still digging and sifting

Today we had an honest day's worth of work. More sifting dirt to get out the big rocks. It was hard! We got a lot done, though, and were tired at the end of the day. tomorrow we have the day off because it's an orthodox holiday. we will enjoy an extra hour's worth of sleep in the morning!


The women worked just as hard as the men! Here are the pictures to prove it.





Kay was the queen for the day. She was a hard worker leveling the larger rocks used as filler in the flooring of the church building.




Owen has been showing the string tricks to the kids in the area. Today he did it before the Bible school time. He was a hit!


Stan brought a pair of boots for Vova from the USA. When they were in Oklahoma City in November, Stan took Vova and Sergei to Shepler's. Vova is fascinated by "the west" and cowboys, etc. Vova tried on boots but they were way more expensive than he could afford. So Stan was nice enough to bring them over for him. Vova really liked them.

a close-up shot of Vova's new boots.

This lady (I didn't get a picture in time to get her face) asked Betty to come help her pick corn from the field. Betty declined. But the lady was nice enough to bring some cooked corn on the cob to us later in the afternoon.

"Stan's" dog showed up again yesterday and again today.

This is what some of the ladies have been doing most every evening - a card game called "Phase 10". Fun game! It's caused some of them to forget the covenant statement they made not to curse!

Tomorrow, as I said, is a day "off". We'll go to Nevitski Castle for a tour, then a picnic in the national forest. Yum! We haven't had any bad food yet, but tomorrow will be extra special.