Triennium Pictures...

going back into Portland. The only part I was looking forward to? Seeing the Ikea store...

mcdonalds run the last night!

Design Team on the stage the last worship

last day. all sweaty. packing everything up...still not kicking in that it was our last day together. that was later that night

luggage carts! waiting for bus-fuls of small group leaders and care team members

my "home" for the week

The great lunch delivery of 2010. 5000 lunches. 1 to every small group. We're still all wondering how this was pulled off so well...well at least in Hillenbrand where I was

Triennium

Well.


It's over.

It's the strangest feeling. I'm not seeing anyone today because I am in a post Triennium daze/coma/whatever else you want to call it. I was going to go to Nordstrom for the big sale, but I am wayyyyy too exhausted. So, I did what I always do when I miss people and don't know what to do with myself: go to Marshalls, because its 5 minutes away instead of 15 and really convenient...but i didn't want to buy things just because I was missing people, even though some of the things were really cute.


highlights/things i would like to point out:

1) i ate 6 cheeseburgers and 3 burritos. I tried to make my cheeseburgers healthy by putting tomatoes on them. ha yeah not really healthy. but kind of

2) my vuvuzela had it's claim to fame! Finally! Well not finally, i've only had it for 3 weeks. But a kid thought it was a gun from far away. It was dark outside, so he had an excuse.

3) I loved my card in the union and my wristband...i come back here, and can't use either of those to get my food! So, it's back to using my real money!

4) I was going to keep my wristband on all summer, for tanning purposes of course, but since I was on staff (that sounds so weird to say!) it was white...It looked like a hospital bracelet. So my family told me to take it off...it did look kind of tacky when nobody knew what it was

5) my camera wouldn't open. we prayed over it.then it opened. then it fell of two golfcarts within 2 days of doing that and survived both times! My camera is very well made

6) i saw various skunks and way too many bunnies. thank goodness i did not step on a bunny. apparently a girl stepped on a bunny, and the care team took it to the vet. Go Care Team!

7) i'm glad i had a different color name tag to distinguish me from the participants...since people thought i was one because i look little.

8) I want a golf cart

9) it was fun singing this little light of mine..well until we had to blow them out due to fire codes.

10) somebody wanted to go hiking today. but due to my many blisters from walking around all week..i'm taking a walking break. ha not really. but taking a hike is the last thing i want to do right now!

In all seriousness though....being on Design Team helped me so much, and changed my life. Here we go planning in a event to change people's lives, and it definitely changes you in the process. You never take conferences for granted ever again, because you see how much work goes into them! Seeing people enjoy an event that I helped plan is the best feeling.

Before the first worship service there is a tradition of all the staff praying. So we prayed. I got chills. It was just powerful. After that, I went back outside to hold open the doors for the mass amounts of people running in. Once we got in there, you could see Design Team people just trying to hold back tears. tears of joy and relief that this thing we worked so incredibly hard on had finally come together.

It's hard to sat goodbye to people after 1 week of knowing them, but it's ever harder after working with them for 2 years. These people are some of my best friends. It's just so nice to have connections all over the country. All of us can be so honest with each other. It's a lovely feeling. We had a big cry-fest on Saturday night, and then went out to Mcdonalds in the golf-cart to celebrate. Well this was more like the after party...The cry-fest was after the nice dinner we had, and we showed a slideshow, and I'm kind of thinking almost every person in the room was crying. We went over changes that had happened in the last few years, and how it felt like we already knew each other when we first met.

There really no words to describe what i'm feeling, or what being on Design Team is like. It's a total God thing really. Although we were so exhausted by the end of the week, we were still incrdiebly thankful. That ride to the airport on Sunday July 25th was one of the bus rides I did not look forward to being on. Nobody really wanted to be at the airport. A lot of us don't know what to do with ourselves. But, the good thing about being Presbyterian is that we'll see each other at different conferences. Hopefully. And we can go out and shine the light that we brought to PYT in the first place. Take it out to the world
So to everyone on Design Team. I love you. A lot. Thanks for changing for life in such amazing ways. I'll probably write more about this when I have more time, and talk about the actual event itself.
The only word to descirbe this whole process though is...Amazing.

Last Full Day of Triennium

Highlights..well some...

1) I can now do energizers

2) my calves are muscular

3) it was like fat camp..well community life

4) i think i have eaten 5 cheeseburgers...but i walked all of it off

5) great sermons

I can't compare...but all i know is that now that I have been on the administrative side, I really can't go back to anything else

Worship

Yesterday was the opening day of worship. I moved the cones and held the doors open while people ran in.

It was amazing.

Then today (where the picture is from) we went in really early. (using our design team credentials of course!) And sat in the third row, and watched people run in. Then proceeded to semi-fall asleep during the sermon. It was a good sermon, we were all just exhausted!

PYT aka Fat Camp

Design Team is a work-out thats for sure.

Morgan and I took a golf cart over to 1st Street. Left in a car. Went back to the Union and got told to go back.

it takes like 20 minutes to walk over here, and there is all this construction.

However....I'm getting tan! Kind of

Indiana!

In Indiana.

At Triennium.

Well, Pre-Event things. It's hot and humid. And Amazing. I got here yesterday.

We got fun shirts and water bottles.

We have single rooms. It's nice.

My vuvuzela has received a very nice response.

Amanda and I walked from one of the dorms to the music hall, it was the farthest away one. It took 17 minutes. We got lost in the worship hall, then found the worship team, then said hi, and then left. We got lost and ended up by the football stadium.

And came back hot and humid. And gross.

We're waiting and getting really excited for everyone to get here! I will put some pictures on later!

Goldfish

Yesterday I went to Target to get Goldfish Crackers for my trip to Triennium.

I always eat Goldfish when I go on planes.

I guess I'm a creature of habit.

They had SO many kinds. I called my sister and asked what type I should get.

After 5 or 6 minutes of standing in the Goldfish aisle....I got Parmesan. Typical. Oh well.

I also got a cheese bagel today and put Nutella on one side. I was being adventurous. Don't do this.

Cheese and Chocolate are quite a strange combination!

midddle school girls.

yesterday, at a youth group event they decided to have a screaming contest on the bus.

i hope i never did this!

Farmers Markets

I love farmers markets. A lot. Especially ones that have onions. Except i have gone to 2 different farmers markets within the last few weeks, looking for salsa...and have come to the conclusion that people don't sell salsa at farmers markets! I always feel good that I support local farmers though, and plus their fruit is always so much better than things I can get at the grocery store.

maybe it's weird that I took pictures at the farmers market. Oh well!

Vuvuzela

I bought a vuvuzela.
those annoying things at the world cup.
off Amazon.
I ended up paying 10.32. Which, is a waste of money because i could have made one myself.
It's the thought that counts though. This thing is amazing.
Well only when I play it. It annoys me when anyone else plays it. For obvious reasons
I am going to take it to Triennium...and sneak up on awkward couples and play it.
it will be delightful.