Max, 10th grade

I had an amazing time at the ELCA National Youth Gathering. I wasn’t really sure what to expect outside of the Mass Gatherings each night, but whatever my expectations were, they were definitely exceeded. 

I saw God in so many places during this trip. Yes, during the Mass Gatherings, which were full of amazing songs, speakers, dances, emcees, and more, but also outside of the Mass Gatherings. 

One place that I really saw God was in the community itself. A very popular activity over the entirety of the trip was to trade or “swap” items with members of other churches or groups. Our church had stickers to swap or give away, but other very common items were rubber bracelets, clothes pins, and regular pins. I traded items with people from Minnesota and Wisconsin, but also from people across the country! Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Idaho, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina, and more! 

Which brings me into my next “God sighting.” Last summer, our church went to North Carolina to take part in an organization called “The Dwellings” that focuses on providing opportunities and comfort for homeless people. While there, I met one of my best friends, Elizabeth. During the trip, we didn’t talk all that much, but Elizabeth followed our youth group on Instagram, and through our profile, she found me, and we started talking. Slowly but surely, we started having daily conversations and our bond became super strong, even though a screen. One day she said, “I better see you at the National Youth Gathering,” and then I was determined to go. Luckily, our youth leader also had full intentions on going, and we made it happen. 

Before the trip, I was very nervous I was never going to see her. After all, there were over 16,000 youth through adults attending the gathering. The first time we saw each other was in line for nachos (lol) and I ran up to her and hugged her. After that, I didn’t really see her again for a while except one time when walking back from the next night’s Mass Gathering. After the gatherings, there were “community” gatherings in several of the hotels near the main venue. Elizabeth and I went to different hotels for most of the week, but I was determined to see her at least one more time before we left because we had been COUNTING DOWN the days until we could see each other again. Luckily, with the help of others from our church, we convinced Allison to go to her hotel instead of the one we had been going to, and I spent the whole night with Elizabeth. We danced, made a tiktok, took pictures, and made lifelong memories in the short time we had. We had to leave a little earlier than we usually would have had to because we were further away from the hotel we were staying at, and that was really hard. 

When it was time to say goodbye, I felt a wave of emotion come over me and while hugging her for the last time, i started crying. That was when I felt God the most, because God was what brought us together. Once, then twice, and I’m sure again and again God will bring us together. It’s hard to say goodbye to somebody who is lives 1,151 miles away from you, but I know God will make our bond even stronger than it was before. 

Throughout the week, we did many things to be close with God and appreciate God’s work, but it was with Elizabeth that I felt the closest to God. 

I’m so thankful I got to go on this trip, and I’m glad I could strengthen my faith in such a way as this.