Day 1

We finally arrived on campus.  The bus ride was fine, although very long!  Everyone was ready to get off the bus.  Once we got all the luggage off as well as the teens, the leaders went to get checked in.  Then everyone got showers!  But not the type of showers that everyone really wanted.  It down poured on everyone outside.  I (as a leader getting everyone registered inside) felt so bad that everyone else was sitting outside with the luggage!  We ended up having time to clean up and relax in our rooms before the church service.

 The worship service was an amazing way to start off this rally.  It was in this huge arena!  Here are our teens before the worship service started. 

 The worship service was led by a band called Koine.  I have heard them before and knew that this was going to be great.  As a leader I was drawn right in.  The worship service was a traditional worship service with a TON of music involved.  Most of what Koine sang was familiar hymns but to new-ish melodies.  Check out their website at: http://www.koinemusic.com/

 After the service there were several announcements.  There are 1,666 participants for this year's rally.  Our district, Northern Wisconsin, had the most of all the districts.  There are participants from all 12 WELS districts and Canada!  We also went through rules and regulations and a big welcome!  We were also encouraged to take selfies of ourselves to post to social media.  Now my phone isn't fancy enough for that, but maybe tomorrow I can get some of them that I saw the teens take.

 After we left the arena we all went down to "The Hub" for some entertainment and food.  The girls came up to me and said, "Look, it's water in a can!" (that's what the picture is about) There was pizza, hot dogs, chips, cookies, and more!  The teens could watch the comedy show going on under the tent or participate in a ton of physical activities.  Some of the teens went swimming while others went on the blow up games.  My husband and I had fun eating and catching up with many friends from all over the US that are here.  Pastor met up with some of his catechism class that he taught in Canada when he was a vicar up there a few years ago.

At the end of the night we gather together in our church groups to do one more Bible reflection before bedtime.  Tonight our reflection was about how shame can effect our lives in a negative way and how God's unconditional love is the only remedy for it.  It was so great to see all the teens participating and answering questions. Here we are studying together.  Tomorrow is going to be a jam packed day.  Hopefully everyone will get some sleep, probably more than they did last night on the bus!