We're Back!!!
We are back from New Orleans and the 2010 LCMS National Youth Gathering! Thank you for all of your prayers and support. Below you can find pictures and videos (some from us, some from other groups) of what happend durring our time in New Orleans. Thank you again for your support and enjoy the pictures and stories!
UPDATE: Monday, July 19, 2010
Hello everyone at home! I am writing this from the most amazing place in the world, The Adult leader rest area at the 2010 LCMS National Youth Gathering! So far this trip has been a blast. We have experienced a lot of amazing things here at WE BELIEVE, and the next few days promise to be amazing as well!
I guess, lets start from the beginning. Saturday morning we hopped on a plane at Chicago Midway and shot down to Houston TX, but we didnt stay long. Within 30 min, we were back on our way to New Orleans. The first thing you notice about New Orleans is the humidity, its like walking through a swimming pool sometimes, but the city is awesome. The architecture is beautiful, the people are amazing, and the food is out of this world. Saturday night we went to our first Mass Event, which are held every evening at the Superdome (Home of Superbowl Champs The Saints) We were welcomed by the Head of Youth Ministry for the Synod, Terry Dittmer (btw, his welcome is below this section in video). We heard amazing music, saw a very cool skit, and were blessed to praise the Lord with 25,000 other Lutheran youth!
Sunday kicked off the Gathering events. Russ, Dan, Branden, and Jenny got up at 5 am and ran the Gathering 5K race around the Superdome. Once we were all showered and ready for the day we swung by Cafe' Du Monde for Beingets and Cafe Au Lait, local breakfast staples. After breakfast we went to the Convention Center in town and learned about the importance of Listening to the Voice of God. The Youth were able to attend sessions on topics ranging from dating to how to be a good steward of the gifts God gives us. Throughout the day, the youth were also able to meet other kids, see different booths from other church districts and schools, and play basketball. After our day of sessions we went to the local deli Mothers for New Orleans Po' Boys. and then shipped off to the Super dome for the night's Mass Event. We were blessed to hear the Testimony of a mother who lost her Daughter in a tragic car accident, and learn from her that, even in difficult times, God shows his love and care for us!
After such a long day, we all went to bed so we could get up this morning and go to Bible Study and we are currently in the process of attending different sessions related to Living in and for Christ.
Stay tuned for more updates while we are down here. Enjoy the video and be sure to check out www.LCMSGATHERING.COM for information and pictures from the event!
God's Blessings,
Sean
I guess, lets start from the beginning. Saturday morning we hopped on a plane at Chicago Midway and shot down to Houston TX, but we didnt stay long. Within 30 min, we were back on our way to New Orleans. The first thing you notice about New Orleans is the humidity, its like walking through a swimming pool sometimes, but the city is awesome. The architecture is beautiful, the people are amazing, and the food is out of this world. Saturday night we went to our first Mass Event, which are held every evening at the Superdome (Home of Superbowl Champs The Saints) We were welcomed by the Head of Youth Ministry for the Synod, Terry Dittmer (btw, his welcome is below this section in video). We heard amazing music, saw a very cool skit, and were blessed to praise the Lord with 25,000 other Lutheran youth!
Sunday kicked off the Gathering events. Russ, Dan, Branden, and Jenny got up at 5 am and ran the Gathering 5K race around the Superdome. Once we were all showered and ready for the day we swung by Cafe' Du Monde for Beingets and Cafe Au Lait, local breakfast staples. After breakfast we went to the Convention Center in town and learned about the importance of Listening to the Voice of God. The Youth were able to attend sessions on topics ranging from dating to how to be a good steward of the gifts God gives us. Throughout the day, the youth were also able to meet other kids, see different booths from other church districts and schools, and play basketball. After our day of sessions we went to the local deli Mothers for New Orleans Po' Boys. and then shipped off to the Super dome for the night's Mass Event. We were blessed to hear the Testimony of a mother who lost her Daughter in a tragic car accident, and learn from her that, even in difficult times, God shows his love and care for us!
After such a long day, we all went to bed so we could get up this morning and go to Bible Study and we are currently in the process of attending different sessions related to Living in and for Christ.
Stay tuned for more updates while we are down here. Enjoy the video and be sure to check out www.LCMSGATHERING.COM for information and pictures from the event!
God's Blessings,
Sean
Monday Update: Part 2
Greetings my loyal Website followers!
It's amazing what a little bit of downtime does for a youth leader trying to update a website... i mean really, 2 posts in 1 day? Crazy!
But crazy is a good descriptor of our day.... in the BEST WAY! Our afternoon sessions were awesome. I personally was able to hear Speaker Bob Lenz talk about not conforming to society's norms and instead focusing on living a Christ centered life. He brought out his sister, who is mentally handicapped for an amazing testimony which, in all honesty, brought tears to my eyes. God's mighty hand at work in the lives of His Chosen People!!!! How Blessed we all are!
Somewhere in the day, the kids learned how to go green and conserve the gifts God has given us... their method? Duct Tape... how to use it to make things you need. This holds a special place in my heart since, as a teen, I have been a duct tape afficiando. Way to go youth! While they were doing that, yours truly was giving some blood to help the New Orleans Blood Center. Praise God for our rejuvenating bodies!
After the sessions, we headed to Subway to "eat fresh" for dinner, which was an adventure in itself. Now I dont know about you, but I have yet to go to subway and not be able to get a sandwich, but tonight it looked like that was a definite possibility. But praise God we were able to eat.
At the Mass Event we were blessed to hear testimonies from none other than the President of the LCMS! His passion for youth ministry always amazes me and his love for every one of the 25,000 youth in the superdome was very evident.
Now we are back at the hotel, relaxing a bit while a handful of youth get to check out the Skit Guys in the Ballroom down stairs. If you have a chance, You Tube the Skit Guys because they are amazing.
Enjoy some pictures below and continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue this trip.
Oh and one last thing... I am Blessed. The youth of St. Mark's are amazing creations and I praise the Lord for them every day. This trip has shown their passion for their Creator and how unashamed of their Lord they are. Praise Be to God for the youth of this Church! I am the luckiest youth director ever!!!!
Blessings in Christ!
Sean
It's amazing what a little bit of downtime does for a youth leader trying to update a website... i mean really, 2 posts in 1 day? Crazy!
But crazy is a good descriptor of our day.... in the BEST WAY! Our afternoon sessions were awesome. I personally was able to hear Speaker Bob Lenz talk about not conforming to society's norms and instead focusing on living a Christ centered life. He brought out his sister, who is mentally handicapped for an amazing testimony which, in all honesty, brought tears to my eyes. God's mighty hand at work in the lives of His Chosen People!!!! How Blessed we all are!
Somewhere in the day, the kids learned how to go green and conserve the gifts God has given us... their method? Duct Tape... how to use it to make things you need. This holds a special place in my heart since, as a teen, I have been a duct tape afficiando. Way to go youth! While they were doing that, yours truly was giving some blood to help the New Orleans Blood Center. Praise God for our rejuvenating bodies!
After the sessions, we headed to Subway to "eat fresh" for dinner, which was an adventure in itself. Now I dont know about you, but I have yet to go to subway and not be able to get a sandwich, but tonight it looked like that was a definite possibility. But praise God we were able to eat.
At the Mass Event we were blessed to hear testimonies from none other than the President of the LCMS! His passion for youth ministry always amazes me and his love for every one of the 25,000 youth in the superdome was very evident.
Now we are back at the hotel, relaxing a bit while a handful of youth get to check out the Skit Guys in the Ballroom down stairs. If you have a chance, You Tube the Skit Guys because they are amazing.
Enjoy some pictures below and continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue this trip.
Oh and one last thing... I am Blessed. The youth of St. Mark's are amazing creations and I praise the Lord for them every day. This trip has shown their passion for their Creator and how unashamed of their Lord they are. Praise Be to God for the youth of this Church! I am the luckiest youth director ever!!!!
Blessings in Christ!
Sean
Home Sweet Home: A NYG Retrospective
Well, well, well. We are back home. Away from the crowds, away from the airports and the stadiums, but for some reason not away from the heat and humidity. But along with the heat, we are also not away from the amazing memories and blessings that the 2010 National Youth Gathering gave us, both individually and as a group. As I told the youth on the trip, this has been, by far, the most amazing trip I have taken with the youth group. The bonding that our group did was amazing! I've been saying it for a long time to the kids, but if there is anything that sums up our life in Christ it's LOVE and I saw lots of that this past week, and it made me proud. Parents, you should be proud too. Our youth stepped up to support each other, to support others, and even to support me!
By now everyone knows that I had a bit of an injury on the trip, but was a fractured ankle going to stop us from lovin' the world for Christ? no way no how! Everyone of the youth was super helpful to me, carrying my crutches through security at the airport, accompanying me in taxis throughout NOLA, pushing me semi-crippled bones through 3, count 'em, 3 different airports! I love these kids!
But I really want to take some time and look back on the youth gathering for a bit. Our time was spent growing in the Word of God through Bible Studies, Worship, and Praise. Each day we attended a Bible study focusing on the 3 tracks of the gathering: LOOK, LISTEN, and LIVE. We learned to see Christ in others. How he shows himself through people we know and interact with on an every day basis. Hearing the youth talk about how they see Christ in their lives was so inspiring to me. We learned to listen for God in our lives. To take the time to step back and really hear what God is saying to us and what He wants for our lives. Finally, we learned how to Live for Christ! How amazing to see how easy it is to be God's Hands and Feet for those around us!
The amazing part of these Gatherings is the massive amount of things to to with other youth from around the world. Our youth were able to learn about topics ranging from dating to mission work, from how to be a man of God to how to tell our stories to the world. How incredible that our youth learned so much!
With all this learning some might ask if we had any fun... plain old kids being kids fun. Well we did! We were able to go to a few concerts in New Orleans including Christian bands Remedy Drive and Stellar Kart as well as enjoying the comedy of the Skit Guys! The youth had a great time on the inflatable obstacle course and bungee jumps set up in the convention center. The picked up some fun trinkets from many Christian organizations and schools including Lutheran Bible Translators, Valparaiso University, Concordia Publishing House, and the Lutheran Youth Fellowship!
Our time together at the mass events was pretty rad too. I mean really, we were able to sing praise to our Creator with 25,000 other youth! We watched an amazing Sand painter, Followed the gathering drama was we watched "THE NETWORK", Sang praises to our God with the house band, Enjoyed the amazing talents of the Jesus Painter, and watched in amazement as Brock Gill was able to escape from a straight jacket (put on him by the president of our synod, mind you) while standing and jumping on broken glass! Take that Cris Angel!
After our mass events, we even had faun walking back to the hotel! Our group kind of made a name for ourselves thanks to Meg Oetting and her love for the Hillshire Farm Cheer:
"I said a beef hot links
(I said a beef hot links)
I said a beef hot links
(I said a beef hot links)
I said a brat beef kielbasa hot smoked sausage cheddarwurst!
(I said a brat beef kielbasa hot smoked sausage cheddarwurst!)
When I say Hillshire, you say Farm!
Hillshire!
(Farm!)
GO MEAT!"
We literally chanted that thing multiple times every night on our way home... so did many other groups around us!
By now everyone knows that I had a bit of an injury on the trip, but was a fractured ankle going to stop us from lovin' the world for Christ? no way no how! Everyone of the youth was super helpful to me, carrying my crutches through security at the airport, accompanying me in taxis throughout NOLA, pushing me semi-crippled bones through 3, count 'em, 3 different airports! I love these kids!
But I really want to take some time and look back on the youth gathering for a bit. Our time was spent growing in the Word of God through Bible Studies, Worship, and Praise. Each day we attended a Bible study focusing on the 3 tracks of the gathering: LOOK, LISTEN, and LIVE. We learned to see Christ in others. How he shows himself through people we know and interact with on an every day basis. Hearing the youth talk about how they see Christ in their lives was so inspiring to me. We learned to listen for God in our lives. To take the time to step back and really hear what God is saying to us and what He wants for our lives. Finally, we learned how to Live for Christ! How amazing to see how easy it is to be God's Hands and Feet for those around us!
The amazing part of these Gatherings is the massive amount of things to to with other youth from around the world. Our youth were able to learn about topics ranging from dating to mission work, from how to be a man of God to how to tell our stories to the world. How incredible that our youth learned so much!
With all this learning some might ask if we had any fun... plain old kids being kids fun. Well we did! We were able to go to a few concerts in New Orleans including Christian bands Remedy Drive and Stellar Kart as well as enjoying the comedy of the Skit Guys! The youth had a great time on the inflatable obstacle course and bungee jumps set up in the convention center. The picked up some fun trinkets from many Christian organizations and schools including Lutheran Bible Translators, Valparaiso University, Concordia Publishing House, and the Lutheran Youth Fellowship!
Our time together at the mass events was pretty rad too. I mean really, we were able to sing praise to our Creator with 25,000 other youth! We watched an amazing Sand painter, Followed the gathering drama was we watched "THE NETWORK", Sang praises to our God with the house band, Enjoyed the amazing talents of the Jesus Painter, and watched in amazement as Brock Gill was able to escape from a straight jacket (put on him by the president of our synod, mind you) while standing and jumping on broken glass! Take that Cris Angel!
After our mass events, we even had faun walking back to the hotel! Our group kind of made a name for ourselves thanks to Meg Oetting and her love for the Hillshire Farm Cheer:
"I said a beef hot links
(I said a beef hot links)
I said a beef hot links
(I said a beef hot links)
I said a brat beef kielbasa hot smoked sausage cheddarwurst!
(I said a brat beef kielbasa hot smoked sausage cheddarwurst!)
When I say Hillshire, you say Farm!
Hillshire!
(Farm!)
GO MEAT!"
We literally chanted that thing multiple times every night on our way home... so did many other groups around us!
And even after we got back to the hotel we were able to grow as a group in God's word. Discussing nightly our highlights and lowlights from each day. The openness with each other was amazing to me. Everyone spoke candidly about their relationships, family settings, life as a teenager, and how God was leading them in their everyday life.
As a leader, few things made me prouder than these times we spent together growing as a family group in God.
In all this gathering is a trip I won't soon forget ( I pray I'll never forget it) and for that I am infinitely thankful.
What a blessing it was for Jenny and I to take the youth of this church to such an amazing event and see the LORD working in the lives of each and every youth.
I praise God for the youth of this church and their families. Thank you to everyone who supported these youth on this trip and I pray that the youth would share their stories with you so you can share in the excitement that we had on this trip.
God's Blessings to all of you!
Sean
As a leader, few things made me prouder than these times we spent together growing as a family group in God.
In all this gathering is a trip I won't soon forget ( I pray I'll never forget it) and for that I am infinitely thankful.
What a blessing it was for Jenny and I to take the youth of this church to such an amazing event and see the LORD working in the lives of each and every youth.
I praise God for the youth of this church and their families. Thank you to everyone who supported these youth on this trip and I pray that the youth would share their stories with you so you can share in the excitement that we had on this trip.
God's Blessings to all of you!
Sean
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