Saturday, July 25

On this fine Saturday morning we got to sleep in to a late time of seven thirty! After we all had finished our breakfast and went back up to our rooms to finish getting ready whether it was putting on our shoes or brushing our teeth we met down in the lobby, as we do everyday, before heading out. Today was our day to start off in the convention center, and after our informational meeting we all started off by going to the change for change donation center. After we all got our "Be the Change" stamps on our hands we moved along to hammer nails into pink boards for Habitat for Humanity. They were framing a house for families in New Orleans. We experienced a relaxing labyrinth, which was a silent exercise where we walked along the path and prayed and reflected amongst ourselves. We continued on to the giant human board game which we had to act as Pterodactyl by making hand motions and screeching noises. It taught us about the hardships of migration and how there were many obstacles in which animals had to overcome.
We all decided that all these activities had made us hungry, so we took the trolley down to a restaurant in search of some alligator. Some of us were excited for this new experience. However, they did not serve alligator, so instead we ordered a monstrous platter of craw-fish. Over all, I think only Brett and Jeremy were glad that we ordered the platter, and the rest of us were disgusted and horrified, especially Kelsey. After the plate of the empty shells had been cleared from the table, the main courses started to come and we were all glad to eat the delectable food.
We made our way back to the convention center, via trolley, and then we broke up into two main groups, the Youth (except Marisa) went to go play on the volleyball court we had reserved to play on. Jeremy and Anne accompanied Marisa to the blood donation center where Marisa gave a unit of her blood, which will either help three adults or sixty infants. After the Youth finished their matches, they went to the bumper cars which were bike-powered rafts and Brett ended up breaking a pedal. Then, we had a disappointing trip to Starbucks. After finding out they had no more frappuccinoes, Shirley and I went shopping for ELCA shirts. After getting our souvenirs, we all went to go meet our awesome blood donor, Marisa, who was still drinking her pineapple juice to help recover. To avoid her from passing out in the heat, she was sent her back to the hotel with her mom in a cab to relax and recover. In the mean time, the rest of us took a cab to the Super-dome for the final meeting. Anne and Marisa made their way over to the Super-dome as well. After all of the fabulous speakers and songs, we were all hungry again, so we went to the liquor store down the street and bought our own foods, which we took to the dining area in the hotel and ate. Jeremy then announced that our devotion was going to start at 10:45, so we made our way up there. We debriefed our days and planned when we were going to wake up tomorrow. And because I am not as great of a writer as either Marisa or Shirley, I have been typing this ever since devotion. Well i think I'm finally done, and i apologize for all of the grammar mistakes, Anne wasn't awake long enough to proof read it for me. Well its time for me to go. Talk to everyone later. Goodnight.

-Steven