First Saturday 2010!

Today was a LONG but glorious day!
This was Moody's annual grad student retreat - but this time it was a one-day event, and it was hosted....that's right...on campus! Not really a "get-away" retreat, but a one-day event that was designed for students to meet the new ones, rekindle old friendships, and interact with our energetic professors and faculty! This year's theme is "Holy...Expectant...Zealous" based off of Titus 2.
The morning started with the Student Council (aka StuCo) showing up to the Solheim gym - which was LOCKED! It took a while for public safety to finally get over there to open up, so we had to get moving as soon as we got in! I was hoping and praying that this was the only "glitch" in the day!
The breakfast food was quickly arranged, the worship team started practicing, and the registration table started getting organized as well. Lauren came with and helped us get ready! She was really an incredible asset!
Finally the time came! Many students arrived early so they were anxious to get checked in! We handed out colored bandannas to classify each group (organized by major/focus). We also had a professor assigned to each group as well!
The breakfast was a big hit! Way to go team! The worship team had a great set of songs and it was awesome just coming together to corporately worship the Lord as one body of students.
Lauren ended up providing the child-care (sorry sweetheart)! She was so good about it too! Even though she does this for her full-time job, she totally went in there and took care of the kiddos! She was well-loved!
Dr. Nyquist and our new provost spoke, as well as our very own Dean Jelinek!
Next came an introduction to our international students - 40 countries! Students came down and lined up carrying their country's flag!
Prayers were given in thanks, and then a rotation of sports and games commenced for the afternoon!
We were supposed to have Edwardo's pizza for lunch, but we found out last minute that Events and Guest Services never placed the order!!!! So - praise God Dominoes down the street made 33 pizzas in less than an hour (with only one man on the job)! So - what could have been a major disaster was averted! Praise the Lord!
After lunch, more games took place, then later on, the students took a walk to the old water tower downtown to sing praises together. Then they made their way up to Lincoln Park where a dinner was waiting for them, as well as a time for worship, prayer, and communion (done in the small groups by the professors). It was an amazing day and I was blessed to be a part of it! See the slideshow and video to follow!