Monday, July 25, 2016

July 24, 2016

Picture overload this week!  Oh wait....that is nothing new!  Curt and Erin were here!  Yea!!!  We are so happy they got here safe and sound!  It was the best week!  We saw things we had not seen before!  We saw new places and beautiful scenery!  Sri Lanka is such a magnificent country.  It is truly amazing!  We love it so much!  As the end of our mission draws near, I am getting very emotional!  I think I am ready to come home...but then we go to church on Sunday and we see all these people who have become so special to us....and the love you feel for all of them....it will really be tough!  Our week flew by!  We left early on Monday morning to go across the country to Ella!  It was a beautiful drive....pretty windy in many areas....but beautiful!  We stayed at 98 Acres!  Steve had gone with Pres Nishan to a presentation on them last year....so they got us in....and to the honeymoon suite as well!  It was a beautiful place!  Little Adams Peak was right out our window!  We were on the side of a high mountain and the views were breathtaking!  We got situated in the rooms and decided to hike Little Adam's peak.  It was not a very hard hike.  It was really pretty on the top!  You could see in all directions!  Curt and Steve had a swim after as we sat by the pool!  We had a nice dinner overlooking the area!  Such a great and fun place!  Erin said she felt like Jane and Tarzan!  That night, we got a plate of complimentary fruit and a big piece of cake....on a plate that said....HAPPY WEDDING!!!  We got up early and hiked to the 9 arch bridge.  It was not a very tough hike either.  We had a nice buffet breakfast and then packed up for the next part of our journey!  We stopped and saw waterfalls and bought yummy fruit!  We stopped at a Hindu temple where a festival was going on.  We made it to Nuwara Eliya...so cool and nice!!  Steve and Curt decided to go golfing!  They had a beautiful golf course here!  So well kept and nice!  They did 10 holes!  Erin and I went down into a garden down the road which was so pretty!  People sure stare at the white people!  We went to some shops and then found the golfers and walked with them!  They had their own caddies and guys that will look for your ball!  We found our hotel....the Ferncliff!  It only had 4 rooms.  It was very old and fun!  Had a nice dinner there!  We left very early so the hotel packed us a breakfast!  We wanted to go to Worlds End!  It is a 7 1/2 km walk.  It was very foggy as we drove but it ended up being a beautiful day!  The views are spectacular!  And the journey through the tea fields and gardens is so amazing!  We traveled to Kandy that afternoon!  We saw the church, did some shopping, and went to the Temple of the Tooth.  Our hotel was the Mandara Reach and it was a Muslim owned hotel so there were a lot of muslims staying there.  There was even a red arrow in all the rooms that pointed East!  It was a very nice hotel.  The dinner and lunch buffets were really great!  We had a long journey this day so we headed out about 9.  We stopped at the Cave temple in Dambula!  Lots of monkeys all around!  More hiking but it is a nice place to see!  We also found the Sri Lanka restaurant we liked so well in March when the other kids were here.  Aniya restaurant!  It was yummy!  We also found a place that Curt and Erin could ride an elephant.  They only had one elephant in the whole town so they limited the time but they still enjoyed it!  We then drove to Passekuddah...on the other side of the island!  Oh my!  It was so so wonderful!  The hotel was still under construction.  They warned us before we came that we would not have all the amenities available.  I emailed Nishan and said we would have the pool.  Well, when we got there, our room was not available...nor the pool.  BUT.....the offered us a 3 room villa that had it's own plunge pool....so we took it of course!  It was AMAZING!  It was huge!  I don't think anyone had even been in it before.  It was on the beach...at a beautiful, huge resort.  We could not have afforded such a place if it had been finished!  The pool area will be wonderful too!  There were only about 12 guests staying in the resort right now.  It is going to be great.  The staff was so friendly and attentive.  We had a wonderful BBQ dinner outside overlooking the beach.  It was so good!  It was by candle light and everything was Perfect!!  We spent Friday on the beach....walking, swimming, relaxing....and eating here and there!  We had another candle lit dinner by the beach!  This time, it was a Mongolian BBQ where we could choose the meats, veges, sauces, etc that we wanted and then they made it right there.  It was my favorite meal of the trip!  PLUS...they told us the meal was NO CHARGE that night!  Steve and I got up and walked on the beach in the morning, had the breakfast buffet, and then went swimming one last time in the ocean!  We came back to the pool for a bit and then got ready to go home.  I could have stayed there a week!  Really great place!  The road home was long!  We saw some elephants along the way out in the wild!  But we finally made it!  We had dinner at Dolce Italia before going to bed!  Sunday was an awesome day at church.  This is where it is getting hard!  All the wonderful people!  They asked Erin to bear her testimony and it was really great!  She was petrified!  But she did such a great job!  So sweet and emotional!  Hansani gave her first talk too!  We had great meetings and great visits with everyone after!  Oh how we love these people!  We had a nice chicken dinner at home and then enjoyed each other a little longer.  Ann and Anton came to visit for a bit and to meet Curt.  Then it was time to go to the airport!  I am so proud of Curt and Erin!  They did so great!  I know Erin was worried about coming...and leaving Jack....but they did great!  I just love my family!  That is the part I am looking forward to the most!!

Deyan and Katie!

Young Women class!  Boy, has it grown!!

There was an explosion in this area that blew walls and doors completely away!

Beautiful Sri Lanka....gem mining!


New places in Sri Lanka that we have not seen!


Hindu temple along the road







More beautiful sights!


Our crazy driver for the week!




Fruit stand with the BEST mangos!







Lunch in Ella

Curt wanted to try Sri Lanka food!

Erin had pizza!

I had a chicken sandwich!


Waiting for our rooms to be ready at 98 Acres!





Panaramic view!



We had the Honeymoon Suite!



View out our hotel window!




Curt and Erin got a honeymoon suite too!



Hike to Little Adams Peak


View of our hotel from the other side!









We made it to the top!  Amazing!










Ladies picking tea leaves with their bags on their heads


Treats from the hotel!


HAPPY WEDDING

Poya full moon outside our window!

Dinner at the top!


There is a deer down there!



Hike to the famous 9 arch bridge


Treacherous climb!






Breakfast overlooking Little Adams Peak!


Waterfalls along the journey...and a friend from Kandy!












Beautiful Nuwara Eliya


Beautiful gardens at every home!





Another famous Hindu temple along the way!









Famous foot prints of a Hindu leader




Monkeys!







Nuwara Eliya hotel!







Golf course!



The caddies!


















Really nice hotel!






Dinner!


Yes, I had waffles!


We always find the wildlife!

World's End





I was cold!


More critters!










We made it to the end of the world!!










Yes, still a little nervous!


More pretty water falls along the journey!











The Kandy church!


Temple of the Tooth




Sacred Bo tree

Hotel in Kandy








Breakfast buffet











Curt is having fun!

Dabulla cave temple






More monkeys!

Time for an elephant ride!  Yipee!












Ride 'em Cowboy!





New friends from the Czech Republic


We found our favorite hostess and Sri Lanka restaurant!












Anantaya Hotel in Passekuddah



Our 3 bedroom villa!





....on the beach!






With our own plunge pool!

Breakfast!






Steve loves this picture!!



Pre dinner drinks!


Dinner outside overlooking the beach!


Fishing boats






The ladies are getting the weeds out of the grass!




Front of the villa!



Funny front entrance!




Hate to leave this beautiful place!








Elephant right on the side of the road!




Traffic jam and no one will give an inch!

Hansani's first talk!

Erin's wonderful testimony!



Bro Hendriksen, Pres Nishan, Bro Hagobian, Pres Kolitha, Pres Nihal

Freddy and his mom!


Time to say good bye! 







The Lee's from St George...our replacements!!!!!!   YEA!