Julia

Many of our kids have chosen English names for themselves, and this is Julia. Her Mongolian name is Ganaa. She lived in an orphanage from the age of 5, and came to live with us when she was 10. She is now 19 years old. Her mother is an alcoholic, and she doesn't know who her father is. She suffers from kidney problems, including recently having kidney stones.

Ganaa is a special and kind young lady. She is especially talented with crafts, taking simple paper and making beautiful origami-type art. As the oldest girl, she is also very helpful at home with the younger kids. Her English is steadily improving, so I have enjoyed being able to converse with her more and more without a translator.

We don't have an "age limit," where we force our kids to leave once they reach a certain age. We happily support our older kids who want to go to college, or to help others enter the workforce. Our organization is like a family for these children, so we are here to support them as long as necessary until they are ready to live independent lives. Some of them may even end up working for us. I'm watching our older kids with great interest, to see what futures they will choose for themselves.

Where God lives

Yesterday's sermon at church got me thinking. Right in the middle of it, too. The pastor introduced his main point and verse, and then the Holy Spirit starting teaching me and I sort of tuned out the rest of the pastor's sermon. I spent the rest of the time writing and thinking. The pastor's opening verse was Exodus 29:46, which says in the NASB, "They shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God." God rescued the Jews from slavery in Egypt not just because He "heard their cries," but for the purpose of dwelling with them. And not just in spirit, but physically and visibly dwelling with them. Wow. It struck me that from beginning to end, the bible describes God's desire and intention to dwell physically, not just spiritually, with people. That, after all, was His original creative purpose with Adam. God was physically there with Adam on earth, walking and talking with him. I don't know what form God took, but it was physical and visible. Why else would Adam and Eve have to hide from Him later?

Here's where my mind went while the pastor was speaking:

• Jews from the Exodus - In the form of a cloud, God rested on the tabernacle in the wilderness. "...the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." (Exodus 40:34)
• Solomon's temple - after Solomon's 7-year construction of the awesome Jerusalem temple, the king consecrated it and offered up a great prayer and sacrifices to the Lord. God then appeared in the temple in a thick cloud. (2 Chronicles 7:1-2)
• Jesus Christ - the obvious and ultimate example. God in human form, Immanuel, meaning "God with us."
• Holy Spirit - after Jesus' departure from earth, this is Jesus in people all around us.
• Second advent - Jesus will return in bodily form to rule the earth. (Revelation 19)

At one point, I did hear the pastor ask the congregation, "Who here would like to see God?" Hands shot up all around the room. But history shows otherwise! God keeps trying to live with us, and mankind has continually rejected Him for lesser substitutes. I can partly understand why, since I myself fear God. Being in the physical presence of God sounds wonderful, but it also sounds kind of terrifying. Nevertheless, that's the Christian's great hope and reward. Right now we have the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts. But that's not the best part - ultimately we will truly see God, and dwell with Him. That's what He has intended from the beginning.

A new hobby

Necessity is the mother of invention, and in Mongolia, that means Susannah is cooking. And yes, I mean that I am actually making meals in my kitchen from raw ingredients. It's not that I've never cooked at home, but it's rare. Why should I? Living in Houston, it's way too easy to eat out or take home some of the best food in the world. But Susannah is not in Kansas anymore.

As I type this, I am enjoying my latest masterpiece, homemade BBQ chicken pizza. For the doubters out there (i.e. my family), here's proof:

The primary reasons I have been driven to cook are: 1) there are only a handful of good restaurants in Darkhan, 2) it's too dadgum cold to walk outside every night for dinner, and 3) let's face it, I have the time. Cooking here has its limitations, like any foreign country I'm sure, and I'm learning how to substitute ingredients or get creative. Example: did you know that sour cream substitutes well for milk or buttermilk in muffins and pancakes?! Don't worry, I can buy milk here, but I can't buy everything that's available at home.

I have to give some credit to my friend Kari, who spent the summer here. She kickstarted the cooking within our little American group, and I've taken it to another level. I find recipes on the internet (allrecipes.com), and search for anything that has "easy" in the title. Not because I'm not up to a cooking challenge, but rather because I'm more likely to be able to find the ingredients locally.

Here are some of the fabulous things I've made. All totally from scratch - there is no such thing as mixes or ready made meals here. And for the record, they all have turned out well! No disasters yet.

• Buttermilk pancakes (I used sour cream. Or, it turns out you can actually make your own buttermilk by putting lemon juice or vinegar in regular milk. I'm so embarrassed that I know that).
• Blueberry muffins (using jam I bought from the Lake Khovsgol area which was homemade from local berries)
• Chicken salad with pinenuts
• Aztec casserole (a southwestern type dish)
• Eggplant parmesan
• Spaghetti and meatballs
• BBQ chicken pizza

I still feel a little out of my element on those cooking websites, and I sure won't be signing up for their mailing lists, or going to any Pampered Chef parties when I get home. Who knows if I'll sustain my new hobby when I return to Houston? Probably not. It's best to let the professionals handle it.

Roma

Time for another "kid post!" I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but it's hard. Anyone who has visited us with mission teams knows that there is always one kid that leaves a special mark. For me, that kid is Roma.

I first met Roma in 2004, when he was 15 years old. He and his younger brother Igor are half Mongolian, half Russian. They both came to our organization in 2000, after living together on the streets. Their Mongolian father died, and their Russian mother became an alcoholic, selling everything they owned (including their apartment) to buy alcohol. Roma and Igor were left to fend for themselves at a young age. Jerry saw them one day digging through trash, and brought them to our organization.

I was able to connect with Roma instantly because he knew a little English. Now, he's 18 and able to do basic translation with our teams in the summer. He is one of the most impressive kids I've ever met - 100% genuine, eager to learn, a devoted Christian, compassionate with the other children, willing to do anything you ask, etc. To me, he represents the bright future of Mongolia. And, the fruit of what our organization is trying to accomplish - caring for and raising helpless children to become successful, loving people.

Here's Roma back in 2004, a day in the summer when we all went to the park to play. He's always smiling - I've really never seen him in a bad mood. I'm pleased he's traded that camouflage hat for maroon!

Khongor water progress

It's been a while since I've provided an update on the water contamination issue in Khongor, and there has been progress. Since the summer, our ministry has been working together with Texas Baptist Men and Baylor University to provide solutions to the problem, which originated with cyanide from illegal gold mining activities. Since May, we have been paying for clean water to be delivered to the village center on a daily basis (the government couldn't/wouldn't). In the meantime, we have been conducting water usage and health surveys in homes, and performing numerous water testing. We have a master plan to provide water filtration systems, continue water testing, and educate people on proper water usage.

In October, Dr. Rene Massengale, a Biology Ph.D. from Baylor, came back to Khongor for the second time this year. Her objective was to perform as many water tests as possible, and she brought with her a mobile water lab with approximately $50,000 worth of equipment and testing materials. A couple of people from Mongolia's national health ministry even visited the lab, and were very impressed, since they don't have such high-tech equipment. As a frame of reference - in order to test water or soil for cyanide or other chemicals, a sample would have to be sent to UB, and the test would take 1-2 days. Dr. Rene was able to perform the same test in a matter of 2-3 hours.

For about 10 days, a few of our staff and teenage boys became Dr. Rene's lab group. They worked tirelessly, collecting water and soil samples from all the wells and other targeted areas. Together they completed approximately 2,000 individual tests, evaluating not only cyanide, but also heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, nickel, etc. The results were summarized by well, and we held a town hall meeting to explain our findings with the people. Here's a few high points:

• Overall, cyanide levels appear to have dropped to acceptable levels.
• There are a few instances of excessive heavy metals, such as arsenic.
• We located the source of the contamination, an industrial building. Unfortunately, the government-mandated environmental cleanup is insufficient to prevent continued contamination leaching through the ground and into the water table.
• The water treatment plant is broken and ineffective. Raw sewage is bypassing the system and into the leach field, where livestock are grazing.

Currently, we are working on installing water filters directly at the wellheads. Our next step will then be to provide simple bucket filter systems (provided by TBM) to each home. Khongor people and officials have been so grateful to Dr. Rene and our ministry, because we are the only ones giving them real information and trying to help. The Mongolian government performed a few tests, but their information has been sporadic and conflicting, so the Khongor people are confused and worried. It's got national attention, and sadly, Khongor has become known as "toxic," so the people are living with that stigma.

Please pray for us as we continue to seek wisdom in this situation!

Romans revelation

Over the past 4 months, I have been getting to know our housemothers more closely through our weekly bible study (see previous post). It's a privelege to serve them and to develop friendships with them. This week, I saw something wonderful.

One of the ladies, Lhagva, is a widow in her 40s. When I first met her, I saw a cold, stern, woman. Early on, she came to bible study faithfully, but was silent and grimfaced. I also knew that she was particularly strict with the children. From day one, I was praying that God would soften her heart and draw her to Him.

God is faithful. By the end of the summer, Lhagva was smiling and talking. She remarked about how different the housemothers seemed, and how they interacted with each other much more kindly than before. I never would have guessed it, but she has become one of my favorites. She is a cool, but tough lady. I'm not 100% sure of her faith, but I believe she's on her way to being sold out for Christ.

We've been studying Romans, which is a challenge for anyone (most of all, me). I've been doing my best to unwrap its deep spiritual truths in a manner most applicable and understandable to them. We've just completed chapters 1-3, spending a lot of time discussing how we as sinners can only be saved by faith, not by following the law. After we finished on Wednesday this week, Lhagva said, "I heard a famous lawyer say that there is nothing higher than the law. But now I see that we can't meet the law, so we have to have faith. And I'm going to go tell someone that today."

All praise and glory to Him who is able to show us these things!