The convention center in Atlanta was ginormous!! We walked miles and miles all weekend long. (Bring on the junk food! We have a way to counteract its effects!) There were opportunities to buy Starbucks about every two feet. That place makes a killing!
The nat'l youth workers' convention has 3 main parts: the elective seminars, the exhibition hall (where different missions and ministry organizations promote themselves to youth leaders), and the general sessions (with concerts, speakers, comedy, drama, worship, and the like). This is what our view looked like during most general sessions. That's the first day, and that's convention director Tic Long welcoming us. This year's theme was "Storyline" (finding ourselves in God's grand story; we all take part in it).
We got to reunite with our dear brother and friend Jake (fellow youth pastor). It was like no time passed at all. Don't you love friends like that?
Jake and Beth, his lovely wife.
Dave & me.
Loree, Darrin, Dave (and Eli!) going through the exhibition hall, signing up for freebies & collecting information. That lady was just like, "Can I hold him?" 
We walked through the Olympic Park on the way to/from the hotel every day. It was beautiful. The Christmas decorations are already in full swing, while the trees still had "fall" written all over them! (red leaves, Christmas bow on the lamppost). That's our hotel in the background, the tall round one with the white lights.
Worship time during the general sessions was pretty great. We got to worship with Chris Tomlin twice and David Crowder once (and all three times were wayyyyyyyyyyy too short). We had other worship leaders for the other sessions and they were just "okay".
Last session, worship led by Steve Fee. Not too shabby!
Darrin & Lorree had a great time. They loved it.
I will be posting more thoughts later... It's such a fun getaway for me every year. Yay God!
