Minneapolis

This is the inside of the Mall of America, or as the cool kids in Minneapolis call it, Moa. It pretty much has a county fair going on in the middle of it. I would actually probably NOT want to be there during the Christmas rush. Can you imagine the chaos?

Ok, so the real reason I was in Minneapolis (alas, not to shop) was for this years PowerPlant Coordinator's Retreat. It is so special for me to be around all these churchplanters, some of which are YOUNGER than me! One story I will share with you is an aspect of PowerPlant that they talked a lot about at the conference. There are four summer staffers (like I used to be) that after experiencing PowerPlant, felt like they should start a church on the campus of University of Minnesota. Jacob's Well has been meeting for over 2 years now and is growing in new believers. There is even a PowerPlant project in the summer time in Minneapolis, all from what God has done with some guys that signed up to be on a summer mission trip. Pretty amazing.
Here's two of those very guys leading us in a worship time.
We took a tour of the city and we went to the campus/down town area that is I guess the trendy spot. It is called Dinkytown which I think is so cute.
This is me and Noah. He is the Ministry Coordinator I work with for the St. Louis project. The church he planted in St. Louis' Soulard area launched in August. It is called August Gate and they are doing some really neat things. Noah is an unbelievable preacher. You may not think from this picture that he can preach so mightily, but whew- he does. We had SO MUCH FUN in St. Louis last summer and I am so excited to plan all this with him again.

And last but not least. The milkshakes. Amazing.

So that is all about the conference... except for the adventurous journey back to Mobile. The luck I have with flight delays is bizarre. And I mean Un-luck. I think I get delayed/miss flights more than the average person. Anyway, my flight to Atlanta from MN kept getting pushed farther back, to the point that when it finally arrived in Atlanta, I had precisely 22 minutes to make my connecting flight to Mobile.

The race was ON.

Yes, I sprinted in my skinny jeans across FOUR TERMINALS and up one escalator. I found D26 (located at the VERY END no less) and arrived huffy like an asthmatic smoker. They had already shut the gate, but I guess the wild look in my eyes stirred something in the lady behind the counter's heart, because without a word, she scanned my ticket and re-opened the gate door for me. I ran to the plane, they let me on, still huffing like a marathon runner.

Once on the plane, I threw up my hands in spirit fingers and in with all the enthusiasm I could muster went, "WHOO! I MADE IT!" to all the other riders. I thought some would join in on the excitement, but it was stone silent and so awkward. Chirp. Chirp. I just went to my seat, glad I was in that seat!

Anyway, so all in all, it was a great trip, saw many dear friends, and my students didn't kill their Substitute Teacher.

One more quick story: I went to the Bank today and let PJ Joey ride in the backseat. The tellers at the window sent her a doggie treat through the little bank thing! They give little kids suckers and dogs little treats! LOVE IT!