June 28th 2018

We all woke up in the Whitewall Hotel, where our denomination booked out for our trip. We were required to meet in the lobby before we started our day. Once we met, we all chatted with our neon green matching shirts(there were about 16 of us), and walked around downtown Houston for Synod Day. We fit right in with the other people in the East Washington and the Idaho region. We worshipped together and shared our beliefs in small groups for the morning. In the afternoon, we took our presence to a restaurant, even though it was far past lunch. Even in the restaurant, the waiters seemed to have the same emotion and influence we had in the worship center an hour before. After our late lunch, we took the metro to the Astrodome. In the train, people asked us “What’s up with all the kids in matching shirts?”. We simply told them it was a nation wide youth gathering with about 30 thousand participants. They were astonished that the ELCA was right in their hometown; Alike the same attitude of waiters in the restaurants. For a few moments, we had some self-fame. After we left the metro and went to the NRG Stadium where we worshipped that evening, several guest speakers preached about how God touched their lives. With one man, it was being blessed with something he already paid for, and bearing a daughter. With another, it was health. Whatever the scenario, God is always with us!

-Colter Sprague, Hope Lutheran Church

Some photos from Pastor Meggan  to accompany the journal entry above (not necessarily in the order they happened).