Отдыхать

Я хочу отдыхать. We hear that a lot now that it is August. It means I want to rest. We say that same thing...I need a vacation! A group of friends from the Chinese Church all decided they needed a rest. They planned a one day trip to Lake Issykul and we went along on Saturday. It was a great day of time with our new friends and a way to see more of the country. The lake is about a three hour drive one way from where we live and it was an enjoyable drive there. It was a time also to escape the 100+ temperatures that are a part of most every day now.

Here are some pictures of our "mini vacation."

Lilly, center in yellow and her sons have become great friends. James, her husband, is the acting director for the Professional Institute. We have also come to love Daniel, Edna, Xenia and little David, from Malaysia, who are ministering to children and families at the Foundation. Richard and YaLing, in the back center, from Singapore are also new great friends and are serving at the Foundation and where ever asked.

Natalia, our translator, her mom and little cousin, joined us for the day. I really tried to give her the day off...not asking her to translate for us so she could just have fun. I know they all did!

Carmel rides are not usually something you see on our beaches, but you do in Kyrgyzstan. No, we didn't do it.

David looking out at the lake, just before we boarded the boat for an hour excursion.

David and I took an hour boat trip around a portion of the lake. We understand that this lake is the second largest salt water lake in the world. It is surrounded by beautiful, snow-capped mountains. This is a shot of those mountains from our boat.

This is another long distance picture of the lake and the beautiful mountains. They had all types of water rides, including this wind surfer and jet skis. For a few hours, we forgot that we were in a land of such tremendous poverty and need.