Kay, today was a good day :] so far.. We went to Cafe' du Monde, for breakfast, Their frozen coffee is sooo good. I have been eatting well on this trip :] big smiles to that! hehe. Then we had to go to our learning day in the convention center, We built thing outta trash for and environment thing, then we went to a work shop called "love matrix reloaded" it was about how power full and never ending and unconditional and unexplainable gods love is. Then we went to this room where you can write prayers on a huge sheet of paper. We got stamped for all of them and then we showed all of our stamps and then got a bandanna We road the trolley street car to the french market, where we ate lunch, Brad Pitt and Angelina Joelle eat there when they are in New Orleans. We are gonna go down to Burbn Street and look before worship. These beds are amazingly comfortable! I wanna pillow like these for my bed! Its really hot today.. Me and Trevor were talking to these kids that are from Texas, and they said that its been so hot down there that this 80-90 degree weather was sorta cold to them and we were like 75degrees was hot for us! The veiw from our hotel room is really pretty at night! You know whats weird?.. There is a 13th floor in this hotel.. and guess who's room is on that floor!? Ours, yes that right! So far we have been asked 3 times for money.. but we are not alowed to give any, yet if they say they are hungry we can buy then food if we would like. I saw this women and she had 2 kids and they were sitting on the ground and one of the kids were crying, and they had a sigh that said someing along the lines of "homeless, need a place to stay!" ;[ I fee so bad for them that they had to live on the hot humid streets of New Orleans. Yesterday we had our service project and we wend to a place called " Ashe' " it was cultural arts center. we got assigned to go next door to this art day camp for kids. I was a lot of fun, me and Jordyn were playing with the little kids, and they were cute as a button :]. One was Cody, he kept tickling me! then Brock was so cute and playfull. Another cute thing was that Jarvis fell asleep on Jordys leg ;]. after that we went and got snowcones that Ashe' bought us. Then everyone from the three busses went to the daycamp building and we did this thing were the had 15 like African drums and danceing and they would call 15 people up to drum and then 15 people up to dance then they would teach the dance to the 15 people and then they would teach the beat to the 15 people and then they would do it together. I got to drum and dance. The dances and beats were from Africa and South America and New Orleans. The speakers were amazing at worship yesterday, there was one who lived in Congo, and got taken away by the army or what ever its called there when he was playing soccer after school when he was just five. He got put in the back of this truck and then got taken out and then the guy cut his wrist and put a mixture of gunpowder and cocaine in the wound, to like control his emotions I guess you could say then he was blindfolded and given a gun and it was to heavy so he droped it the guy put it back in his hands and put his finger on the triger and was told to shoot so he did, then the guy took off the blindfold and he shot his best friend dead. They were told to attack this village and then they all ran except this kid kept running and running for three days and then eventually found his mama and daddy. His name was Michel shomthing I cant remember the last name. I got to go to worship now so talktoyalater! -Dayin.

Today was our service project day and we got to go see little boys and girls at a camp to play with them. They were sooooo cute! When we got there a lady was doing an introduction telling the kids about why our big group of people were in the city. She told them 37,000 kids were here to help in the city. Then some of the little kids started counting us.... and there was about six of us in the area, and had a look of confusion on there faces and were thinking thats definatly not 37,000 kids. It was very funny. Then later we went to the super dome for worship, there was two great speakers. One of the speakers was from Congo his name was Michel, when he was 5 years old he was taken off the streets and made to be a child soldier. He was playing some soccer with his best friend when it happened. When they got to the place the people cut all the kids arms and put some kind of drug in them turning them against people. The guy said shoot! SHOOT! to Michel, so he shot. When he looked down it was his best friend :(. He tried to help him, but his best friend died. Later when they were let out to go and shoot, he ran and didn't stop til three days until he got to a city and got help and later got reconnected with his family. This was a very interesting story to hear. Its cool to hear so many speakers with all there stories. ~Jordyn

Links to some interesting thing

Watch live video streaming of the evening gathering time in the Dome. Starts at 5:35pm and goes until 8:45pm.

Here's a news report on the Gathering.

Quote of the Day: "It's not a nickel picker it's a pickle picker".

Hello! Haven't had a chance to blog in a couple days :(. When we were in Memphis we had our work day at a lady's house. The program we were volunteering for helped seniors who needed help fixing up there houses so they could stay in them. The people who volunteered the day before had put new siding on the house we were working at. I got to paint and conquered my fear of the height of the ladder. I was way up there painting the trim of the house. It was a lot of fun to do. Now were in New Orleans and it just keeps getting better! There is an interaction center were they have tons of cool things...... zip lines, jumpy things, bumper cars, wheelchair obstacle courses along with a lot of other sweet things. We ate at some great places and have had a great time. Tomorrow we're painting houses as a service project.
~Jordyn

Kay I have not bloged in a while! So in Memphis we had a service project.. and we worked on this lady's house.. her name was Louleeann and her cute as a button dog was named Tilly-poo haha ;] I got to use a caulking gun to do the windows.. the whole house got redone and painted. We cleaned out her shed and dude! it was icky.. haha but she wanted to keep the stuff that she did not need and the suff that she was gonna toss was bad stuff..

We got to New Orleans yesterday. Our hotel did not have our keys ready so the whole synod had to stow our stuff in a ball room to wait for our keys then we went to worship.. with 36,000 people it was amazing.. Today we went to Cafe du Monde and had amazing beignets. They were soooooooo yummy! Since it was Trevor's b-day we went to Emerils and got a 3 course meal for like 20 dollars each that was a good deal. They all set down the plates in unison, pulled out our chair for us and even put our napkins on our lap. I also got a pickle picker!!! Its really fun! ;] We got the new Lutheran study bible, and a canvas bag.. the whole city is decorated for this gathering and this is the biggest convention that has been in this city scene Katrina.
witch i though was really cool. Now we are gonna head to the supper dome to worship!!! -Dayin :]

We had another great day in Memphis. Yesterday was our Servant event, a party on a riverboat with the Mississippi Blvd Church's youth, and our closing worship. I have to say, I never ever believed that while being outside in the middle of July in Memphis that I would feel cool! But that's what happened! The cool Minnesota summer temps have followed us to Peoria and to Memphis. Yesterday it was in the low 70s for a high! I'm not complaining or anything - we got a lot of work done, no one was dehydrated, and it was quite comfortable! Now I wonder if this will follow us to New Orleans - I'm not betting on it! Our evening on Beale Street was a bit of a damp one. The heavens let loose about 3 minutes after we boarded our bus at our service site (that's good timing!) and it poured all evening. Hopefully our clothes have dried out before we have to pack them up.

This morning it's time to pack the bus up once again and head further south to New Orleans. It's time for the Gathering! It's going to be amazing!

Last night Dayin, Jordyn, and Trevor didn't have time to write as we had to pack and everyone was very tired. Watch for their updates soon!

What difference can I make before I get older than dirt?

Yesterday our bus group went to the Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. For those of you that don't know about the Lorraine Motel it was a black motel which was converted into a museum to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Some of the most valuable parts of the museum for me included the Rosa Parks exhibit, the history of the peaceful marches, and learning about the library sit ins. All of these left me deep in contemplative thought just outside the documentary room when a tall man in an all white suit sat down straight across from me at the forest colored cafe-style table for two started talking to me about his foot pains. I wholeheartedly agreed because I, too, had been on my feet for quite some time. We discussed the public transit boycotts and the outrageous conspiracy theories surrounding Martin's death. Then he let slip that he had been on the balcony next to Dr. King's right side when he was shot and killed. What?! You were there?! It was Rev. Kyles! I was completely awestruck. I was just talking to Rev. Kyles about sore feet! I told him he didn't look old enough to have been around at that time. He saw through the weak flattery. What he said next has been one of the most thought provoking experiences of this journey and my entire life. Rev. Kyles said to me that he was 33, and Martin was only 39 when he was assassinated. He then asked me, "What are you going to have accomplished by the time you are 40?" A question I am no closer to an answer now than a was 30 hours ago.

Talk to ya,
~Trevor

Hello from Memphis TN! today was yet another amazing learning experiance! We had a tour of memphis along with going to many museums. We toured the church were Martin Luther King Jr. had his last speech before he died. Memphis has so much history no one would have ever thought. We visited a house from the under ground railroad and then drove about a minute away to a park were they auctioned off the slaves. We also went to the Stax museum and it was cool to see all costumes and the records that were worn and made there. we got back to the hotel like a half hour ago and had some free time and in a half hour we will be going to the convention center to eat :] and worship :}! - Dayin and Jordy ;]

The Journey in the news...

Click Here

and Here

Quote of the day: " We have a speed racing bus driver...the other buses have Grandpa drivers."

Today we made our way to Memphis TN. When we got to Memphis we went to a civil rights museum and saw the place were Martin Luther King Jr. had been shot. Then after we went to an awesome church! It was ginormous! We had a spaghetti dinner which tasted very Delicious. Then we made our way up to the church which was also very ginormous, pretty much our church's floors laid out times like 20! They had many, many pastors there. They people were very kind and welcoming to our group. They had singers and dancers who were just, amazing. After just being in Memphis for a couple hours I decided this is were i want to live..... although my mom begged to differ. Tomorrow is some more sight seeing which should be more fun. We are going to a part of the underground rail road and the stacks museum plus a tour of Memphis. So long -Jordy




Hi, today was intrusting.. We had to get up wicked early to start our long drive to Memphis TN. Our buss was the last one to leave Peoria.. yet we passed 3 buses in a row. We got to memphis and then went to the National Civil Rights Museum, the Loraine Hotel where Dr. Martian Luther was shot, right out side of room 306. It was sorta a lot of reading in the museum and hard to read with all of the Synod in the same rooms as you were, so i did not get to read a lot of the very interesting facts and story's. The city is beautiful by the way and I know I want to go back. I was a little hot when we got here, but it was nice sense Duluth has been so wicked cold lately! The church we went to worship was amazing, I could feel god in that room.. and the speakers were very inspirational, and fun to listen to. Well our hotel is really cute, it has a kitchen and a bedroom and a living room and a bathroom :] -Dayin :]

The Sun's Not Up, but We Are!

On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again....

It's another early morning as we gather up our belongings, pack up the buses and head south. Next stop? Memphis! We'll leave Peoria a little after 7am and we should pull into Memphis between 3-4pm. Today we'll be touring the Civil Rights Museum with youth from the Mississippi Blvd Christian Church in Memphis.

Dia Dos

Today was another barrel O' fun! I never thought picking up litter could feel so important. Today while I was passing a house on the sidewalk in my orange vest, I was talking to a man who called himself Wo-Ze (not too sure about that spelling). He told me how happy he was to see someone taking time out of their own lives to help out in his neighborhood. Until then I didn't really feel like I was making a huge difference: I was just a garbage man. Now I realize that the garbage men are making a huge difference. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you are doing it with the good of others in your heart and mind, you can't not be a positive influence.

After we helped to clean up Peoria, one Freezie wrapper at a time, we went to a workshop about our different personalities. I learned that I have an extremely expressive personality. This means that I am outgoing, loud, more interested in the big picture vs. details, and that I enjoy having fun. I learned about the ups and downs of being expressive and also how to repress my expression when appropriate. I also realized that although it's good to be aware of all this, the more important matter is knowing other personality types and how to work together because we all need each other. I'm expressive. I worry about how I feel and make decisions based on my emotions. Not bad things, but sometimes my personality gets in the way of me thinking about others before myself. There is a personality for that. I enjoy having fun and building relationships, but sometimes that gets in the way of me getting things done. There are other personalities to help me with that. I look at the big picture, but sometimes I forget about the details. There is a personality to help me out with details. Although alone I miss a lot, together WE can accomplish much, much more.

For the evening our entire synod(all 455 of us) went to a church with a really big backyard and we all had hog dogs and hamburgers picnic style. Afterwords we played a bunch of games with differing group sizes to get to know each other, followed by a worship service and talk by our amazing speaker, Tiger McLuen. We were all sitting on a grassy hill listening to Tiger talk. It was very sermon on the mount-ish. He shared one of his near death experiences, which always seem to lighten the mood for some reason(no joke) and told us about being the right people doing the right things for the right reasons.

From today, I took that life is all about relationships and the use of relationships to make a difference around us, throughout us, and within us.

Talk to you later!
~Trevor

Quote of the Day: "This smells good. It smells like Walmart." Dayin, talking about her new scarf.

Today we got up at 7:00 am. Then ate breakfast, and left for our work sites. We made the news papers! :D. At our work sites we were at a litter rally, we helped the local basketball team pick up litter in a neighborhood. We got back and had hot dogs. Coke-a-cola sponsored the event, and gave us free t-shirts and frisbee's ;], and also had free pop and water there for us too! Deb made the news here too... she got interviewed. One of the groups from our bus found a $50 dollar bill on the street!, then they gave it to the litter committee. ;]. -Dayin ;]





Well this morning me, Trevor and Dayin got a sweet surprise from Deb......... an awesome lime green bandanna which we were very exited about. By the way thanks Deb! We wore them to our work site and looked pretty stylish :) but we sorta clashed while we were wearing our green bandannas, red coca cola shirts, bright orange vests and litter picker-uppers. We had a great time and are looking forward to another fun day. -Jordyn :)

DAY TWO - The morning

Good morning! I'm all excited about the day and could sleep no longer. This morning we're getting up, heading to breakfast, and then we'll load the bus at 8am. Our bus group will be heading to a local school to help clean up the area. We'll be meeting up with some middle school kids there - as part of their basketball registration, they are required to participate in community service. After lunch we'll meet with our speaker, Tiger McLuen, and he will lead a session. Our evening will consist of a picnic dinner (weather permitting - it's the same cold weather in Peoria as it is in Duluth. New Orleans is going to be a major shock for our bodies!)

I just have to share, it's such a privilege to travel with Trevor, Jordyn, and Dayin! They are awesome young adults! They jump right into things with excitement and energy. We talked a bit last night about serving the needs of the communities we're in and not for what we're needing. Picking up trash may not be what we're wanting (playing carnival games with little kids at the children's home may sound way more fun) - but this community also has this need. Hearing them express that they are open to what we'll be doing today shows a level of maturity. I'm excited to hear their stories at our Family Time tonight and where they saw God in their day.

On a side note, we love reading the comments that are left. We encourage those that are reading along to drop us a note! It's encouraging knowing all of you back home are surrounding us with prayers and support.

A prayer request - Brittany Yagoda will be hopping on a plane tomorrow morning bright and early as she heads to New Orleans to be a part of the Gathering Volunteer Corps. Pray for safe travels for her.

- Deb

DAY ONE - The Journey from Duluth to Peoria

We left church at 7:00am. Trying to fit all the band equipment and the 10 boxes of tee shirts in the buss :], it was crazy, it was like the bread and the fish more space kept appearing. Then, we learned a new game on the bus called "we now drown your cows", sadly enough it was amusing. You count cows (any hooved animals) on your side of the road and so does the other side then if you see a body of water on your side of the road you say "I now drown your cows", then you start at zero again, the side that has the most number of cows at the next stop wins! When we got on the bus we were handed out, magic eyes, all theses little pictures are together and then seeing the big picture as we take this journey. We got to Peoria first ;]! Then we went to Old Chicago to eat dinner...... -Dayin ;



When we got to Old Chicago we were surprised to see some oddly dressed dancers on the roof of the restaurant!!! Although it was pretty goofy it was for a great cause, it was to buy Christmas gifts for a children's home...... The two crazy people who were on the roof weren't gonna come down until they raised $3000 for the charity. We got seated as a table of 35 (which is all the people on our bus) and ate some delicious pizza. Also all the proceeds from the pizzas that were bought that day were going to the charity. After dinner we went back to the hotel and had some fun free time while the adults had a meeting. We went to worship and had a great sing-a-long. I saw God today bringing all of these kids together helping to do "Gods work, With our hands" It was cool seeing just our group of four from our church growing bigger as we joined our other bus people and then all the rest of the kids from the Northeastern Minnesota Synod. Then later going to New Orleans with 36000 others. -Jordyn :)

After a year of preparing, fundraising, planning, and meeting, the trip is now a little over 24 hours away! It's exciting to dream of the adventures that are ahead - the people we'll meet, the things we'll see, and the God we'll encounter as we follow the Mississippi from the headwaters to the delta.

Tonight lists are being made, shopping done, laundry being washed, bags being packed. By this time tomorrow I hope everything is pretty much done so I have some time for "Oh no I forgot__________" moments. Much better to have them at home than on the bus!