Wow. Seriously - that's about the most descriptive word for today's fun and adventures around Philadelphia. Pat Gohn and I rose bright and early, donned our backpacks, and set our for our mile walk to the Philadelphia Convention Center where the bulk of the World Meeting of Families events are happening.

Immediately upon arriving at the Convention Center, we dived into the registration process. You can watch a crazy periscope video of that here. Then, we began to run into a wonderful series of friends, including Sonja Corbitt. Sonja's book Unleashed was our Book Club selection for Summer 2015.

Next, it was time to attend a preview luncheon for the fantastic Museum of the Bible, which will open in November 2017. I encourage you to take a look at this upcoming wonder. After hearing so many details today and also previewing the antiquities contained in the exhibit, I can't wait to see the museum when it opens!

The visiting continued, with social media friends and new acquaintances:

Next, Pat conducted an exciting Periscope interview with a charming couple from Honduras who have attended every one of the World Meeting of Families to date. After this, we began to make the long journey to pick up our media credentials. Of course, we again ran into familiar faces along the way including EWTN and our dear friend Diana von Glahn of The Faithful Traveler.

Even though the event does not officially begin until tomorrow, our publishing friends were already at work setting up their booths. This meant that we could stop by and see our publisher Ave Maria Press, visit with the Daughters of St. Paul, and catch a few minutes with the always inspirational Deacon Harold Burke Silvers.

When we finally picked up our media credentials, we were greeted by the awesome team from the city of Philadelphia and we got an idea of how HUGE the press participation will be for this week by looking at the scale of the media filing center.

One of our favorite aspects of being here is meeting so many joyful priests, brother and sisters:

One last exciting moment happened near the end of the day when we met the team from the "Helping Hands" initiative that is being run here with Catholic Relief Services. I'll be a part of this on Wednesday at noon when I don my hairnet and help to pack meals for families in West Africa. If you'd like to be a part of this project, click here for additional details.

https://youtu.be/HBZlwCI2-Ag

Now that we're back at the ranch, it's time to put our feet up, plan our calendar for tomorrow's Opening Ceremony and keynote speech by Bishop Robert Barron, and rest for all of the excitement.

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Copyright 2015 Lisa M. Hendey

About the Author

Lisa M. Hendey

Lisa M. Hendey

Lisa M. Hendey is the founder of CatholicMom.com, a bestselling author and an international speaker. A frequent radio and television guest, Hendey travels internationally giving workshops on faith, family, and communications. Visit Lisa at LisaHendey.com or on social media @LisaHendey for information on her speaking schedule or to invite her to visit your group, parish, school or organization. Visit Lisa's author page on Amazon.com.