Lighthouse's First SAND CASTLE competition!

This morning we all woke up to thunder storms. Luckily, it cleared up just in time for breakfast!  We had "Morning Watch" on the beach followed by our first sand castle competition! Our teams worked hard and diligently to construct very creative sand masterpieces! Here are some of the pictures and awards!

Thursday!

Today is Thursday and it is a GREAT day at Lighthouse in Gulf Place! This morning the retreat moms and dads split into seperate groups to talk during common grounds while their children were preparing for the TALENT SHOW! I was able to take a sneak peek at the schedule for the show, and the audience is in for many great surprises! Believe me when I tell you that these kids can DANCE! Also, we had mom's pampering this afternoon, followed by a show from a professional sand builder! We are getting ready for a sand castle contest during flip flop tomorrow! Can't wait to see what else will happen.

Today at Lighthouse.....

Ok, everyone. This week is going soooo amazingly great! We have had so much fun...and we are only halfway done!!!! The weather has still tried to disturb the week...from threatening with rain to a heat above 100! Right now, the volunteers are picking up their family's dinners to take to their house so the parents can enjoy a date night while the kids eat ice cream and watch Despicable Me under the stars! Knowing these kids, though, it will probably turn in to a big dance party! The volunteers brought more enthusiasm to our "surprise dinner" than ever before! Retreat 6 is definitely fulfilling Lighthouse's mission to make families *laugh*

Lighthouse LOVES Chick Fil A!!!! We are thankful for all they do for us!!!

Some of our Leadership for this week after our surprise dinner!

Carly coming down the runway after having her nails done!

"Cool-leen" showing the girls how to model!

Retreat 6--Back to Gulf Place!

All of our volunteers and retreat families have arrived in Gulf Place for week 6!!!  We are thankful to GULF PLACE for hosting us the next four weeks in a row!!!! The weather has tried to threaten our trip a few times so far, but we are off to a great start.  Several people have already showed some of their amazing dance moves.  Also, this week is special because we have all of our summer staff!!!! We cannot wait to see the many ways that God will work this week. Please pray for us, and we will keep you updated!!!

Rosemary Welcomes Lighthouse!

Retreat 5 is going great here in Rosemary! The community has welcomed us with open arms this week, and all eleven families and volunteers are having fun in the sun!

One restaurant, The Summer Kitchen, invited all of us across the street for a delicious dinner Monday night!

Also, The Hidden Lantern, a brand new bookstore here in Rosemary, invited the Minnows and Jellyfish to storytime yesterday and the Angelfish and Blowfish to a collage-making session today!

We can't thank everyone in Rosemary enough for all their donations and support!

There are FOUR pools this week, so Flip-Flop has been full of swimming, pool basketball, and loads of sunscreen!

We can't wait to see what else the Lord has in store for us these last couple of days!

Retreat 4 Wrap Up!

Retreat 4 at Seacrest was a great success! We had such an eventful talent show and dance party on Thursday and Friday that we were sad to see everyone go home! However, we were so blessed to spend a week with the beautiful families and incredible volunteers!

Here are some final pictures from the amazing week:

Bri and Nathan

"The Lighthouse Rap" at the Talent Show

Beautiful Bella at the pool!

Miss Joanna at the Luau!

The Best is Yet to Come!

A lot has been going on here in Seacrest this week! Wednesday was nice and hot--a perfect day for playing in the pool!! Did we mention that the pool here is incredible? Here is a picture of "Flip-Flop" out by the pool:

One special thing about this retreat is that some interns from the Daraja choir have been helping us! For those of you who do not know, the Daraja choir is a ministry that brings young children from Kenya to the United States to perform for churches all across America. The kids are able to stay with host families and learn more about our culture, grow in their relationships with the Lord, and build leadership skills to bring back to their own nation. At the moment, the children are waiting to be allowed to come over to the United States, so the interns are praying that they will be able to make the trip soon! Please pray for the Daraja choir--here is a picture of their amazing interns:

Wednesday night, after a delicious dinner, we had a great dance party!! Here are some retreat families at the dinner:

Now tonight is the famous talent show, so everyone is practicing for the big event! Here are a few previews:

Be sure to look at the blog tomorrow to see pictures of our Retreat 4 Talent Show!!