Friday July 24th

Sleep in day! It was great for everyone to sleep in till 8:30 or so. Everyone needed it. Today we went to the learning center. The learning center has activities and projects designed to look at Faith an Service from a different perspective. Many of the activities were geared at showing the kids how one person could make big changes in the world, How they can make a difference. After the learning center, we decided to take the trolley on a sight seeing tour of the garden district of New Orleans. No one we talked to knew anything about the trolley. Could we buy passes somewhere? Do you have to have exact change? So many people had no clue, or gave us wrong information. Sheri finally found a person that knew that we could buy 22 tickets at once, and didn’t need to have $22 in Quarters for the $2.50 fair. We got to a stop, and waited for a trolley. Most o the times we waited for one they passed our stop by, because they were too full to take us. We saw one coming and as it stopped for us decided that we should walk to the next stop, so we wouldn’t miss and of the city on the tally route. While waiting at the next stop a local man drove up and told us thanks for being in he city, and informed us that we were at the wrong stop. The next trolley coming was packed and we wouldn’t get on. He told us to go back to the previous stop and wait there. He was right, and the next trolley came with enough room for us. It was a very hot wait, but finally out of the sun with a bit of a breeze, we felt a little cooler.
The garden district passed by many New Orleans mansions, that I would compare to Summit avenue in St. Paul. Once off the trolley we decided to walk to the dome for the evening mass gathering. On the way two of the girls informed us that their water bottles stunk, and they didn’t have any water with. They just waited till 4 o’clock in the afternoon, when they were next to heat exhaustion to tell us. Sheri and Cindy stopped at a grocery store while we walked to get a couple of gallons of water to replenish their bottles, and we were off to the dome.

As we waited at the front of the line in front of the only gate they let people in the night before, a police man told us that a gate around the building was open and we should go there. After 10 minutes or so of him yelling at us in a mega-phone, many from our group decided to do as he said and start that way. I noticed another man jumping up and checking the crowd, and he told the police man that they would indeed be opening the gate…too late we had to re-group behind 2 or 3 hundred that got in front of us when the change was made.

Friday Speakers

The speakers again were all young people that were meant to show the kids one person could make a difference. All of the speakers had very powerful messages, on a seemingly small idea that grew into a growing ministry. Spencer West is a man who had no legs from the waist down, and talked about how he fought with God’s calling until he realized that instead of trying to fit in, he could do work BECAUSE he was different. Michael Chikawonie was abducted as a 5 year old boy into the Siere Leone conflict. He was drugged, had to shoot his best friend, and later escaped. He ran for 2 or three days straight, to get away from the rebels. Back with his family he became an advocate for peace. A powerful testimony of Hope against very tough odds.

Friday Night Life

After our long hot day, most of us decided to go home early, and try and hit the pool. We had skipped supper so I ordered Pizza for the kids. It was expensive, but good. Some did a bit of shopping before they came back to the Hotel.
Along our walks back to the French Quarter, there are lots of street musicians. Most are better than any others I've heard (on the street or in a club). Electric guitar blues and vocals, 3 person accapella groups. Acoustic (amplified) guitars, Brass Bands, Sax players. I still havn't seen any Zydaco (spelling?). Zydaco is the cajun, accordian players.