Monday July 20, 2009

Day One

Full of questions, excitement & faith! 

 

On the surface, day one of our Youth Gathering seemed like a dull travel day.  Leaving at 1:00 from First, stopping in Normal, IL for the least healthy supper we could find followed by more and more hours of sitting in a bus.  But all that is just a travel itinerary.  Much more is simmering in the hearts and minds of these youth and their adult leaders. 

What kind of adventure will this be?  What will we see?  How will God show up to me this week?  Through service?  Through worship?  Through meeting people with different perspectives than mine?  I wonder how my faith will feel different to myself and look different to others upon my return?

These and many more questions await a response from our experience in New Orleans.  One thing is certain, though: everyone here is ready to receive whatever gifts God has to offer.  I have had the chance to talk to almost all 25 of our group individually today.  Each of us is leaving something different back home: a job, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, siblings, a summer sport, a family…   Each of us brings certain experiences, expectations and fears.  But as we enter a night in seated 'slumber' we are entrusting all we’ve left behind to God while opening ourselves to God’s work this week.