I just got out of a meeting with the Mayor, well ok it wasn't a one-on-one, and I'm very worried for the future of Gulfport. He spoke at a dinner at the church tonight and explained for a half hour his very elaborate plan for the new downtown area which will include tons of cutesy shops and restaurants and be very nice and gentrified. When my roommate, Linda, asked about affordable housing he dodged the question and only said that the guy in charge of affordable housing in BOSTON was also working here. At that point I laughed out loud because really affordable housing in Boston is an oxymoron. He also casually threw out the figure of 80,000 houses in 5 years, even though they've only built 500 in the past year. My math isn't great but I don't think that works.

The rich white people here seem mostly concerned with traffic and parks to walk their dogs in. They should be worried though about affordable housing because who will serve them in their fancy restaurants when everyone below the poverty line has to move?

I'm angry.

In other news, our program made the Sun Herald today (The local Southern MS newspaper.) I don't know what it is about journalists though that make them feel the need to add their own special touch to things. I saw the article the woman from the church sent in and it was NOT what got in the paper, and that was the second time that's happened. Oh well, I guess the main point got across.

We've been handing out flyers around the neighborhood, which has been an interesting time. There seems to be a prevailing idea that any after school program is merely day care, whereas I think, coming from the background I do, I almost always think of an after-school program as something enriching and an extension of learning.

Alot of people have said they wanted to come to the fair and I started to get excited. Then I talked to Pastor Scott who informed me that its sort of a southern thing to be like "Oh yeah I'll definitely check that out" with absolutely no intention of coming. This is somewhat foreign to me as I think in the Northeast we would be like "Get the Hell off my lawn and no way I'm going to your stinkin fair" Only we wouldn't say hell and we wouldn't say stinkin.

The money situation right now is really frustrating for me. In order to get the money for the program I am the director of, I need to go through like five other people and save receipts . Its really frustrating.

I hope my blogs don't come off as all negative. There are really amazing things happening here everyday. I think I see Jesus everyday both helping others and getting helped.

Say prayers that people come to my fair!