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6:50pm
We've just come back from an afternoon excursion to the ruins of Mangoop (about 20 minutes away). To get there, it requires hiring a special jeep that can navigate the steep mountain road. Think of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland and you have a small frame of reference for the experience. Mangoop is a mountain top fortress that dates back to the time of Christ, with many various groups occupying over the last two millennium. After the sweltering hot ride up and down, we swim in the beautiful lake at the bottom of the canyon. Maxim brought two massive watermelons that doubled as beach balls in the water, and a snack after. Great idea!
One of Maxim's outreach projects here in KM has been providing a playground for kids. Much of the last two days has seen us helping him put a fresh coat of paint on everything. The equipment is meager with an old slide, a very unsafe swing, a rocking contraption, and a couple sandboxes. We repaint it all including the fences around the playground and even do some stenciling (that Amy would be proud of) to dress the area up a bit. We're pretty happy with our work and definitely feel a sense of accomplishment. Our plan is to rig up some lighting over the area for a grand finale weekend of events, looking like mini PITP's, air toys, food, and all.
Maxim and I enjoyed about an hour of conversation yesterday without a translator. I am really working my limited knowledge of Russian and everyone is proving to be eager oolitsa's (teachers) for me and the team. And they are just as keen to learn English as well. So we are sharing cultures in so many ways. Our plan is to cook a breakfast and dinner for them this week sometime to take this culture-sharing even further.
For those who think we're suffering out here, think again. I've enclosed a picture of Luke laboring in the mission field :-). He's enjoying himself immensely and says we'll have no problem finding youth to come to KM next summer. The little lady in the pic is Alya and she has become good friends along with her sister Yahna, with all of our kids…especially the girls (and we'll make sure it stays that way ;-)).
10:39pm
Just left Jimmy, Maxim and Luke to wrap-up an outdoor movie evening. Finding Nemo is just a little different when every voice sounds like a huge Russian KGB guy. It's been a cooler day at about 35 Celsius.
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