After a very relaxing weekend, in which I took in Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the Valley Forge encampment of Revolutionary War soldiers, I'm back on the road again. I visited two groups associated with the University of Pennsylvania here in Philadelphia, First Presbyterian Church and the Campus Christian Association. One is struggling with how to reach out to Presbyterian students on Penn's campus while the other avoids denominational labels. Both were interested in how NNPCW might play into their particular ministries.

First Presbyterian's problem is that undergraduate students won't make the trip across the river from University City to Center City to check them out. For them, grad students are where it is at. The Campus Christian Association, though it has ties to the Presbyterian Church, serves a very different population than many campus ministries. They work with those who have been scarred by other churches, seekers who are skeptical of mainline churches, people seeking the moral language to articulate their justice concerns. While they weren't particularly excited about identifying with NNPCW as such, they were very interested in the possibilities presented by our discussion resource for small group study. I think First Pres would be more likely to send students to the Leadership Event, but the Campus Christian Association will use the resource itself. Both visits were very good "planting seeds" events.

I'm staying in Flourtown, Pennsylvania with a woman who has two "Labradoodles"-- poodle/Labrador Retriever mixes with all the white hair of poodles and energy of labs. Interestingly enough, I learned that the breed was born to help a blind woman who was allergic to dogs-- labs make great service dogs, poodles don't shed a lot of hair, and both breeds are known for intelligence. The lady I'm staying with also takes care of 4-5 children per day, so it is a bit crazy!!

Also, an update on the "healthy eating strategy"-- I haven't been so good about following it of late. All my eating out has forced me to reintroduce carbs into my diet on a limited basis. I will say, however, that I've only eaten meat once since February 1-- but could you honestly expect me to visit Philadelphia for the first time and not partake of the infamous Philly Cheesesteak?? And yes, I had to have my first piece of cake in nearly a month to celebrate George Washington's birthday at Valley Forge. It was Martha's special recipe ;).

I'm sorry for the lack of exciting news... I'm afraid this has been a rather dull trip in terms of adventures. But better nothing at all than something bad!!

Kelsey