Thirty members of the University of Denver’s Campus Crusade participated last week in a regional conference that brought crusaders from Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri together for a “week of Glory.” The conference raised $33,000 for tsunami victims.

The annual conference, held at downtown Denver’s Adams Mark Hotel, serves as a “time to get everyone together, reconnect with God and each other and strengthen friendships,” said Sarah Romero, a DU senior who attended the conference.

In addition, students pledge money every year to “continue the work of Christ through different avenues,” said DU senior Tony Wright.

In light of December’s tragic tsunami in the Indian Ocean, half of the money raised this year went toward relief efforts in tsunami-hit areas, said Wright.

One day during the conference is dedicated to a “day of outreach,” when students deliver boxes of food to needy families throughout the Denver area. Students work closely with an area church and try to get to know the people that they encounter.

“We talk to them and take surveys,” said Romero, who wasn’t able to attend the day of outreach this year because she had to be in class.

“We ask questions about what the church can do for them, like administering an after-school program for their kids.”

During the evenings, the conference schedule called for students to get together at the hotel and listen to various speakers who would “delve into the Bible” and help the audience to incorporate qualities such as forgiveness, sacrifice and renewal into their lives, said Wright.

“It really helped to be in God’s presence before the [hectic schedule] of classes started,” said Wright, who found particular satisfaction in the night of renewal. “I can start the year clean with a renewed physical and spiritual self.”

Romero said that her experience with the conference was unique this year because it helped her, as a senior, focus on the future rather than on college.

“There’s life after college,” she said. “[The conference] got me excited because I learned about different ministries I can join after I graduate.”

Romero said that she is interested in working with Doulos ministries, a year-long commitment to live in a house with troubled teens in the role of “big sister” or “big brother.”