Reflections on ELCA Youth Gathering by Avery Lentz
On July 22, 2009, I began a four-day adventure that would open new doors in my life. At exactly 6:30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, five adult chaperones and ten youth, including myself, embarked from St. Luke Lutheran Church in Williamsport for the 2009 National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. We spent most of the day on the road driving to Baltimore-Washington International Airport where we got on a plane to Charlotte, North Carolina, where we boarded another plane to New Orleans. We finally arrived in New Orleans at 5:00 p.m. but we had already missed half of the first of four worship services in the New Orleans Superdome. However, we were all still amazed at the sheer size of the interior of the Superdome, which seated approximately 38,000 people, including the 15 of us. Just from one hour at the worship service, all of us knew we were in for quite an experience.
The next day, we got on a charter bus with a group from Ohio and a group from Kentucky. Immediately, we got a chance to get to know new people on a 15-minute bus ride to a local high school. Now the back-story of this school is that before Hurricane Katrina, this school took over 4,000 students. After the floodwaters damaged the school, only 1,200 students returned after the hurricane. So, we spent the day getting the school ready for their first day of school on August 17. We moved old computer monitors and hard drives, old books, and desks to storage sheds and cleaned chalkboards all over the school. By the end of the day we have covered more work in three hours that would’ve taken school maintenance workers three weeks to complete. All three youth groups were pleased with themselves and I myself was extremely happy to have spent the day helping the lives of the people of New Orleans with my newfound friends.
The next two days, we spent our time at the New Orleans Convention Center. We were given the opportunity to do workshops, Bible studies, and interactive learning stations the first day and then ended the day with an amazing performance by the Christian rock band, “Skillet.”
The next day we returned to the convention center for more activities like souvenir shopping, zip-lining, rope wall climbing, etc. However, it was just so crowded with only 1/3 of the 38,000 people that my youth group decided to take a tour of New Orleans on foot and by a Mississippi riverboat. At the end of the day, all 15 of us were just so exhausted; we just went back to the hotel, ordered Chinese food and pizza and went to bed at 11:00 p.m. At 4:00 a.m. we got up for the long journey back to Pennsylvania.
Even though most of us slept o the way back, I looked back and reminisced about the four amazing days we spent in New Orleans: my new friends from Kentucky, the performance by Skillet, and our walk through Bourbon Street. Everything I experienced will stick with me for the rest of my life.
Avery Lentz
St. Luke, Williamsport
