VIVA ARMENIA

TODAY WAS FANTASTIC.
Did you get that?  FANTASTIC.
It was our last day building houses in Armenia, and that was actually very, very sad.  I almost cried when we had to leave the family.  The last days with the families were my favorites because we seemed to bond more and we took lots of pictures with the families. (Sidenote, Billy Jean by Michael Jackson is playing in the internet cafe right now.)
After we left the family, we went back to the hotel and rested before our farewell dinner.  Then we loaded up on the bus and went to this fancy place for dinner.  We had LOTS of toasts, and plenty of tender moments.  My toast was to the families that we worked with this week and how blessed we were to be able to work with them.    It truly has been a great experience, and there is still more to come.  After our wonderfully filling dinner and receiving gifts from our Armenian leaders, we were invited to an Armenian engagement party next door.  We all went and danced and had a great time.  We also got to toast to the newly engaged couple.  Armenians are so friendly and very willing to share their alcohol and a good time with us Americans.

Also we got some stats on all the work we've done, and in both houses put together, we mixed and hauled about 26 tons of concrete for the roof of one house and the floor of another.  They also had stats about how much dirt and gravel we hauled as well, and it was a lot...tons, literally.  We had lot of fun and did a lot of work these two weeks, and I'm of the mindset that life should be this way all of the time.  Why work then play when you can work AND play?

I am looking forward to going to the Republic of Georgia tomorrow to work with the Evangelical Baptist Church there.  Lots of prayers for a safe 4.5 hour trip and all of our sightseeing and mission work.  We are all still having a wonderful time, and we are happy to leave part of our hearts here in Armenia as we leave to embark on the last portion of our trip.  I hope that Georgia will be equally as rewarding.

Love from Armenia for the last time,
Jessica