Well we are finally on our way home today.  It has been a great journey.  We are looking forward to sharing our Youth Gathering experience on August 18th and 19th at the church services.  Please join us for a very fun-filled informational church service where we will share a slide show. We thought it would be cool to share a little video with you from the conference to conclude our blog. Thanks for following us!

What a fun and exhausting day!  We started our day with practicing discipleship.  We met with our synod and Bishop Last in one of the hotel ballrooms for a morning of worship.  Then we did a discipleship tour around New Orleans.  The focus of the tour was to love like Jesus to invite, study, give, encourage, serve, pray, and worship.  We ventured back to the French Market to finish our sightseeing.  We went to St. Paul's Cathedral in Jackson Square as well as a voodoo store.  Finally, it was back to the super dome for our last evening event.  Switchfoot was the featured band.  They received a grammy award in 2011 for Best Rock Gospel Album.  It was an awesome concert!

Today was our Practice Justice Day.  Groups began their six-hour long sessions at the dome.  We had the opportunity to visit the National WW II museum for our cultural literacy experience.  It was amazing with the imax theater and the wonderful displays.  Once again it rained, rained, and rained!  The evening's activity at the dome consisted of Leymah Gbowee (2011 Nobel Peace Laureate) and pop and hip hop band Rhema Soul.  Bourbon Street put them a little out of their comfort zone but it was eye opening and quite something to experience in the Big Easy.

Today was a very busy day!  It was our Practice Discipleship Day.  We gathered at the Convention Center  for a service and then moved to the interactive centers.  The girls attended the yoga workshop and the boys went to the disability workshop.  They experienced Tinkle Town which is the hands-on use of a wheelchair in various circumstances.  This was a special activity Dayle Kitch and her family volunteered with at past ELCA youth gatherings.  We then went on the Cajun Pride Swamp tour.  It was great fun to see some gators and hold a small one!  The day ended with a large group session at the Super Dome with great speakers.

Today was so much fun!  We finally made it to New Orleans.  The flight went well from Kansas City.  Hotel La Pavillon is beautiful!  We all gathered at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome at 7:00 p.m. for the opening ceremonies.  It was amazing!  The music was great and the speakers were awesome.  Bishop Marc Hanson greeted us and the keynote speaker Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber was so interesting. We even had fun hoofing it back in the rain :)

On Our Way! The day has finally come that we have been planning for so many months. We left today (Tuesday, July 17th) at 4:00 p.m. from St. Johns. We are staying in Kansas City tonight and will get on the plane tomorrow morning. We are so excited to begin our faith enriching experience in New Orleans!

The theme this year for the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering is
citizens with the saints
Ephesians 2:14-20
Our agenda in New Orleans will include three important days:
PRACTICE JUSTICE - this will be our service day
PRACTICE PEACEMAKING - this is our Interaction Center Day to participate in interactive learning opportunities
PRACTICE DISCIPLESHIP - we will be working together as a SYNOD to focus on the 7 Faith Practices