Praying for safe travel and God's provision for our friends.

Mayor Johnny Dupree & his lovely wife Johniece Dupree stopped by the house to see the kids last night. We are very thankful for the friendship and support the mayor has given us over the past 3 years!

We spent the morning at the Aquarium of the Americas. Thank you to the Audubon Nature Institute!

We have had a wonderful day filled with new friends, bowling, roller skating and catfish at Cock of the Walk. Thank you to our friends at Pine Lake Church and 200 Million Flowers for an awesome time!

Last night, we gathered for two special occasions. First, we continued the tradition of celebrating each of our guests birth with a big birthday bash & gifts. Each one had a very special cake. We loved getting to sing Happy Birthday 11 times in a row!

After the birthday bash, we rung in the New Year a little early w/ a huge fireworks display. New Year's celebrations are a big thing in Ukraine, so this was a great way for us to connect over an exchange of our cultures!

There are so many people to thank for all the food, birthday cakes, and fun! We want to say a special thank you to the Phillips & Valentine families for being our hosts again this year. Thank you so much for another huge party at your camp! Also, thank you to Mike Fleener for the awesome fireworks! All we can say is WOW!

Hopefully, we will post more pictures later today, here are a few to get you started!

After shopping this morning, our group spendthrift afternoon playing outdoor games like volleyball and basketball. They got to hang out with a group from Meadow Grove Baptist Church in Brandon. Then we enjoyed a meal of hot dogs, Frito Chilli pie, and orange slices. It was a wonderful meal. Thanks to the Temple ABF class, the Hernandez class. After dinner, the kids were able to watch a little Looney Tunes before heading out to the bonfire lit by "Larry, Moe, & Pyro" to make s'mores. The evening ended with a special time for Ukrainian-Americans to worship together and study with pastor Sergey and Natalie.

USM vs. Alcorn St.

This afternoon in Gulfport included a trip to the beach for lunch and to the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies. Apparently, Sergey decided to do a little "dumpster diving" just in case he needed to make friends with a bird later at the Institute ;-)