Hey All,
This is my final chapter of our NYWC Sojourn. However I do have to back track just a bit. When Carla & Rob arrived, Carla had prepared goodie bags for all of us, with snacks, a bottle of water, gum, and most importantly POST-IT notes. So on Saturday night our 2 lovely interns (Erin & Amy) decided it would be fun to write very, very cool notes to all of us and post them on our hotel doors. THANK YOU ERIN & AMY for the affirmations!!!!
Now, for the funny part of the story. While at Primanti’s on Sun night, some “hot” guys came in, and Erin, Amy & Carla worked really hard to get a picture of them. Fast forward to the GenSes on Sunday night….and lo and behold, who were the “hot” guys? David Crowder’s band……OK, I’m not done, this get’s better. Rob & Carla are on the elevator later Sunday night with the violin player from Crowder’s band, and they’re talking with him, and he get’s off on floor 12 (our floor), and he says he can’t remember which room he’s in. Rob comments
that there’s post-it notes all over his door, so it’s easy to find, and the violin player says…”I saw those, I’m across the hall”. OK, I’m still not done…..we’re hanging out in my room(same as Rob’s), and Erin and Carla decide it would be funny to POST IT note the violin player’s door….so they do. With me singing the theme from Mission Impossible they sneak across the hall and do their thing. Needless to say….youth ministry people are easily amused.
Ok, to Monday…
We meet down in the lobby, and head to the Steel City Diner. This is your typical greasy spoon, but as we discovered 4 years ago….oh my, what a breakfast. The best breakfast 6 bucks will buy you anywhere I’ve ever eaten!!!!
We then head over to the CC, and hang out until our final session. Some of us helped take down the affirmation signs(pieces of paper that people can write messages to whomever….ha ha bob, ha ha). We’ll have our’s posted in my office if you’d like to see them. We head in for GenSes7 and we have what best can be described as a hard rock worship band…I know that sounds like a dichotomy, but it actually did work. The Skit Guys presented a couple of dramas….the final one especially moving. Then we had our final speaker. This spot was always
occupied by Mike Yaconelli, the founder of Youth Specialties, however, Mike was tragically killed in an automobile accident several years ago, so Mark Oestreicher, current president of YS has spoken on the last day. I’m not a huge fan of Mark, although I do have to say, I am warming up to him, but I have to be honest in that his message today was drop dead right on the money! He didn’t give the message he had worked on for 6+ weeks, but spoke from his heart on what had occurred this weekend. And….I have to say, it was one of the most timely (and powerful) messages I have heard at YS.
After the session, we loaded up and drove home. Lot’s of good conversation on the trip back, and…..I’m glad to be home!!!!
God Bless
Joel
