the beginning of the end :-(

Sorry it has been so long since the last update but we have been a busy team!

Over the past week or so we visited the FEMA trailer park to try to get kids for our last VBS. On the first day of VBS we had 30 kids!! The last week of VBS was very trying but also a blast. Our kids seemed to really get the point and they loved the dances. Some of our kids that came to VBS in Gulfport came to the VBS in Biloxi even though we told them it would be the same thing. These are the corps kids that we met the very first week. I think that we have made some good relationships with these kids.

Some of us are planning a return trip in December for Christmas break! YAY!

Fishing has been pretty uneventful lately. I did, however, catch a clam which was not very exiting. Andrew thinks we might have hooked 2 stingrays but we had to cut the line or we could have been there for hours. On one of our fishing escapades Andrew found a possum which he proceeded to poke with the fishing pole and then chase after and pick up.

Saturday Ronnette treated us to a "mystery drive" that we already knew about. We drove to Foley, AL and went to Lambert's Cafe, home of the throwed rolls. They would throw these steaming hot rolls at you when you had your hand up. It was quite an experience.

Another fun experience was almost getting kicked out of Denny's on Friday. We were all pretty wired after our last night of VBS so when we went out to eat afterwards we let it all out. There is a song that Ronnette found that is a rap song that a rapper did about getting a FEMA check from the government after the hurricane that we find absolutely hilarious and a great song. We used the FEMA check song to put on a little show outside of Denny's and didn't really calm down much when we got inside. One of the employees told us we could go sit at the picnic table outside the restaurant to eat. What fun!

The girls started painting Ronnette's bathroom on Saturday while the boys cleaned up the area outside of Yankie Stadium. We have also helped move in some stuff for a couple from the corps that they haven't seen since right after the hurricane.

This week consists of work projects for corps members and enjoying our last week here on the Gulf Coast.

We hung out a lot with Major Cundiff yesterday which was great. He preached an amazing sermon yesterday in church and told us lots of great stories over lunch. Hopefully we will get the chance to hang out with him more over this next week.

It is crazy that we only have one week left here. It seems as if time has flown by and it shouldn't be time to go home. Some of us are excited about going home and others of us (like me) wish we could stay a little bit longer. The relationships we have formed here are great and we will be sad to leave them behind.

I promise to put pictures up when I either get back to Atlanta or get home where I have a faster internet connection. We also have some videos that will be put up.

We're all pretty excited about TYI (except for Kirbi who isn't going.) It'll be a good chance to tell other young people about our experiences and get them excited for next summer.

Time to get back to work!

In Christ,Shannon Rogers and the SSC Gulf Coast Team