Last day in Budapest

Hey everyone! Jenna and Hailey here writing this post from the Baroque hostel in Budapest. We arrived yesterday around 10 am on the overnight train, and it's our second and final day here in Budapest for debriefing. Yesterday the team debriefed in a large park near a castle, and later we toured a basilica and climbed a citadel for some more good discussions and spectacular views. On the top of the citadel we had a really great talk, took a bajillion pictures, and sang a pretty good chorus of "lean on me" and "amazing grace". We've been doing a lot of walking and sightseeing around this beautiful city, as well as talking through some really incredible experiences from camp. Unfortunately Paul had to leave early this morning for a wedding back home--we're already missing him! Last night we had an amazing dinner on a boat on the river and ate some traditional Hungarian goulash (our favorite), and this morning breakfast was great at the hostel too (we are all loving the Mr. Choco chocolate spread.) We have some big plans for today as well: first a tour of a castle, later some serious debriefing, and then a much-needed trip to the hot springs.
Debrief has been awesome. Pray that we would further process everything that has been happening and enjoy our last day in the beautiful city together.

Shout Outs:
From Paul:
Lief - not enought pillow talk on this trip
Kev-you have good mustic taste even though I only liked 1/5 of your top five.
Zack-glad I could share your first public pee in Budapest w/ you...that sounds weird, sorry. Oh, and practice chess.
John- my roommate taped shark week, come over.
Hunter- I will be patiently waiting until you have a beard, so I can pull on it every 5 minutes like you did to me.
Eric-please don't publish that one pic with the capris. Much appreciated.
Larry- sorry I called you old so many times-I think of you as a fine wine, better w/ age.
Pat-Thanks for being my mom away from mom. Might want to bring more vitamin c next year...
Jenna- sorry, my shoulder is so boney, maybe try Liefs next time, he has a bit more padding.
Megan-thanks again for always calling me Pablo.
Sheri-I want a WDOH bottle. Hope you get the house!
Hailey-Whens the engagement party?
Cassidy- Sorry if I asked "are you getting some good shots?" too many times.
Kati- Kati BOO
Taylor- I can't believe it took you so long to figure out how weird I am. You should really give Tommy Boy [or Tom Boy] another try.
April- it was cool to see you love on those girls that your mom loves so much.
Malachi- good being small group buddies w/ you. I agree w/ Oana, you should move to Craiova. PS you are sleep talking right now, creepy.
Tess-nice job MCing at camp. Feel free to use the duck joke next year. You know you loved it.
Elli- You have an awesome voice, keep rockin it, girl.
Nikki-thanks for taking care of everybody. Sorry that I was frantically yelling for you that one time when you had [unbeknownst to me] already started caring for the victim.

Saying Goodbye

Here's the blog from yesterday:

Hello from somewhere in the Romanian countryside! Tess and Kevin here reporting live from the train to Bucharest among pre-industrial farms and an army of corn marching through the field. Since our last blog, so much has happened. Camp ended on a very high note. The last night was so impactful for everyone. Lief and Daniel talked about the sacrifice of the cross and how that was the ultimate example of grace. Then we had the chance to experience a group performance demonstrating the power of Christ to set us free. It was a drama along with the song “Set Me Free” by Casting Crowns. Malachi, Hunter, and Elli and the rest of the team did an amazing job, and it was evident that all of the campers were very moved. The reality of God’s love was really driven home for the Romanians when Daniel read a “letter from God,” detailing a fuller picture of his love for all of us. It was all in Romanian, which was even more poignant. There was not a dry eye in the room. After that, we split up into our small groups and did something we have never done in Romania before: foot washing. All of the leaders washed the students’ feet and the whole small group prayed for the individual. Then the leader’s feet were washed by the students. This was such a great example of what we had been talking about all week, and everyone really was impacted. We then had our last night of small groups, and the discussions were amazing. Everyone opened up and was very vulnerable. A few students even accepted Christ into their hearts that night. It was amazing. We finished up the night with a huge bonfire and a few of us even stayed up all night. It was a great night, as it always is, filled with community and God’s love. The next day, it was time to say goodbye to camp. We packed up the buses and headed to a monastery in the next town f or a little sightseeing. At the monastery, they had a very strict dress code, where no pants above the knees or shirts without sleeves were allowed. Quite a few of the campers, both boys and girls, had to wear the skirts the monastery provided to people wearing shorts. After the monastery, we parted our ways with the campers. It wasn’t a sad goodbye though, because we knew we would be seeing most of the campers in a few days back in Craiova.
The American team and the Romanian leadership team then headed to the city of Bran for camp stories & evaluation. It did take longer than we anticipated though, and we arrived around midnight. The next day we became tourists for a couple of hours and headed to the famous “Dracula’s Castle”. After a short tour, we headed back to the hotel to debrief for a couple of hours before lunch. We talked about ways we had seen God work throughout the week and things that were good and bad about the camp. We then crammed all 36 people into two vans and made our way back to Craiova. We all slept very well that night and were excited for the next day.
This was the first year we were able to go back to Craiova after camp, and it was probably one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. In our extra day in Craiova, we had the chance to visit the Gypsy market, do more debrief, and the most important part: the reunion. Every year after camp, all of the campers from Craiova and the church get together one night just to reminisce about camp and to be together one last time. It was such a privilege to be a part of this event that we usually miss by leaving straight from camp to go home. We went to the park for a few hours to play games and socialize. Then we all went back to the church. It was really great getting to show the campers where the church is, and encouraging them to go there on Sundays and for Saturday night youth group. There, we played games, watched a slideshow of pictures from camp, and sang some songs that were camp favorites during the week. Then came the most important part of the evening: Daniel invited the campers up to share about how camp impacted their lives and what they got out of it. It was so encouraging to see all of the campers get up and be so honest and open about how much camp changed their lives. Daniel later said that he was shocked by the amount of campers who decided to share. It became certain that this camp had had a profound, meaningful impact on many of their lives. It was a great time, and went very late into the night. Then we spent our last night in Craiova at our host families’, and woke up early this morning to spend a final few hours at the church before we headed to the train station. We talked in a group about the pros and cons about camp, and planned a little for future years. Then we packed up and headed to the train station to say goodbye. Every year it is so hard to say goodbye to the people you have been with 24/7 for the past couple of weeks and this year was no exception. After lots of tears and hugs, we boarded the train headed for Bucharest. We will have a layover there for two hours (grabbing dinner and saying goodbye to one of our friends there) and then head out on our overnight train to Budapest for team debrief and preparations for reentry to back home.
We are sad to be leaving so soon, but it’s crazy to know we’ll be home in three days! Thank you for all of your love and support. Until then, la revadere!



Shout Outs:

The Team to our friends in Craiova: It’s been like two hours since we said goodbye, but we miss you already! :( We love you all. Thank you for an amazing experience. We are blessed to be part of your community. (Lief says: if you notice you’re missing a few students – we may have successfully stuffed a few of them in our checked bags. We’ll let you know as soon as we can confirm.)

Megan to Emilia: Write down your address so we can find you in Budapest!

Anne and Audra: Mom says I love you and miss you. We’ve decided to extend our stay for another couple weeks. Or months…

Kevin to Parents: Hi. I love you.

Andi & Leann: Just you wait, l’ve signed you up for next year. Mwahahaha. We’re moving our Life Group to Romania! Da be da! 
Tavalodet Mobarak! Man dar Romania zendegi bekonam. Fekr mikonam that I have forgotten every language but Romaneshte. Ci che daca!

Kree, Shg, Meggles & Kate the Great: I miss you guys and can’t wait to share my experiences with you. Now I’m more confused than ever: Scotland or Romania? Fuorte bine!

Taylor to The Fam: I miss you all! I’ve taken over 1000 pics and there’s more to come. What is my favorite dinner?

Nikki to mom and dad: You thought falling asleep listening to the latin beat in Costa Rica was fun, try gypsy music! Can’t wait to see you! ILY! Dad- Have an amazing trip to the Quetico!

Johnny to Thomas: It’s been real out here man, I taught my small group to be young and unashamed, the 1-1-6 is spreading!!! We finna get some grub right when I get back…I need a burrito!!

Mere Cat to my Nutter Butter: Shnuckumms, you are on my mind every second of every minute, my heart bursts with the mere thought of your cute little ears so perfectly and symmetrically placed on that head of yours. Your eyes are like beautiful almonds, but not the roasted kind – the natural kind – the kind that has not ever been tainted by human touch. Your hair, like the rough grasses of the Scottish meadow – a fitting home for gophers and field mice, your smell, a pleasing aroma to my nostrils, particularly after a morning of hoops. Oh how I miss this odor. You know its true love, my Baby Cakes, when I think of your armpits as much as I do – and I really, really do miss your armpits. Love. Love…. love.

Lief to Emi: I’m almost home to you – I miss you. The Romanians are all hoping to meet you soon – and the 7 we saw in Feb asked “where is Emily?!” I am hoping I got this head infection all cleared up by Friday, cause I hear it’s contagious. You are beautiful – see you Friday!

Sheri to Bradley: Only three more days until I can run in your arms at the airport. :) I am excited! Although it is really difficult to leave … the goodbyes to our Romanian friends were so hard. They really want us both to come next year. :) See you soon hunny. Xoxox Love you.

Sheri to her family: Hey everyone! I miss you all so much. I hope you have fun preparing for the Willow! :) Love you!

Zack to Luke and Noah—Three more wake ups guys!!! I miss you guys!

Zack to T-I can’t believe you crushed everyone in the Euchre tournament! I should be practicing eh? Hah

Elli to dad: Thanks for not letting Annie destroy my room. I am glad Pumpkin is getting rid of rodents. Hehe. Too bad Alberto C won the tour I wanted Andy S to win But they are both good riders.

Tess to the fam: Miss you guys! See you in 3 days!

Word from the trainfront!!! (Direct from the Carpathian Mtns in Romania!)

It's the team with a short update from the train to Hungary. We actually have a long and well-written post that we've been trying to update the blog with for the past days. It should be up within 12 hrs - when I'm not updating from my iPhone. For now, it's 9:30pm & we've been on our sleeper car celebrating the trip & God's work through a little party on the tracks! The sun is finally set & the Carpathian Mtn's are 10 shades of grey & green as we slowly climb them. Bedtime is coming soon. For many of us, our 1st night of 6+ hrs of sleep in a while... and it will be almost 12 hrs of beautiful "rock me to sleep" train slumber. The last few days have been incredible & at our camp reunion we heard stories of lifechange from campers and leaders. Moving... amazing. God is so good. More on this later. Pray for a well deserved sleep and a productive debrief over the next 2 days. I'm SO Proud of this team. Wow! Words can't describe the ways God has used them this week. I can't wait to share more! For now, noapte buna! We'll miss you Romania! -Lief

A Message From The Home Front

Hey Family, Friends, and Supporters,

Since the team has not been able to blog recently, we thought that we would remind you of their schedule.

Their last day of camp was Saturday, July 31. They have now entered the whirwind of debriefing, stories, goodbyes and travel. Since they are no longer at camp their internet access may no longer be as consistent, but we are still able to get in touch with each other for emergency situations. We can't wait to hear their stories when they are able to fully update us!

Lief did let the church staff know that the team is doing well and he is very impressed with the way the students are serving.

Thanks for all your support, prayers and encouragment for the team!

From Angie (High School Admin) and Kristen (Impact Admin)

Yeah World, Keep on Smiling!!

Hey everybody it's Taylor, Kati, and Cassidy. It's our last full day here at camp and there's been a lot going on.

Yesterday the campers got to tye dye t-shirts. It was a messy craft and most of us managed to tye dye parts of their bodies. The t-shirts are hanging up to dry right now and they all look great! Cassidy and Kati even tye dyed sheets that will be used as table cloths in the Underground.

After tye dye we had water day out on the soccer field or as they would say here "fotbal field". First we played drip drip drop, which is similar to duck duck goose with water. Next we had a classic water balloon toss. Then we played a Romanian game, quadrants, in which we split up into four teams and water balloons were launched at us. We put our shoes on our hands to try and break them before they hit the ground in order to win the game. The final game we played was steal the bacon on a homemade slip n slide. It got very competitive and very funny.

In the evening Lief gave a talk on the prodigal son that was very moving. In it, he talked about common misconceptions about who God is. We also heard a parallel version of the story of the prodigal son from the book Whats So Amazing About Grace? that was written to be more relevant to modern times. We also talked about how God is the Father, which I saw in a whole new light as I sat next to a girl who has grown up in an orphanage.

Later that night, in small group, we had a great discussion in response to what Lief had talked about. The girls in my group are young believers, but they had a lot of confusion about views of God and forgiveness and grace. Last night was the first night that the girls had opened up and been willing to share about their relationship with God and some of their struggles. Pray that the girls would be very open and candid tonight, because we have a lot of great stuff planed for tonight. Also, pray that they would focus tonight and not so sleepy, those have been reoccuring problems for our group.

Tonight the team will experience a Romanian bonfire!

Love you all, keep us in your prayers!!



SHOUT OUTS:

Larry to Brady Bunch: Hope you figured oout the lawn mower, replenished your mother's chocolate stash and gained a lead on the chipmonks! --Dad

Zack to Tante: Awesome! I hope the Lambeau 5K goes awesome!
Zack to the fam: Hope you're all doing better now that we posted a pick of me

Cassidy to Mom and Dad: Hope your trip was fun. We're still at camp. It has been so cool. I have over 1,000 pictures so far! Can't wait to tell you all about it and show you in New York.

Elli to mom and dad: I miss you guys a lot. I will be home in 1 week cant wait to see you. I am having so fun at camp. Dad, i hope Annie is not destroying my room or having accidents in it.lol. I also hope Pumpkin is on the hunt every day:)Love you

John to Mom #2: My hair's lookin flyyy! T keep doin your thang!

Paul & Kev's Blog from Yesterday 7/29 (We had technical diffies)

Before we begin today's blog post, here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure:

My name is Kevin Mauer, and I am writing this post in collaboration with a reverend sage by the name of Paul Bunyan Staats, whom you will meet later on. Together, we will provide you, the reader, with a flavorful account of the campside happenings of the past 24 hours. Hold on to your hats.

I'm sure you're all thankful that Zach and Emily so selflessly chose to stay back from yesterday's hike in order to provide yesterday's post -- the post was, after all, a stroke of brilliance rivalling Lief's and Johnny's performance of "Too Late to Apologize" at last week's coffeehouse. Anyway, I appreciate their sacrifice all the more because it was SUCH A GREAT HIKE! We all set out after lunch, all laughing and joking together in Romanian and English. (I had a wonderful coversation with a Romanian boy my age named Manuel, about English slang and language in general. He knew way more about the history of English than I did.) We started on a gravel road lined with trees as old as Romania. Then we reached a meadow with a beautiful, rocky creek. Beside the trail were scattered old abandoned horse carts that are pretty characteristic of the Romanian countryside (and big cities too! ... when we flew into Bucharest, one of the first sights I could make out below from the plane was a peasant woman driving a horse in the middle of town -- I thought that was cool). The real hike began when Lief turned to his right and announced, "In Romania they have a different philosophy on trail-making. Mountain trails don't have switchbacks, they go straight up." Literally, straight up (but safe, of course). We made trains by holding hands and labored up the mountainside. There was a rocky summit that offered remarkable views of the entire wilderness. The best part, though, waited for us a little way down the trail. When we came back out of the trees, we came upon the most beautiful pasture I've ever seen. It was, like, straight out of "Heidi" or "The Sound of Music" or something. Far below, in the middle of the pasture, there was a tiny one-room shack, outside of which a man and a woman were chopping wood -- doing just as they have done day after day, generation after generation, living out their existence in serene seclusion (or, at least, that's the scenario I imagined as I sat fixated on the expansive landscape before me). There is so much simple beauty on God's Earth. There are so many opportunities to experience Creation in ways that demand us to respond by glorifying His name. Man, it was something. By and by, we headed down the hill, hanging around and posing with the cattle along the way. (For safety's sake, we had to check each one's underside. More than once we had to shout "Bull!" and run away.) At the bottom of the hill we found sheep and a grizzled shepherd. A few of us and some of the campers got pictures with him, too. He wore muddy shoes, muddy pants, a muddy shirt, a hat, and a pink Barbie backpack that was very small on him. Don't ask me where he found it. I bet it's quite a story. He was friendly and a little shy. He posed for a picture with April and Manu, one of our Romanian leaders, told him that she is an American. The shepherd was astonished and smiled. He said in Romanian that she is beautiful and offered her sheep cheese from his backpack. Sufficiently creeped out, April moved away from the shepherd and tried to communicate that she could do without the gift. (One of the campers took it instead.) The lives of the shepherd and the man and woman chopping wood are very different from those of all the other Romanians we've met.

In the evening Eric delivered a great message about forgiving others. He introduced to our campers the concept that we can only be truly whole when we let go of the hard feelings we have for people who have wronged us. It was an important message for them to hear, being the other side of the gospel of Grace topic that was explained by Dan the night before. Eric tied into his message a moving video interview with Valentin (one of our Romanian leaders) about how he has forgiven the older boys in his childhood orphanage for forcing him to steal and brutally beating him. For years it became custom for older boys to control the lives of the younger ones with violence. When Valentin was a teenager, however, he and his friends broke the "cycle of ungrace" by treating the younger boys with respect. He overcame the hardship in his life by loving the sinner and hating the sin. In his message, Eric articulated very well that grace sets free the forgiver and the forgiven alike. And now the moment you've all been waiting for...words coming to you directly from Dr. Love himself, Paul Staats.

Hey errrrbody...you may be wondering why Kevin called me Dr. Love......I'd ask Lief for an explanation, he is the ultimate giver of nicknames. Besides Dr. Love, he has given me ones such as Pwetty Paul, Bucket, Buckwheat, Pwince, and his personal favorite, Pwetty Pwince Paul. Sooo as you can imagine, every day I feel more and more confident in my masculinity. Thanks Lief.

Yesterday was great. The hike was awesome, Eric's talk was poetic, and for the most part, it seemed that in our small groups there was a great change of pace...I've been hearing many stories of campers opening up and reaching new depths as far as questions and conversations. It seems that many of them have a difficult time grasping the fact that God's forgiveness is all-encompassing. A camper in my small group actually stormed out in the middle of our conversation about God's forgiveness because he was so disturbed by the idea. Clearly there are many walls that need to be broken down for many of these kids, so please continue to pray for them. Tonight, Lief will be preaching about the prodigal son parable, which I can imagine will be very ground-breaking to many of the campers. So I'm expecting great things to happen tonight in our small groups.....

To all you parents out there, way to go on raising awesome kids. I am continually impressed by our team, especially the students! As I've learned from other mission trips, there is a big difference between going on a mission trip and actually doing missions work. For a mission trip to be effective, everybody on the team really needs to put themselves out there, and I think your kids have truly done so. I wish you could see firsthand the effect they have on the campers here!

Aaand here's a few shout-outs:

Amy to Mom: I am, mom.....thanks! :) Love you!

Amy to Lyss: Of course! I'll fill you in on everything when I get back. Can't wait to hear all your Iowa news! :) I have some good stories for you too! Love you!

Malachi to Will: Thanks for reading the blog see you when I get back.

Malachi to Kenzie: Hey Girrrrl miss you and I'll tell you all the stories Hunter doesn't. >-----< Here's a virtual hug till I see you :)

Malachi to Mom & Dad: Thanks! Love you! Miss you!

Megan to family: hey guess what?! sat in cow poop today.

Kati to Mom, Dad & Em: Hope you're having fun in LBI. I miss the beach! Love you all & tell everyone at the P's that I say hi.

Taylor to Colin: I miss my Collie Mon!! I love you! Kati misses you too.

Larry & Pat to Anne & Audra: We miss you and love you!

Nikki to Krissy: Glad you have been so productive! Proud of ya! :) ILY!

Tess to the Pankratz Fam: Missing you! But I am having an amazing time :) see you soon!

Jenna to Jacqueline Jacobson: You rock, girl! Missing you!

Sheri to financial & prayer supporters: This trip is amazing, its great to be a part of God's work here. Thanks for making it possible!

Sheri to Bradley: I love you, always and forever!

Pau Stau to Lau Mau: Bring it to the Tau Pau....we can't let the frogs beat us....

Zack to Tess: Hey.

Zack to the fam: Hope everything's goin good!

John to Jimmy: Word to your mother.

Hunter to Mommy: I'm feeling a lot better. Your letter said "can't wait to see you on August 20th". So I guess I'll see you in a little less than a month ;)

Emily and Zack Bloggin' it Up

So after we sat down to write this blog and played around with iTunes for a while, Emily said, "We should get started," but then Zack pointed out the fact that we have three hours. So we put it off for a while. But when we actually did get started, we couldn't even think of a title. In fact, we now only have two hours. Right now the campers are on a hike while us fortunate three (Eric Phillippi included) get to enjoy each other's company and listen to "Use Somebody" by Paramore (in spanish). Now, after YouTubing for a while, we shall actually make progress...

It's about three o'clock on day three of camp. As Elli mentioned, we've had as much rain as we can handle. But today we are enjoying 80 degrees and sun. However, the ferocious river is still high. A perfect day for a hike in the beautiful Romanian forest. So, as the campers are off on their hike, we have the opportunity to update you guys about the past day or so.

Last night, after Elli's post, we enjoyed some group games such as Snake Tag and Energy, then had pizza for dinner (with ketsup instead of tomato sauce... yikes). Daniel spoke last night about Grace again, this time touching on Philip Yancy's "Mathematics of Grace." The concept is that you cannot do anything to make God love you more, and you cannot do anything to make God love you less. It was a pretty good, short message that really helped the campers understand Grace. Small group time followed, and there were a few interesting stories from small groups. Emily's small group started pretty rough, with several girls not wanting to participate. However, as the conversation progressed, they slowly entered the circle and conversations and they really seemed interested. It was very encouraging to see this growth out of these girls.

Today started great. Breakfast was interesting, as usual. The lunches and dinners have been phenominal so far, but the breakfasts are a different story. When you have a meal made up of 3 small squares of ham, a half of a tomato, 2 pieces of smelly, salty cheese, some cucumber, and hot tea, you dont often leave the dining hall very satisfied. Oh well! haha. Each morning so far we have done our camp song, "Get Back Up" by TobyMac.

English Classes follow the camp song time. And, believe it or not, we are English teaching partners! Woah! Our class is very laid back, with 9 people in all. We have an advanced class, which has turned out to be a great thing. So far, we have only played catch phrase to increase their vocabulary, and had a small debate to help them think of arguements in English on the spot.

Looking at the watch now, we still have about an hour and a half to finish this blog... so who knows how long this thing could get!

Anyways, today's activities so far have consisted of soccer, ultimate frisbee, archery, and rockwall climbing with our small groups. This was very fun, and it was great to see the small groups working together and/or cheering other people on during these activities. The groups are actually starting to mesh together and open up, despite the language barrier. Also, our small groups have each created a mascot and a chant to go along with their group. Emily is part of the Briosciele (Muffins in English) and Zack is in the Romerican Punks, a very creative name that has no translation because it's that awesome.

Everyone is healthy now, except Zack has had the "Hots for Pumba" for a few days now, but he is doing okay. Sorry, but it is an inside joke, and we cannot explain the meaning of this term. Emily is also doing great, despite the precautionary hospital visit last week in Craiova. For those of you who don't know, during our night at the park, Emily was experiencing light headedness and, beacuse of the long day, she fainted when we returned to the church. Because of a recent heart condition, the hospital visit was made just to be safe, and everything is ok now.

On a lighter note, worship is going great. We are both on the worship team this year at camp, and the campers really seem to be liking the music so far. We have seen clapping, involvement in songs such as the echoes in "Lean on Me," and some occasional hoots and hollers from Lief.

So, as we reach 3:45ish on Day three, we have spent about an hour and half on this post. Later tonight we will be enjoying a great talk from Eric, some small group time, dinner, and free time hopefully. So, we're ending this blog post halfway through our trip, and we're hoping the second half will go just as well. Now, Emily and Zack will go watch The Chronicles of Narnia with Eric.

SHOUT OUTS

Emily to Mary- Dude, hehehe. That's all I can say.

Emily to Dad- Miss you tonnes.

Emily to Mom- I loved your card! The petals were super pretty.

Emily to Jan- I love you so much! I was so surprised to get your note. It made my day :)

Zack to the Fam- The dells should be about over by now i think... my days are getting mixed up. hope everything went awesome!

Zack to the Frydenlund 4-- Hope you guys had a great time at the dells too!! I wish i coulda been there to see you guys, but maybe next time

Zack to Grandma and Grandpa--Thanks for the notes! I have read them already

Zack to Nana- I cant wait to see you and tell you how everything went!

Zack to John-Hope the hike was fun man! We should go on hikes up Bascom this next semester daily since i missed today's hike haha, and maybe iChat while we're hiking?! haha

Zack to Emily-Hey, youre sitting right here, but just saying that this was a fun post to write with you, and i like the blue shirt and the yellow shorts youre sporting right now haha!

Emily to Zack- yeah this was definately fun. I'm liking your purple shorts right now, even though this is like the fifth day you've worn them. No wonder you smell funny.

Zack to Emily- Wow. Sorin washed them okay? And i brought two pairs of purple shorts. and for everyone reading this right now, i do not smell funny. the end. but thanks emily for commenting on my nice matching yellow shirt and red bandana along with the purple shorts.

Emily to Zack- no problem. but, i'm not sure i would trust sorin's washing skills. you should wear your white shorts. they're perfectly clean. and, btw, for everyone reading, zack has this obession where he tucks his shirt in and pulls his shorts up as far as he can get them. it's so attractive.

Eric to Zack and Emily- Guys! I'm sitting right here! I have been here for the past two hours! What the what? I wish you could just acknowledge me... maybe just a 'hello!'...or I would even accept a generic shoutout like, "Zack and Emily S.O. to Eric". That's it. That's all I am asking for! Is that too much to ask for?!?!

Zack to Emily-Sorin is a great washer. and btw, im going to quote john here... "Zack, i think youre the only person i know who can pull off that look" But yes, my white shorts are still clean. i dont want to get them dirty at camp. besides, i might need them for the next busride? duh.

Emily to Zack- well.... john is always right, but may i point out that i never said you couldn't pull off that look. actually i like the yellow and purple. it sort of matches my yellow and navy. and you probably won't need the white shorts because i've learned my lesson.

Zack to Emily- Probably wont? lol i will make sure i have them anyways... but our yellows are different... My mom taught me how to match clothes, we dont match. Sorry!

Eric to Zack and Emily-hello?!?!

Zack and Emily to Eric- Hey..?

THE END :)