Monday, July 27, 2009

New Orleans Trip a Success!

Our group standing by the Mississippi River near the Gulf Coast. We had 25 students and 5 adults.
Every night we went to the Super dome to hear speakers and Christian bands. What an experience!

We are home! Our bus drivers pushed hard all the way through and we arrived at 9am this morning in Madelia. We are all tired, sore, bedraggled, and inspired. Thank you all for supporting us so that we could have this experience. Thank you to the parents for trusting us with your children! Thank you, kids, for being great troopers! We will share more about our experience at the Stockholders Supper on August 15 at 5:30pm at Zion in Hanska. The Stockholders Supper is for (1) People who bought stocks in the youth, (2) People who supported the youth monetarily in any way, (3) The youth and their families. Please join us for some pictures and videos of our trip! We will also be sharing some highlights of the trip during worship for the next few weeks. Praise God for a great trip and safe return.




Saturday, July 25, 2009

We had another busy day! Today we toured the French Quarter, did some final shopping, went to some workshops and had pizza for supper. We were at the Superdome once again tonight and heard the author Don Miller, a woman who started a running club for the homeless in Philadelphia, lots of bands and the Mayor of New Orleans! Tonight people are beginning to pack and get ready for our return trip tomorrow. We have to load the bus at 6:15 tomorrow morning because there will be hundreds of busses loading in the downtown area. At around 9:30 we have worship at the Superdome and then we head home. We should be home a little before 12:00 and it may even be earlier. We will call first thing in the morning to let you know. We look forward to seeing you all!

Aaron

Friday, July 24, 2009

Hello everyone! It is 3:21 in the afternoon and we finished our service project just a few hours ago. We went to an elementary school on the west bank of New Orleans to hang out with third graders. We read to them, helped them finish an assignment and just had a good time with them. It is interesting to note that their original school was devastated by Katrina and they now meet in a series of double wide trailers. The group is still having a good time and right now they are getting a few hours rest before we head to the Superdome for more speakers. Tonight we will hear from a former child soldier and a band called the Katinas.

Tomorrow we spend a day at the convention center attending workshops on faith, God, the Bible and the culture of New Orleans.

It is hard to believe that we only have two more nights in New Orleans and that we will be back on Monday!

Blessings, Aaron
We had another great day yesterday. We spent the day in the interaction center playing games, seeing displays from locations all around the world and meeting people from across the country. It is amazing how small the Lutheran world is!

For supper last night we all sampled authentic New Orleans food in the French quarter. Some folks had catfish, some had muffalettas (a type of New Orleans sandwich) and some had po' boys. Everyone agreed that the food was really good. Tonight we might do something more mundane like Pizza!

Yesterday we had another wonderful gathering at the Superdome. We heard some amazing speakers and listened to some amazing bands. It truly is remarkable to feel the energy of 37, 000 people singing, dancing and praising God.

This morning we are headed out for our service day. We are scheduled to go to a local elementary school to help children learn how to read. It should be an interesting day!

This afternoon we have some free time to tour more of the city and then we have another gathering tonight in the Superdome. Everyone is doing really well, eating well and having a great time. I hope you are too!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Greetings from New Orleans! We made it safely here after about a twenty hour bus ride. Most of the kids were able to get some sleep. You know sleeping upright in a seat is really hard!

Last night we got settled in our hotel and went to our first gathering at the Superdome. We heard wonderful speakers and great music. Just imagine 37,000 people cheering and having a good time celebrating Christ's love for all of us!

All of us were really happy to sleep in real beds last night and everyone slept really, really well.

Tonight will be our second Superdome event and we will hear more bands and hear Jay Bakker speak. This afternoon we will see some displays about the ELCA at the convention center, ride a New Orleans streetcar and visit the French quarter. As I write this right now, your kids are doing some shopping.

Later in the week we will help kids read at a local elementary school and do some learning about New Orleans culture. Everyone is in good spirits and having a great time. You should be proud of all of them! God bless!

Aaron

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Youth Trip postings coming soon!


Come to this site to see what our youth will be up to in New Orleans. Imagine...36,000 Lutheran youth all praising God at the Superdome.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Home from Nicaragua







What an experience! As I told our hosts in Nicaragua, "I have a lot to chew on. With God's help, I will be able to share the stories of the people of Nicaragua in light of the Gospel." I want the stories of the people to convict us to act on our Christian faith. The lives of the people in Nicaragua are similar to the lives of poor people the world over. The problems of poverty, hunger and abuse of the environment are so overwhelming, but we need to start somewhere. And we in the United States are blessed with the energy and resources to start making a positive difference in the world. Thanks for all the prayers during my journey!



Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Everyday of this trip, we have hit the ground running. Sunday was our only relaxed day. I have learned so much, but now I almost feel like my brain is overloaded. The more we learn, the more I realize how so many things are interconnected. The black and white disappears and gray becomes the main color. But when it comes to climate change and its impact on people who are food insecure and in poverty, we need to start somewhere. The enormity of the problem can´t scare us into inaction. We are still called to serve others in Christ´s name. And that means getting educated on the best way to do that. We are all connected in the body of Christ and when one part of us is hurting, we cannot just stand by.

Today we visited with a professor of water ecology and he spoke to us on the impact of cattle grazing, deforestation, pesticide use and soil erosion and the effect these things have on the water supply. It was very technical, but interesting. Then we had lunch with Lutheran World Relief board members. They hold their annual meetings in the countries where they have active projects. We got to learn about the kinds of projects that they are doing that supports sustainable agricultural practices. Part of the money that you put in the offering plate goes to the synod benevolences and part of that money goes to fund Lutheran World Relief. The work that they do in the developing world is crucial and I was glad that we are supporters of their mission.

After lunch we spent the afternoon with representatives of various NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations). They talked to us about the importance of a new model for development. Previous when governments or large corporations have looked development plans, they only look at it from an economic standpoint. Now they realize that development needs to be looked at with concern for economic, environmental, and sustainability factors taken into account. For example, many people here believe that the free trade agreements NAFTA and CAFTA only benefited US companies at the expense of Central American countries. After meeting with the NGOs when had dinner with representatives of Lutheran World Service. It has been a full day with so much information to process. At least the weather has been gorgeous while we have been here, a balmy 90 degrees or so.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Today we hit the ground running by having a meeting with a leading independent journalist. She was wonderful and she had much to share with us about the history of the Sandinista Revolution. It is good to have the perspective of someone from Nicaragua who could help sort out the complexities of the history of the last 30 years. There is too much to put in a blog post, and it isn´t as black and white as our US history books would lead us to believe. The next meeting we had today was with the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources from Daniel Ortega´s government. She was late for our meeting because her morning meeting with President Ortega went long. That was also an interesting meeting. We have definitely had access to some big hitters down here.

Our ELCA delegation has had many interesting conversations as we process our experience. Our delegation consists of people from age 18 to 72 years old. I love the perspective of each one. We have been given lots of food for thought. I have learned so much. I just hope that I am able to assimilate this information and share with you all in a way that is fruitful and challenges us all to grow in our faith.

By the way, the weather has been gorgeous and warm every day here. It does not make me want to return to the Minnesota winter!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Today was a day of worship and sightseeing. This was our first day of relaxation on the whole trip. We have been leaving by 6 or 7am every morning and getting back around 9pm every night, and covering mucho territory. We went to worship with Lutherans today! The Lutheran church in Nicaragua is a young church, about 15 years old. And it is mushrooming in size each year. The faith story of people is much different than the faith story of most of us. When we are asked why we are Lutherans, we usually say, ¨because I was born Lutheran or married a Lutheran.¨ All the Lutherans here are Lutheran by choice. They are Lutherans because Lutherans here are known for going to the poorest areas and tackling the toughest issues that other churches refuse to address. The Lutherans here are active politically on behalf of the poor and they have AIDS education programs. Worship this morning was amazing. I can´t even describe it, but I am definitely going to introduce our churches to some of what I experienced here. The sense of community in worship was awesome! Bishop Victoria Cortez was preaching this morning. She is the bishop of the entire Nicaraguan church and she is a fireball! And she has such vision. The youth group led the music at church and they are involved in so many projects in the life of the church. The youth are integral to the workings of this church. After lunch we went to see an active volcano. Sulfur was still pouring out of it. Then we went to a huge artesan market and I bought some lovely things. What a day!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

I am being transformed through this experience. I am learning so much and being so challenged in my thinking and acting. God´s voice has been speaking intensely throughout this experience, and we are only half way through! What we are learning is important. I just spent two days on the Eastern Coast of Nicaragua on the Atlantic Ocean. The lives of the people there are so different than the lives of the people on the West Coast. It is 585 kilometers (or almost 400 miles) from coast to coast, but there is a world of difference. And on both sides, there is extreme poverty. The people on each side of the country are competing for limited resources. We visited indegenous communities who were affected by Hurrican Felix in 2007. And we visited with leaders from ecumenical organizations while on the East Coast.

To get these communities on the East Coast, near Puerto Cabezas, we traveled in the flatbed of a truck. There were plastic patio chairs to sit on. The dirt road was full of ruts and pot holes. At one point, we had to get out to lighten the load and push the truck through a tough patch. After a few hours we made it to a few communities of people who have barely received any aid since the Hurricane. They were patching things the best they could. Their main concern was seeing their babies die from lack of medical supplies, doctors, or from childbirth itself. It was so painful to hear their stories through two translators - first from Mesquito and then from Spanish. Even through two layers of translation you could see the deep pain of mothers who had lost children. They looked at us for support, and all we had the moment was our tears. They are stuck in a system of deprivation so deep and complex that they have no control over. They don´t know about what scientists are saying about climate change, they just know that in the last 25 years life has been more unpredictable. Before Hurricane Felix there was no word for such a disaster in their language. These people place all their trust in God because God is all they have. And we ponder ways that we can change these systems and environmental practices that harm so many people that are intimately connected to us, who we may never meet. Tomorrow we go to a Lutheran Church in Managua. It will be wonderful to experience worship in another country. I am so excited to praise God in Spanish tomorrow. My Portuguese is coming in handy since these languages are so similar.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

CHECK OUT THESE BLOGS ABOUT THE NICARAGUA TRIP:

http://blogs.elca.org/hungerrumblings


http://blogs.elca.org/09nicaraguatrip/
Early yesterday (Wednesday) morning piled into our van and headed to the northwestern part of the country near the Pacific Coast. We went to visit various poor farming communities to learn about their lives, struggles and faith. All of these areas were struck by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the same year as Minnesota´s terrible tornado. There had never been a hurricane at that latitude on the Pacific Coast before. It was a completely new occurrance. People are still trying to rebuild today. They are still facing unpredictable weather patterns. We talked to many old farmers and they all said that things have changed for them so drastically that it is impossible to adjust. Over the last 20 years, the dry seasons and rainy seasons do not come at the same times anymore. They used to have two planting seasons, one in May and one in August, but now that has been all thrown off. And when they don´t produce anything for a season, they don´t get any help from the government. Many of the men are forced to migrate to El Salvador or Costa Rica to find work when their crops fail. The communities we visited were full of mothers and children, but few young men. It was really heart wrenching. At the same time, we saw some glimmers of hope. There are Lutheran World Federation projects in each of these villages. The projects include basic irrigation systems, wells, schools, and new churches. All of these projects have been funded through the benevolences that we give to the synod through our offerings. I also got draw water from a well today by cranking a wheel to draw the water up. It took about 4 minutes of constant pumping to fill a 5 gallon bucket. It was hard work and the women of the village do it everyday multiple times and carry the buckets on their heads. Amazing. The Lutheran Church in Nicaragua has doubled its membership in the last 10 years. We found out the reason for this. One community member said, ¨When our lives were devastated by the hurricane, no one came to help us except the Lutherans.¨ That was amazing to hear.
Another thing that I am so struck by is the interconnectedness of so many issues. Poverty and hunger are tied to climate changes, economic policies from the US and Nicaragua, education policies, health care, and immigration to other countries and the US. As we learn more about all these things, it is overwhelming. But I know that God is here and that there is hope. Tomorrow morning at 4:30am, we fly to the East Coast to visit areas devastated by Hurricane Felix in 2007. I will write again on Sunday.



Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Our group is great. It is most people in their 20s and 30s and a handful retirees. All the people on the trip are excited about changing the world for the better and do some sort of service or advocacy work in their various fields. The weather here is amazing. The frigid tundra air that I have left behind was crisp and dry. Here it is pleasantly humid with the earthy smells of trees and bushes thick with mangoes, avocados and limes. Birds are everywhere in the canopy of the urban jungle that is Managua. So far we have met with a high up government minister who toed the line about all of his government´s policies. We also met with a top climate change scientist who presented issues that I had never considered before about the effects of pollution. For example, all of the plastic bottles and bags that are produced and thrown away find their way to the slums and dumps. And when it rains all the plastic fills with water and attracts many more mosquitoes than they have ever had. And these mosquitoes usually carry dengue or malaria and they infect the people who inhabit the slums and the people who pick through the garbage. That is one byproduct of our consumer waste that I had never thought of. We also talked to the director of Martin Luther King Jr University, an ecumenical college down here. Everyone we meet down here has congratulated us on our new president today, even people in the restaurants and on the street. Tomorrow I head to the west coast to an area of extreme poverty. I will not have internet access for a few days.