Special visit

Today was a great day. I visited one of the housemothers at her home after we finished bible study this morning. Her name is Lhagva, and she's been a widow for 8 years. Her husband died at the age of 40, and although she's quite resilient, she misses him. I've gotten to know Lhagva well over the last 10 months, and I wasn't going to leave Mongolia without going to her home. She surprised me when I found out that she lives in a ger, rather than an apartment. She does so by choice, and it's a very nice ger by Mongolian standards. She made us a nice meal of khuushuur, which are fried meat pies typically made for special occasions.

I got to look through her old photo albums, fascinated by the old black and white photos of her parents and deceased husband, most of them during Communist times. She has the best stories of her childhood, and we really enjoyed each others' company. Before I left, she blessed me with a couple of very special gifts. One is a wooden box made by her father (now deceased) from trees in her hometown. The other is a 1911 Mongolian/Manchu silver dollar that her father also gave her. It was hard for me to accept such a treasure from her, but she wanted to thank me for spending time with her and the staff over the last year. She told me that "many things have changed in her life" since I've been here. Primarily, God has become very real to her. I'm amazed and speechless at God's grace and thankful to know such a cool lady!