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