Today began around 6:00 a.m. (for some) with showers, then breakfast, then packing up the vans and getting back on the road.  We drove from Sardis, MS to Dulac, LA.  We arrived at Dulac to find out that the place we are staying is Houma, LA, which we had gone through about 20 minutes before Dulac!!

When we got here we relaxed, played games, settled into our sleeping areas.  Then we had pizza for dinner, had our first evening session, then danced!  Yup, I said danced...well some did.  The church we are staying at was hosting a dance tonight for kids, so ours joined in on the fun!  Many smiles were seen!  It was a great night!!  Hopefully you enjoy the pictures!

Today was another great day!  It was our first day of work.  It was HOT out there...oh my goodness.  Doug sweat through his clothes within an hour of working...maybe even faster than that!  We gutted a house today.  We began this after an orientation this morning were we heard about cottonmouth snakes & 2 types of spiders, all of them have the ability to hurt humans!  I thought a few of the girls were going to start crying!!!

Once out at the worksite we realized things weren't as bad as we thought and the working began.  We stopped often to hydrate our bodies, which was needed in the heat.  You should see these kids work.  In about 5 hours we had a house with about 10 rooms almost completely gutted.  It was AWESOME!

Then we were able to shower up and head back to the church for dinner, our evening session and chill time.  The music tonight was great.  The room we sat in was filled with the sounds of kids praising God.  The Holy Spirit was definitely moving!!  Praise God! :)

Thanks for your prayers!!  They are being answered!  Continue to pray for safety...there are a lot of things we could face here, but with prayer on our side I'm confidence we will be safe!  Enjoy the pictures!

Tuesday began bright and early!!  Alarms began going off at 5:30 a.m. so we could get to the worksite early!!  It was GREAT getting there early and getting done early.  We still had plenty of walls to break down, ceilings to break down and haul out, insulation to remove and nails to take out of the floor!  It was crazy, but a good day.  It was another HOT day, which caused many water breaks and tired kids, but they worked hard and got a lot accomplished!!

After we completed work we headed off to an area to see alligators, but we only saw one!  I guess seeing one in real life is more than most people from our church can say!! :)  After the alligators we headed to the pool.  What a refreshing activity!!!

For dinner we went to Big Als for good Louisiana cooking.  Everyone was stuffed!!  Then we headed back to the church and had our evening session.  It was a great night! :)

Today the guys got up early and headed to the work site.  Orlen had a wonderful suggestion...he said that the girls should sleep in and come to the site late morning.  So, that's what we did!!  We women began functioning around 9 a.m. this morning.  It was a wonderful birthday present for me!! :)  The guys got to the house and finished taking down the ceilings and got the house all ready for the girls to come and de-mold it.  When the women arrived the guys had gotten some deep fried shrimp...it was amazing!  Then the guys played games and the girls de-molded the house!  By 1 p.m. our project was complete!  We then cleaned up the site and some headed to the community center to play ball and others headed to the pool to relax in the water.  It was another great day!

We stayed at the Community center and had a time of quiet so that  the kids could slow down and take some time with God.  There is nothing more precious than a room full of people being silent with God!

Then it was on to dinner.  We met up with a number of other groups working in the area.  We ate gumbo and potato salad...both were amazing!  Then we watched an informational video on the bayou's of Louisiana.  The final part of the evening was cajun music!!  It was a treat! :)

We headed back to the church to hang out and relax.  We then had one more exciting event!!  The kids, your amazing kids!!, surprised me with cake and a balloon and a present and a card.  Today I turned 27 and they made it an awesome day.  I received hugs and nots and special treatment.  God blessed me through your kids and through the other adults on this trip!