Final Day

First off let me say thank you for commenting this week. All of us down here in the Big Easy have been following it and appreciating each and every comment. Today was a day when all of the students were able to work on one location toward a single goal: paint a house...all of it...(by 4:30 when the college bookstore closes so they can buy mom and dad last minute souvenirs).

They did it. With time to spare.

We challenged the kids last night with the task and they stepped it up with their best collective effort of the week. We've been working hard on four different sites this week doing a ton of good in this deprived and impoverished neighborhood. However, today the kids were able to start and finish this house in unprecedented timely fashion. A group of 14 and 17-year-old students to paint an entire house in 6.5 hours is simply astounding. As I sit in my room about to leave for dinner with everyone I am having a difficult time putting today's accomplishment in perspective. Let's put it this way: When Ms. Sheryl learned that we had donated all of the paint and supplies and completed this enormous task for her she replied, "My God, this must be a miracle from above." To which Mr. Galasso replied, "No, it's a miracle from New Jersey."

Perfect.

This will likely be our last post because we are waking up at 6 AM tomorrow and heading to the airport.  It will take me far longer than the 15 spare minutes I have now to put this week into perspective. I'll be able to address everyone tomorrow when we arrive (as of now) at the high school at roughly 2:30 pm, but your children are an extraordinary group of young men and women. To all of the parents reading this you should know you have done a fantastic job raising your children and you should be (as I'm sure you are) extremely proud of them. The complaining was non-existent, the laughter was abundant, and the hard work, determination, and old fashion gutsiness was plentiful.

I know I speak on behalf of all of the chaperones when I say Thank You for the opportunity to spend a week with such fascinating and inspiring children.

Signing Off,

Ray Cottiers