FLIGHT DELAYED!

Our flight that was supposed to leave NOLA at 5:10 has been delayed until 6pm.

We were originally suppose to arrive to NYC at 9:17, but that has been moved back to 10pm.

Track our flight on the JetBlue website by looking up our flight number: 576!

The Days Just Keep Getting Better

It is hard to believe that we will be heading back to New York in just a few short hours!  Just like our first two days, Thursday was a ton of fun!

Like Wednesday, we started out our day with a few hours of service.  Scholars returned to the same site that they were serving at the day before to finish up the tasks they began.

We received some more kind words from the folks that we have been serving yesterday, so I wanted to pass those along to you as well. 

ARC Site, from leader Josh: They worked on garden beds, weeding, and setting up bamboo shoots. They were an industrious group. Everyone was very polite. I really enjoyed them. They were a delight to work with and helped us accomplish so much. I’m excited to know that they’ve helped us make such a big impact.”

 Randy & Jill Millet Family Home Site, from leader Collin Millet: “I so appreciate the group of youth and adults that worked at our home today. Mom and Dad have helped so many people and usually don’t get any help. I personally want to thank everyone of the group for doing so much for my parents here at the house as well as at the church. Your group did a great with the task we had for them. The youth pitched in and worked really well with one another. And, the leaders; they impressed me a lot. I like when leaders get in and pitch in with the work. It’s a quality in good leaders. They were fantastic with direction and encouragement and the youth were a delight. With my parents getting older, they aren’t able to do as much physical work, especially since Dad had a liver transplant at the end of last year. So, I am so grateful for your group’s help. Thank you”

After service and showering, we headed to Parkway Tavern so that scholars could try the New Orleans famous poboy sandwiches! Scholars had the opportunity to select two halves of the following poboy options: roast beef, shrimp, catfish and ham.  Shrimp was definitely the most popular option, but none of the sandwiches went to waste. :)

From lunch, we headed to our swamp tour where we split up onto two river boats to tour a wildlife reserve.  We learned a great deal about the history of New Orleans.  We saw several alligators in the water (the kids were SOOOOO excited) as we were riding around the swamp and bayou.  Annndddd, scholars even had the chance to hold a small baby alligator if they wanted. 

 

        

        

        

        

        

        

        

        

We finished the evening having scholars try gumbo (not as popular as all of the other food items we tried).  Then, we participated in a walking, haunted tour of the French Quarter.  Scholars heard some of the most popular legends of 'unexplainable' events that have happened over the last several hundred years in NOLA.

This morning, we are headed out to Xavier University soon for a tour.  Following our campus visit, we will have a lunch of catfish bites, chicken tenders and mac and cheese before we head to the airport for our 5:10 flight.

It is crazy to believe our time in New Orleans has come to a close, but we have enjoyed every minute with your scholars and will see you back at school sometime between 10:30 and 11!

Day 2 Was A Wonderful Success!

After enduring New Orleans traffic on our way to our service sites (which let me tell you gives NYC traffic a run for its money), our group of 60 kiddos split up amongst three sites: a church, a community center and a pastor's home.

Scholars performed a handful of tasks from weeding to moving dirt to cleaning out rooms to gardening and more! Check out some of evidence of our hard-working, community serving kiddos below:

Here also is some of the feedback we received from the people we are helping:

Living Proof Church Site – Randy Millet: “Each of the leaders were great. The kids that were with me today did a bang up job. They helped to clear an area with high grass and debris so that we could have two ways to get the stuff out of the church and into the storage container. Another group helped us to fix our garden, no easy task. They had to dig, weed, and lay down border bricks for the garden. These kids worked hard; some extra hard. I thoroughly enjoyed this group. We had a good day. I look forward to even a better one tomorrow. Tomorrow, we need to finish garden, unloading the big room, and laying flooring.”




After a morning of work, we came back to Operation Nehemiah, showered and had a delicious lunch from Cafe Reconcile of blackened catfish, sweet corn, rice and beans, bread pudding and sweet tea.  We are surely eating good down here!  Check out Cafe Reconcile's awesome program to support the youth: http://cafereconcile.org/about/mission.

Around 4pm, we headed back into the city to explore the French Quarter.  Chaperone groups competed against one another in a fun scavenger hunt to learn about the history of the French Quarter and see some of the coolest part of NOLA: Jackson Square, Cafe Dumonde, the Mississippi River, and on and on.  We rode a trolley and solved some really fun puzzles as we completed the scavenger hunt:

As we ended our evening in Jackson Square, we took a group before all scholars had the chance to try the world famous beignets from Cafe Dumonde!

Our first full day in NOLA was a huge success and we are beyond excited for today! :)

LPOHMA Lands in NOLA!

Dear Mammoth families,

We made it! Apologies for not writing last night, but we are all safe and sound here in NOLA.  We just finished breakfast at Operation Nehemiah and are on our way out for our first day of service.  Some of us will be painting, others helping install a floor and others assisting with yardwork.

All 7th graders did a wonderful job in the airport -- we even received compliments from the TSA staff!
The plane ride was smooth, and many kiddos slept.

We enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Waffle House upon arrival (posting pics later) and then headed to Operation Nehemiah to meet the wonderful people who are hosting us this week.  We are staying in dorm like rooms (bunk beds).  Boys are in rooms of 6 or less, and each girls' room has between eight and ten young ladies.    Scholars did a great job last night learning what it means to shower in a communal space.  It was a great life lesson for our boys and girls to remember to bring what they needed into the shower, how to change clothes before going back to one's room, etc.

Yesterday afternoon, we headed over to Mardi Gras World, where we learned about the REAL history behind Mardi Gras and toured the facility where Mardi Gras floats remain during the year (when it is not Mardi Gras).  Scholars also had a chance to make their own Mardi Gras mask, which they will be bringing back to New York on Friday.

We had an awesome first day, and were in bed by 8pm.  Scholars are well rested this morning, and we are looking forward to a great Day 2!

Love from NOLA,
Ms. Pasionek