Wednesday we didn't end up going to the conference at all, but instead spent time with Justus and Priscilla because they were going to leave for the frozen state of MN to "catch" a wedding (Not their's. Don't worry. I would have informed you of that. ;) ). So our first destination was Underground Atlanta. Let me just say first off: Don't go! We walked from the hotel to the Underground Atlanta as the wind threatened to carry the eight of us away. It slapped it's icy fingers at our faces as if to try and turn us back from our dark destination. We didn't heed the warning, though, and so entered Underground "Forgotten". At the entrance a security guard informed us it wouldn't open for another four minutes. Yes, we know, but there was no place to really "open" so we just started walking around all scattered about. I walked along and peeked into a clothing store displaying unusual-styled attire and then looked down a dark and forgotten stairway leading down into the deeper secrets of the earth. Another such stairway went to a set of dark, dirty, and dejected windows. Spiderwebs, afraid of the light, clung helplessly to the corners of pitch-black doorways. The smell of a musty basement landed on our noses. Overhead were thousands of pipes making the sort of noises pipes and pluming make and covering up the noise of vehicles zipping over unknowingly outside and above ground. I peered into one store, which had old manikins dressed in outdated and dusty clothes. The manikins, along with stacks of high-heels and other dressy footwear, were positioned right in front of the locked glass doors as if to somehow ward of the burglars. Shopkeepers opened up their little displays, hoping to get some business however small. People walked aimlessly around the place. We finally walked into a fudge and candy shop, where it was not so depressing and we chatted with the owner of the shop. We were able to find out a little of why the place was in such disrepair. Apparently the city had owned it, but eventually let it become as it was now. Currently the locals are trying to buy it from the city and make it a more happy place. Good for them! Local individuals have a lot more motivation then the city. We thanked the man and finally escaped the dreadful black hole of a place ( Okay, slight exaggeration. But let's just say I wasn't fond of the place and wouldn't recommend it). Next we wandered around outside and tried to keep as warm as possible with the icy wind. The temperature had also dropped plenty.
We brought Priscilla and Justus to the airport and bid them goodbye and then started our homeward journey. We had dinner at Steak N' Shake and then played the "Guess Who" game ( ask yes or no questions about a person someone is thinking of) in the car. We did everyone from old friends to Justin Bieber (um..., yeah, that would be me who did him). We finally got home and so ended another Leake and Co. trip.
Adios, until we meet again!
It really wasn't as bad as I described. Though, it was rather disappointing for what I had heard about Underground Atlanta as a really neat place.
One of the shops
This is underground but barely.
A dark stairway
The pipes
The best place in the underground: the fudge and candy shop.
The entrance to Underground Atlanta
Same stairway taken with flash
Another stairway
This sculpture was donated by S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, to the city of Atalanta.
On January 2, Monday at around 6:45 a.m., the Leake and Co., consisting of Dad, Mom, Hannah, Priscilla, Justus, Elisabeth, Lydia, and myself, all squeezed into an ugly Toyota Sienna minivan (no, I'm not a fan of minivans) and drove down our road and to the unknown. We happened to be going to the 2017 Passion Conference, founded by Louie and Shelley Giglio in 1997, in Atlanta Georgia at the Georgia Dome. Eight people in an 8-seater van can be a tight fit, but we managed and stopped off at our Great-Aunt and Uncle's house in SC. We then got to Atlanta and tried to get settled into our rooms in the Weston. Our rooms had amazing views of the city. Since we were going to the Conference through Desiring God, we kind of kept with the DG people and attended a talk/dinner with John Piper. Yes, we all got to shake John's hand and some even got their picture with him.;)
Next began our sloshy walk to the first session. It rained the whole way there and I happened to forget my jacket and shoes (I had flip-flops) so I got pretty wet but that was actually for the better because I didn't have so many things wet and flip-flops dry so fast. The walk was nice and we finally arrived at the Dome. OK, talk about a LOT of people. 55,000 people all put into one building and all talking about a million things makes for a ton of noise. We were seated with the DG people on the first balcony (there were four different "layers"). The Passion band, with Kristian Stanfill, led us in worship and then Louie Giglio and Christine Caine spoke. Next came David Crowder and Carrie Underwood. Finally at around 10:45 we started our rainy walk back to the hotel and bed.
Tuesday dawned a sunny and beautiful day with blue sky broken by an occasional perfect snowy cloud. We again went to the Dome and this time Matt Redman and Christy Nockels led worship and John Piper spoke. We had to go back after lunch, though, for a Q &A with John Piper and that lasted a while. Next begins the search for a place to eat dinner. Justus and Priscilla were smart and started looking earlier then the rest of us, but most of us ended up eating at the Metro Cafe Diner, which I highly recommend. We quickly headed for the Dome to enjoy some really loud music and plenty of amazing lights with Passion and Chris Tomlin. Louie Giglio again talked and then we left after more Passion, thinking that was the end, but, no, it wasn't and so we missed out on Hillsong. :(
They gave away the Jesus Study Bibles to most everyone at the conference. That's Louie, by the way.
The man to the left is Louie's childhood pastor.
David Crowder (Don't you just love that beard?)
Up in the clouds
Dinner with DG people.
A cool picture (that I didn't take ;) ). I think Elisabeth took it.
Thousands of lights from people's phones.
The Weston
City lights
Priscilla and Justus
One of the city views
The young people walking to the conference.
Elisabeth's red X for stopping human trafficking.
The Weston, where we stayed
John Piper, during Q&A time
The view from the 72nd floor of the hotel. You can see half of the Dome to the far right and the new one they're building.
The conference gave a Jason's Deli lunch to everyone. This is Elisabeth lunch.
The top floor of the Weston
The revolving bar at the top
Lydia
The Italian burger
Justus and Priscilla at the Metro Cafe Diner.
More at the Metro
Here's a clip of the conference. This is David Crowder.
This song-clip by Jimi Cravity was one of my favorites.
