St. John's Youth: Photos

Mission Road Trip 2 - Gulf Coast Edition

Put on your seat belts, kids we're hittin' the road...
The greatest tourist destination in Arizona - The Thing!
Sabrina - not so impressed with "The Thing"
"On the road again...."
Mexican food on the first night in Arizona
Here we are with the pastor of the church where we stayed in Arizona. He loves the Schlitterbahn!
just some ole' cow hands kickin' back on the streets of Tombstone
You can almost sense the presence of Wyatt Earp!
Drop your guns, you varmin!
Tombstone's famous Bird Cage Theatre
Sam Wambaa's head moves into the town of Tombstone!
Saddle up, pard'ner
Tombstone's Boot Hill graveyard
Bryce finds her new home along the Arizona backroads.
Anyone feeling "enchanted" yet?
Ryan and Tyler Smith decide to go into business in New Mexico.
The one and only.
Veronica and Sabrina point to the name of their grandfather, a member of the Border Patrol Museum. For real.
Sam, Sabrina, Veronica, and Ryan fantasize about various means of border-enforcing travel
Olivia mentally prepares for her new life in Ohio.
Nick kicks it old school with the Booty-Tron 5000
Welcome to Texas, ya'll.
"Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas...."
Texas BBQ at Austin's fantastic Iron Works restaurant
Rebecca bites off more than she can chew.
I never thought I'd actually get to see the World's Largest Urban Bat Colony before I died. The second or third largest, maybe. But the LARGEST?!?!?!?! Awesome.
The St. John's ladies chillax in preparation for some bat watching.
4 studs play 4 card stud. Is that even a real game?!?!?!?!?
That is downtown Austin. Those things in the sky are bats. Nasty.
They call me Shaved Ice Bryce.
Oh, Trrrrrrrrravis!
The Broken Spoke - one of the last great honky tonks in Austin, Texas
Many members of the St. John's youth group prepare to taste their first ever chicken fried steak at The Broken Spoke
What's that sound, kids? It's cawwntry music!
Yeeeeeeee-Haw! Nothing more natural than L.A. gals in a Texas honky tonk
Nick and Jeannette take it informal - Texas style.
Veronica takes Jeannette to foosball school at Shepherd of the Hills Church, where we stayed in Austin, TX
Yep, that's the largest pair of cowboy boots in the United States. They're in San Anotnio, Texas. Where else?
Sitting at the feet of God (who was wearing his cowboy boots at the time)
The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas
Remember the Alamo? Yeah, we toured it 3 minutes ago.
We marvel at the second largest pecan in the United States.
A normal size squirrel eyes the 2nd Biggest Pecan in America
After days of travel, we finally arrived at our destination!
Who knew Sam was so popular in Mississippi?
This is the damaged hotel where we stayed during the work week along the Gulf Coast. Literally half of the hotel was destroyed...so we stayed in the other half.
New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, still showing the ravages of the Katrina aftermath months after the event.
This was a common scene in New Orleans.
Spray painted markings appear on all damaged houses indicating when they were searched, etc.
Hurricane Katrina left this boat from who knows where. Note the now infamous Superdome in the background.
Even after 9 months, there was still standing water in some areas.
Circlin' up for a little work sit prayer
Ryan and his team move debri from damaged property.
It's beautiful when people set aside their differences to come together for a common cause.
Olivia, Sam and Scott's work crew with their resident and her granddaughter
Olivia and some of her work crew
The heat makes people a little loopy by the end of the day.
Scott prepares to strike this young man with a hammer.
Sam's work crew
It's hard out here for a....workman
Sabrina illustrates that hanging dry wall indoors is no reason for being uncool enough to remove the shades.
Nick auditions for the role of Boba Fett in Star Wars 7
Git that camera out my face, son!
Nick reminds us that supervising hard work is as important as doing it.
Travis ponders the feasiblity of single handedly constructing an apartment complex in the next three days.
Sabrina and Noah's work crew
Noah illustrates some West Coast posturing.
Sabrina says "Peace out, ya'll."
This is the church where we'd all meet together each night for the evening program.
Ryan Smith - Master of the Wheelbarrow
Sabrina says, "helping build a new home makes me feel on top of the world!"
Travis decked out in his full Bob the Builder costume
Scott - still red from the strain of ripping an old stove from a home with his bare hands (OK, there were gloves)
While his team works hard, Scott stands around being fat.
Sam pauses to take a breath. In the background is the resident's FEMA trailer.
Demolition work indoors in Mississippi in July is hot work!
Jeannette's work crew is so organized, they line up by height for group photos.
Alright, Mel, this is no time to brag that you single handedly filled the dumpster...Back to work!!!!
Mel's 66% T-shirt coordinated work crew.
Rebecca's work crew
Melanie and Philip push through another hot day on the work site.
Rebecca offers Jeannette the Heimlich Maneuver after a workplace mishap.
Olivia and Veronica show off the decorative tire we made to commemorate our road trip.
A moment of calm during Travis' crazy week as a multi-work site trouble shooter
Little did we know what adventure awaited us on Captain Ted's swamp boat tour.
Crikey!
Who can imagine what fiersome creatures await us beneath the eerily placid swamp waters
Now THIS is Louisiana!
Captain Ted summons the gator, not realizing it lurks just behind him. Moments after this photo was taken, the croc sprang from the water and grabbed Captain Ted. We never saw him again. OK, not really.
Hi guys!
The unstoppable Smith Brothers get ready to sink their teeth into some cajun food in the French Quarter while Travis' watch looks on.
The world famous Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans' French Quarter
Sweet Home Alabama
Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church - Ground Zero for the Civil Rights Movement
at the Civil Rights Memorial Park in Birmingham, Alabama
Nick Fox...sings?!?!?!?
Visiting Scott's 93 year old grandmother in Nashville, Tennessee.
Memphis, Tennessee's famous Beale Street. You can see by Annie's smile that she does NOT have the blues.
Some of the best ribs in Memphis, Tennessee!
The site of Martin Luther King's assassination (now the National Civil Rights Museum)
The whole gang
We would have taken our picture by this state sign, but it would require standing in the middle of the interstate.
The best picture we could get of the elusive Toad Suck, Arkansas
Everyone sports their brand new Toad Suck Arkansas shirts
This is Philip. He's 66.
When you think about it, Ryan is further from Texas than any of us. Just look.
Home of the 70 oz. steak. Hmmmmmmmm....
Gettin' ready to get our steak on at the Big Texan
Mel and Noah find their inner hillbilly.
Everything's bigger in Texas, except for Scott, apparently
These girls are rockin'. Literally.
Care for another steak, Noah?
Veronica inexplicably gets her groove on at Cadillac Ranch.
Noah is the King of the Caddies
Sabrina, are you defacing that nice vehicle?
Get your kicks....at the dead center of Route 66.
The Midway Point Diner on Route 66
If only Sam were taller, he could eat those peppers.
Melanie and Noah attempting to illegally hop the border
Kinda makes us think of home for some reason...