I need to get a pdf of A-3 as well. Ryan did a really nice layout with four more photos there.
This was my first five picture photo package and self-wrote story that I have had published. Whoot Whoot! Here is the story (sorta similar to my original post) I would love suggestions!
The clock was ticking. Two more places to go. The chaotic thudding of running feet on wooden planks and the sound of teenagers laughing, echoed over the Tittabawassee and Chippewa rivers on Sunday night. The scattered clouds let enough moonlight through to highlight the hill from the Tridge to the “Family” statue. A group of twenty teens with strips of purple fabric tied around their foreheads, calves, or wrists had only a little further to go before they could stop running, set down the wornout blue couch, snap a group photo, pick up the couch and run back across the Tridge. Time was almost up. They had to hurry.
Couch Wars started at Living Word Church four years ago.
“A youth group from Cincinnati, Ohio used to come up and run our youth group once a month and do different activities,” Nate Senor, 23, a coordinator for this year’s Couch Wars said. “Couch Wars is just the begining of some of the various activities we do.”
This year, the Living Word Church youth group was divided into two teams; the orange team and the purple team. Each team was given a list of 16 places around Midland County to take their couch, snap group photos, and return to the church before 8:45 p.m. Ground rules were laid out before the race began. Points were deducted for every location that was missed, points were awarded for inviting strangers, or “guests” into the photos, and most importantly, if you were late you were disqualified.
Ashlie Carroll, 16, of Midland, is a second year Couch Wars vetern.
“There were a lot of different locations this year,” Carroll said. “Last year we would bring couches inside of Meijer and other places, but this year a lot more locations were outside. Any where we bring in a couch people think we’re insane, but people get a kick out of it.”
Once back at Living Word, the teams gathered inside for pizza, music, stories, laughs and photo sharing. During the slideshow, Senor, checked each team’s locations and how many guests appeared in the photos. The orange team had missed two locations and had a total of 13 guests. The purple team missed only one loaction, had a total of 22 guests, but as the rules had stated, if you were late, you were disqualified. Senor, a leader on the purple team had to admit and announce that the orange team was the deserving winners of this year’s Couch Wars.
Phillip Royster, 16, of Midland was a Couch Wars rookie. “It is one of those big things that unify the group,” Royster said. “It helps create a family atmosphere in our youth group.”
