9:30 AM - meet in the hotel lobby for breakfast (finally!!! A day to sleep late!) The extra sleep didn't seem to help Shuppy though. He sat straight up in the middle of the night calling for some girl named Megan over and over. His roommates witnessed it.
We returned to the Fleur De Lis, our favorite breakfast spot. The youth LOVED the pancakes there but this time they learned their lesson. Most of them shared a stack of pancakes. The sweet pancakes were cooked on the grill with butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It's no wonder everyone wanted to return!
10:30 - time for souvenir shopping and last minute packing
12:15 PM - board the buses for the Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport. This time the splits were a little more fair. We split between 3 buses into groups of 15, 5, and 9. The buses were much louder than when we arrived in New Orleans. This time they were filled with singing, stories, and laughter.
We checked our bags without any trouble (but we definitely gained a lot more stuff! Some of our suitcases weighed 44, 47, and 49 pounds!). Security was a breeze and we learned that airport staff is much friendlier in the south than in the northeast as the security staff was joking around and laughing with us.
Despite the fact we had just eaten breakfast about 3 hours ago, everyone was suddenly hungry and grabbed snacks in the airport. Dolores had to use the bathroom and hurried off to find the closest one... boy was she in for a surprise. She went in to a stall, used the bathroom, and came out of the stall to wash her hands. As she stood at the sink with the water running she peered into the mirror and saw a man standing at a urinal on the opposite wall. The closest bathroom for Dolores happened to be the men's room! She ran out.
2:30 PM - board the plane to Atlanta
In spite of having our seats spread out across the aircraft, the youth unanimously and simultaneously raised their arms and erupted into a cheer as if on a roller coaster as we lifted off much to the amusement of others on the plane. It didn't take long before everyone was asleep catching up on some much needed Zzz's. Group spirits were high as we clamored off the plane in a desperate search of a bathroom with everyone... until we learned our next flight was delayed. Here we currently sit in the Atlanta airport waiting for our plane and eating dinner.
Pray for the storm to pass so we can come home!!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
The Last Supper
Another early morning for Hope's youth. We had to report to the superdome by 7:45AM because we volunteered to be communion assistants plus eat breakfast.
6:45AM - meet in the hotel lobby to leave for breakfast and walk to McDonalds. We thought McDonald's for breakfast was the smart way to go since it was so early and no one else would be seeking out breakfast yet since the doors didn't open at the dome for general admission until 8:30. WRONG! We were at McDonald's with about 200 other people. Some ate in McDonald's while the others took their food on the road as Dave transported the group via Van to the dome.
7:45AM - doors were SUPPOSED to open to let the communion assistants in so they could pick up the elements and get in place.
8:10AM - enter the dome and pick up umbrellas, bread, wine, and anointing oil
9:30 - 11:30 - closing worship
The service was lead by Bishop Hanson and Rev. Andrena Ingram. When it came time for communion, our group from Hope was assigned to section 145 in the stadium. We spread out and served communion to the hundreds of people in our section and gave a blessing while making the sign of the cross on everyone's foreheads. Wow!
12:15 - lunch at Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant. The wait staff assured us we would be out in time for our Hurricane Katrina tour at 1:00, but as 1:00 rolled around, we still didn't have all of our food yet. We asked for to go boxes and threw all the food into the boxes to take along. Dave was already at the tour and asked the bus driver if he would be able to pick us up right at the restaurant which he agreed to do. Thanks!!
1:15 PM - we began our 3 hour tour of New Orleans on an air conditioned bus with very comfy seats. The kids told us later they were all very tired and worked super hard to stay awake during the tour because they thought they would get in trouble. That was until they saw this...
Throughout the 3 hour tour, just about everyone fell asleep for at least a little while. It has been one EXHAUSTING week. The tour was very informative and we learned how the flooding happened, where the flooding was the worst, and saw lots of flood damage. It was incredible to see how poor some of the living conditions still are. In the middle of the tour we made a stop for ice cream! Even though we had just eaten lunch, almost everyone hopped out for ice cream.
4:00 PM - Cafe du Monde
We made a stop at the famous cafe to try out their beignets! I think everyone agreed they were delicious! The only problem was they were messy. While we were waiting in line, the kids met a street performer and talked to him for a little. Alex offered him a large white umbrella we had received and used during our communion after the man expressed amazement claiming he had never seen a white umbrella before.
After a little souvenir shopping, we returned to the hotel for about an hour to rest and get ready for dinner.
6:40PM - meet in the lobby for a walk down Bourbon Street and dinner. Everyone needs to at least see Bourbon Street before leaving this city of New Orleans. We walked on it for 2 blocks and the kids had had enough.
7:00PM - dinner at Oceana
This was the first time our entire group got to sit together at one huge table... and we loved it! This was the dinner to experience the seafood and cajun side of New Orleans. Nearly everyone showed their adventurous side and tried some of the gator bites we got as an appetizer. They loved them... "tastes like chicken" - Jon. "Oh, it's really good!" Vicky
Our meals arrived and Krista had quite the eye opening experience. "Shrimp have legs and heads????" - Krista. She's never had to peel her own shrimp before. Lucky for her, she was sitting next to Mikayla who had experience. She peeled the shrimp and Krista ate them. Unlucky for Krista, Mikayla didn't remove the vein and later informed her she probably ate shrimp poop. Covering her mouth, "oh no, I think I'm going to be sick!" - Krista.
9:00PM - walk back to the hotel (NOT on Bourbon Street)
Since there was no hotel life scheduled, the kids made their own in our hotel. They met up with friends from other churches, swam, played dead in the hallway, had make-up put on (boys!), chatted and laughed, and posed for pictures.
10:45PM - our last Final 15... which lasted 1 hour instead of 15 minutes.
Highs - church service, serving communion, going home tomorrow, dinner, hotel, dinner conversations, seeing Devin, Caleb, Jon, and Andrew run out of their room after Scott used their bathroom
Lows - going home tomorrow, being tired, falling asleep on the tour bus, Scott smelling up our bathroom, dinner (upset tummies)
Back to the Lehigh Valley in the morning. Good night one last time, New Orleans. We will miss you!!
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| Hmmm where did all these boxes come from, girls??? Found this pile outside of Amber, Briana, and Larissa's room this morning. Veeeery interesting. |
6:45AM - meet in the hotel lobby to leave for breakfast and walk to McDonalds. We thought McDonald's for breakfast was the smart way to go since it was so early and no one else would be seeking out breakfast yet since the doors didn't open at the dome for general admission until 8:30. WRONG! We were at McDonald's with about 200 other people. Some ate in McDonald's while the others took their food on the road as Dave transported the group via Van to the dome.
7:45AM - doors were SUPPOSED to open to let the communion assistants in so they could pick up the elements and get in place.
 |
| Some communion assistants waiting to get in |
8:10AM - enter the dome and pick up umbrellas, bread, wine, and anointing oil
9:30 - 11:30 - closing worship
The service was lead by Bishop Hanson and Rev. Andrena Ingram. When it came time for communion, our group from Hope was assigned to section 145 in the stadium. We spread out and served communion to the hundreds of people in our section and gave a blessing while making the sign of the cross on everyone's foreheads. Wow!
12:15 - lunch at Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant. The wait staff assured us we would be out in time for our Hurricane Katrina tour at 1:00, but as 1:00 rolled around, we still didn't have all of our food yet. We asked for to go boxes and threw all the food into the boxes to take along. Dave was already at the tour and asked the bus driver if he would be able to pick us up right at the restaurant which he agreed to do. Thanks!!
1:15 PM - we began our 3 hour tour of New Orleans on an air conditioned bus with very comfy seats. The kids told us later they were all very tired and worked super hard to stay awake during the tour because they thought they would get in trouble. That was until they saw this...
Throughout the 3 hour tour, just about everyone fell asleep for at least a little while. It has been one EXHAUSTING week. The tour was very informative and we learned how the flooding happened, where the flooding was the worst, and saw lots of flood damage. It was incredible to see how poor some of the living conditions still are. In the middle of the tour we made a stop for ice cream! Even though we had just eaten lunch, almost everyone hopped out for ice cream.
4:00 PM - Cafe du Monde
We made a stop at the famous cafe to try out their beignets! I think everyone agreed they were delicious! The only problem was they were messy. While we were waiting in line, the kids met a street performer and talked to him for a little. Alex offered him a large white umbrella we had received and used during our communion after the man expressed amazement claiming he had never seen a white umbrella before.
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| Waiting for beignets |
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| Giving up the umbrella |
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| Like funnel cake, but thicker |
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| These sure are messy! Notice the powder on Tiffanie's face , hands, lap, and cell phone! |
After a little souvenir shopping, we returned to the hotel for about an hour to rest and get ready for dinner.
6:40PM - meet in the lobby for a walk down Bourbon Street and dinner. Everyone needs to at least see Bourbon Street before leaving this city of New Orleans. We walked on it for 2 blocks and the kids had had enough.
7:00PM - dinner at Oceana
This was the first time our entire group got to sit together at one huge table... and we loved it! This was the dinner to experience the seafood and cajun side of New Orleans. Nearly everyone showed their adventurous side and tried some of the gator bites we got as an appetizer. They loved them... "tastes like chicken" - Jon. "Oh, it's really good!" Vicky
 |
| A catfish mustache... just because |
Our meals arrived and Krista had quite the eye opening experience. "Shrimp have legs and heads????" - Krista. She's never had to peel her own shrimp before. Lucky for her, she was sitting next to Mikayla who had experience. She peeled the shrimp and Krista ate them. Unlucky for Krista, Mikayla didn't remove the vein and later informed her she probably ate shrimp poop. Covering her mouth, "oh no, I think I'm going to be sick!" - Krista.
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| Table for 2?? This one is for you, Pastor Mraz! |
9:00PM - walk back to the hotel (NOT on Bourbon Street)
Since there was no hotel life scheduled, the kids made their own in our hotel. They met up with friends from other churches, swam, played dead in the hallway, had make-up put on (boys!), chatted and laughed, and posed for pictures.
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| bathtub + bathrobes + umbrellas = this |
10:45PM - our last Final 15... which lasted 1 hour instead of 15 minutes.
Highs - church service, serving communion, going home tomorrow, dinner, hotel, dinner conversations, seeing Devin, Caleb, Jon, and Andrew run out of their room after Scott used their bathroom
Lows - going home tomorrow, being tired, falling asleep on the tour bus, Scott smelling up our bathroom, dinner (upset tummies)
Back to the Lehigh Valley in the morning. Good night one last time, New Orleans. We will miss you!!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Where everyone calls you baby
Today we begin with a disclaimer from the Pastor: PJ would like it known that what she said may not be as bad as what you are thinking. The word she yelled began with an S... and not any other letter. :)
6:30 - 6:45 Breakfast of cereal. We ate our cereal in our hotel glasses with plastic forks because the store down the road didn't have any spoons. At least the glasses made it easier to drink the remaining milk.
7:45 - Meet at the Superdome for a debriefing before leaving for our service project day - community cares.
We found our guide, Angela, holding up our bus number 30B and sat down for an hour long introduction complete with music, a few inspirational videos, and two emcees. The room was buzzing and you could tell everyone was anxious and excited for what was to come. We were told to sit in small groups and discuss what we were nervous about and what we were excited about. Everyone was excited to work and help and no one was very nervous or worried about anything. But I think that was about to change slightly.
We picked up our pre-packed lunches and boarded our bus with Angela and another church. The bus took us to a place called Zion City tucked away into a corner of New Orleans that some of the locals near our hotel had never even heard of. When PJ later explained where the city was, their response was "You went there?!" The streets were run down, many houses were boarded up, trees and plants had taken over many sidewalks, there was garbage littering the area, and a rotten aroma floated around the neighborhood.
We were introduced to the work crew, handed gloves, video taped for the local news!, given tools (although all that was left by the time we got there was large branch clippers), and given an assigned area to work in. Our church was assigned to the side of a road by a small little stream that flooded during Hurricane Katrina. The area was overgrown and there were broken bottles and other garbage mingled in among the weeds. The kids jumped right in and started working... until they saw the first bug. Krista had a rude awakening when Scott tossed a live cockroach at her. High pitched screams filled the air and everyone was a little more cautious about picking up the piles of leaves. Kaitlin was the next to have a cockroach kicked in her direction.
We worked on the roadside for about 30 minutes with another church until the whole area was clean. Then we moved to a nearby lot that was also overgrown and littered with bottles, concrete foundation chunks, bricks, shingles, bags, and other various debris. The youth circled around Kelly for a quick break to cheer her on while she sawed her first log. "Yea Kelly, almost there! Come on, you can do it!" filled the air. When she finally broke the log in half a loud cheer rang out.
At the corner of the lot was a pick-up truck that was clearly broken down and possibly abandoned. The truck was parked over the sidewalk making it impossible to walk by. The kids decided we HAD to move this truck off the sidewalk. 24 youth and 3 adults (Stacey was video taping and Steph took pictures) circled around the truck and formed a plan for moving it. The front had sunk deep into the mud. On the count of 3 everyone lifted and pushed the truck as far as they could... 1 inch. They worked and worked moving the truck a few more inches before no more progress was being made. The front of the truck was too heavy. Another group of youth was walking down the road looking curiously at us and they were recruited as reinforcements. On the count of three, all the boys lifted and the girls pushed. The truck was moved off the sidewalk!
The teens of Hope were also very interested in talking to some of the locals that had come out of the houses to watch them (and take pictures of them moving the truck). Some of our youth approached the families and heard stories of the hurricane, the flooding, and the visuals of seeing their neighbors on their roofs, waiting for help to arrive. Everyone was so grateful to see us and thanked us as they drove by or came out of their houses.
We threw our bags in the dumpsters, helped a few other groups to move their bags and garbage to the dumpsters, and headed to our bus as we were instructed to do. Almost all the other groups had already gotten on their buses and they were waiting for us to load up as well. Just as we turned to walk to our bus, a man from the gathering staff grabbed our group and told us we weren't leaving until the rest of the bags were cleaned up. Miscommunication at its finest. While all the other groups sat on their buses waiting to leave, our group (without complaining, good job everyone!) helped to unload more bags into the dumpsters and tires filled with foul smelling water and cockroaches off the truck onto a pile.
Exhausted, sweaty, and really smelly we crawled back on to our bus to go back to the superdome. We stopped for smoothies on the way back and took turns taking showers. Andrew claims he did both at the same time... he took his smoothie into the shower with him.
We had an amazing dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe that was not only delicious, but had very fast and friendly service. After a show stopping rendition of Don't Stop Believing performed by our whole group, we started our mile and a quarter long walk to the superdome for our last evening. Since we've been in New Orleans, we've learned that the typical greeting when passing another group of youth is simply "AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Tonight's dome included a dance party, a youth participant chosen to speak at the gathering, Rev. Andrena Ingram, and a concert by Switchfoot! On our way home, we split into 2 groups. One group went in the van and one group volunteered to walk. The walking group made it back just fine... the driving group ended up getting stuck behind a car who put their 4 ways on at the corner of Bourbon Street. "We were only at the intersection, but we saw enough!" - Vicky.
The night ended with some of the youth going to the hotel life dance, the Final 15, and a quick dip in the pool before bed.
Highs: Zion City, seeing people's faces, hearing stories of the hurricane, lifting the truck, eating pizza, the Switchfoot concert
Lows: the bugs, no rain (I know, we were shocked with that one too), having a cockroach thrown at me, being attacked by ants in the dumpster
One last early morning tomorrow!
6:30 - 6:45 Breakfast of cereal. We ate our cereal in our hotel glasses with plastic forks because the store down the road didn't have any spoons. At least the glasses made it easier to drink the remaining milk.
7:45 - Meet at the Superdome for a debriefing before leaving for our service project day - community cares.
We found our guide, Angela, holding up our bus number 30B and sat down for an hour long introduction complete with music, a few inspirational videos, and two emcees. The room was buzzing and you could tell everyone was anxious and excited for what was to come. We were told to sit in small groups and discuss what we were nervous about and what we were excited about. Everyone was excited to work and help and no one was very nervous or worried about anything. But I think that was about to change slightly.
We picked up our pre-packed lunches and boarded our bus with Angela and another church. The bus took us to a place called Zion City tucked away into a corner of New Orleans that some of the locals near our hotel had never even heard of. When PJ later explained where the city was, their response was "You went there?!" The streets were run down, many houses were boarded up, trees and plants had taken over many sidewalks, there was garbage littering the area, and a rotten aroma floated around the neighborhood.
We were introduced to the work crew, handed gloves, video taped for the local news!, given tools (although all that was left by the time we got there was large branch clippers), and given an assigned area to work in. Our church was assigned to the side of a road by a small little stream that flooded during Hurricane Katrina. The area was overgrown and there were broken bottles and other garbage mingled in among the weeds. The kids jumped right in and started working... until they saw the first bug. Krista had a rude awakening when Scott tossed a live cockroach at her. High pitched screams filled the air and everyone was a little more cautious about picking up the piles of leaves. Kaitlin was the next to have a cockroach kicked in her direction.
We worked on the roadside for about 30 minutes with another church until the whole area was clean. Then we moved to a nearby lot that was also overgrown and littered with bottles, concrete foundation chunks, bricks, shingles, bags, and other various debris. The youth circled around Kelly for a quick break to cheer her on while she sawed her first log. "Yea Kelly, almost there! Come on, you can do it!" filled the air. When she finally broke the log in half a loud cheer rang out.
At the corner of the lot was a pick-up truck that was clearly broken down and possibly abandoned. The truck was parked over the sidewalk making it impossible to walk by. The kids decided we HAD to move this truck off the sidewalk. 24 youth and 3 adults (Stacey was video taping and Steph took pictures) circled around the truck and formed a plan for moving it. The front had sunk deep into the mud. On the count of 3 everyone lifted and pushed the truck as far as they could... 1 inch. They worked and worked moving the truck a few more inches before no more progress was being made. The front of the truck was too heavy. Another group of youth was walking down the road looking curiously at us and they were recruited as reinforcements. On the count of three, all the boys lifted and the girls pushed. The truck was moved off the sidewalk!
The teens of Hope were also very interested in talking to some of the locals that had come out of the houses to watch them (and take pictures of them moving the truck). Some of our youth approached the families and heard stories of the hurricane, the flooding, and the visuals of seeing their neighbors on their roofs, waiting for help to arrive. Everyone was so grateful to see us and thanked us as they drove by or came out of their houses.
 |
| Talking to locals |
We threw our bags in the dumpsters, helped a few other groups to move their bags and garbage to the dumpsters, and headed to our bus as we were instructed to do. Almost all the other groups had already gotten on their buses and they were waiting for us to load up as well. Just as we turned to walk to our bus, a man from the gathering staff grabbed our group and told us we weren't leaving until the rest of the bags were cleaned up. Miscommunication at its finest. While all the other groups sat on their buses waiting to leave, our group (without complaining, good job everyone!) helped to unload more bags into the dumpsters and tires filled with foul smelling water and cockroaches off the truck onto a pile.
 |
| Jon climbed up the side to give it a little extra push |
 |
| Caleb, Andrew, and Alex helped out by climbing into the dumpsters to catch bags |
Exhausted, sweaty, and really smelly we crawled back on to our bus to go back to the superdome. We stopped for smoothies on the way back and took turns taking showers. Andrew claims he did both at the same time... he took his smoothie into the shower with him.
We had an amazing dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe that was not only delicious, but had very fast and friendly service. After a show stopping rendition of Don't Stop Believing performed by our whole group, we started our mile and a quarter long walk to the superdome for our last evening. Since we've been in New Orleans, we've learned that the typical greeting when passing another group of youth is simply "AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Tonight's dome included a dance party, a youth participant chosen to speak at the gathering, Rev. Andrena Ingram, and a concert by Switchfoot! On our way home, we split into 2 groups. One group went in the van and one group volunteered to walk. The walking group made it back just fine... the driving group ended up getting stuck behind a car who put their 4 ways on at the corner of Bourbon Street. "We were only at the intersection, but we saw enough!" - Vicky.
The night ended with some of the youth going to the hotel life dance, the Final 15, and a quick dip in the pool before bed.
Highs: Zion City, seeing people's faces, hearing stories of the hurricane, lifting the truck, eating pizza, the Switchfoot concert
Lows: the bugs, no rain (I know, we were shocked with that one too), having a cockroach thrown at me, being attacked by ants in the dumpster
One last early morning tomorrow!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Who's building the ark?
8:45 - meet in the lobby for breakfast (yay we got to sleep in!)
9:00 - make other plans for breakfast because there were people in our favorite breakfast spot
9:10 - stumble upon Daisy Duke's
Our group split into smaller tables and enjoyed things like omelets, eggs, grits, home fries, and biscuits and gravy. We had a very enjoyable breakfast (the adults minus Stacey sat at the bar, but no one had a bottomless bloody mary) and started to get ready to leave. As we started looking towards the door, we noticed it had started to rain... nay monsoon and it would only get worse. Everyone donned their ponchos (PJ bought a few more so everyone now had one except Dolores who stuck to her trusty umbrella) and we began the walk in the pouring down rain.
One by one, holes began to form in ponchos, feet landed in huge puddles, heads and faces were drenched by water streaming down from buildings, and manhole covers rattled and bounced off the holes from water pressure below. Rivers formed in the streets so deep that we were up to our ankles in water when crossing at the corners. It only took a few blocks for most of us to realize it was hopeless and we began to enjoy walking in the rain and finding the fun in it all. UNTIL... a huge bolt of lightning struck the ground just in front of us not even a block away. Devin was in the front of the line and turned around on a dime running nearly smack into Pastor Jami who may or may not have yelled something that cannot be repeated on a Christian blog site :X We all very quickly sought shelter under a nearby building until the lightning moved away.
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| Just to the left of the front wheel of that bicycle is a manhole spewing water. |
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| This was just after the lightning struck. We sought shelter here and waited singing. |
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| Alex and David walking in a river... I mean on a sidewalk |
After some waiting and singing (the Arky Arky song) the lightning moved on and we were able to continue although still in the pouring rain and flowing streams, er streets. We made it to the convention center with sopping wet shoes but mainly damp clothing. Thanks, ponchos!
In the convention center, we attended a mini worship service with about 3,000 people and then we were set free among various activities including a zipline, inflatible games, blood donation station, crafts, a flash mob practice, sports, ping pong, wall building, water carrying simulation, foot washing, and soooooo much more. We didn't even get to half of it. We had lunch in the convention center and the kids made some new friends to play Ninja with.
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| a much smaller worship |
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| New friends |
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| Carrying water as they would in Africa. This is why we collected money for wells |
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| Blood givers |
Thanks to Dave and Barb, we acquired a van to help us travel in the rain. Unfortunately Dave didn't make it to the car rental place and back to the convention center in time to get us to Bubba Gump's for our reservations, so we had to walk. However, it wasn't raining nearly as much as it had been earlier today.
Bubba Gump's provided our Seafood eaters with a chance to try out the famous shrimp and us non seafood eaters to enjoy a cheeseburger, chicken strips, or a chicken Caesar salad and for everyone to enjoy the chocolate cake. Our waitress Courtney got a special treat when Scott yelled out his phone number to her. Little did he know how good she was at remember numbers. She put it in her phone and called him from a booth nearby.
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| Our waitress, Courtney, calling Scott |
The superdome was amazing as usual. It had a laser light show, had a band, speakers including a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a man who spoke about bullying that some had seen in a documentary in school, a moving rendition of Jesus Loves Me on the saxophone, and a touching ending that cannot even be explained in words.
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| This Little Light of Mine |
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| The ending |
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| When the lights came up |
At the conclusion of the dome, we had to stay later to receive instructions on giving communion on Sunday morning. We will be giving communion to a whole section of the stadium.
Because it was so late, we did not participate in hotel life tonight but instead went right back to the hotel for the Final 15.
Highs: the speakers, making out with a straw because you've got to start somewhere, walking in the rain, hugging people, what a great group we are and how everyone always gets along, the closing of the dome, zipline, getting over my fear of giving blood
Lows: watching ***** making out with the straw, the lightning bolt, wet/cold feet, the rain, not being able to do everything in the convention center
Good night, New Orleans! We have an early morning tomorrow... superdome at 7:45AM
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