Where to begin...

The last few days we have experienced every emotion possible. There have been a ton of laughs a ton of tears(none of which came from Erica, she claims we need one in the group to keep it together or we would be all a big blubbing mess. She has "misted up" a few times.) We have been amazed, humbled, organized, disorganized, very cold, hot (only when showering), filthy and overall thankful for what we have and for this opportunity to make a difference in this short time we are here.
Today we went out in search of the street kids. It was -24 here, with a wind chill. We were dressed in many many layers, but the cold still made it through. Imagine what those that live in this every day with no layers feel like. With the help of a friend of Stacy's and her Mongolian students we were able to help a group of children with hats, gloves, scarves, food and a small goody bag filled with toothbrushes, chapsticks, and some candy. We gave each one a candy cane and read them the Christmas story to go along with it.
We were all extremely humbled when we went to visit a family that lived in a Ger who had recently lost their mother. There were 5 children the oldest boy who was 21 the youngest was 7. There was no mention of a father. The oldest boy had broken his back in an accident and was unable to work. The entire family had tested positive for TB. This was what took their mothers life along with 5 other siblings. The oldest daughter had been unable to attend school during her mother's illness as she was the caregiver for her. She told us that she had "big dreams" to attend college. She has recently gone back to school, she is in the 7th grade at 15 years old. She is obviously a few years behind. We spent about $50.00 and purchased meat, rice, flour, vegetables, bread and pastries. For what we spend on a nice dinner out, will feed that family of 5 for a week.
Will post more tommorrow for it is late and we are sleepy!
Michele