A Key to Lake Charles

My internet connection is a little slow here, so we only get one picture:) Thursday night the First Christian Church of Lake Charles had a pot luck dinner in our honor. It was amazing-- not only did we get to try samples of some homemade food, but we got to meet many people from the area. We were a little like celebrities!

Friday we worked on a special project that we will unveil at church when we present about our experiences and did a few other odd jobs around the church and one neighbors' roof. We got to meet the Mayor of Lake Charles (pictured above) and we all received a KEY to Lake Charles, LA. He also showed us a Power Point about what the city went through and some of the before and after shots. We packed up and left Lake Charles in the early evening and headed to Shreveport, LA. We are staying the night in Kings Hwy CC so we don't have as long of a drive in one day.

We can't wait to show everyone more pictures, stories and hugs (after we shower)! We are all still getting along and even shared in an impromptu YMCA dance party in the car on the way in tonight. Peace and Love,

CYF Mission Team 2010

Tropical Storm Bonnie

In case anyone has heard of the Tropical Storm Bonnie that is developing in the Gulf of Mexico-- no worries. It might hit the Lake Charles area, but not until Monday or so and we will be long gone by then. Just thought I would share!

Peace,

CYF Mission Group 2010

BOBCAT 101

A couple of the kids got to have mini-lessons with Kevin on how to work a Bobcat. They thought it was pretty cool! That's all for Work Day 4. We are exhausted, tired and loving it! We can't wait to share more details about the work we did and some of our adventures!

Work Day 4

Sanding cement,

painting the trim of the house,

Decorative indoor piece,

Working on getting some dirt out of a truck (long story)

And more painting of the outside trim.... We've been busy!

Happy Birthday Caitlin!!

Happy Birthday Caitlin!!! Caitlin worked hard on her birthday and then had a BIRTHDAY Sno Cone!!

Work Day 3

Making a drain... or something like that.

Priming, hauling stuff, painting...

Priming and Painting, moving wood,

More Painting...

installing this toilet! True Story:)

Today was a looooong work day. This is towards the beginning of the day, so you get a little idea of the 'before'. Plus, Shelby wanted me to make sure her Dad saw her mowing:)

We will be back again tomorrow, but we definitely got a LOT of work done today! You should be VERY proud of our South Summit Youth, they all worked very hard today!

Joy

Work Project #1 Complete!

We finished one project today, and the picture of the lady whose house we painted is above. We look lovely and covered in paint:) We finished a little early, so we decided to go to the Gulf of Mexico beach today and grill out. It was awesome! We found an alligator and took a picture with it.

Random quotes from the day:

"I had a nice little nap when everyone was getting ready for the beach, and it was wonderful. Then Kevin threw water on me, and I didn't like that and I was grumpy."-- Nick

"Someone needs to follow me around with a recorder, this stuff is gold" --Nick

"I think the water is getting deeper"-- Caitlin

"No, the water is just getting taller" -- Shelby

P.S. The alligator was dead roadkill on the side of the road.

Work Day 1: Complete

We tried homemade gumbo at the house that we are painting, and most greatly enjoyed it! We got covered in paint and learned a lot about each other. We also had many nicknames created.... but more on that in person:)

We went out to dinner for Alex's birthday, then to this really cool park that is right by the lake. This looked like a perfect photo op, so enjoy! We are having a great time and enjoying the southern hospitality!

Work Day 1

Happy Birthday ALEXANDRA!! We went to our first assignment today and painted a LOT! There was also a surprise birthday cake for dessert after we enjoyed some delicious homemade gumbo! We learned a lot working today, but we will save that for the Sunday when we share about our experiences:)

Beautiful ending to our arrival...

We took a scenic tour on the first night in Louisiana and captured this gorgeous picture of the sunset. Funny story-- The first person we talked to in Louisiana after meeting our mission station manager we asked for directions to a restaurant. We were all fully expecting a southern accent... but were surprised with a British accent:)

Memorial Park Tours

We had our orientation with the Station Manager, Renee and learned about what our week will be like. Afterwards, we were excited to try some authentic Cajun food, so we ate at Steamboat Bill's. Across the highway was THE lake with several memorials along the boardwalk. We got out and took advantage of the beauty and to be able to stretch our legs. The boys are standing in front of a new helicopter that was only recently dedicated in memory of the Vietnam War-- very cool! The ladies posed in front of a giant tank that was close by. We had a great time on the first night getting settled into our dorm-like rooms by the church and playing games in the activity room.

Uh-oh!

Just kidding! The light post was definitely already like this, but hey-- what a photo op!!!

We woke up from the church in Fort Smith, AR, showered and got back on the road bright and early! We stopped in Shreveport, LA for lunch-- some of us ate Whataburger for the first time, and others of us went with the safe choice of Subway. We still had a couple of more hours, with lots of rain, seeing a wicked wreck on the highway and more Nursery's on one road than in all of Missouri... at least it seemed like it. We arrived in Lake Charles, LA around 4:45pm to the First Christian Church and was greeted by the Station Manager, Renee.

The Looooong Ride

This is what we looked like part of the way during the drive down. Nick looks super comfortable:)

The Boys. Enough said. :)

Fort Smith, AR

Here is the youth's group shot in the "Activity Room" of the church we are staying the night in. We left at exactly 3:00pm this afternoon and made great time arriving in Fort Smith around 7:15. We had dinner and then came over and got a tour of the church of the First Christian Church of Fort Smith. It is a gorgeous place with a very hospitable host. I will admit that I have been very nervous the last few days, but it seems that everything is falling into place and working out amazingly! We will continue to update with pictures and posts as we are able this week.