Monday and Tuesday...

Some of you may know that I have not been feeling well...that is why I am writing for two days in one!
Monday: Our first day of VBS included scouting out the "cultural center", finding spaces for our various activities, and taking off! We had about 30-40 children, some of whom had to leave during the Bible lesson because they had dance class upstairs! They were generally well behaved, although the Armenian leaders were not convinced of that. ;) They are better here than in the states, and that's all I have to say about that!

They enjoyed the English song that we taught them, which was new to me, but not my team. They were an amazing support, and they made it so much fun for me, and the children! Praise the Lord! We also got to learn a couple Armenian songs, some of which we knew, although it was sung in Armenian, like "Rise and Shine".

Emily did a great job teaching (and for some, reviewing) the story of Jesus's birth. The Armenian translators, which I must add are AMAZING, helped them by writing out the memory verse in Armenian (Isaiah 9:6) and helped them write it out on an index card and practice memorizing it. Some children were eager to share their memorizing abilities with us, and we were eager to praise their efforts!!!

Albert, another Armenian, the husband of one of the translators, Lucy, led games and they had a blast! Hamille even got to be a part of one that was meant to be a little bit of a practical joke, and she took it with such grace and humor! What a gal! It was fun for me to watch our team members play these games with the children, and there were many people who walked by and saw our outdoor games, and some joined in!

I helped a little with the craft, making frames from that fun foam "paper" and some little cut-outs that are also foam. They loved it! I mostly just took pictures, but they were on Emily's camera, so I cannot post any. Sorry! We did the crafts in the "art studio", which was pretty nice! We explored other rooms, one of which seemed to have the excrements of an animal in the hall leading to it, and boy, was it not fun to smell!

Speaking of smells, I thought the public "out house" at the beach was quite an adventure (it is fondly referred t0 as a "squatty potty"). There is a small "porcelain" bowl with a hole in the middle of the floor, with small areas on each side for your feet, that were meant for traction. No seat or anything! (Toliet paper, where available, is rough, hard to flush, and a luxury!) The tank was on the wall to flush. I though that was a reasonable expectation for a public toliet at a public beach. Well, the bathroom at the cultural center was the same kind, but much stinkier, and had sinks and urinals as well. Due to the pungent odor, I was unable to use it without being close to vomiting. And it had apparently just been cleaned! The bathrooms here at the seminary are fit for royalty compared to that!

We had bag lunches of bread (cut pita style, but regular Armenia bread) with a small slice of meat (about the same diameter as the bottom of my .5 L water bottle) and a rectangle of homemade Armenian goat cheese, which I have already had plenty of. We also had a whole tomato with a coke or fanta included. I bet you can guess what I ate of that! Thank the Lord that I brough granola bars with me!!! The snack for the kids was "bread and sausage" but it looked like hot dogs to me.

The list Armenian homes to visit for evangelism was not in existance yet, so the remaining team walked to the main drag and passed out Armenian tracts with the Armenians from our group. We also visited the City Hall (we may meet the mayor this week?) and thank the Lord they a ladies room similar to that at the seminary! See Hamille's blog for a brief story of her encounter (with John Paul) evangelising through quality time at the beach with a group of kids from the VBS. :)

We returned without any carsickness on my part to another Armenia meal, and I rested, due to the circumstances of my health at that time.

Tuesday: I stayed at the seminary, where I knew I would be close to a decent toliet, all day and prayed for my team serving when I was not resting. While so far, my conditions have definitely worsened, Leila, one of our team nurses, changed my diet for me--bread and rice. Praise God that they served rice (with carrot shreds--mmm!) with dinner for the first time tonight! Please pray that this diet change will make a difference in my tummy troubles!!! God has been good to me and not allowed the pain to linger at all times, but I have some relief. When I am in pain, I praise the Lord, and I don't notice it as much, and it is more bearable. :) PTL!!! God is good!

The team had an excellent report--God answers prayers! The numbers for VBS doubled from yesterday (over 70 children!) and they visited 4-5 homes with hopeful fruits. I think Hamille's report was very exciting, so check her blog! I am so glad I was able to pray for them for much of my day. I was not entirely useless today!!! I was right in praying for their safety in travel as the driver was not careful at all on the ride home, but Charlie said he would slow down whenever Charlie grabbed the handle above the door. Our team will have the same driver tomorrow, but a different one starting on Thursday. PTL!!!

I was glad to see my team members when they arrived today. They had had much Armenian hospitality in the homes they visited and were not as hungry as they usually are.

On a side note, the view of Mt. Ararat, their precious mountain (where the Bible says the ark landed), which is now in enemy territory (Muslim Turkey, who commited genocide against them before 1900 and beyond WW1) is very nice from the seminary, when it is not hazy, and that is best in the morning. I took a picture, but I am not the picture loading guru. I will try to get that up soon! There are other pretty sights here, but the most beautiful is seeing Jesus in the believers here! God is so awesome!

Please pray for wisdom for tomorrow, and whether or not I should stay back at the seminary again or, depending on how I feel in the morning, risk venturing out in the land without toliets nearby. Also, pray for safety in travel in our last day with the local Armenian driver.
Current local time is 9:54 PM. Good night!