Lake Khovsgol

I was determined when I came to Mongolia this year to see more of the vast country. I accomplished that goal last week by taking a 5-day trip to Lake Khovsgol in northwest Mongolia. By most accounts, it is the most beautiful and scenic place in the country. I really loved it. Three of us made the journey and stayed at a ger camp (becoming very common in Mongolia for tourism) - me, Fred (another American working with our ministry) and Naraa, my translator.

Traveling around Mongolia is challenging. There are very few paved roads and most vehicles are sorely lacking in shocks and suspension. If we had chosen to drive the 400 miles from Darkhan to Khovsgol, it would have taken us 2 days! I decided it was worth flying, so we made it there in one day. We drove 3 hours from Darkhan to UB, flew from UB to the Khovsgol capital city, and then drove 3 hours across rugged terrain in a Russian van to the lake. So, instead of 2 days of feeling like a jackhammer in the van, I limited it to 3 hours.

Lake Khovsgol is massive. It's about 1,700 square miles of crystal clear alpine water, and is the world's 14th largest fresh water source. It's surrounded by mountains and thick forests, and the area is rich in wildlife. It was a nice change from the dry, dusty desert area I live in. The weather was chilly but not bad - nice during the day, cold at night - we were comfortable in our gers with wood stoves. It was my first time to sleep in a ger! The camp staff treated us so well, they even came to our ger throughout the night to feed the fire so we wouldn't get cold.

We hiked, fished (didn't catch anything), rode horses and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air. The area has a lot of yak, so I bought a yak hair hat and we ate yak meat! One night we experienced a short but loud thunderstorm - it was crazy to hear a huge thunderclap echoing off all the mountains.

I assembled some more photos if you want to peruse.....(maysus2001, password=banderas)

http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=47977565906.276129481306.1190720020024&page=1

Kids #2

Meet two more of our kids: Bayrtsogt, 13, and Orkhonzorig, 8. Bayrtsogt's parents divorced, and afterward he lived with his father until his father abandoned him in UB. He was taken to the police department, who contacted us and we took him in. As you can see from the photo, Bayrtsogt loves the younger kids and takes care of them.

We received Orkhonzorig and his sister when he was 4 years old. His father had died, and his mother was very poor and unable to care for her children. When he first came to us, his eyes were crossed and he was seriously malnourished. Now he is one of the happiest boys in our center, always smiling and very affectionate.

A good day

It's 10pm and I'm winding down my day. Today was such a good day that I thought it blog-worthy. And not because I accomplished anything significant, but because of small pleasures. This morning started with my weekly ladies bible study that I lead in my apartment. I'm not sure why I haven't shared more about this yet, because it's by far my #1 passion and joy here. More to come on that later. Suffice it to say, the ladies who work in our ministry come each week hungry to study the bible and to fellowship together.

In the afternoon I went to a nearby elementary school to practice on their piano. This week I discovered several places in town that agreed to let me come and practice on their pianos when no one was using them. Piano is a life-long hobby for me, so I'm pretty excited to find an outlet. Yesterday when I originally visited the music teacher, he invited me right into his class and had his students play a little mini-concert for me. It was hilarious! I was this complete stranger just walking into his school asking to borrow his piano, and before I knew it, he was playing the accordion while some 13-yr-old girl was playing along on a handmade xylophone.

I walked home in the beautiful 70-degree weather, enjoying our extended summer. Then tonight I was watching TV at a friend's apartment, and landed on ESPN. To my complete amazement, they were playing last Saturday's A&M football game! It was pretty surreal to be watching my Aggies on TV in Mongolia. I savored every minute.

I'll chat online with my mom before I hit the sack. And I'll remember this day as one of the best so far.

Our kids

I want to introduce some of our kids to you so you can get to know the people that originally drew me to this ministry. I will start a regular "kid post" so you can meet some of the nearly 70 children we care for. The children are the foundation of Lifeqwest's ministry, and its genesis. Despite all the other great work we have going on, including the water project, none is more important than the day-to-day care and raising of these kids in a safe, loving, Christian environment. We're proud of them, because they really stand out in the community as happier, healthier, and better behaved than most other kids.

This is Tugi. I will confess he is one of my favorites, because he has the cutest smile. It is so big that it's practically disproportionate to his face! We received Tugi when he was 2 months old, and he is 4 years old now. His mother died during childbirth, and his grandfather brought him to us. He lives in the toddlers apartment with 9 other kids between 3-7 years old. They are a hoot to play with.

It's all about the dairy products

Mongolians love their dairy products. I really can't express in words how much they love them. It's a huge part of their culture and diet. Especially for the herdsmen and families in the countryside, they depend on their livestock for their livelihood. It's a very primitive lifestyle, truly living off the land. When visiting a family in their countryside home, you are guaranteed to be served some sort of dairy product. I found this informative link to explain how many different kinds there are:

http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/02014/English/DairyProducts.htm

I took this picture just outside of a ger I visited, where the family is drying curd outside.

Mmm, sour milk! Imagine it tasting hard, chewy, with a sour/bitter taste. And be glad you can just imagine it and don't have to eat it like I do. Actually, I always receive it gratefully because it's a generous and hospitable gesture by the people. But that doesn't mean I have to like the taste!