We have a wonderful sending from Rochester this morning around 8:30am.  Our travels to Detroit were uneventful.  We enjoyed a beautiful lunch stop at a rest area by the Illinois State Line.  The Zumbro group had a great time sleeping, watching a movie and talking with the other Rochester churches on our bus.  We traveled with Good Shepherd and Hosanna Lutheran Churches.  It was a nice ride in a coach bus from Sugar Loaf Coaches, driven by our own Zumbro member, Earl Kinneberg.  We arrived at our Doubletree Hotel in Dearborn, MI around 8:30pm.  We got settled into our beautiful rooms.  We ended our evening with a pizza dinner/evening devotion together.  A highlight of the evening came when graduated senior, Ahymad Lee stated, “Quack, quack, seat back” to keep his chair when he went to get more pizza to eat!  I feel that many more memorable laughs will come on this trip!! As you can see from the picture, the Gathering is here and we are ready to RISE UP!  We are excited for what tomorrow brings….to learn more about the ELCA church through each other and the city of Detroit! –Kris Oppegard