Play.

"Step into the light of things: Let nature be your teacher"-William Wordsworth

Hello friends! once again, the Armenian language has not taken to Ellen as she has taken to it so here's another post!

We began our third day on the build determined to finish the roof and good news!....(drumroll)... we did! The roof crew did work y'all! With our line yelling "lika" (full) and "dedark" (empty), we carried buckets of cement until (literally) the cows came home. Want to know the Armenian word for cow? "Cauf". Speaking of cows, Indie and I reached our goal of playing with one. And by playing, I mean we got head-butted. But no fear: we had a blast with that baby bull! My new friend Siramarg even learned some English words. "House" became the most prominent and poignantly, most easily remembered.

Ask any American child nowadays what they do for "play" and you will easily hear descriptions including the vocabulary: wi-fi, wii, playstation, computer, television, "shooting" etc... you get the picture. What does this do to their spirit? What do they learn? These children should take some lessons from our new, precious, hilarious, fun, hardworking and loving Armenian friends that we have been lucky to serve over this past week.

Today we worked tediously passing concrete in buckets up to our tightly-knit "roof crew" and following a delicious home made dinner from the family, we played until our heart's content. What started off as a tiny water spicket splash-fight launched quickly into a full-fledged water war. We filled water bottles in the play pool outside and soaked everyone in the line of fire! Hoses, water bottles, and an inflatable baby pool were our weapons and our legs were our only defense (aka, RUN!). As every good thing must come to an end, we returned to the worksite with wet clothes and joyful children who helped us finish the roof. We even finished ahead of schedule!

During our daily "coffee break" in the afternoon, some of us were lucky enough to ride the family's horse. We just played and played all afternoon so it will be an early night for not only this Service Scholars team but also those amazing little kids who truly reminded many of us how to play again. Play is integral. Play is universal. Perhaps even a "love language".

I guess "play" is a universal language. I'm in love with Vanadzor and our beyond lovely family. I would take Siramarg, Suren, and Syuzi home with me if I could get them through customs!

Much love from Vanadzor, Armenia and your continued prayers/positive vibes/ well wishes are, again, appreciated!