"When I cough it's the signal to attack."

I traveled to Southern Indiana Saturday morning for a Work Crew training weekend. Young Life kids and leaders from all over Indiana and Kentucky came together for 24 hours to learn more about and get excited about doing Work Crew for a month this summer.

As soon as a group started forming a couple kids stepped up to teach everyone a new game called Street Fighter. I wrote down all the rules so I'd be able to remember it at Tecumseh this summer. It has serious potential. I think my favorite move is the 1,000 finger hand slap.

We spend the afternoon doing service projects all over the camp. There were people hauling logs, trimming bushes, cutting grass, cleaning a pool, burning logs, and clearing a hillside just to name a few jobs. I was part of a group that took the shelving unit out of bunk beds, moved the beds like Tetris blocks, vacuumed, washed the walls, cleaned light fixtures, and washed all of the wood in the entire lodge. Intense.

I became friends with this girl Abigail and we laughed all afternoon while perfecting our bed moving strategies, singing while carrying shelves, kicking out stubborn screws and finding an attack plan.

Our groups were a mix of people from all different areas. I got to hang out with Young Life people from Lexington and Bloomington. This is their "look tough" pose.

 A highlight of the weekend was the dance party Saturday night. It started as a square dance, hence the rolled up pants, but quickly evolved into the kind of dance party where Carmel goes hard and no one leaves until the music stops. Alex, Meagan, Devon, Kit, Shana, Zach and Sam did a tremendous job.

There are few things I love more than a really good dance party. Make sure you note the girl's hair flipping in the middle of the picture and the moves of the boy on stage in a blue shirt.

I love when no one worries about looking stupid but they just dance like nuts because it is SO fun.

We may have been tired and we may have been sweaty but we gave it our all and we were still dancing when the music finally stopped.

My other favorite part of the weekend was getting to do worship together three times. Tyler Bender, another Carmel leader, lead music and we sang the songs we've been doing in Campaigners each week. These words just connect to me and give me hope.

take my life and let it be all for you and for your glory

take my life and let it be yours

give me faith to trust what you say,

that you are good and your love is great

I'm broken inside, I give you my life

I may be weak, but your spirits strong in me

my flesh may fail, my God you never will

and when the oceans rage, I don't have to be afraid

because I know that you love me

your love never fails

you stay the same through the ages, your love never changes

there may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning

I need you to soften my heart, to break me apart

I need you to open my eyes and see that you're shaping my life

I went to church at 7 tonight because of the YL trip. I haven't gone at night in so long but I came in with MaryEllen and Laura. Then David was behind us. Tom showed up. Marlin and Joel walked in. LesKes came with friends. More and more friends kept arriving and it felt like a party. Rach and Coll slid in beside me during the first song and it just put it over the top of greatness. Tonight I needed my friends there with me, just their presence was enough.

Today I got my present from Annie in the mail. She stumbled upon this necklace a couple months ago, knew it was perfect for me and had been saving it for my birthday. I LOVE it.

I just love pearls because I wear the earrings I got for my 21st birthday everyday. I have Love Wins stickers from Mars Hill, my church in college, on my car, clipboard, and journal because they remind of what I believe. The sea glass reminds me of the story Jack McGee told the CILT counselors this past summer about how just like sea glass God takes the broken pieces of us that have been tossed in the waves and scratched on the sand and turns us into something beautiful. What a trio of charms.

Mags is really good at Facebook and today she went on a mission to figure out when I first started smiling with my mouth open like I'm laughing. After a couple fake-out pictures, where I actually was laughing, she found this gem of Sarah Briggs and I on April 18, 2010. Interestingly enough that is also the day after I started Overlap... I wonder if they're connected.