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DAY 3!


After an awesome day of service yesterday, the group arose anxious to do more, to give more. Our leaders surprised us today! We spent the day getting to know our group together by being tourists in our Erie!
We started our day with a scenic drive to the one and only Presque Isle! The group braved the cold and walked on the snow covered beach while engaging with each other and taking in the calm of the natural environment we are blessed to have in this amazing city.
Afterwards, we headed to the Tom Ridge Environmental Center (TREC) and actively participated in some of the hands-on games they had as we toured the center. We loved learning outside of the classroom and getting to know more about the animals and the environment that of Erie. And of course we had to make it up to the tower too! It was very cold at that point and the group was getting hungry after a jam-packed community building day! We headed over to Donatos! We played cards and puzzles as we anxiously awaited for our pizzas to arrive. We were shown genuine hospitality at Donatos and were filled with pizza, joy, and contentment in the day we had spend together.

...But the day is not over yet! Once coming back to the Saint Joseph House we had a few hours where each person took time to take care of their own wellness. A few people headed over to the Rec on Gannon's campus, a couple people took naps, read books, and had some conversation about our families and hobbies. Later on we prepared bags for the Lights On project for the OWB. On Thursday we will have the opportunity to pass the bags out with members of the community!  Once we were recharged it was time to P-A-R-T-Y! Today was your Faculty accompanied, Dave LeVan, 's BIRTHDAY!! His amazing mom dropped off fried chicken, pepperoni bread, macaroni salad, bean salad, cake, and ice cream for the whole group! Once Dave came back from his Wellness time, we jumped up from behind the kitchen table and surprised him with the dinner and a few gifts as well!
After a day of group bonding and celebrating we did not end our day there! Caroline gave Claire a haircut after the dinner party too!! We are truly building our community and relationships on this ABST.
As the night hours ticked on Katie had a great idea and lead the group in a Werewolf party game and it took a few rounds but eventually the whole group learned the roles and how to play the game... and only we figured out the werewolf too! We topped off the night with watching The Office to have a few more laughs before heading to bed and starting our service for the next day! We all grew together today and bonded over the common interests we share and are eager to learn more about one another and to continue forward in the week serving our Erie community! Keep reading to know what we do next!


-Heba













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