As we gathered before the sun came up on Saturday morning ready to start our trip, the realization about our return to the Crescent City did not kick in until we landed at Louis Armstrong Airport. Once we got to the Duchesne House and were greeted with hugs and beads from Sisters Maureen, Mary Pat, ML, and Diane we knew we were home. It has been a full few days. Our group attended mass at Saint Augustine Catholic Church which was founded in 1841 and is the oldest African-American Catholic parish in the United States. After mass you have to go to a second line and the students enjoyed being right in the middle of the music and parade. We had our leadership dialogue with the 4^th World Movement and then off to a crawfish broil in the community. On Monday we started our work with the Community Book Center where the students are improving the storefront and creating some designs for the book store. The Community Book Center is a landmark and many avid readers, learners, teachers, and residents gather to learn from Vera and Mama J about everything going on the social, cultural, and political landscape. We also got a person tour with Brandon who gave us a behind the scenes look inside Saint Louis Cathedral, which is home to the second oldest Catholic Archdiocese in the United States. We also had a chance to meet with our friends Chief Montana and Omar Casimire. Chief Montana is a Mardi Gras Indian and Omar is the founder of the Katrina Museum. It has been a great week so far so please keep the love and prayers coming! (Just click on pictures to see them up close).

Our Return to New Orleans

Well . . . we are on our way back to way to New Orleans and one of our trip alums, Jared Barris, described it best when he wrote:

"Some of you have been packed for a couple of weeks and others of you haven't even started. Some of you have been mentally prepared for weeks and others of you totally forgot that you were actually going to New Orleans for Spring Break. Some of you have been dieting and others of you just haven't realized the amount of delicious heart attack food you'll be eating. With all that said, there are a lot moments in our lives that are enjoyable, but than there are the few that stay with us and really define these pinnacle points in our College experience that we grow from....... From the food, to the NOLA atmosphere, to the service, and onto the most important entity, the USD students and administrators I bonded with on this trip; NOLA service trip is something I will never forget. So get ready, start packing, and don't eat all today... and most of all, ENJOY a moment that you will keep forever!"

Who Dat!!