Monday July 27th; Another Long Day On the Bus

Truck stop by Joplin, Missouri. State park in the Ozarks for lunch.

Today we spent the ALOT of time on the bus. We left Little Rock early and headed to Iowa. We stopped at a cool park with a beautiful view and ate lunch. After lunch, bus two started having difficulties and almost broke down in the middle of the road. We had to pull into a truck stop and have some repairs done. We drove some more and here we are in Council Bluffs! See ya soon!

Love, Abby and Kylee.

Our Favorite Memories

Gabe Wright: My favorite memory from this trip was definatly the opening ceremony at the Super Dome. Our group had the opportunity to participate in the final song - Agape's "We Will Love You". It was so much fun to be in front of 38000 people. If you didn't see the video, the link is http://www.elca.org/Growing-In-Faith/Ministry/Youth-Ministry/Youth-Gathering/Day-1.aspx. It is the very last song.

Devin Johnson: My favorite memory from the trip was for sure watching the street preformers on Beale Street in Memphis. When we first arrived there was two six-year olds and a fifteen year old doing flips down the street. Later on two 20 year olds joined them. They were phenominal!!

One of the best memories that we had was when we were in Memphis, Tennessee at a neighborhood park for lunch. There was a group of us sitting on the playset and we were eating lunch. There were many children there but a little boy and girl came up and talked us. There names were Amimi and Jamon. They were the funniest little kids we have ever met. They were very outgoing and were telling us about how they had to move out of the area that they were in because it was dangerous.

Love Linzee and Dearmina

Joe Kasper: My favorite memory of trip that I will never want to forget is being in Memphis on Beale Street because of everything going on there. It was very fun to be there with all of the different assortment of restaurants and shops, it was just unforgetable. Also the ending of the first day at the gathering and the ending of the last day with Agape's "We Will Love You" it was just really fun to dance in front of all those people.

Nick Peterson: The most memerable part of the trip i hope not to foget is the night we got to pennsacola beach and we all ran into the ocean together at one time. We couldn't have asked for better weather during the trip i think everyone can agree with the sunburn they got.

Alison Beech: My most memorable experience was the dome speakers. They were all very inspiring and made me think about the focus of life. Civic service and the persuit of justice is important to all. You need to BE THE CHANGE that you wish to see in the world.

Brianne Lee: The most memorable part of the trip for me was being able to participate in the opening and closing ceremony. It was so much fun being able to learn Agape's song "We Will Love You" and learning the dance was a lot of fun.The rush of being in front of 38,000 people was indesribeable.

Mia Dahl: My favorite part of the trip was the service projects we went on. I really felt like that is why we were there. Even though the service project wasn't for too long it still felt great knowing we made a dent in helping out the city.

The family community that we have built on this trip is irreplacible. Though it is time to be home for many of us, it is also hard to leave each other. We will never forget our experiences and the friendships that we have built. Our memories will last forever. We have been inspired by the music... we've found a new respect for injustice in the world.... and we have all come closer to Christ.

Jesus, Justice, and Jazz.

Farewell to New Orleans

Today we began our worship at the Superdome by being part of the procession. It was cool to be apart of it rather then just watching. It was nice that the theme of the procession payed tribute to the hurricane victims by brining our attention back to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
By: Cate Cavalier and Brin Bailey

Today at worship we had the opportunity to participate in the closing activity. We each had two glow sticks and when the song We Will Love You (which is based off of the song We Will Rock You) came on, we all stood up and did all the motions we were instructed to do. Once we were all done some of us threw our glow sticks into the crowd. It was super fun and exciting!
On the way out of New Orleans, we went on a little tour of the lower 9th ward. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is the part of town that was the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. It was really eye opening in a lot of different ways. We saw many houses that were abandonded, damaged, and completely destroyed. We also saw a couple homeless people walking around the street which just reminds us how lucky we are to have everything we have. Overall, it was a great experience and we will never forget it.
By: Cody Rahman and Bjorn Hunstad

Our bus ride started in NOLA and slowly traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas. We stopped around 6:00 for supper in Touloula, LA. We unloaded in an area near a Subway, Wendys, and McDonalds. The ride was long and we slept a ton! We are getting anxious to get home.
Leaving New Orleans was hard and I'm going to miss the city and all of it's diversity. We are, however excited to get out of the HEAT!
By: Sarah Gerber

We had a great worship service today. We all had a mixture of feelings as we left the New Orleans today with the heat, exhaustion, new friends, close relationships, and faith filled hearts.
Tonight we ended the night in our small groups reflecting on our time as we left the gathering.
Thank you all for this amazing shared expereince!
Ellie McCann

Lovely Learning in Louisiana!!!

Hey this is Erik Bye here. (a.k.a Big Boy) Our small group went out to lunch at Muriel's and it was by far the fanciest restaurant I've been to. Our entire small group was wearing white tshirts, so we felt a little underdressed. The food was amazing, and some of us had a fish called Wahoo. After we ate we got to tour the upstairs of Muriel's, which was supposedly haunted by ghosts. Although we didn't see any ghosts we took lots of cool pictures in the creepy rooms. So overall it was a very good lunch. I want to give a shout out to my bros Jon and Matt and Mr. Steven Sperling!

Hey ya'll it's Elise Sperling! My day started bright and early at 7am when I went with some other people to the morning Hip-Hop worship by Agape*. Agape is a rapper/dancer that is from Minneapolis, and he got us jumpin'. He talked about how he never had a father figure in his life and how he asked God to be his father. After the worship we walked to Cafe De Monde in Jackson Square to have beignets. They are so ridiculously good! Then we walked back to the hotel and it was already our third sweat of the day. I wanna give a shout out to my homeboy Jesus, my parentals, Double A to the Ron, the Skit Man, and the lovely person that picked my camera up at the pool in Pensacola :/ See you on tuesday! Peace.

Hey everybody!! It's Lar. One of my favorite parts of the gathering was the music. on Saturday we got to see three really good performances. One was of a 7 year old accordian player named Guyland Leday who was pretty much as good as anyone I've ever heard! Another musician was a teenage fiddler named Amanda Shaw who was raising awareness for the disappearing wetlands. But one of my favorites was the band named "The Katinas". I liked them a lot because they sang more of the songs that I already know. I would like to give a shout out to my parental units, my brother Will, Danny Paulson, MIKE!, all my other friends, my new bffs Collin and Anthony, and all my new friends back in Illinois, JESUS, OH and I can't forget Mr. Steve Sperling. Peacccee Outt. (:

Hello this is Ednah, and I am going to tell you about our free time on Saturday. After the Learning Center, some of us girls went shopping and ate some great Mexican food, while the guys tried to meet some new "friends" ;) Finding food in New Orleans was a challange, especially in the afternoon and evening. The Downtown restaurants were only open for lunch. We walked around the French Quarter, and yes, we even walked down Bourbon Street-- but during the day! At Jackson Square we checked out all of the local artists painting away. Hi to Mom and Dad, Jake, and of course the amazing Mr. Steve Sperling. ;)

Hello this is Adam Overvold, and my favorite speaker of the night was Anne Mahlum. She would run in the morning to release emotions, and as she was running through the streets of Philly, she ran by a homeless shelter every morning. She felt bad for the homeless guys so she called the shelter and organized a running group. She found donated shoes and shorts and shirts for every runner. Soon the running group went from five to ten to over twenty and they had a new lease on life. She was surprized that this ministry just sort of happened and she passed up a lucrative corporate job at Comcast. She inspired me to be ready for whatever God brings my way. Oh yes, and she grew up in Bismarck ND! My shout out is to the entire state of North Dakota and of course the incredible Mr. Steve Sperling.

Hey there fans of Friends in Faith, this is Pr. John. These Trinity young people are truly my Friends in Faith after these days of travel. They inspire me with their ideas and insights, they lift me up with their stories of faith and action, they make me laugh dozens of times a day, they marvel me with their sense of adventure, and the make me proud in the way to treat folks down here with such respect. Our small group is BY FAR the most dynamic, intellegent and goodlooking group of the bunch! My shout out goes to the lovely Becky Hulden back in Moorhead. And a tip of the hat to the dedicated and delightful Trinity Staff holding down the fort. And yes, also to the awesome Mr. Steve Sperling!

Service Projects - Friday July 24, 2009

This morning we all woke up really early, at 5 am to go work on our service projects. We got to the dome and loaded two different buses that took us to city park which is way larger than Central Park. All the people in our small group went to a location to create new walking paths along the bayou. Before we started working we each got our own garden clippers to cut the tall grass to cut a 8 foot wide path. Along the way we ran across fire ants and alligators and crazy thorn weeds...OWW! Later we picked up trash along the way.
By Britta Hulden

While one bus had the opportunity to clear paths in City Park, the other bus had the chance to paint a stadium in the park. Both groups learned the importance of drinking an abundant amount of water, wearing bug spray and sun screen. We worked in the mid-morning, when the heat and humidity was constantly on the rise. Luckily, our projects went by quickly and were extremely rewarding. Each group was able to work with other groups from the gathering and met other excitied youth ready to make a difference. After our service work we had free time to shower, recharge ourselves, and explore the city before the nightly dome event. I ate lunch in the French Quarter, and ate beignets at the famous Cafe Du Monde! :)
By Karly Pierce

Hey there. Andrea, Samuel, and Hayden typing. We went to the dome tonight and it was AMAZING. The speakers were very influencial and had some very good stories to tell, that made you think very differently about your own life. They were by far the greatest speakers thoughout the week, along with Viola Vaughn. The concert at the dome tonight was also AMAZING! Skillet is very very very very entertaining, along with the great pyrotechnichs! The dome was a ton of fun tonight and we definately enjoyed it! Vicki's small group is the best!! Dances are fun if you go to the right place, and if your into being hot and sweaty. Sam Stetz loves Andrea Birmingham, and Vicki is the sweeetest and most beautifullll leader everrr. I LOVE VICKI! :) Gooooood night!

Hi everyone, this is Vicki. Can you tell that my group is the sweetest ever!? :)We have had so many special times together and have a lot of fun. Even though I lost my camera the other night, I am keeping it in perspective. :( Just a couple comments on two of our speakers tonight. They both have had huge obstacles and challenges in their lives. Spencer West had his legs amputated at the age of 5 and Michel Chikwanine was abducted at the age of 5 and forced to shoot and kill his own best friend after being drugged by his assailants in the Congo. In spite of all their struggles and challenges, their faith is so strong and they have amazing positive attitudes. They are young leaders bringing hope and change to the world and are very inspiring to all of us. Thank you for sending your wonderful children with us! They are also an inspiration and will be the force to bring about positive change in this world. We think of all of you back home and miss you. Your kids are AMAZING! We are so proud of them! I know you are too! Looking forward to seeing all of you back at home. God Bless you. Love, Vicki

P.S. We added a couple group pictures. The first one is from the night we released the hot air lanterns into the sky. It was a very special and touching night. The other picture is from our day at the beach when we were soaking up the sun and enjoying romping in the beautiful water of the Gulf of Mexico.

Day 8; July 23, 2009 Exploring New Orleans

I'm Brent Gerber and I am so privileged to be part of the BEST small group of any other group on our trip (if any other group has said otherwise--don't believe them).

After a hectic move in day on Tuesday, we had a full day to explore New Orleans and the convention center. Our day was topped off by another exciting evening of information, music, great speakers and high energy in the dome.

To start the day, we went to the convention center where we discovered the Interaction Center--here's Abby Altenbernd to give you the low down.

Hey Mom! I miss you as always. To start off at the convention center we first listened to a couple different speakers talk about the environment, poverty etc. It was very interesting to learn about what was all going on in different places and really made you think about what you have. Next, we got to go explore the convention center. There were different games that you could participate in. There was things like a zipline, mini golf and bumper boats. You could also do arts and crafts and make things for the homeless. Old Lutheran was also there and had a bunch of different things you could buy. Like jewelry, foam fingers, t-shirts and a bunch of things like that. So that about wrapped it up at the convention center. I thought it was very interesting and a great experience.

After the interaction center we met Vicki Holtans group and ventured out to find lunch and explore the city. (Unfortunately later in the day Vicki lost her camera. We feel bad that we can't use some of the photos that she took during the day for our blog, but we feel worse for her losing her camera!)

Kianna Hillier is going to share this part of the story.

Hey guys! While trying to find the trolley we went to the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk is like a mall on the side of the river. We ended up waiting for a trolley for a really longtime where we met some friends from North Dakota!! The trolley took too long so we had to walk and we walked for a very very long time. While exploring the city we saw Jackson Square. Jackson square was very neat it was like a garden and had a statue of Andrew Jackson. There were a lot of artist painting along the sidewalks and were really good.

Yes, Kianna, we did walk a lot. But finally in the French Quarter we found food--and nobody loves food like Matt Dale. He's going to talk about our lunch, snacks and other food we've been eating here.

In the French Quarter we found a nice place to eat jambalaya, a spicy southern tradition. While we were walking we found a nice snack place called Cafe du Monde where we ate beignets. Which is a powdered donut. Everyday at lunch we have subs, so everyone is sick of sub sandwiches. Hello fam.

Matt's right. We all enjoyed our lunch in the French Quarter. After we were done, we decided we'd just meet everybody at the dome and we walked across this part of town to Bourbon Street and over to the dome. Jodi Bergland is going to carefully describe what we saw--right Jodi?

Absolutely I'm going to explain CAREFULLY what we saw. Walking down Bourbon Street was a very interesting experience. It is the epitome of the dark side of New Orleans. There are lots of exploitations but things we will all see sometime in our lives anyway, but it is still a shocking thing to see in person. I love Abby Anderson. This trip has been sweet and I'm glad we got to have this experience so thank you all to the parents. We luh u.

It was an interesting walk down Bourbon Street, Jodi. It was early afternoon and things were pretty calm, but it's still Bourbon Street. I saw a lot of eyes were wide open!

Now let's get back to the day's summary and here's Jim Kallander to talk about the evenings events and summarize things for us.

The evening events at the Super Dome were awesome, we got in on a rush and fought the people off for seats and even got some of them stolen. After we had seats the show started off with a singer from Louisiana, she was good. The house band continuing its greatness of music for the Lord. Later, there was a speaker that most of us enjoyed, because she was hilarious and had great words of wisdom. The message of the night was "LOVE".

The New Orleans time can be summed up in two haikus:

New Orleans is Great
National Youth Gathering
In Two-Thousand Nine

Eating in Big E.
A Rachel Ray kind of day
I wish I could stay

Great job, guys. These are great kids and they are working hard, playing hard and growing in faith. We appreciate your support and love. See you all soon.

Oh and Happy Birthday to Su and Kathy!

J3 First Day

Hello! We are a part of a small group consisting of Natalie Huckle, Cameron Aakre, Bradley Granberg, Danielle Holte, and Megan Renslow. Here are some of our highlights...

Natalie: Dancing on stage
Cameron: Meeting new people
Bradley: Glow sticks and the finale
Danielle: Meeting "Jeff" from Chicago
Megan: Filling half the super dome

JESUS JUSTICE JAZZ

Joining together
Early morning
Singing and dancing
Up on the stage, part of the act
Street vendors

Journey to New Orleans
Uplifting
Stomp stomp clap (song of We Will Love You)
Transition into muggy weather
I can make a difference
Celebrating Birthdays
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Just try to keep up with our dance moves and glow sticks
Agape
Zzzzzzzzz......so tired
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz........if you don't get it, we're REALLY tired

Top 10 reasons to go on a youth gathering trip!

Hey everyone back home, it's Jessica Row. The trip is going really well so far and our heads are still held high! Our small group would like to share our top 10 reasons to go on a youth gathering trip with all of yall back home :)
10. The first reason for going on a youth gathering trip is for the bus life during our travels. Even though many people would rather sleep during this time, it is a very good opportunity to meet new people on the trip that you may not get to meet other wise. You get to talk about questions that you may not talk to people about often and get a good conversation going. It loosens up the mood a little bit and makes it much more easier to communicate with one another.
9. Another reason for going on a trip such as this is for the chance to eat many different types of food. Some people tonight ate sea food such as sea food nachos, crab cakes, loster, and crab legs. Others, such as my group, ate at a little Greek cafe. Not only was the gyro the best I have ever had, but they had beer battered fries which were amazing. Yum yum :)

Hey this is John Olmstead!
8. I will be talking about all of the new sights we saw today. Gulf Islands National Seashore was where we had our service project this morning. We picked up asphalt from a highway that was destroyed by hurricanes in 2004. Tonight was a great sight to see when there was about 300 people singing and dancing on the beach right beside the ocean.

Hi everyone..su here
7. We have enjoyed worship in many ways while on the trip, in a park, the bus, a hotel meeting room and tonight we worshiped with 300 people on the beach...outstanding! We were joined by the Pathways group traveling to New Orleans too. Worship is a great way for us to celebrate and continue to grow in our faith.

Whats up readers this is Jake Donahue.
6. It's not the same back home compared to here. The south is full of accents, hot weather, nice beaches, new and awesome places to eat, lot's of people, and big cities. It all is very nice but family and friends a stongly missed too.

5. Hey guys, Rylee here.
Today was a great day at Pensacola. We had an activities filled day! First we went to do a service project where we picked up trash and asphalt at a local beach. It was hot outside, but still fun to know we are helping and making an impact here. Then, we came back to our hotel and had free time at the beach. We did many things such as swimming, frisbee, and skim boarding. We are keeping busy and having a blast here!

4. Hey There! This is Mackenzie Houglum, and I think one of the best things about this trip is observing and learning all about others' cultures and lifestyles. This was my first time leaving the midwest and after alll our many stops... supper in Arkansas was the first experience that stood out. Walking up to the counter at Mcdonalds was the first time I was really stuggling to understand them with their thick southern accents. After that while traveling even deeper south, that is all I would listen for. It amazed me how different it was hearing their slangy accents in person, rather than in movies. But the biggest life changing moment for me was Beale street in Memphis. Walking down that street observing all the different people of different cultures was something many of us have never seen, and will never forget.

3. Hey, from Su's group!We all have had many new experiences on this trip like... seeing and experiencing the ocean for the first time, being stung by a jelly fish, service projects, skim boarding and boogie boarding, finding sea shells and hermit crabs, trying new foods, walking on the soft sand, trying to understand different accents, waking up early, having large group with people we don't know(all from MN).

2.Hola! Its Maggie Gulsvig...Hi mom! I would just like to tell you how amazing friends are and how awesome it is to meet new friends! Today was an awesome day and it wouldn't have been as fun with out our friends. Everyone went swimming(and got super burnt!) and picked up asphalt at some deserted beach, and it would definetly been boring if you had to do it alone. We are all friends and we all have faith! (FIF) Whooop!

1. Hey, from Su's group! Growing in faith is our number one reason for going on a youth gathering trip! Tonight we talked about how water is important in our faith life, how it surrounds us, how we are baptized with water, and how it nourishes us as we gathered by the ocean. Please continue to pray for us as we do for you, blessings to ya'll ;)

A Day At the Beach

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREA BIRMINGHAM!!!!!!

Hey, this is Katie Anderson! Just wanted to share what the weather was like today: the high was 95 degrees!!!! The low was 75 (typical Moorhead weather, although it has yet to even get that cold today)! The water was nice and warm at 85 degrees, and we had a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky! It was perfect!

Hello, this is Elise Wright! Since today was such a gorgeous day, many of us made sand castles! We had many sand castles lined up along the beach - some of them were more traditional while others were more original such as creating the Friends in Faith logo in the sand! We also buried Tony Dostert as a mermaid in the sand, and Kyle Sven was buried standing up in the sand!

What's up, this is Lydia Krause! Not everything was positive today, a few of us received jellyfish stings :( Although receiving the sting was very painful, I find it quite exciting to say "I've been stung by a jellyfish"! Along with jellyfish stings, there were more than a few sunburns. Even though we were all frequently applying sunscreen, most of us caught a few too many rays and ended up pink. But the fun that we're having definitely distracts from the pain and it is also a good reminder to always wear sunscreen :)

Hola, this is Jens Hulden and Nate Johnson (cutest sophomore boys on the trip)! Other than sand castles, some other activities that we did include playing soccer, throwing frisbees, boogey boarding, skim boarding, swimming, and tanning! There were many places to get food and even get a little time in to go shopping.

Aloha, this is Cindi Bondy (the coolest small group leader on this trip)! After a day of fun and relaxation, we joined together as a large group and sang songs, played games, and celebrated Andrea Birmingham's 17th birthday with some cake! We are going to close out our evening with a secret activity on the beach (the kids don't know about it yet).

We are loving Florida but cannot wait to see where our next bus ride takes us!

Getting our feet wet...

Picture: the sunset from the bus as we drove into Pensecola Beach!






Our alphabet for the day.

A- Armadillo at the park
B-Bus Rides(Looooong)
C-Countdown to the Gathering(3 Days)
D-Dinner in Mobile, Alabama
E-Everyone had fun
F-Friends in Faith(FIF),
G-Guitars at worship
H-Hampton Inn where we are staying for the night
I-I miss you_______<---(Insert Name Here)
J-Jacob Swedberg, Cody Sandvig, Ryan Trygg, Kelly Brammer, Katie Storlie, Stephanie Anderson's Small group(Your authors of this Blog for the day)
K-Keep us in your prayers
L-Learning about new Friends
M-Mississippi Lunch
N-New Orleans Documentary
O-OCEAN
P-Pensacola Beach, FL
Q-Quiet time
R-Rock Paper Scissors Tournament
S-Sleeping in tomorrow:)
T-Tree Vines we were swinging on at the park at lunch
U-UVA/UVB protection:)
V-Very moving experiences
W-Worship at the park
X-Xylophone...Yup that's all we got
Y-Your almost done reading
Z-ZZZ What we are headed off to do right now. To prepare for our day on the beach tomorrow

10 feet off of Beale

Hey, Amanda here. Today we saw and expierenced a lot. We got to see the Civil Rights museum and that was pretty interesting. I loved to visit Beale street because there was so many shops and lit up signs that just caught your attention. Today was a very good day, but am very tired. Just a little shout out to my parents, love you and miss you. :-)

Hey ya'll this Mike. There has been so much on this trip so far; including museums, monuments, and ect. But i have gained the most I think from just being with friends and others on this trip. Its a great way to mix who you hang out with and you grow stronger as a person and in your faith. Can't wait to get back and share my experiences. peace!

Hey, It's Zack. We had a great day today. We got to go to the Civil Rights Museum and the Rock and Soul Museum but the best part was Beale Street. We had great food and lots of shops to go to. There was also great entertainment in the form of music and also a group of kids that were doing handspring flips down the street. They were cool to watch. This trip is such an amazing experience.

Hey, its John. I love all my new friends. Memphis is very fun! We had really good food. There was this kid aging from 6-26 they were doing flips and stuff.. i dont really know what else to say so i'm going to bed. Goodnight.

Hi everyone, I hope you are enjoying the cold weather, as we are sweating up a storm! Today we visited the Civil Rights Museum. We witnessed the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and tons of information about black history. It was humbling to be in that place and an experience I will never forget. We also went to the Rock and Soul Museum. It was awesome to learn about all the jazz, blues and soul music that Memphis is so famous for. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, as we will too! God bless, Laura Gonshorowski

Hi Deb here. The kids have been awesome on this trip. They were very quiet as we experienced the Civil Rights Museum. So much information that it was hard to take it all in. We went to the Rock and Roll Museum. That was really cool! I think Beale Street was everyones favorite. Lots of action there. Take care and pray for our safe travels. Thinking of you.

HOLY GROUNDS~

Hello from the holy grounds of blues music, Memphis, TN! We had a normal day of bus travel, involving sleeping, bus games, and getting to know your travel buddies better. If my parents read this, they will know it's me because I cannot wait to eat ribs here. Signing off, Fordyce Lenarz.

Today was a real eye opener for me. Seeing the Gateway arch was so much fun and amazing how big it was. But i'm really looking forward to the beach and the youth gathering. The bus rides are shorter than you'd expect. but its fun to play the games and meeting new people. well on to the next person
- Zach Johnson

Hey hey hey! Ahhhh today was really.. different. We saw the Gateway Arch, I thought it was super cool and beautiful. Well, not going to lie but I was out of it today(not enough sleep). Ha ha. The bus ride was interesting because I had my own seat. Yep, so yeah! Miss ya mom and dad.
-Anna Dostert =D

Yo! it's logan ness i am having a great time so far on the trip. im really excited for the beach. i finally will probably get a chance to get rid of my sweet farmers tan. :) love you mommy!!!! annika is the best

Hey ya'll! We're in the South and the temperature is heating up! I hear it's cool back home! What else is new? The bus rides here go surprisingly fast, it's amazing. We keep busy! The highlight of my day was seeing the St. Louis Arch! It was breathtaking! Our run today was bad. Ha! I died! We ran up a very large hill and I had a laughing attack, which makes it even harder! The houses here are AMAZING! There gates alone are unreal! Tomorrow we spend the day around Memphis and I'm super looking forward to the beach in Pensacola. We're making a lot of new friends already! Nat and I are rooming with Abby and Rylee and they think we're crazy! Everything's good Mom and Dad, LOVE YOU MUCH!

Holy Ground! Wow! We talked about what makes 'holy ground' and we shared all of our ideas... the places we saw and experienced today along with all our youth and adults helped us feel surrounded by love and fun... a 'holy' ground.
This is Carol Anderson, another youth leader. We have a great small group... and a wonderful group of Trinity members and guests... we had a fun day traveling, playing bus games, a picnic at the Arch, watching movies, swimming in the outdoor pool, and spending time together. We feel blessed to be able to be together enjoying new places and people... thank you to all who are praying for us... we are also praying for you.

Day 1 Epic Adventure

Hey, I am Morgan Christian and I am going to be a senior this upcoming year at Moorhead High School. Today was quite the adventure... We spent a total of 10 hours on a bus today. We played bus games and got to know one another a lot! I am excited to see what the trip has in store for all of us! I am extremely tired right now, and we just got done with our first small group meeting. I am proud to say that I am apart of a fabulous small group! I also was lucky enough to get to run with the running crew, hopefully I will still be able to move by the end of the trip and get to run on the last day with everyone! Miss you mom and dad! Love you all! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers:)

Hello friends!!! Wow picture a bus of 46 people and everyone being silent and calm... kinda like nap time in kindergarten! Naps are great and NO ONE WAS CRABBY!!!! Today was a good day! -Tony Dostert

Hi! My name is Kate Hicok and holy smokes did I have a blast today! We drove by the coolest, most fun looking, roller coaster outside of Kansas City, MO! It is called Fun World so Mom and Dad remember that so we can come back someday. :) Can't wait for the travel today tomorrow to Memphis! Who knew being on a bus for 10 hours could be so much fun!

Jensen Penas here! Oh boy it was neat to stop by the river in Sioux City, IA for lunch! We played outside and walked around the beautiful Lewis & Clark Intepretative center grounds! Having a blast!

My name is Tommy and I really enjoyed hanging out with Jensen on the bus today and playing bus games, it makes the trip go by so fast! In two days we get to check out the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and I am super excited!

This is small group leader Kyle speaking now. We had a great day with Friends in Faith! Lots of fun conversations and bus games today! When we arrived in Lee's Summit I took about 10 youth for a 3 mile run and oh boy what a pace they set for me! See how long we can keep this up! Miss you family and friends and look tomorrow for another post about our day!

So it begins!

Finish packing up friends! See you at 6am for check-in and the best almost two weeks of your lives! :)