Today was the day…we got BEIGNETS (“ben-yay-s”) from Cafe du Monde! They are a staple of New Orleans. One order comes with three pillowy, powdered sugar covered donuts that were well worth the wait. And a few of us ventured to go get gluten free and vegan “beignets” that were pretty tasty too!
We eventually made our way over to the convention center for another day of sessions, Bible study, exhibitors and games. Pastor Matt and Deaconess Sylvia had us look at several people in the Bible who complained and rebelled, yet they endured in their faith. We are a COW – cloud of witnesses as Hebrews says. As a church body, we are never alone and are always connected in faith.
Sessions attended today included another round of girls and boys only sessions, “The Gospel According to…Spotify?”, eschatology, self-esteem, and more. In the girls only session, we learned several things during a Q&A, including our identity is in Christ regardless of what is happening around us or the expectations people put on us, and also that we are not obligated to stay in toxic relationships.
To relieve us of a bit of stress, we decided to order in pizza for the group. One can only handle long lines or finding out that a restaurant has no seats for you so many times!
We then headed back to the Superdome for another mass event. What an incredible night learning that “we belong”. A few notable quotes from several people:
“Make your home in the hands of God.”
“We get a seat at this table because God is the gracious host who wants you there.”
“You belong.”
Rev. Dr. Ziegler was our speaker for the evening and talked about how church should be like a good Louisiana gumbo – diverse unity with a little bit of spice. God is the creator, the base is Jesus who defines us through His sacrificial blood, and we are the guests, the body of Christ. No one ever makes a small pot of gumbo though. You make a big one for the whole neighborhood, and we “should plan for nothing short of the whole world” when it comes to who is invited to have this big pot of gumbo.
Gumbo is good, and so is that teaching.
We had the pleasure of sticking around after the mass event for another mass event plus experience – a Rend Collective concert! They are a phenomenal group from Ireland who love Jesus and love having fun. Jan might have left the building with almost no voice.
We made it back to the hotel, made plans for the next day, and sent everyone off to bed. It’s nearly impossible to get enough sleep during this trip. At this point we’re running on excitement and other people’s energy. But it’s all worth it.
