Long time, no see!

I know, it's been a while.

No, I haven't forgotten. I just haven't been in the mood to blog; quite frankly, I haven't been in the mood to do much. So much has gone on in the few short weeks that we have been home from NOLA, good and bad. And all of the overwhelming moments have taken its toll on me, mentally, physically, and emotionally. It's probably safe to say that I am fighting off a bit of depression.

I will explain each thing in its own post- that way, you don't have to read, and read, and read some more. Since I promised you NOLA last time, NOLA is whatcha get!

For another read, head to http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:59426. I bawled when I read it, and like I said before, we were humbled at the welcoming from the citizens of NOLA, and we thank them for their kindness and welcoming smiles.

As I have posted before, Brian and I are both members at St. Philip's Lutheran Church in Wilmington, DE. We are also both youth advisors for the high school age youth group; we both feel very passionately about giving kids in that tumultuous time period in life a safe haven where they can be welcomed with open arms, loved, cared about, and can just be themselves without the many pressures that teenagers deal with nowadays. It's a wonderful place for them to grow in friendship and faith; I have seen teen lives transformed because of a solid youth program.

Every 3 years, the national church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, puts on the National Youth Gathering. It's a week of worship and experiences, friendship and faith. And it's HUGE. Normally, they hold 2 different weeks of the gathering, with 15,000 youth and advisors attending each week. This time, though, things were a little different. Because of the format of the Gathering, the city it's held in must be able to not only handle the amount of people, but have a convention center (where the Interaction Center is held) and a stadium (where worship and large group is held) in close proximity to each other. Because of this, only a few cities qualify- San Antonio, St. Louis, Atlanta...and New Orleans.

The gathering was held in New Orleans 10 years ago, but that was pre-Katrina. When the decision came down from the national church that we would be returning post-Katrina, it seemed natural. They still needed our help, our hands, our smiles and our hugs. We, as Christians, thrive on doing God's work in this world. There was no question- NOLA needed our help, and we were going to help.

This gathering had a different format then previous years. Instead of 2 weeks, everyone attended the same week- which translates to over 37 THOUSAND youth and advisors, plus staff and volunteers. Can you say great for NOLA's economy? It also meant that we were the largest gathering to be hosted in NOLA since Katrina. But none of that meant anything to us. No, the part that mattered was that for 3 days straight, every participant did 1 day of service to the NOLA community. We put 12,000 youth, advisors and volunteers (all in bright orange shirts!) out on the streets, in people's homes, among the dead, in God's natural world, and around the city to help rebuild. Everything from cleaning a cemetery where the buried had become unearthed and had to be cleaned of weeds and reburied, to pulling a foreign weed from the swamps so that the native wildlife could thrive, to rebuilding churches and homes and community centers, planting trees and flowers, to holding a health and book fair for the children of NOLA who had lost everything.

Most importantly, though, we listened. We listened to stories of residents who fled with their children and their pets, losing their wedding and birthday photos. We heard of people reaching out to assist other neighbors- neighbors that wouldn't have spoken otherwise. We heard of heartache and death, renewed hope and faith. And we were touched by how welcoming and grateful the city of NOLA, and all the residents in it, were to many random teenagers.

Every night, we all gathered in the Superdome, the site of so much tragedy, and worshipped. And while we worshipped, the tragedy, the sadness, the loss of life and hope, while not forgotten, never forgotten, were offered up to God with joyful praise in His name...all by teenagers, who so many today are told they cannot make a difference. All by teenagers, who wanted to help in any way possible, even to the point of picking pennies off the street to give in the change only offering. All by teenagers, who move me even now as I remember the impact their smiles and laughter and joy had on so many random people. All by teenagers, who joined together and said we can and we will do God's work in this world, even if our hands are inexperienced and uncalloused; we will praise Him as we work.

We took 7 youth and 4 adults down to NOLA. Our church is blessed with some of the greatest youth I have ever seen; kind and courteous, gentle and caring, joyful and earnest. I watched as each one was transformed that week; one when realizing that all the people he was worshipping with were his age, and he was not alone in this rocky journey of life. Another at a Wendy's, while getting a Frosty, and an older woman telling her tale of losing her fiance in the flood but moving back because this was her home- and her thanking the young strangers that cared and were making a difference. Another as we helped out a homeowner who had been through so much, and even as we joked about his "conspiracies" and his anxiety, were downtrodden that man can be so alone. And yet another as we viewed house after house with the spray painted "X" on the front.

Every night, after Large Group, we would come back to the hotel for "family time"- when the group you traveled with comes together to talk about what they have seen and learned, and to pray. I think that was my most favorite time- I was able to see the hearts of these awe-inspiring young people, laid open and trusting of their church family. I was uplifted by the thoughts and motivation so obvious behind some prayers, and not so obvious in others, but there nonetheless. And I was renewed- in my faith in a loving God who will not forsake His children, in my conviction that these youth will change the world, in my hope and love for fellow mankind. Because, when it comes down to it, we are a steadfast, faithful, hopeful being, and we, no matter what age, can make a difference- with a little elbow grease, some laughter, and an Awesome God who loves us more than we can imagine.