DAY SEVEN

Monday was fun and exhausting! In the morning we went to the market... it was so interesting! You would walk into a little shop which would lead to a whole alley of shops set up in a big structure... it kind of reminded me of China Town in NYC or possibly how the parents describe market in Mongolia. There was also a whole food and meat section with huge hunks of meat sitting out in the open next to a dog doing his business type of thing. YUM! :P I was able to get some fun souvenirs. On the way back to the house we saw a woman wearing a dress and cloak standing up in a big cart that she was driving by horses and behind her in the cart was a can with a fire burning to keep her warm... it was so bizarre! The flames were licking at her skirts! SO crazy!

After the market we went to Parish again. It had just snowed so the kids took us out onto the frozen lake... it was scary! To get to the lake you had to cross a little concrete "bridge" about a foot wide covered in packed down snow with a dropoff leading to running water on either side. BAH! The kids just walked across like no big deal but it took me a good five minutes to work up the courage then I had people hold my hand from the edge for as long as they could. Once on the lake it was completely frozen so that wasn't bad, just exciting because I don't think I've ever been on a frozen lake. The next couple hours consisted of LOTS of snow in the face, chasing kids for revenge, and sliding around. They kids made a lane where they cleared the snow so they could run and slip on the ice since the lake was covered with snow. It was similar to a slip and slide but they would stay standing and slide on their feet. Very ingenious!

Then we went inside and played with the kids more... and guess what? We watched more Titanic! The kids here REALLY like that movie! And don't worry aunt Rebecca... we did skip the bad parts, since TV here doesn't! It's just so funny how they all know about Celine Deon and love to sing along. During the movie I talked with kids and made a girl a bracelet.

At night we had a great couple hour conversation with Jen, the staffer that gave us the tour. I asked her so much about H2H, the kids' stories, her story about how she got here, etc. It was incredibly interesting... she just tells great stories and knows so much. So that was a blessing to get to do!

But yesterday was just so exhausting with playing out on the ice for so long! So hopefully I will have more energy today. We are going to Voluntar again, the orphanage that we handed out the gifts to, then to Parish in the afternoon. I will be so sad to leave! Pray that these last two days we have with the kids can be fruitful and enjoyable and that we can all stay energetic!