Friday, July 24

Hello all! We have almost finished our third day in New Orleans. We kicked off the day at the less insane time of 7 o'clock. After a quick hotel breakfast, we marched along the streets to the Convention Center. By the time we got there, everyone was happy to enter the air-conditioned Learning Center.

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, one third of 38,000 Lutherans spend the day in the Learning Center. Here, we got to experience workshops, learning centers and integrators. Marisa, Kelsey, and I learned about and drew political cartoons dealing with the church. Personally, I enjoyed the Dare to Be Different workshop where we learned to be courageous in our everyday lives and found examples of courageous people in the Bible. All of us made Mardi Gras masks while talking about whale hunting with a group of Alaskans.

It never ceases to amaze me all the types of people we meet here. We talked about accents from people from Minnesota, learned the difference between city and country in Texas, and got cheese tatoos from people from Wisconsin. It truly is an awesome experience to meet all these new people.

We later went back into the Interaction Center where we decided to challenge ourselves. We made our way over to the "Team Pole" and took it on with full force. While four people held a wooden pole with ropes, one person had the task of climbing up the pole, completely trusting the others to keep it steady, and stand on a small platform at the very top. Brett, Jake, and I were the only climbers. It was a great personal accomplishment for me to trust this wobbling pull. But, while trusting them and God, I conquered that pole like it was child's play.

We had a very powerful evening in the Super Dome. The theme was Faith and Hope. The speakers told us their powerful stories of overcoming. The first man was held back by societies standards, but not his own. While he was happy with his life, he was relentlessly teased about having no legs and being in a wheelchair. From cruel practical jokes to constant whispering, he has dealt with it all and helps with an organization in Africa. He was truly an inspiration. The second speaker, was born in Africa. At the age of five, he and his best friend were forced into an army in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With a blindfold on and "Brown Brown" in his system, he was unknowingly forced to kill his best friend. Two weeks later, when he got away, he dedicated him self to helping with the big issue of children soldiers. Both speakers were very eye opening.

We are off to play some cards! So, until next time,
Shirley