God is Good!

August 3, 2009

What a blessing it has been to be home and to have the opportunity to share our stories of travel and the National Youth Gathering with so many folks here at Hope.  Our Youth Ministry was able to enjoy the blessing of helping to lead worship this past Sunday.  Credit for the service goes out to Arty Contreras for coordinating much of the music and to Alison Quinn for the video as well as for making sure everyone knew their role and was ready to help out.   Of course our wonderful organist Ruth Andersen and Pastors Al and Roger provided great leadership as well.

Many of commented on the remarks made by the youth who spoke: Sara Martin, Kai Howard and Sammie Contreras.  You can find their comments below, or you can click here to read the entire Sermon, with the testimonies included.  We’ve been blessed to be a blessing and we’re grateful to God.

Sara Martin

When I signed up to go to New Orleans, I knew there would be thousands of people.  I knew that I would see more people in one day than I have probably seen in my whole life.  I knew that 38,000 people was a large number but I didn’t realize how big it really was until I walked into the Superdome Wednesday night.  Sure I had seen some of the youth groups walking around the city or in our hotel or in the convention center at the same time, but 38,000…well that was hard to believe!  On Wednesday night when our group walked into the Superdome we weren’t the first or the last, we didn’t get front row seats but we saw a lot of people.  That night when we sang the first song it was kind of awkward because we didn’t know the song real well.  But when songs were played that we knew, or grew to know, it was amazing.  It felt like everyone in the building, even the people backstage or making sure security was alright, were singing along.  It was amazing to see everyone worship in their own way,   Whether it was standing, sitting, singing, praying or listening to the lyrics.  It was unimaginable.  Especially when the singers turned off their microphones and it was just the kids and leaders singing.  It was also really cool to see people all around the Superdome wearing the In-N-Out hats we brought or doing the dance Arty showed us earlier in the week.  It was also really cool to see groups of kids going to or coming back from servant projects all over the city.  Like some of the shirts said, we were doing God’s work with our hands.  It was so hard to imagine that most all the people at the event were Lutherans who wanted to help the city of New Orleans in God’s name.  Doing what God wanted him/her to do no matter what the project was.  Whether listening, building, painting, cleaning, it was all planned for us to do by God.  We were Christ’s body for that one week, and we will continue to be throughout the rest of our lives, no matter where we are.  We are still going to worship Christ with one body.

Kai Howard

While in new Orleans I felt that the ElCA was making a difference. We learned a lot about the culture. From food, to music, and even mardi gras.  The people of New Orleans were gracious enough to tell us of their lives there and how Katrina had affected them.  A lot of them it was hard for, but they pulled together and are still doing so with the help of groups.
The music of New Orleans was very surreal to me; seeing jazz bands around the French Quarter was incredible.  This was a superb experience to see musicians doing their work.
We learned about Mardi Gras for our service project.  They told us about the hype that has been put behind Mardi Gras as a party holiday, but it is a time for families and friends to eat meat before Lent, and to celebrate.  We feel as a group that it is important to clear up the Hollywood spread ideas of New Orleans and Mardi Gras, with the knowledge we have gained during our trip.

For my spiritual impact was not directly to me but seeing how God made people grow in their spirituality. I feel I have a strong relationship with God and this trip strengthened it. I have a stronger feeling that God is in control and that by worrying I can’t do anything, but if I get help from him with the big stuff I can get through even the hardest events.  Worshiping with 37,000 people was an interesting experience for me because I have never done it before. I felt that the groups that we had after the superdome services and final 15 were important to tie everything together.  Without it everything we learned from the gathering would have probably been swept away in a week, but being able to reflect in depth at the work God was doing made this trip all the more important.

Samantha Contreras

                Hi my name is Sammie and my tip to New Orleans turned out to be an amazing experience. I learned so much about the history, culture and the people of New Orleans. On Monday we attended a swamp tour. Our driver who took us there had an incredible story about the tragic event of Hurricane Katrina. He’s a 75 years old man who built a beautiful house for his wife. They come back after Katrina hit and it was completely swept away. You ask him what makes him stay in New Orleans and he says I love it here. If you ask anyone why they come back after Katrina and they would all say because they love it. Its home. Everyone there was joyful and happy. It was very cool to see all the people so full of life even if they still had so many struggles to sort out. It was very hard for me to hear people’s stories and see the damage that still remains in New Orleans, but the people there are staying strong and have hope. But I not only learned a lot about the people in New Orleans, but a lot about myself as well. Before this trip, I was struggling with self confidence. I always said negative things about the way I looked. I always said I wasn’t good enough. And I always put myself down. I wasn’t happy with myself and I didn’t love myself. My best friend Jackie wanted me to look in the mirror and say “I’m beautiful.” And I couldn’t. But on Thursday night in the superdome there was a speaker named Viola Vaughn. She said something that stuck out to me. She said, “You must love yourself before others can love you.” I really took that saying in. I was so discouraged of myself that I didn’t let other people get to know the real me. Slowly I started to break out of my shell and really get to know my youth group. I discovered that I wasn’t the only one going through this issue. I discovered that all of us in our own special way are beautiful. Through them I discovered a lot of great things about myself that I didn’t see. And now I can truly say I am a beautiful child of God. I am thankful and appreciate so much more now through the people in New Orleans, the speakers in the superdome and everyone in youth group. This is something I will never forget and I’m really glad I got to spend it with the people who went. I love all you guys!

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