Day 5 Pictures

Sorry they are a bit out of order!


The street full of 5 houses at the end of the day



The two houses our group worked on this week at the end of Day 5





Holding up siding


Mr. Gower showing Jillian how to use the saw



Loved the freeze pop breaks



Some working... some playing with water guns...


Painting


The siding team

Day 5- The Final Day On Site

Hey y'all!
Today we woke up at 6:30am once again. Suprisingly we don't even need the teachers to wake us up anymore. Our bodies are now programed to waking up at very early hours. The girls were even up a little bit earlier to prepare for their special suprise. On a Walmart run earlier this week, all the girls bought $5 navy blue t-shirts that say "Mississippi Rocks" and camo bandanas. Of course, just the plain t-shirts were not enough. We had to make them cut-offs, but of course not too low! We all braided our hair and wore our camo boys' cargo shorts as well. The teachers and boys thought our "surprise" was rather humorous. We thought we looked pretty good! After our usual breakfast, we, eager to finish our houses, hurried to the worksite. Once there the "McGower" team started to finish painting their house blue while the other group finished siding their house. The blazing sun was at its finest today, and many breaks were necessary for all of us. Brian was a great help to everyone on the worksite as our very own DPU (Dehydration Prevention Unit). His job was rather simple. He filled a water gun with our drinking water and squirted us all. We were never so happy to be drenched with freezing cold water. When not squirting people, Brian took a nap under the tent. Mrs. Donnelly was happy to wake him up with a full bucket of freezing cold water. After a long day of work, around 4:00 we had our house dedications. Each house held a brief prayer service in honor of the families and the workers who built the families' homes. We also took lots of pictures in front of our newly built homes. We finished up at the worksite at around 5:15 and raced home to beat the Chicago group to the showers. Unfortunately, we didn't succeed. The line was out the door! Dinner wasn't a huge hit tonight, but the trip to get snowballs definitely made up for the Salisbury steak. After our snowballs, we all gathered outside for reflection. Somehow our reflections are lots of fun and always end in laughter! It was a great end to our work week. Luckily, our curfew has been extended from 10:30 to 11:00 tonight! We are all excited to venture to New Orleans tomorrow!

Love, Sarah and Kate :)
p.s. If you want to check out more pictures from our worksites, go to www.habitatbw.org and click pictures!

"Day 4 and still rockin" - Mr. Gower

Hey y'all! Today was another fabulous- but very long- day. We got up extra early to fulfill our bathroom cleaning duties which consisted of scrubbing the toilets, mopping the muddy floors, and cleaning the showers. After that we piled into the vans and headed off to the work site for another day of hard work. It was excruciatingly hot- by 9:15 the temperature (with the heat factor) was 105!
Today we worked on mostly on the siding and caulking. We even started painting the house (the owners picked a really pretty light blue. Its called Marlboro Blue)
There's also some friendly competition down here. Everyone's watching to see who will complete their house first, the Irish group (who, coincidentally are painting their house green) or the Korean church group from California. The Koreans also have some Prep students working with them. The Koreans, sadly, are blowing both the Irish and us out of the water. Their house is completely sided, painted and theyre almost done with the roof! Our contractor, Ben, tells us not to feel too bad, their mechanical minds are perfect for building houses. Plus they have a secret weapon in our very own Thane, who is so efficient a builder we think he's part Korean.
At 4:30, we cleaned up and went back to Lagniappe. We showered and got dressed verrry quickly so we could go out to dinner as planned. Even though we were missing taco night :-( we wanted to try some local cuisine.
We went to Shaggy's, a really nice little restaurant overlooking the bay and the harbor. We ate delicious seafood while listening to a Jimmy Buffett cover band. After that, we walked out on the pier, watched the sunset, took some pictures, and even met some locals catching catfish.
Next we headed to the Mockingbird Cafe in downtown Bay St. Louis. While sipping iced coffees, we sat outside listening to some more live music. All our friends from Lagniappe were there- the Koreans, the Irish, a group from Chicago, and even our contractors Ben and Tim. We met even more people, like Ben's wife, Sarah, whom he met at the Mockingbird 5 years ago when they were volunteering with Habitat. The town is adorable, and we still can't get over their Southern hospitality. Everyone greets us with a friendly " Hey Ya'll" and asks with great interest where we are from.
We got back to Lagniappe around 10:30, and were all headed off to bed soon. Tomorrows our last day of work, and even though the work has been long and hard, we're sad to see the week come to an end. But keep checking, there will still be blogs tomorrow night and on Saturday, from our trip to New Orleans! -Love ya'll, Caroline and Genny

Day 3 Pictures

Maggie using the nibbler to cut siding

Using the nail gun to put up siding

Putting up siding

Cutting Tyvek and tacking it to the house

Putting in roof brackets

End of Day 3... we've come so far from the concrete slab and still 2 more days to go!

And some pictures from Kitchen Duty

"If ya feel good, ya play good!"

This morning was the usual breakfast...minus the eggs for some reason. Just before leaving to go to the work site, it started to POUR. Mr. Gower started off his van with a quote about someone changing their shirt to match a bandanna, saying, "If ya feel good ya play good!" It was yet another exciting van ride filled with many hilarious quotes from numerous people. At the job sites, we all started off working as hard as we could in the rain. Mr McGower's group started with the siding on their house, while Mrs. Donneloyden's started on their brackets for the roof. Both groups continued working hard throughout the crazy undecided weather: it went from being extremely hot, to pouring, to being extremely hot again, and pouring again. This erratic weather pattern continued all day long. I think we can all agree that lunch was much needed, appreciated, and deserved. After lunch, the group from Korea engaged in a siding race with themselves, which was quite an interesting sight to watch. The Donneloyden's started their siding, finished up putting plywood on their roof, and got their doors and windows in on everything. The McGower's finished up their siding, and even started painting, along with putting in all of the doors and windows. It is safe to say that the buildings were actually starting to look like houses! For dinner, Katie, Brittney, Sarah, and Kate went in early to cook, while the rest of the group stayed behind afterward to clean up after a delicious meal of Spaghetti and meatballs, with garlic bread and brownies! Dom and Jonny started a water fight with everyone while simultaneously having a dance party to music like Bruce Springsteen and Frank Sinatra. After eventful dinner happenings, card games and basketball games occurred outside and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. We were all grateful for some sleep and showers. Day three was yet another fun and exciting success!

Quotes of the day:
1.) "Dude almost got smoked!" -Mr. Gower
2.) "This is the thunder (holds up one fist). This is the lighting (holds up the other). You don't wanna get caught in the storm!" -Mr. Gower talking to Kevin
3.) "How old do you have to be to get a hot flash?" -Molly Feeney

Love,
-Katie Snyder
-Maggie Germain
-Jonathan Sanborn

Day 2 Pictures

Using the nail gun (after intense instruction)

Peeking over the top of the roof

Waiting for the next piece of plywood for the roof

Working hard to pass the nail inspection

Starting the day with a group hug

Covering the house in plywood

Day 3 continued..

We just arrived back at Lagniappe with great stories for everyone. We all had our share of snowballs consisting of numerous different flavors. They were delicious! Afterwards we all headed down to the beach. It is safe to say that so far it was everyone's favorite part not just because the weather was beautiful, but because we all had a fantastic time together! It is also safe to say that we took more pictures than anyone can possibly count. We had so much fun from the boys wrestling in the sand, piggy back ride races, photo shoots, pyramid photos, and wading to our knees in the water. Holding true as before the car rides home hold their own! Mrs. Donnelly's van had another singing fest, while Mr. Gower's van was being followed by the cops (harmlessly of course)! As we prepare to end the night we all will be writing in our journals, playing cards, and spending time together as our own little Prep family. Good night and we love you all! Keep reading and commenting on the blogs! We love the feed back! Now for the finale:
Quotes to be explained later on:
1) want some plywood? heck yeah!
2) nice cam-a-rah!
3) can you move to row two, please?
4) work it ladies! (brian knott)
5) he's the meaty one!
6) FYI we're being tailed by the police. (Mr. Mcgovern)
7) Is this facebook official enough?

Love- Bri, Bethy, Thane, and Brittany

Day 3: Want some plywood?.. Heck yeah!!

Waking up this morning, surprisingly, wasn't too terrible again. Before leaving for the work site this morning we had one extra job to do: clean up from breakfast. After an hour's worth of cleaning all of us agreed that the permenant kitchen volunteers should be getting more credit than they recieve. Much thanks to every one of them! Luckily, today the weather was nice and cool. A good 88 degrees, and a cool breeze! Obviously that didnt last very long and the blazing sun reappeared. Mainly the work today consisted of putting up the initial outer walling and putting up the tresses on the roof and then the plywood. Oh! and tons upon tons of nailing which was later on inspected by professional inspectors! We are happy to say that both the "Donneloydens" and the "McGowers" passed our inspections (: Not only did we accomplish a lot of work, but we also continued to shock each other with our motivation, dedication, and hard work! (Core 25: Coorrelatives) All of us are grateful for the ice pop breaks granted to us by Habitat as well. To all of us, lunch never tasted so good (or ended so quickly), but we aren't complaining because captain Donnelly says so. Its rule number 1! After lunch we all headed back to work until 5:00. According to the captain (Mrs. Donnelly) we were to shower quickly when we came back to Lagniappe so that after dinner we could go get some glorious tasting snowballs! ( BTW: tonight's dinner was delicious! We had some chicken fingers, mac n' cheese, and salad).We all agree that it beat out last night's dinner by far!)Following our treat we are supposed to be heading down to the beach for a while, which will be refreashing for us all eveb though we can't swim because of some oil. We will tell you about our upcoming adventures when we return from the beach! Off to the beach ya'll!
(TO BE CONTINUED LATER TONIGHT...)

And a few more...

Building scaffolding.

Our new AmeriCorp Volunteer, Tim

Building walls

Finishing the roof right before we left for the day.

What progress!!!

PIctures from Day 1

Just arrived on the worksite.. only a concrete foundation.

Bri and Caroline getting ready for a hot day of work!

Wall raising

After building and raising all the walls here is the progress we made just before lunch.

Hydration/Freeze Pop Break

Putting up the roof trusses.

Day Two: Howdy Ya'll

We don't even know where to begin! Wake up call was at 6:30 but we were all so excited to begin that it honestly didn't seem too early. Breakfast was at 7:00 sharp and soon after we were all off to start our busy day. We all soon learned that the temperature in Mississippi at 8:00 a.m. is just a little hotter than high noon in the dead of summer in Pennsylvania. But we're not complaing, because we're not allowed to complain, that was rule #1. We were split into two groups and mixed with other service trips, and off to our flat concrete slab we went. It's unbelievable the amount of work we accomplished in one day, but it wasn't easy. By the time we went for lunch most of us could literally wring out every article of clothing we had on, and probably have all filled a swimming pool together. The work is hard but definitely rewarding, and we're all doing things that we'd never normally do. We've basically laid the framework for two whole houses, put up all the external and interior walls and even started the roofing. The contractors make it so simple with their patience and experience, and they really make it fun too. All in all today was a great work day in mississippi.
The fun doesn't stop there though, after our work day we came back for a southern dinner of rice and beans, which didn't exactly go over great. Then the whole group really got together for a Wal-Mart trip, and as we are typing this half of us are playing with the remote control cars purchased by Joel and Brian. We closed the day with a reflection period by the whole group in which we all discussed our reactions to the people we've met here so far. We miss everyone and can't wait to see YA'LL!


Random Quotes of The Day: (to be explained later)
1.) Can I pee in the rain?
2.) You can't leave your tools up here.
3.) Woah! ok, that's why we wear hard hats.
4.) Oh, you're so meaty Kevin......(Molly Feeney).
5.) I refuse to let you use my name Chris.

Day 1 of the Mississippi Experience

HI! After a two hour bus ride we arrived at the Philly airport. All 26 of us boarded Flight 1239 due south to New Orleans. It was a fairly easy flight arriving earlier then expected. From the moment we stepped off the plane we could feel the humidity of the deep south. The boys were quickly covered in sweat. From there we took 2 vans to our Mississippi location. After settling in our resort-like bunk houses we ventured to Main Street to do some shopping. The boys ventured down to the beach to feel the warm water. After getting well acquainted with our surroundings we were fed dinner at the Main Street Methodist Church. We were given oatmeal cookies about the size of a compact disc. Muy delicioso! Upon returning to Lagniappe we were given a quick orientation during which we became very familiar with the term "Y'all." Following orientation we played numerous games of knock-out ( I was in the final four Dad!! -Molly but Kevin and Brian both won numerous times) As our curfew is quickly approaching we must bid you farewell.
Love all of us here in Mississippi,
Molly Feeney, Brian Knott, & Kevin Icker <333333

Who We Are and What We're Doing

One might ask why we are traveling to Mississippi to build houses in the middle of June when it is a constant 95 degrees during the day, relief of only about 78 degrees each night, thunderstorms happen often, and oh yeah, we have to pull a chain in the shower to keep the water running (no complaining). Well, to answer that.. SERVICE! We are a group of twenty two soon-to-be seniors in high school and four teachers from Scranton Preparatory School in Scranton, PA. Our school has service requirements, consistent with the Jesuit ideals and values, for students each year throughout their high school experience which culminates in a service trip (for most students) the summer between their junior and senior years. We are just one of 16 service trips this summer. Teachers volunteer their time to chaperone these amazing trips.

We are excited to be staying at Mission on the Bay http://www.futuresforfamilies.org/FuturesforfamiliesFrontpage.html , and be working with Habitat for Humanity Bay-Waveland http://www.habitatbaywaveland.org/ . The work that we plan to do and what we intend to accomplish on this trip far outweigh any worries about heat or the tight bunkhouses where we will be staying. We have been fortunate in our lives and are looking forward to helping to build houses for those who have lost their homes in the tragic event of Hurrican Katrina. Even though it happened five years ago, the coast still needs help. And we are more than happy to volunteer our time for others.

We will be posting updates here as we progress through the week so be sure to check back often and see what's going on! Also, please leave us any comments you have, we would love to read them!


Check out our school here: www.scrantonprep.com