YouthGathering Update: July 17, 2010 @ 2:06am
July 17, 2010
(I'm moving my journal from FaceBook to the main church website so everyone can follow along. I've copied my original postings prior to this one. I'll try to post a couple times a day with events and updates. Pictures will be posted online usually late in the evenings so please make sure to check my photo page many times throughout the trip!!!!)
What an interesting day! While we waited for our tables at Hard Rock Cafe (1.5 hours) we went with Brett who took 2 cardinals as memorials for his late grandparents. He picked out a nice place along the river walk to place the memorials and we said a little prayer and some quiet time. Then we went back to Hard Rock and had a great dinner (and got the whole restaurant to shout Happy Birthday to Amber). Then we took the kids to Bourbon Street and walked them down so they could experience the atmosphere under adult supervision. Quite interesting (my 1st time on Bourbon St too). We think it made an impact on the kids. By then it was pretty late so we came back to the hotel, let the kids run around for a bit then had our evening devotions and next day planning. Kari's taking it all in stride and managing through the hiccups that are always bound to occur with endeavours such as this.
The kids are doing great and appear to be learning more about each other. Amazing that they've "known" each other for years but didn't really. Todd, Ed, and I are really enjoying getting to know the kids much better. They're starting to actually 'talk' to us more and I hope we're not seen as the 'old guys' from church. I'm enjoying learning where they're at in the beliefs and I'm praying this event will help them build a solid foundation in their faith, boosting the lessons that Pastor Klima, Pastor Bellas, and Kari have been instilling in them over their earlier years.
