Senior Class Trip - 2016 Update #1

Greetings from Florida!

The first picture in the slide show is of the church where the group is staying.  The facility is great. The entrance we use is pictured above. There is a gym, with rec room, eating area, and classrooms where we ‘live’ in the evenings.
The church is taking good care of us – homemade Mexican food last night and tonight, as well as some treats this morning. Tomorrow, a friend of Vern is taking us all out to dinner at a nice Italian place, his treat! Guess they are taking pity on us in the meals department. So far, I’ve heard no complaints about this from anyone.
It was difficult getting up the first morning. After flying to Tampa, and being met with by Mrs. Gold and a Welcome sign, we finally arrived at the church about 1:30am on Tuesday. By the time everyone got settled, it was around 2am and we all anticipated that 6am wakeup call that first morning.
We have worked at two different Habitat locations, on 5 houses. Everyone is finding their niche tasks and today they worked as a well-oiled machine. You parents should be proud of the work ethic you have instilled in all these great students! The Habitat coordinator today told me he loved working with our group today. He mentioned, “There was no complaining, and I quickly realized I could give someone a task, or show them how to do it once, and I didn’t have to worry about it being done right, the first time!” Another example of the wonderful influence from God and parents.
We will work again tomorrow, then on Monday and Tuesday next week. Friday and Sunday will be beach days (unless they get tired of the beach) and on Sabbath afternoon, we will visit a local wildlife preserve so we can all experience the indigenous species in their natural habitat. 
The church has a small pond in front, which is known to have a visiting gator from time to time, but we have yet to see him (or her) hanging out.
I’m sure you have seen pictures from the kids on Facebook, in email, or shared by someone else online somewhere.  But here is a description of the rest of the photos.
The man sitting just to Gracie’s right is Paul, our construction supervisor for Wednesday’s work, whom I quoted above.
Some chose to spend a couple hours at Bonita Beach, about 30 min from the church, before dinner. The water was “cold” but I though it more like bath water, than what we would experience at the beaches of Maine.
 This is the second house (next door to the house in the group shot above) that we worked on today. We were eagerly awaiting instructions from the construction super at 8:05 this morning...
The kids here are leading worship each morning and evening, and are rotating on breakfast and dinner duties. 
We are praying for the safe and quick return of friends and loved-ones who are stranded in Ecuador on their mission trips, as many of you already know.
The fun is never-ending. Please keep us in your prayers for a safe and enjoyable mission experience!
Regards, Mr. Pierce