A Picnic!

We got invited to go with a special family to the river for a picnic. It was a perfect day and we found a great spot. The kids were able to play in the shallows.

We could stick them on the inner tubes and let them float down the current while attached to a rope.

Toby was very brave and swam through the waters a lot.

Two of the prettiest girls in Kurdistan. This family is so sweet. They really love one another and are gently and joy filled people. We love being with this family.

Father and son. The son does not know how to swim. You NEVER see this kind of moment here. A father and son truly enjoying each other. The father patiently and lovingly holding his son and celebrating his victory of floating with a life jacket. Another father I saw there at the river that day was throwing his children into the ice cold water and holding them under. all the while they are screaming and crying and he is laughing. It was so cruel and horrifying. But this man is different. He is marked for the Kingdom.

Later on I had a life and death experience with the son...he was floating around in the shallow water and then stepped off the ledge of the water and got caught up in deeper water (with his life jacket on), so I reached out to pull him in, I was in shallow water and he grabbed my arm in sheer panic and pulled me under and kept trying to push me down. Tim’s yelling at me to let go and I am like…I did…he hasn’t! so I start trying to push him toward the bank and he just starts clawing for me. so I went under and pushed him off of me. I then got caught in an under tow and couldn’t come up…I yelled for tim but he was already trying to help the son. Anyway…I ended up popping up out of the under tow and into the strong current going down river. I washed down about 200 feet before I could finally swim to the bank. I was SO exhausted. I washed up right into a group of ALL guys. It was so awesome climbing out in that. But he was fine and I was fine. But I was shaking and out of breath for 15 minutes at least. But the rest of the time was great. They are just so easy to be with.

Jesse getting launched!

we shared our picnic spots with the goats and sheet I liked this gray goat.

cutie girl...they loved catching the little fish.

girls having fun together

boys hanging out together, they called this little inlet their "hot tub."

Jesse lying belly up in his hot tub.

the fruit here...it's so delicious.

playing together.

chillin' and eating a pomegranate...doesn't get much better.