From the French Quarter to France
Perhaps it was a crazy idea to go from New Orleans and the French Quarter with our youth to attending the Olympics in Paris, France. A crazy good idea. One of the things that really spoke to me during both trips was the sense of community. How so many are gathered together to celebrate. While both communities were wildly different, there were many great connectors.
Through both experiences, I had the opportunity to make new friends…whether it was youth leaders from other ELCA churches, or being adopted by the parents of the New Zealand women’s soccer (football) team. A great gem of a quote came from one of the team dads, Ian Foster (the former All-Blacks coach), who told me that he supposed it was fine that I moved from California to Iowa because Jesus told me to do it. And that I went from a youth event of 16,000 people to a rugby match with 70,000 in attendance. Between the two weeks, I walked 84.02 miles, or in Olympic terms, 90 Ledecky swims. Enjoy a few photos from the experience!†
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