship service. The traditional service included praise, dancers, an Easter reenactment, Communion, and an offering collection. This mass gathering was very moving. When we finally, after a long day, went back to the hotel, everyone was very compelled to sing! The entire time we were listening to "I am a C" and "Jesus Loves me." Once we finally got to the hotel I (Brad) never thought that air conditioning could feel sooooo good! To end the day we discussed tomorrow's plans and getting prepared to leave for Mount Prospect after a long week in the hot blazing sun.

Day Three: Hitting the Wall

Well this is officially our third day in New Orleans and all of the late nights and early mornings are beginning to catch up with us! Today was similar to yesterday: We began our day with morning Bible study, learning about the miracle Jesus performed when he spit into the dirt and healed the blind man. Several of the youth spent time in the exhibit halls snagging all of the free SWAG (Stuff We All Get). Some also took advantage of the inflatable games and other activities that were set up.

No rain today! But it might as well rain- most of us are drenched after walking several blocks to the convention center and Superdome in the heat and humidity. In spite of the uncomfortable conditions, the kids are having a great time and making the most of our convention experience.

In the evening program tonight we learned about OUR STORIES. Well...not OUR story, but really God's Story. We learned that we are NOT the star of the show when things are going on in our lives. God is the star...he is the one that our focus should be on

We look forward to the final full day of the gathering tomorrow and what God will continue to show us. Another thing we plan to FINALLY do tomorrow is eat some authentic New Orleans FOOD! With the fast paced schedule we haven't been able to sit down and eat somewhere nicer.

We'll keep the posts coming! Keep those prayers going, Saint Paul! God is doing great things in our young people!

Tony

Live living on almost Burben Street (Tony S. + Megan K.)

We started our journey to the convention center today at 8 A.M. Intially, our group walked alone on the street. Then, the next block we merged with another youth group, then another, and another. Eventually, LCMS teens, all proudly sporting their Gathering issued neon green backpacks, overtook the streets of New Orleans on our way to the convention center. We started our day at the convention center with 8,000 other teens in a morning devotion. Then in the afternoon we split up into smaller groups and chose a faith-based topic that appealed to us. We ended the day in a parade to the Saints' Superdome (football stadium) for our evening program. This time included singing, skits, an illusionist, and speakers. The highlight of the evening was every LCMS teen trying to leave the stadium at the same time. Megan Dixon describes it as "A swarm of ants all trying to get into an ant hill at the same time." We are all having a blast and growing in our faith. We want to thank you all for your prayers and support.

Morning Bible Study

Day One: Travelling

I'm sure that it goes without saying, but today was exhausting. The first group of kids left Saint Paul this morning at 5:30am and the second group followed at 11:30am. We have all arrived safely in New Orleans and the kids are all having a great time so far.

In addition to travelling, our first day here included the Opening Mass Gathering with 25,000 other LCMS youth from around the nation. In case you were wondering what that looks like in the Superdome, check it out

in addition to awesome worship, our group heard from several different great people who led the evening. After our opening session, it was quite an adventure to find a good place to eat. Some of our youth hadn't eaten since lunch time and it was almost 10pm.

IHOP proved to be the best choice, and 3 hours later, we are now back to our hotel and resting up for the great day that God has in store for us tomorrow. Please continue to pray for our group and the others here at the National Youth Gathering.

Thanks to everyone for your support, we love and miss you and will post more soon!

-Your Underground NYG Team

Preparation for an excellent trip!

Is anyone else as excited as I am about this Youth Gathering thing???

As members of Saint Paul youth group prepare to depart for New Orleans in ONLY two days, there are a few things that all of you back home can help us out with:

• Please continue to keep our experience in your prayers- Pray that God would keep our minds and hearts open to the teaching that He has in store for us!
• Check in on our blog to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of our youth.
• You can watch the evening Mass Gathering events ONLINE! http://www.lcms.org/nyg

We know that God will make this a memorable trip for us as He has already opened so many doors to make it possible. We was to say a very, very HUGE THANK YOU to our Church family at Saint Paul for supporting us both financially and in prayer as we have prepared over many months.

God has used each one of you to partner with us in youth ministry at Saint Paul! Praise God for what He has done and will continue to do in our young people! You will hear from us soon!

God's Blessings
Tony