Last Full Day of the Gathering and the 4th of July!

 Thursday started out much like the past two days with a complimentary breakfast and a walk. But this time, we walked straight to the Alamodome for a Mass Worship service with the whole gathering. The service was an incredible experience, with 25,000 people all responding in unison with Reverend Harrison. Everyone seemed to feel right at home as we sang and followed familiar liturgy. Then, we took communion with the whole gathering, everyone being dismissed by row, just like at home. Once we received the blessing, we left the dome and split up for lunch. 

After, we regrouped and took in all of the fun booths the convention center held. This meant another (totally nessasary) TEMPORARY hair coloring, doing other activities and a whole lotta FREE STUFF (pens, keychains,and mini frisbees). We headed to our sessions, which included things like a play about knowing your true identity in Christ and other leaders that spoke about media addiction, and how to live your faith in today's world. The day went by quickly, and once again we found ourselves in the Alamodome for the second time that day, but this time for the mass event. This particular event was all about living loved, and knowing just how loved all of God's children are.

Our guest speaker, Jessica Stevens, was a 25 year old woman who had gone through quite the medical ordeal. When she was sixteen she contracted Lyme disease, and battled with reoccurring RSD. She told us how every time she thought she lost faith God would always bring her back. Everyday she found something to be optimistic about. Her story was extremely moving, and  the good news is that she has been in remission for a year. For many, if not all of our youth, this hit home. We related to her in a way we had not for any other speaker. Feeling a strong sense of togetherness and love, all 28 of us excused ourselves from our seats, came together in the hallway, and held onto each other as we gave each other support. We have all felt unity before, but it was never like this. We felt strong and weak at the same time, but in addition to that complex emotion, we felt whole and loved. It was a while after we sought out where to see the fireworks.

Soon after we got down there, the fireworks of San Antonio started, dazzling us in every shape and size! All in all, it was a unexpected but much needed end to a long day for the youth group. 

Day 3 of the Gathering (July 3rd)

Our 3 day of the gathering was an awesome one! We all attended some great sessions and learned a lot of new information! We attended sessions in the morning with our family groups, ranging from "How to Be Awesome... And Other Pointless Pursuits" and Remedy Drive!

We also had some time to explore the Interest Center, where there were booths and activities from all the different represented states and districts! We played bean bag toss, got our hair TEMPORARILY painted/dyed, helped stuff a school bus full of backpacks stuffed with school supplies and a lot more!! 

Our night finished off at the Alamodome for another mass gathering and this was another intense one! We talked about how amazing it was that all of our sins had been forgiven!

The adults needed a little bit of a break in between the Mass Event and the Mass Event Plus! (Picture above)

We are very excited for church tomorrow morning along side 25,000 other Lutherans! 

We miss everyone back home and can't wait to come home and share about the amazing experiences we are having here! 

DAY 2 of the Gathering (July 2nd)

Our first full day of the gathering was pretty crazy! We attended sessions, speakers, and concerts, ranging from the Jesus Painter to "Questions You Can't Ask Your Mama." A lot of us enjoyed our speakers and had a great time collecting "freebies" from all the representing districts! 

After the crazy day of speakers and concerts was over, we enjoyed hot dogs and nachos at our hotel for dinner! 

Our second mass gathering was rather... intense. We discussed God's meaning of love, lies, and distractions. We also saw the Jesus Painter debut a new painting and the Sand Artist's amazing work. After many tears and hugs, we walked back to our hotel where everyone fell fast asleep! 

Although we are having an amazing time down here, we are missing our families! 

The Start of the Gathering! (July 1st)

Everyone was overjoyed that we could sleep in, so we took full advantage of that! We made our first trek over to the Alamodome, hopped onto buses with all the other Wisconsin districts, and went to Rio Cibolo Ranch for a barbecue, hay ride, feeding longhorns and buffalo, and bonding time with other Wisconsin youth groups! 

After the ranch, we explored the river walk and looked for a place to eat dinner before the first mass gathering!

After a delicious dinner, we walked with 23,000 other Lutherans to the Alamodome for our first mass gathering! The theme of this first gathering was centered around the question, "What is love?" We were introduced to the Skit Guys and the fabulous Gathering News! We hope that everyone was able to watch online to see what we are all experiencing! 

After an UNREAL first mass gathering experience, we all separated into groups to go "Night-Life" events (post gathering events). Unfortunately, everyone's events were full, so we all ended up coming back to the hotel to share highs and lows for the day, and then everyone was off to bed! 

We had an AMAZING first day at the gathering and cannot for our sessions and concerts tomorrow!

National Gathering Day One Complete! (June 30th)

WE'VE ARRIVED!

After traveling for almost 6 hours, we were overjoyed to finally arrive in San Antonio! Jaime, the Emilys, and Taylor walked down to the Convention Center to discover this huge mountain of backpacks! 

After carrying all 28 backpacks back to our hotel, they were greeted by 24 eagerly awaiting youth excited to try out their brand new backpacks! We then strapped on our new backpacks and walked down the street to see the Alamo! (Picture below) We were all excited to finally see the Alamo after learning about it in our history classes! 

We were given some time to then explore the river walk, running into many other excited youth groups!  After time at the river walk, we walked back to our hotel to reflect upon the long day. Like expected, most people hopped into bed right afterward, however, some decided to spend some time in the pool! By 10:30, all lights were out, and everyone was getting some much needed sleep! 

We miss everyone at home and hope that everyone is having a great start to their week!

National Youth Gathering Slideshow

Thank you so much to everyone who attended our presentation this past Sunday! It was so much fun sharing our trip with all of you! We apologize for our slideshow not working, but for those who are interested in seeing more pictures, enjoy!

Personalize your own free digital slideshow

Mixed Emotions on our last day

LAST DAY OF TRIP:

Although we all want to stay here, deep down, we want to go home. Today, we had our "surprise trip." We went to an alligator farm, and rode in an air boat around the swamps and looked for alligators. We also learned a lot about them. Everyone had a fun time! Plus, we spent another day at the beach, and avoided the jellyfish stings. The water was hot, like bath water, and very salty. We even enjoyed a great lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Now back in New Orleans to fly out tomorrow, we all agreed that we are excited about the bittersweet ending to our trip. Overall, we had great fun, and will be coming home with fun stories to share. We are praying for all of you that you stay dry and out of the rain, and that you all stay safe. God Bless!



Emily Sander





Here's a picture of Taylor dancing that was on the Gathering's website! This was during our Worship Service on Tuesday night.