We are....

Closing Worship NOLA 2012

35,000 sharing communion. You can't even begin to explain it. But this morning was an awesome way to celebrate the last 4 days. 4 days where we learned to be disciples, and peacemakers. We learned the importance of justice in our world. We learned to LOVE LIKE JESUS. We leave spirit filled wanting to be the change in the world that we want to see.........

We leave tired! Ha ha. But FLY leaves challenged to "be the change!"

Last night at the dome!!!!

Our last day of the gathering was our justice day. Our focus was service projects through the New Orleans area. We worked with ARC and sorted recycled beads from their parade to be resold to raise monies for ARC. At first we wondered why this was a project. We learned about what ARC does and the rich history of New Orleans parades and beads, and how their recycling was important. It all made sense. And with our Minnesota work ethic, we sorted 5000+ pounds in about 4 hours!!!

The evening was a wild night! Song! Dance! Speakers! All faith-filled and Spirit led. Highlighting the finale was a concert by SWITCHFOOT!!!! AMAZING!

I want everyone to know again how blessed we are to have the youth that we have! Their energy, thoughtfulness, excitement and faith were contagious. We were so proud of them! Many Spirit filled moments!!!! Many faith journeys had life changing experiences! God is good!!!!!

We want our lives to make a difference on this world because Jesus calls us to this.

Recap of Day #3 of the gathering

Yesterday was a full day! All of the gathering is divided into three colors and your day's theme is based on what color you are. Our day was PEACEMAKING. We started with morning worship that was high energy. From this we moved down to an interactive center to learn about the many different ways we can bring peace in our community and world. 8 football fields long filled with so much!.....Not to mention mini golf, bumper cars, zip lines, basketball courts, dodgeball, four square, and tinkle town. (you will need to ask about this! Ha ha).

The afternoon was filled with some free time and RAIN! The groups relaxed, explored, tried amazing foods, and many played in the rain! :) it really was fun! Honest!

The evening brought us back to the dome! Amazing Speakers on peace, hope, and empowering the youth to be the change in this world. In their friendships, schools, towns, and beyond. A saxophone solo of "Jesus Loves Me" was a definite God moment for all! Rachel Kurtz closed the evening with her amazing voice and a mass cast production.

#3 night at the dome

We had to sit higher tonight. But the view is amazing!

Flood "watch"...... Are you sure!???

4 inches in one hour! We still had fun! Check it out!

FLY gives $400+ to help ELCA World Hunger 100 wells challenge. Google it! :)

July 19th NOLA!

Today started off pretty early. Some of our youth helped with the church service that we had today with our SW Synod. We sang a lot of songs and met a lot of new people! Our small groups headed out into the city to find a place to eat. The lines at some places were a mile long! (ok maybe not quite :)) Some people tried new things, like gumbo and alligator but some of us stuck to our burgers and fries. It stormed again today for a while which cut short our Discipliship Tour of the city, but thankfully it stopped before we were waiting in line at the superdome. The evening program was so amazing again tonight! The speakers opened our minds to serve others and be God's disciples! :) Sue's Group

Day 1 of the Gathering!

35,000 people!!!!!! Main floor!!!! Conga lines!!!!! Dancing!!!! Faith!!!!! Amazing speaker!!! And a "LITTLE?!?!" rain!!!! Amazing....God is good!

Our speaker was awesome. We are a church to welcome everyone! She didn't sugar coat things...and the youth loved that! Check out the evening live streams to get a taste of how the dome rocks each night!! Faith-filled for sure!!!!

FLY rockin the dome!!!!!

Lutheran SWAG!!!!

Here we go......the GOD SQUAD takes on the gathering!

Cajun Pride Swamp Tour. Gonna catch us some gators!

Day 5 according to Beth's Group

Yee-ye!!!!! We got our Cajun on at the swamp tour with captain Gary! Most of the group held a baby alligator while only a few chickened out. Our afternoon had a scheduled Katrina tour that came to an unexpected twist. A glitch with the bus allowed us an unscheduled visit at the beautiful New Orleans City Park. There we enjoyed ice cream, baton twirlers, and a continued education from Chris the tour guide. He shared his personal story and pictures of the tragic event, but it was clear hope was still alive here in this wonderful city. As our tour came to an end, we ate at the rocking' Hard Rock cafe. There we got the opportunity of starting the adventure of meeting new people from the National Youth Gathering, and our excitement cannot be contained much longer. Prayers for a great day were answered. God is good!!!! All the time :)

Morning prayer each day by the small groups we are very creative!

Just practicing on the way....

Wrapping Up Day 4!

Kim Christianson's Group: Hakuna matata! Which means "no worries" was the subject of today's devotion. Don't worry about anything but pray about everything and ask God what you need. Today we went to the water/amusement park where there was no worry thanks to all the trust we have in God. Then we came back to the hotel where we relaxed around the pool, ordered food, and created amazing bonds between one another. This trip is great and so is the Lord our God!

Recap for Day 3

Well we were ahead of schedule ALL day! Woo hoo! Everyone is really into the routine of how our group runs and we have become a "well oiled machine". Ha ha

Yesterday took us to Graceland. The kids may not have known a lot about Elvis before....they do now. :). And they said they really enjoyed it! (the adults had flashbacks of the 70s and the decor! Yikes!). We had a great time learning about the King of Rock and Roll. However in devotions we were reminded again that God is truly the King of Kings.

We are now settled into our hotel that will be our home for the next three days. Finally getting time to swim brought some into the pool fully clothed! Ha ha. All is good and all were good sports! :)

Bonding. Laughing. Learning. Getting to know our group better. Discussions. And fun! God is in it all!

P. S. I'm still working on trying to get the pictures in Dropbox. Wifi at our hotel is being goofy. But you all know I'm stubborn and WILL get it figured out. :).

Graceland!