Monday

Hi this is Brittany again! Bailey was supposed to write today but since she is feeling a little under the weather I am talking over. 

Well, today started out just fantastic! I walked down stairs...who am I kidding? I took the elevator down and right now down next to the desk was my suitcase! I was so happy to change out of the clothes I had been wearing for the last three days.

Anyways....today was a slow day. Both for us and the city. Another slow day for us as we try to shake off the jet lag and overall tiredness. Everyone in the city was back at work and as we wandered through the same streets as Sunday there was maybe a eighth of the people has there had been. Our trip to the watch the changing of the guards of the unknown soldiers was pretty interesting. The group started as a leisurely walk, stopping at a lovely bakery and just enjoying the weather. But slowly whoever was leading the group realized we were going to miss the guards routine and kept picking up the pace. It ended in more or less a power walk and sprint to catch the end of the show. It was really interesting and we even got some pictures.

We then split up to explore the same area we had been in Sunday afternoon, only this time without the mass amount of people. Since the shops were less busy, we spent a lot of time talking to the owners and other random people we met.  People here are surprised that Dad(Bruce) has five kids and think they look younger then he actually is. Typically people look older because the hard times have weathered them more. But come on, he doesn't look that young. I hope it doesn't get to Dad's head by the time we leave. One particular store owner we talked to commented on how blessed Dad was to have five kids.  He said he wished he could have more but he just couldn't afford it because the government like to take his money. I'm sure this is the case for many here, but it was heart wrenching to see the pain in the man's eyes as he said this. The people we talked to and the stories of life as we have never experienced it is so eye opening.

The servant hearts of everyone is just unbelievable. We come in on a mission trip to serve, yet I have never been treated so well in my life. They men here at the mission treat everyone here with the most serving attitude and even more so for the women. Bailey and I have fared quite well. I have never been served so much tea and had so many doors opened for me. It goes so much against the Persian culture  it is hard for them to watch women work. There are two brothers in particular who bend over backwards just to make sure we are comfortable. It is amazing to know some of their story and to see how God is being glorified in their lives. We actually have to make a forward effort and refuse to be served in order to do things for ourselves. It has become sort of a challenge for us to see if we can quickly eat, take care of our own dishes and start to collect plates from others before someone does it for us.

It was our last  resting day and  tomorrow we are going to jump right into a full day of work. I feel that in the last 48 hours I have experienced a lifetime of moments and conversations. The conversation and things I have seen have opened a new set of questions and things to discover.