Now, who ever thought that   7 students, a teacher and Pastor Carol Book, a foreign volunteer from Germany, an intern from Mission Year, and the president of the Christus Academy Board of Education and his wife would make the historic trip to the Inauguration of President Obama.  Well they did!

      Bound for Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fairfax, VA, in the old Christus Lutheran Church van, the Reverend Phil Hirsh, his family and members of the congregation welcomed the group from Christus Academy to Virginia.  They also provided a good hot meal and a place for the group to stay overnight. 

At 3:30 the next morning the first of the troops woke to prepare for their historic journey.  Equipped with sandwiches, water, snacks and of course, hand warmers in every pocket, glove, or shoe, it was close to 5:30 when the group thanked Tim Hartman, another member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, for getting up so early to drive them to the Metro.  Once on the Metro, the group settled in for pictures and excitement of the day that lay ahead. 

     The arrival in downtown Washington DC was a sight that words cannot do justice.  The platform was a mass of people, shoulder to shoulder, and covering every inch of the pavement.  People in the crowd, equally amazed extended their cameras high above the crowds snapping pictures that captured the multitude of bodies moving slowly in one direction toward the narrow exit.

     Once on the streets, the group sandwiched in between and among hordes of people walking briskly toward the National Mall.  Full of excitement, the students snapped pictures of one another, the crowd, and talked to family and friends on their cells as they walked more than 10 blocks before gaining entrance to the Mall.  Two members of our group made their way through the crowd to the area reserved for those with tickets, the result of one of our students writing to Rep.  Rob Andrews. The majority of the group found a spot alongside the Washington Monument.  While quite a distance from the platform where the President was to be sworn in, they were within earshot of the large speakers and within view of a large flat screen Jumbotron giving them a good view of the memorable and historic inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama!

     After the ceremony and a three hour wait in the freezing cold temperatures, the group boarded the Metro and headed back to Fairfax to pick up the van for the return trip to Camden.  They thanked their host and the members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church and returned to Camden with an unforgettable memory.