Big Small World

My Ike story

2008-09-21T09:09:00.005-06:00

For the second time in my life, I was out of the country during a domestic crisis (I was in Honduras on 9/11). When Hurrican Ike hit home, I was in the Caribbean, in the country of Trinidad & Tobago. I had been there the week prior to the storm on a business trip, but ended up staying a couple extra days thanks to Mr. Ike and the closure of the Houston airport.

Although I was distracted by the events at home, I wanted to take advantage of my first Caribbean destination, so I toured around each island a little. Click here to see a few photos. I thoroughly enjoyed the locally famous shark sandwich, called "bake and shark," as well as "sea grapes" right off the trees on Tobago's beach. My driver and tour guide in Tobago, Clifford, was so friendly and gave me an informative tour of his little island in his Japanese SUV. This car spoke Japanese to him, but Clifford doesn't understand Japanese. It was awesome.

I stayed in one of the nicest hotels I've ever seen, the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain. It was brand new, and very contemporary. My shower was a frosted glass cube in the middle of my room. The outdoor pool on the 4th floor overlooked the ocean. I actually felt a little guilty being there while devastation was being wreaked back home! My overall impression of T&T was that it's very beautiful, but a little expensive and longer travel than some of the other touristy Caribbean islands. Not sure it would be top of my list to return to as a tourist.

Home (at an undisclosed location)

2008-04-04T08:22:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the many prayers for my safe travel. I arrived back in Houston safely, on time, and with all bags, on Wednesday night. A far cry from my harrowing trip to Mongolia last May. My first inhalation of humid air was truly sweet! I'm starting to adjust, unpack and settle in.

I'm enjoying some quality time with my parents, and looking forward to going to church on Sunday. In the meantime, I've got a jillion things to do, including hosting 4 Mongolians next week who are coming to Texas for a 2-week trip. Right now I'm without a cell phone (which is kind of liberating), but all things in due time.

See you soon!

Going home

2008-04-01T07:45:00.003-06:00

It's 10pm on my last night in Mongolia. My bags are packed and I'm ready to leave at 7am tomorrow morning. I said all my goodbyes today, to our staff and our kids. I'm familiar with the mixed emotion of bittersweet - I hate saying farewell to the kids, but I'm really excited about going home. I spent a little time reflecting tonight, and I scanned through my old blog posts. I'm amazed at how rich my experience has been.

Last April, I kicked off my blog with some expectations on my perspective changing. And although it's absolutely true that living in another country does change your perspective, I've recently been agonizing over whether I will succeed in making changes in my life back home. What purpose would this whole experience serve if I merely returned to the exact same way of life I had before? I know what things I want to change, and now I'm praying I will have the faith and determination to truly change them.

This past year has been a gift from God, and I'm happy to say that I feel like I accomplished my primary goals. I've seen spiritual growth in the women I've discipled, and I've spent lots of quality time with our kids. My first blog post last year included a group photo of our kids. It seems appropriate to end with another - and this time, I got to be the photographer. Thank you for taking this journey with me!

Countryside kindergartens

2008-03-30T02:51:00.003-06:00

Our organization is all about children. Everything we do is based first and foremost on a foundation of caring for children. This past week I had the pleasure of visiting 4 little towns surrounding Darkhan where we support kindergartens for children who otherwise would not be able to pay to attend. We provide money to help support the teachers and feed the kids healthy meals. My sweet friend Norjin is our staff in charge of this ministry, and I got to accompany her as she made her rounds to the towns of Baruun Buren, Sant, Orkhon and Khotol. We were treated with overwhelming hospitality and gratitude, and I got to visit many of the kids in person. All of these children are from poor families, and the kindergarten meets critical needs for the family - the kids get education and nourishing food, and the parents are able to work during the day. This little group was prepared for our arrival, all decked out in Mongolian garb!

Cool kids

2008-03-28T01:36:00.003-06:00

The weather was nice enough this week to play outside with the kids. I took the younger boys out to the field to play soccer on Wednesday. We practiced their English while walking - I've taught them a short conversation that includes 3 simple questions: "Hello, how are you?" "What's your name?" and, "How old are you?" They know most of the responses but sometimes get them mixed up or leave out words. Like, I will ask them: "How old are you?", and they might respond, "My name is ..." But I'm proud of how hard they try. They always make me laugh, too. I was standing near one of them (the one holding the ball) while he was playing soccer goalie, bored while the other boys were at the other end of the field. He just randomly started screeching like a crow for a couple of minutes. They are great entertainment.

By the way - as nice as it looks in this picture, today the snow is back on the ground in full force. I woke up this morning and thought "drats!" when I looked outside.

Where does the time go?

2008-03-23T20:30:00.002-06:00

Hard to believe, but this is my last week in Mongolia. I'm flying home on April 2. After ten months and over 50 blog posts, my time is up. I've already started reminiscing, and I'm looking forward to sharing my experience in person with friends and family. April is going to be a busy month, preparing to go back to work in May. From the long list of things I've learned and loved here, I thought I would share my "Top 5 Favorite Things About Mongolia" (in no particular order):

The famous hospitality of the Mongolian people. Mongolians are very friendly, and will open up their home to strangers, treating them like friends. I've lost count of how many gers I've visited, enjoying the unique company and foods served.
The also-famous Mongolian sky. It feels like the sky is just bigger in Mongolia....you may laugh at that, but I've never seen better stars anywhere, and despite the cold winter, many days are sunny and blue. One night recently I saw Orion, absolutely clearly. I had never seen Orion before. It was amazing. Last summer I liked to lay outside on my back in the country and watch shooting stars, too many to even count.
Traditional Mongolian music. Singing is in Mongolians' blood. Everyone sings. I love the traditional throat-singing, and listening to the traditional instruments like the horse-head guitar. Hip-hop is popular here too, but I just can't get into a Mongolian version of Snoop Dogg.
The unspoiled vastness of the country. The size of the country (BIG) versus the population (small) makes Mongolia one of the greatest "wide open spaces" on the planet. It's no surprise that it's becoming a tourist hot-spot, especially for those who want to get far away and breathe some really fresh air for a little while. Fascinating fact: many dinosaur bones and dinosaur eggs have been dug up in Mongolia, and there's probably more to be found.
It's American-friendly. I've traveled to over 15 countries, and in most of them I've met people with a chip on their shoulder toward Americans (valid or not). Not once have I ever heard a Mongolian hassle me about America.

Now, before you get excited, this is not my last blog post. I'm sure I'll have a few more things to share over the next week, and possibly shortly after my return. Stay tuned!

Special visit

2008-03-19T04:16:00.003-06:00

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!

Say thanks to your local garbage man

2008-03-15T19:51:00.003-06:00

This is a typical sight in my stairwell. One thing I have grown to appreciate while living in Mongolia is the American sanitation system. Don't take your local garbage men for granted! The Mongolian system is much less sanitary, and I've learned to live with trash on the ground everywhere, including lots of animal bones. There is a group that very much likes the Mongolian system, and in fact survives on it - packs of stray dogs. The free range cattle also feed off the trash laying around. Nice.

Die, Winter, Die!

2008-03-10T03:03:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it, but today it got up to almost 60 degrees. A week ago, it was still in the 20s and 30s, and there was snow on the ground. In a matter of days, all the snow has melted and it looks brown outside again. Of course, there's a lot of slush and mud on the ground, too. It's almost too fast to believe - after months of bitter white cold, it's unreal how fast it disappears. As if to mock my winter weather misery, overnight it's warm and sunny, saying "what were you so upset about?"

I realize it won't last. We'll still get some snow and cold temperatures, but I'm glad most of winter is over. Any new snow probably won't stick for long. I've switched to a lighter coat, and hung up my big heavy sheepskin for a while. The days are longer, kids are playing outside, and I can open up my windows again. It's such a relief.

Incredibly, I've only got a few weeks left here. I'm hoping the weather stays nice most of my remaining time. Die, Old Man Winter!!

Siblings

2008-03-04T07:19:00.004-06:00

This is Shurenchimeg, 15, and her brother Bayrtsogt, 13. They came to live with us in 2000, after their father abandoned them in UB. Their parents got divorced, and these two went with their father. Unfortunately, he was homeless, and after wandering a while, he finally left them in UB to be picked up by the police. I'm glad to say they found their way to us. Each of them are very talented and smart kids. They both distinguish themselves as excellent English students. And last night, I taught Shurenchimeg and the other girls in her age group how to dance the Texas two-step. We had so much fun dancing around their little apartment listening to country music!

Russia to Susannah: Nyet!

2008-02-28T21:27:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, the country of Russia gave me the Heisman. I was officially refused a tourist visa by the Russian embassy in UB. The whole thing was crazy and comical. I hate to say it, but my skeptical and somewhat negative view of Russians that I have gained here in Mongolia was reinforced. I had hoped to take a trip over Easter weekend to visit a friend in Moscow.

The consular official I met at the embassy spoke to me in English, and explained that I needed a Russian invitation from a hotel or tour agency in order to obtain a visa. Fine, this part I already knew. He told me that I could accomplish this through a tour agency in UB. When I asked him where I could find an appropriate tour agent, he said that there were "several in UB," and that he "didn't get paid to answer that question." Awesome! Clearly, he's not really that interested in helping me. So we set out to find this mythical tour agency, and by a stroke of immense luck, found it quickly thanks to the help of some good Mongolians. Guess where this agency was located? Across the street from the Russian embassy.

The Mongolian ladies in the agency were quite nice, and after talking with them and filling out the application, they assured me I should be able to obtain a tourist visa within a few weeks. So far, so good. About an hour later, the Russian consular dude called me on my cell phone and asked me several questions about my application. This sort of freaked me out, so we went back to the tour agency, only to find the ladies all wound up. Apparently, some of my answers over the phone were not entirely consistent with the paperwork they had submitted, so the man refused my visa, and accused them of lying to him! The items of debate were miniscule, and quite frankly confusing. I won't bore you with the details, but I can tell you they were administrative, and could be fixed if the embassy were more forthcoming with instructions.

So, no Russian passport stamp for me. But that's ok, I really felt like God's hand was involved, and it just wasn't meant to be. I've read and heard horror stories about people who obtained a visa, traveled to Moscow, and then were refused entry at the airport for similar administrative nonsense. I would much rather be refused now than after I've spent money on airfare, etc.

After it was all over, I laughed about it with my translator and Mongolian staff. We talked about how different Mongolia is now compared to the years of Russian communism. They told me how they were taught songs in grade school about how Russia was their only true and good brother, and were also taught that Americans were militant imperialists. I could only marvel at what that kind of mind-controlling society is like, and thank God that I live in a wonderfully free country. I feel like such a patriot!

The Del

2008-02-26T18:31:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I took 4 of our older kids to the park for a photo shoot of them in their new dels which were hand-made by ladies on our staff. The "del" is the traditional Mongolian outfit which is mostly worn by herdsmen in the countryside and by city folk for special occasions. It's likely that some of our kids have never had a del before, but soon they will each have their own. From left to right, meet Otgonsukh, Tsetsegee, Purevjargal, and Zulaa. Don't they look great?

THANK YOU TOKYO!!

2008-02-20T01:48:00.006-06:00

Last weekend I traveled to Tokyo to visit my friend Tomi, who moved there last year with her job. I didn't realize how much I needed it, and it did my soul some good. To me, Tokyo was like a cleaner version of New York City. I crammed as much civilized experience into 72 hours as I possibly could. I think the #1 attraction to visit was the warmer weather. It was incredibly refreshing to be able to walk around outside with no snow, no hat, and just a light jacket. I think we could have done just about anything and I would have been happy just for the weather.

Upon arriving at Narita airport, all foreigners entering the country must be fingerprinted and photographed, a new security procedure (a very high-tech little gadget sits on the counter at passport control). The first thing Tokyo Tomi and I did was to stop off at her apartment before heading to dinner at Outback Steakhouse (woohoo!). She lives on the 26th floor of a new building, in a corner unit, with floor to ceiling windows and a fantastic view of the city. At night it truly looks like Manhattan. She also has a view of Mt. Fuji, which was an unexpected surprise for me.

My goal for the weekend was to eat as much as possible (I'm back on a Lenten diet now), be outside as much as possible, and learn a lot about Japanese culture, of which I am fairly ignorant. Tokyo Tomi is fluent in Japanese, so it was really easy to get around. We ate steak, mexican food, donuts, Starbucks, and of course Japanese food. I had some sushi and tried a few traditional items like octopus balls. We went to a museum, saw a movie (ticket cost = $18, theater experience = priceless), and walked all over the place. By far the funniest thing that happened was when we took a rickshaw ride. Our driver was a very nice young man, and we were joking about how it must be harder to pull heavier Americans than the typical Japanese person. When we asked him if we were hard to pull, he replied, "No, I've pulled sumo wrestlers before and you're lighter than them." Oh great, I'm glad to hear it.

Having been in Mongolia for almost 9 months, I experienced a little culture shock in Tokyo. I was mesmerized by the stupidest things, like the moving sidewalks in the airport. For a few days, I felt normal again, as shallow as that might sound. The trip was well worth it, and so I say, "Arigato Tokyo!"

Here's some more photos: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=m1glqs2.42yx3kt6&x=0&y=-4oucdq

Happy (Asian) New Year!

2008-02-11T04:36:00.000-06:00

So far one of the biggest benefits of being here in winter has been celebrating Mongolia's new year holiday, called Tsagaan Sar - literally, "White Month" holiday. It's celebrated at the same time as the Chinese new year, but with completely different customs and traditions. I thought I would share a little about it, and an album link with some photos from the last few days.

Officially, Tsagaan Sar is a 3-day holiday, however, many people celebrate for up to a week. The main purpose is for families and friends to visit each others' homes and greet one another. The basic procedural customs are the same everywhere you go. First, you must greet each person in a specific manner, using a specific greeting. The eldest are always the hosts, and the most honored. After the greetings are finished, it's common for people to pass around their snuff bottles, which must be received with the right hand in a specific way. It's just for show - you sniff the opening of the bottle, but there's usually no snuff in it. Here's a great example of an older lady holding out her bottle as described:

Then the eating commences - there are specific Tsagaan Sar foods that everyone serves (kind of like turkey at Thanksgiving). You start with milk tea; then potato, beet or carrot salads; then you slice off a piece of meat from the sheep sitting on the table; then the main item is steamed meat dumplings called buuz (pronounced like "boats"). There will be a variety of other things offered, like candies, soda, and fruit.

My favorite part is the traditional Mongolian singing. After eating for a little while, the hosts and guests are free to sing. Mongolians love to sing, and I love to listen to them. If my internet connection weren't so dadblasted slow, I would attach a video so you could hear some of it. Our church celebrated together (without food) on Sunday night with an open mic. A lot of the traditional songs are about their mothers, or the country.

Perhaps the most unusual part of the whole deal is that the hosts give the guests gifts. The guests can also bring money or gifts to the hosts, but it's not necessarily expected. Families spend a lot of money on this holiday, because they are essentially feeding and gifting people for a week. Many families take out loans just to pay for it (sound like Christmas in America??). I felt guilty accepting gifts from the Mongolians, but they enjoy it and it's part of their tradition. I wore my one Mongolian-looking item, my leather jacket with a traditional pattern. Most people dress up in dels.

I love the hospitality of this country - it is a strong custom for Mongolians to invite people into their homes, without question, even if you're a stranger. Celebrating Tsagaan Sar in individual homes was like participating in the intimate family gatherings at our Thanksgiving. If you want to see a few more photos, here's a link: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=m1glqs2.bcrzah8q&x=0&y=f36iyd

Winter survival lessons

2008-02-04T19:15:00.000-06:00

I am so happy it's February, I just can't tell you. I'm also proud that I have made it through January, the coldest month of the year, and the coldest month of my life. The Mongolians have been telling me, soon it will start getting warmer. But in my mind, I'm already telling myself, "It's February! It's definitely warmer outside already." It's kind of a little mind-game I play with myself to try to psyche myself out into believing that -15 is way better than -20. Truthfully, the weather is not warmer yet, but I will be exultant when it starts to reach back up to zero. How sick is that?!

I've lived and traveled in "cold" climates before, but nowhere else on earth I've been to compares to Mongolia. Yes, Canada is a pretty good comparison, but there's one major thing my friend Todd has access to in Calgary that I don't: skywalks. I have: sidewalks. Anyway, I'm not intending to complain, rather I thought I would share with you some of the lessons I've learned that have helped me survive this coldest winter of my life.

Standard silk or cotton longjohns don't cut it. You have to wear thick, double-layered, lined longjohns that make it difficult for your jeans to fit over them. This has limited the number of wearable pants for me to about 2, at least when I go outdoors. It also has the effect of feeling like you're walking around in ski pants all the time.

My old method of scarf-tying is inadequate. In England, I could wear a regular slip-knot style around my neck. Here, everyone wraps them around the neck and lower face multiple times. It's very Christmas Story.

Plenty of body lotion and lip balm must be applied frequently throughout the day. Otherwise, my skin starts to look and feel like fish scales, and my lips crack in the corners.

Sometimes skating is better than walking. Snow and ice are rarely cleared from the streets and sidewalks, so it's easy to slip. You see a lot of people (and especially kids) skating along in their shoes. I'm not going to jinx myself by telling you that I haven't slipped yet. I'll wait until winter is over.

Only go outside to run errands in the afternoon, the warmest part of the day. Early mornings and evenings are painfully cold. It's hard to even breathe in through my mouth without immediately coughing, unless I have a scarf covering my mouth.

Eat less. Being inside most of the time, I'm less active and it's starting to show. I've started doing a yoga/pilates workout that someone gave me on DVD.

No point in wearing any makeup. I have to cover most of my face when I go out, and after about 5 minutes outside, tiny ice droplets and water collect on my eyelashes. I figured that out the one time I wore mascara and arrived at church with black stuff smeared all around my eyes.

Well, of course I could go on but you get the idea. Perhaps the most important thing I've learned is that Mongolians are tough people. I have gained a new appreciation for how difficult it is to live here. Maybe that's why there are only 2 million people in the whole country! When temperatures can drop to -40 in the winter and exceed 100 in the summer, that is rough. And the funny thing is, they all say Spring is the worst because of the sandstorms!! Geez. I can't wait.

Serving

2008-02-01T23:29:00.000-06:00

One arm of our ministry here in Darkhan is reaching out to some of the elderly and poor in the community. We try to assess their most critical needs, and provide assistance where possible. Sometimes we give food, other times medicine, and sometimes we just visit with them to let them know that we care about them. Yesterday I spent the day doing just that, visiting about 5 or 6 homes and talking with them. In reality, I did little of the talking. I mostly listened to our staff in charge of this ministry, Norjin, talk with them. It's both a humbling and edifying experience.

This man has sold all his animals in order to buy enough coal to make it through the winter and keep his house warm. His wife had a stroke when she was 55 years old, and has spent the 10 years since then bedridden. Although only 65, his wife looks more like 85. They survive on a small amount of government assistance.

This lady is in her 50s, and yet has crippling arthritis. Her hands are gnarled and almost useless. She lives in a ger, and is helped a little by her daughter. After talking with her, we decided to send some of our older boys to work in her yard and help her with things she is unable to do. I love that we engage our own kids to help in the community.

Visiting with these sweet people always challenges me. It's not enough to pity them - Jesus calls us to actually help them. "...I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40

The World is Flat!

2008-01-26T00:52:00.000-06:00

This story is one of those that I never would have believed if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. It really typifies the name of my blog. This week my translator Chimgee took me to one of her favorite little shoe stores. Like many shops around here, you would never know it existed unless someone showed it to you. Chimgee claimed they were selling hand towels with the word "Texas" on them. My curiosity sufficiently aroused, I went with her to see what she was talking about. To my complete and utter amazement, I found they were selling Texas A&M 12th Man towels from last November's A&M vs. Texas football game. The nice couple who run the shop graciously agreed for me to take their picture:

All I can say is, this is one of the oddities that results from the increasingly global import/export business. I asked the couple where they got the towels, and all they knew was that they got them from someone in UB. I then explained that Texas A&M was my university, and that I knew these towels. (In fact, I even brought my personal 12th Man towel from home, and it's sitting here on my bookshelf!) Since they assumed they were nothing more than hand towels, I entertained them by explaining their true purpose. I even twirled one over my head to demonstrate. They got a good laugh out of that.

It's one thing to see American sports logos on shirts, hats, etc., but these towels??! As bizarre as this story is, I guess it's not totally uncommon in this "globalizing" world. I would recommend a good book called "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman, if you're interested in more examples of how small our world is becoming. Oh, and - Gig 'em!!

Igor

2008-01-16T21:48:00.000-06:00

Meet Igor, who just turned 17 last Saturday. Igor is Roma's younger brother, if you recall my previous post about Roma. They each go by their Russian names. Their deceased father was Mongolian, and mother is Russian. Igor invited me over to celebrate his birthday, and I was happy to join in. In this picture, we're having a little height contest.

The first couple of years that I met Igor, he sort of looked the same. Then, from 2006 to 2007, it was like he went from kid to young man overnight. Here's a picture of Igor and Roma from several years ago:

For his birthday, we ate a rice dish with beef and potatoes, pickles and beets. Igor was given some sweets as a gift. Then the boys got hold of my camera and took a lot of crazy random pictures of themselves. Of course, I'll keep them.

Late Christmas gift

2008-01-13T03:57:00.000-06:00

In addition to the innumerable blessings I have received over the past 8 months, I just had a visitor from home! My friend Ravi stopped here for a couple of days as part of his multi-country trip to India, China and Mongolia. He was excited to see some new countries, and I was excited to see a familiar face. Although a short visit, we did a lot. I warned him ahead of time that it was the coldest part of the year, so he came prepared with appropriate gear. However, at some point no amount of extra clothing can keep you warm in -10 to -20 degree temperatures. Nonetheless, we braved the outdoors for short periods of time, including the main attraction in UB, Sukhbaatar Square. There is a new parliament building with a gigantic statue of Chinggis Khan.

Once in Darkhan, we visited a nearby camel herd and were invited inside the herdsman's ger, as is the custom in Mongolia. We were given camel milk tea, a treat even for a Mongolian! Despite Ravi's aversion to dairy, he graciously tried a little. I guess I'm getting used to Mongolia, because I drank nearly all of mine.

We also visited most of our children, and Ravi talked to them about India and showed them pictures. The kids were fascinated, and especially liked his pictures of the Taj Mahal.

Ravi can boast that he braved Mongolia's coldest temperatures, and in fact while he was here there was even a severe weather warning. That means that even the Mongolians were staying inside! Now that he's gone, I'm officially in hibernation in my apartment until further notice.

Mystery machine

2008-01-04T07:19:00.000-06:00

The Mongolian word for car is "machine." I have no idea what kind of machine this is. I saw it in UB recently. Despite doing a 360-degree inspection, I saw no make, model, or other identification. I think it sort of resembles a VW beetle.

New Year's fireworks

2007-12-31T21:57:00.000-06:00

In case you've wondered whether Mongolians celebrate New Year's Eve with fireworks, they do. Nothing too fancy, but last night I did get to see a few nice fireworks from my window around midnight. What I wasn't expecting, however, were the indoor fireworks earlier in the day in my apartment. Due to the decrepit condition of the apartment buildings here (recall my earlier plumbing disaster!), the circuit breakers can't handle a certain amount of power that Americans are accustomed to. The problem is, you don't know what the limit is until you cross it.

Yesterday afternoon, I discovered the limit in my apartment. Apparently, I cannot plug in a space heater at the same time my oven is on. All the electrical outlets in my apartment are wired to one breaker. The lights are on another, so thankfully they were unaffected. With cornbread baking in the oven, I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room and noticed black smoke coming out of the wall outlet in the far corner. Then I could see a tiny fire through the socket holes. I then commenced freaking out. I immediately called our staff, one of whom is our electrician, and asked him to hurry to my apartment. While I was on the phone, a second pop and fire occurred in the outlet, and more black smoke. The little fires were short-lived and contained, and the walls are solid concrete so I knew the likelihood of a major fire was low. But still - add this to the list of things I've never, ever dealt with in my life, and it resulted in a mild amount of panic.

As always, God took care of me. Our electrician Munkho was over in a flash, and he had the whole thing fixed within an hour. That is, except for this poor burned up outlet:

Munkho explained what happened, and how in the future I can only use the oven or the space heater, but not both at the same time. Which is fine, because the space heater isn't absolutely necessary, and as it turns out, the oven sort of serves the same purpose!

Thanks to Munkho, I enjoyed the rest of my day, and watched movies all night until 1am. It was kind of cool reaching 2008 before most of the world. Happy New Year!

Camel crossing

2007-12-26T03:59:00.000-06:00

This morning, I set out on a 1.5-hour trip with a few of our staff to a town called Dulaan Khan. We were delivering school supplies, food and winter clothes to school children who were in great need. About halfway there, we came upon a beautiful herd of camels. Our driver stopped, and the herdsman started riding toward us. Before I knew it, I was out of the van and on top of a gigantic Bactrian camel.

Although you may associate camels with hot, dry, sandy desert, these 2-hump camels are native to Mongolia and thrive in the extreme cold. The big guy I rode had a dusting of snow on his head! He was so huge, he dwarfed the horse next to him. Of course, Mongolian horses are smaller than American or European horses.

It was a fairly large herd, with a few white camels. They were really beautiful animals. But trust me, they don't make beautiful noises. If you agitate them, they sort of squeal and shriek. It was a treat to see, and if you want to see a few more pictures you can click here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=m1glqs2.6v88dyaq&x=0&y=7j3cig

Christmas kids: Part 2

2007-12-20T19:30:00.000-06:00

As a followup to my last post, I wanted to post this picture of our toddlers. They were the last group we visited. They range in age from 3-7, with one girl and 9 boys. The girl is handicapped, as well as the boy I'm holding. His name is Chinzorig, and he has cerebral palsy. They loved their visit from Santa.

Christmas is for Mongolian kids too!

2007-12-18T06:23:00.000-06:00

This week I have had one of the best times of my life. I've always loved gift-giving, but celebrating Christmas with our orphan kids has given me great joy. My good friend Justin agreed to play Santa, and he was a major hit. As it turns out, "Ho, ho, ho" needs no translation. On Monday and Tuesday nights, I visited the kids and read them the Night Before Christmas story. They asked me questions about Santa, and then Santa Justin knocked on the door and surprised them. You should have seen the amazement in their eyes. There was Santa, right after I told them the story!

Santa Justin delivered small gifts to each child, plus a small chocolate. Every time he said "Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!" and patted his belly, they laughed. And they all wanted to have their picture taken with Santa.

Our kids know the true meaning of Christmas. They know it's really about the birth of the Savior Jesus. But every kid loves Santa, and I wanted them to experience that excitement. The younger ones will all be singing Christmas carols in church on Sunday. In the meantime, there will be lots of drawing in new notebooks, matchbox car races, and superhero action figure battles.

Frosty the Tomato

2007-12-11T06:48:00.000-06:00

Tonight I visited our young girls' apartment, as I normally do on Tuesday nights. Four nights each week, I spend an hour with our kids teaching them English and enjoying their company. Christmas is growing in popularity in Mongolia, and our kids have shown a tremendous interest in learning more about it. They are even learning traditional Christmas carols to sing in church (translated into Mongolian, of course). I arrived at their home tonight armed with an old Frosty the Snowman book and my iPod+speakers, with Harry Connick's version of the old tune. With the help of my translator, I read them the story, and then played them the song. They absolutely loved it. The girls are eager to pick up new songs and more English. Some have better English abilities than others, and tonight one of them struggled to repeat the word "snowman," instead it inexplicably came out "tomato." So as I started the song for a second time at their request, she mumbled something like "Frosty the Tomato." I giggled quietly and discreetly, but there was no way NOT to giggle. They are such a blast.

Winter necessity

2007-12-09T05:54:00.000-06:00

Thought you might want to see my winter coat. Thanks to the sacrifice of a few good sheep, it's the single most important item I own in Mongolia. This picture was taken about a month ago, on a nice sunny day. The temperature was about 30 degrees, right around freezing. Now, the daytime high is running around 10 degrees, and I won't be standing outside long enough to take a photo, if I can help it. For my mother and other concerned readers, yes - I do have a hat which I normally wear.

I've been wondering if this coat will make the trip home with me or not. It would literally take up an entire suitcase, and when would I wear it? A decision to be made in the future.

Julia

2007-11-30T23:03:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-25T20:41:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-20T06:55:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-15T08:48:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-08T20:39:00.001-06:00

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

2007-11-02T03:43:00.001-06:00

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!

First snow

2007-10-29T23:55:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we got our first real snow. It was just a few inches, and I enjoyed going out today since it was bright and sunny. Snow makes everything beautiful! I took this picture this morning while out shopping. You can see the large theater building and the mountains in the background.

Here's the view from my 3rd floor balcony this morning:

And in case you're wondering how cold it is, it's cold. Not unbearable, but it's been in the 30s during the day, and around 10 degrees overnight. Surprisingly, if it's sunny and there's no wind, it's not too bad outside.

Joy

2007-10-18T23:39:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure why I haven't yet shared about these ladies - they are my #1 passion and joy here. My first priority while I'm here working with this ministry is discipleship - to fulfill Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19-20. Mongolia has had religious freedom for only about 15 years, so Christianity, as well as other religions, is relatively new to them. Young Christians have a strong desire to better understand the bible and learn from "older" Christians. When Jerry (the missionary) and I prayed and talked about how I could serve here, we were immediately in sync on this.

We have approximately 15 ladies on staff who work as "housemothers." These ladies are the caregivers to our 50+ children, who live in apartments. Most are Christians, but not all. One of the first things I did when I arrived was to start hosting a weekly bible study in my apartment for any women on our staff who were interested. Due to their rotating work schedule (24 hrs on, 48 hrs off), I lead bible study 3 mornings a week - Tues-Thurs from 9-11am, teaching the same lesson each day. We started with the basics: defining Christianity, explaining the structure and source of the bible, and spiritual disciplines. By the end of the summer, we had gotten to know each other pretty well, and in the Fall we started an in-depth study of Romans, which will likely take up my remaining time here.

The response has been overwhelming to me. I knew God was leading me to do this, but I didn't realize how desperately these women desired to know God better and to fellowship with each other. Not a week has gone by where at least one of them doesn't thank me for providing a place for them to meet together, share their lives and problems, and have someone explain the scriptures to them. I have literally watched God change their hearts, including one who got saved during the summer (hallelujah!) and others who are learning to love each other rather than harbor bitterness. I could fill up pages with sweet stories that have blessed my socks off. Also note these are the heroes from my plumbing disaster!

The picture above is only some of them - including my sweet translator Naraa on the far left. She is one of the most joyful people I have ever met, and always has that smile on her face. I am hugely blessed by all of them, and they are much of the reason our children are so fantastic!

N.B. - Thanks to my dad, who generously donated Mongolian study bibles to each woman - an extravagance none of them could afford!

My terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

2007-10-15T03:59:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday was terrible. When I told my sister about it, she reminded me of that classic childrens' story that aptly described my day. I had a plumbing problem - no - a plumbing disaster. There are many comforts that I take for granted at home, and plumbing is definitely one of them. Brief background: all the apartment buildings in Darkhan are about 40 years old, including the pipes. There is little or no maintenance done, the Mongolians just wait until things break to fix them. Here is what my bathroom pipes look like, and the ceiling:

Multiple coats of paint does not qualify as maintenance, in my opinion. Anyway, Thursday morning I got up and took a shower before the ladies in my weekly bible study arrived. My bathroom hot water faucet knob had broken, so I could only turn off my hot water by shutting off the main valve. Here's a lovely closeup:

Around 9am, the ladies started to arrive at my apartment. Shortly thereafter, I remembered I still needed to turn the hot water off in the bathroom. When I went to turn the valve dial, it blew off and hot water started gushing out of the pipe onto my bathroom floor. High pressure, boiling-hot water. By the grace of God - truly - I had 8 Mongolian women in my apartment by that time. They jumped into action, like they had seen this 100 times. Before I knew it, they had their sleeves rolled up, and were scooping water off the floor into the bathtub, and trying to contain the flooding so it didn't spill out into the rest of my apartment. I stood by, helpless, watching them. They worked and sweated for about 15-20 minutes while we waited for the water company to arrive and shut off the water. In the meantime, my downstairs neighbor came knocking at my door, complaining that it was leaking into her apartment, damaging the ceiling and some wallpaper.

Sadly, this is a common occurrence in these apartment buildings. Every one of the women told me they had experienced something similar. Still, I felt very humbled by the whole thing, that I just stood there not knowing what to do. I don't know what I would have done if I had been alone - certainly there would have been more water damage. Those ladies are my heroes.

It took the rest of the day to get the pipe and valve fixed and the water turned back on. While I waited at home all day, I managed to stub my toe so hard that I thought I broke it (I didn't), then my kitchen cabinet almost fell off the wall. There are many lessons that can be learned from such a crummy day, not least of which is an immeasurable appreciation for the Mongolian and American friends I have here that came to my rescue at multiple times during the day. And for the God who provided them exactly when I needed them, in exactly the right way.

Battsetseg

2007-10-04T22:06:00.001-06:00

Meet Battsetseg, one of our girls. The word "tsetseg" in Mongolian means "flower," and is a common component of female names. Almost 5 years ago, Battsetseg's mother left her with our organization. Her mother has a mental illness, and had married a man who beat Battsetseg. She never knew her father. As with many of our other children, she was malnourished when we received her. She is now 10 years old and is a sweet girl who likes to sing and dance.

Used gum storage

2007-10-01T04:45:00.000-06:00

Mongolians like chewing gum as much as the average American. There are a variety of brands in the stores, including a few familiar ones like Juicy Fruit and Bubbalicious! Thanks to my dear friends at HFBC who visited this summer, I'm still enjoying some Orbit Mint Mojito flavor gum.

I observed something new (and odd) yesterday. While sitting in church, the boy in front of me got tired of his gum, and proceeded to take it out of his mouth and stick it in his ear. Not ON his ear, IN his ear. I'm certain it was located such that his hearing was undoubtedly diminished. I later confirmed that this is a fairly common practice for temporarily storing used gum, until the person is ready to resume chewing.

I used to feel a little bad when I would stick my gum on the top of my plastic soda fountain cup during lunch. So, where do you store your gum for future chewing?

Lake Khovsgol

2007-09-25T04:02:00.000-06:00

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

2007-09-14T23:04:00.000-06:00

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

2007-09-13T07:58:00.000-06:00

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

2007-09-05T03:56:00.000-06:00

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

2007-09-01T23:33:00.000-06:00

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!

Airag adventures

2007-08-30T18:54:00.001-06:00

My friend Todd and I are having a great time during his visit here. One of the things we've been doing is conducting water surveys in the countryside surrounding Hongor. This is part of the overall water project our ministry is working on, in cooperation with and support from the Mongolian government. As a result of the water contamination in Hongor (see previous posts), the government has essentially requested that we go to every single Mongolian home in Hongor and collect data on water usage and family health. It has even expanded to the entire state, and we now have an open door to do something on a national level. Although the cyanide contamination is specific to Hongor, water quality is a national problem. The survey data will be summarized into reports used by American scientists and water experts. We plan to follow up with providing water filters in the homes. It's been an amazing experience to be invited into every home.

Mongolians are very hospitable, especially in the countryside. Todd and I visited families in their countryside gers. Each visit has similar customs: we enter and sit on the left side of the ger (and if you're tall Todd, you bang your head on the low door frame), we introduce ourselves, and they begin serving us all manner of dairy products. The most common is milk tea and curd, but we've also been served cheese, milk cream, Mongolian vodka and airag. Yesterday we visited a family with a good number of horses, including the cutest foal who is only 2 months old (above). The woman let us watch while she milked the mare (also above-recall mares' milk is for making airag). Then we went to the next family who had an unusually large cow skin to make airag in (above). We each took a turn stirring the tasty concoction, and of course we got a sample. Mmm, mmm, good! Actually, Todd and I agreed it wasn't bad! Definitely the best airag (or should I say, the "least bad") that I've had in Mongolia. It was a good day.

Fabulous fish

2007-08-21T05:30:00.000-06:00

I'm in UB today (Ulaanbaatar, the capital city). I'm here to pick up my friend Todd at the airport (yay!). Going to UB from Darkhan feels a lot like returning to civilization. I had a few shopping errands to run this afternoon, then I had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, the "California." They serve the most authentic American food I've had in Mongolia. Tonight I ordered the grilled salmon. Now - let me explain - Mongolia is a land-locked desert, so fish is rarely available in restaurants, and even when it's available, it's usually not advisable. But I gambled tonight, and won big. It was amazing! I savored every fishy bite, and I might not even brush my teeth tonight just so I can hang on to that yummy taste. (ok, now that I typed that out, it sounds kind of gross).

My pal Justin is an American staff member working here with Lifeqwest as a construction manager. We always get jealous of each other when one gets to go to UB and feast on good food, and the other is left behind in Darkhan. Tonight I happened to know that he was dining with the Darkhan state governor, quite an honor. I figured they would be eating Mongolian food, so I couldn't resist taunting him a little. As it turns out, we were both eating dinner at the same time in our respective cities. Here are the messages we exchanged via cell phone text:

me: "I'm eating grilled salmon. I have died and gone to heaven."
Justin: "That's nice. I'm eating goat fat."

I had a little chuckle at my table. I know, I'm mean. But he'll get me back.

Double wedding day

2007-08-18T00:34:00.000-06:00

On Friday I attended my first Mongolian wedding. It was interesting to participate, but really long. After almost 4 hours of sitting and eating, I had to get up and stretch my legs. The groom is one of our staff that I have known since 2004, when I started coming to Mongolia. He is one of the most solid Christian Mongolian men I have met here. He is in charge of our "Mustang" program, a military-style training program for troubled teenage boys. He also preaches at our little church in Hongor. His name is Amaraa, and his wife is Selenge.

The wedding itself was a mixture of traditional and contemporary. It was a Christian wedding, which is somewhat unusual in Mongolia. The bride wore a white dress, and the marriage ceremony was pretty standard in American terms (especially since Jerry, our missionary, married them). There was a funny wedding coordinator that guided the event, which included lots of singing, horse guitar playing, drinking airag and eating sheep fat. On either side of the wedding cake, there was a sheep back/rump laying on the table. Lovely.

Later that same evening, another one of our staff, Pagi, held a wedding reception. He and his wife were dressed in traditional Mongolian garb. The three pictures are of Amaraa's new family, Amaraa and Selenge with the Lifeqwest staff, and Pagi with wife drinking airag.

In case you're wondering, I politely declined the airag and sheep fat.

HFBC team

2007-08-12T04:07:00.000-06:00

Hurrah! Friends from home! There's nothing better.

Naadam festival

2007-08-01T02:38:00.000-06:00

In early July, I celebrated my first Naadam in Mongolia. Naadam is a huge deal, an annual 3-day national holiday where the 3 "manly sports" are highlighted: wrestling, archery and horseracing. Our little American contingent went to the local stadium to see the opening ceremonies and soak up some of the Naadam festivities. Outside the stadium it was like a state fair, with food and all kinds of vendors. The main food is khuushur (pronounced hoe-shur), which is basically a fried meat pie. But if you want to experience Naadam like a true Mongolian, then you drink airag. I finally decided to bite the bullet and take a sip this year. Airag is fermented mares' milk, and it's pretty foul. But I did it, so now I can be called a "Chinggis" Mongol (that's an authentic Mongolian). Interestingly, part of the awards ceremony for the horseracing involves each person drinking airag and then pouring some of it on the horse's head. Strange, I know.

Here's some photos - if you can't immediately access them, use my username and password (maysus2001@yahoo.com; banderas) to view.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/MyGallery.jsp?&

Shepherd field trip

2007-07-23T03:36:00.000-06:00

In June, when the first American team was here, we did something very special with our girls. Inspired by my friend Nita DeBorde and Psalm 23, we visited a Mongolian herdsman, or shepherd, with his flock of 250 sheep and goats. The idea was to do some practical teaching about God as our shepherd by learning about the role of a real shepherd. Although Mongolia's livestock-to-people ratio is about 13 to 1, most of our girls are from the city and are not that familiar with countryside life.

Our herdsman was named Batchulan, and he was like a sweet old grandpa. He told the girls many things about his work, and they asked a lot of questions. A couple of them even got to practice herding his nearby flock. One of my favorite things that Batchulan said was that he knew every single one of the animals, even from behind them, so that if one was missing he would immediately know it. What a beautiful picture of how intimately God knows each one of us!

After Batchulan finished speaking, the Americans in the group briefly taught through Psalm 23, and then we ate lunch on the grass. It was a perfect day - sunny, but not too hot. The girls had a great time, and we all learned a lot about a shepherd's daily life. Thanks to Nita for inspiring something so valuable, even though you didn't realize it!

Gig 'em and Sic 'em

2007-07-12T18:43:00.000-06:00

Is this a beautiful sight or what? Last week we had 3 American teams here: the Edwards praise team, Texas Baptist Men, and Baylor University. Nearly everyone from the teams claimed either Texas A&M or Baylor as its alma mater. We took the opportunity to do some group photos on our Hongor property. I also enjoyed seeing my Aggie flag raised on our flag pole! The girl in between the two flags did her undergrad at A&M and postgrad at Baylor (shoutout to Joel and Steven!). The buildings behind me in the last photo are dorm-type buildings where our staff and teams can stay in Hongor.

Elders Banquet

2007-07-06T23:35:00.000-06:00

I often describe our ministry here as including serving the needs of the poor and elderly in the community. A specific example is the annual elders banquet that we host for approximately 75 elders in the Darkhan area. Many of these men and women, the mothers and fathers of Mongolia, have few visitors and live in desperate conditions. We love honoring them with a meal and some live music provided by a team from America. They all get dressed up in their best attire, most of whom wear the traditional Mongolian "dell" outfit.

This year I was so blessed to attend the banquet, especially when I ran into a 72-year-old lady named Dolgorjav (pictured). Two years ago, I visited her home to deliver some food and check on her needs (also pictured). Our little team probably spent no more than 20 minutes in her one-room cardboard shack. Amazingly, when I saw her this week at the banquet, two years later, she remembered me. And because that visit made such an impact on me in 2005, I remembered her too.

All the elders at the banquet were so thrilled to be there, and several of the women left singing! What a privelege to serve those in need and be blessed in return.

Mongolian beverages

2007-07-01T02:38:00.000-06:00

In case you're interested to know what the average Mongolian eats and drinks, I thought I'd start out with the drinks. At most restaurants, you have your choice of various "multivitamin" juices (bottled mixed fruit juices), sodas (no diet!), water, beer, and hot teas. In the homes, people also drink raisin juice, milk tea (see recipe below), and airag (fermented mares' milk).

I'm not a big fan of milk tea, but I've learned to make it anyway because I host Mongolians in my apartment each week. They love it, and it's a very hospitable thing to serve. Personally, I love tea. But I learned to love tea in England, where I drank English breakfast tea with a little milk. Mongolian milk tea has basically the opposite tea and milk proportions, plus salt. (blech!) Try it for yourself!

Milk tea:
Bring the following to a boil on the stove: 1 liter water (about a quart), 1 Tablespoon loose black tea, 6-8 ounces milk (use 2% or more), pinch of salt to taste. When serving, pour through strainer to catch tea pieces. Serves about 10-15.

Note that in the countryside, some people will also add pan grease fat and other questionable items. I'd rather drink raisin juice!!

Cold shower or no shower?

2007-06-26T08:26:00.000-06:00

Mongolia has many proud traditions and several major holidays. Each year during July, Mongolians celebrate a 3-day festival called Naadam, where the "three manly sports" are exhibited: wrestling, archery and horseracing. I'm personally looking forward to it since I've never been in the country during Naadam before.

Currently I am "celebrating" a lesser known but significant 3-day annual tradition in June, the Mongolian hot water shutdown. Well, that's what I call it, anyway. Each summer the entire hot water supply in the city of Darkhan is completely shut off. I am told that this is so that maintenance can be performed on the pipes to clean out sediment buildup in order to be prepared for the winter. The cold water from the taps is frigid - and I'm not exaggerating - the toilet tank has a continual sweat on the outside because it's like ice water inside. So, taking a cold shower is like standing under ice water.

Faced with this predicament, you start to ask yourself questions like, "Is my hair really all that dirty? Surely no one will notice if I skip a couple days? How many pots do I have to boil water at the same time?" The first time I experienced this, I was a bit shocked. Now, I'm just somewhat amused. I fill up my big thermos with hot water and do the best sponge bath I can come up with. By Wednesday night at 8pm, when the hot water returns, all of Darkhan will be rejoicing in the shower.

Which option would you choose?

Hongor village water update

2007-06-20T08:13:00.000-06:00

The Hongor water situation is stabilized, for the time being. For the last two weeks, we've been providing clean drinking water to the people affected by the water contamination (see my previous blog posts). Twice a day, a large utility truck parks inside the village and allows everyone to come and draw water. I like going out there when I have time just to visit with folks. This boy told me that he is eleven years old. After some effort to mount his bike, he manages to pull that water canister behind him while riding his bike.

By God's providence, we had already planned for a small team from Baylor University to come and do some well work this summer. Later this month they will arrive and commence an effort to de-contaminate/purify the wells in Hongor. Our hope and prayer is that we can help get the wells fixed. Until then, however, we are committed to providing the daily water truck. Thanks so much to those of you who have made a contribution, it is truly preventing a toxic situation for many people, including this boy and his family.

Chicken Gordon Blue

2007-06-13T08:34:00.000-06:00

Ordering off restaurant menus in Mongolia requires the spiritual gift of discernment. Basically, you have to read between the lines and use your experience to predict what you're going to get. I've learned over time that what the menu says is not exactly what you'll get, but generally what you get tastes pretty good. So you just order in faith and it usually turns out fine.

Recently I had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Darkhan, called "Nice Cafe." Real original, right? One of the items on the menu was called "Chicken Gordon Blue." The short description read "chicken chest and cheese." It's difficult to find decent chicken, but I decided to try it. Turns out, it was disappointing. It consisted of two very thin, dry pieces of breaded chicken with a cheese slice melted in between them. And when I say cheese slice - think of the plastic-wrapped Kraft singles you buy in the grocery. The good thing is, food is so cheap that you don't feel too ripped off about a bad $3 meal.

I'm eating at home a fair amount, too. Choices at the food stores are slowly improving. This year's greatest news for me is that you can now buy SLICED BREAD at the grocery store! Up until this year, you either sliced your own bread or bought sliced bread in UB, the capital city (a 3 hour drive one-way). The funny thing is, I would bet the only people who buy the sliced bread are the foreigners. But isn't is strange that previously you could have your pick of the latest cell phones, but sliced bread was just too much of a luxury?!

The simple life

2007-06-10T03:29:00.000-06:00

Ways I can tell that my life has dramatically simplified:

1. I have one key on my keychain.
2. My church building has one room.
3. I'm learning my letters and numbers (in Mongolian!).
4. I only have 8 hours per week planned in advance.
5. I take afternoon naps a couple times each week.

More to come on this, I might keep a running list.

Hongor water contributions

2007-06-08T20:49:00.000-06:00

I neglected to include information in my last post about how to contribute financially toward the Hongor water situation. If you are interested in making a contribution, you can go to the Lifeqwest website, www.lifeqwest.org, and donate online or via check. When paying online, in the subject line indicate "Hongor water." If by check, be sure to make your check out to Lifeqwest and include a note indicating it's for Hongor water and mail it to the Irving address on the website. I will provide updates on the situation as I'm able.

Thank you!!

Living water

2007-06-06T02:18:00.000-06:00

This is a great story. I've been here less than 2 weeks and already our organization has been thrust into the middle of an incredible opportunity to serve. In the village of Hongor, not far from my city of Darkhan, there was a recent incident that contaminated part of its well water supply. A Chinese mining company dumped some toxic waste on the ground and contaminated their well water with sodium cyanide and mercury. It killed some of the livestock, and the people were warned not to use the water. The city officials' plan was to have clean water trucked into town from the Darkhan water utility. Unfortunately, the town of Hongor had no money, so the utility wouldn't bring the water. After a week of no water, the people started drawing water from the contaminated well, despite posted warning signs not to do so (see first picture).

Our ministry is very involved in the community, so as soon as we became aware of the situation, we met with the city officials to see how we could help. They were desperate for help (why the Mongolian national goverment wouldn't help is beyond me), so we took a step of faith to start paying for daily water deliveries indefinitely. In the meantime, we already have other plans in place to work on cleaning up the contamination. Scientists and engineers from Baylor University are heading here later this month to volunteer their services.

The cost of providing this water is incredibly small, considering the life-sustaining necessity of it. For $100 per day, we are providing drinking and washing water to approximately 5,400 people. This was not in our budget so we're trusting that God will provide the finances. Even if we have to put some of our other projects on hold, this was an obvious and easy decision.

The pictures show a woman drawing water from the contaminated well despite posted warnings signs; me helping pour water from the first water truck (cheesy, I know); and some of the cute village kids. None of them have anything larger than a medium/large bucket, so they usually have to make several trips. Now don't you know we have an awesome opportunity to share with them about the Living Water of Jesus? While standing at their new "well?"

My building

2007-06-01T07:09:00.000-06:00

I live in "new Darkhan," which is the nicer part of town. This is the front of my building, #7, and my entrance is the first one on the right. I'm on the 3rd floor but my balcony faces the back. Guess I should get a picture of that! I can't believe I'm actually hanging my clothes on a balcony clothesline for all the world to see. Every day has been different weather - sunny/hot, overcast/cold, rainy, etc. It will soon settle into the hot summer.

LOST?

2007-05-30T07:36:00.000-06:00

Not me, but the tv show. You have to read my whole story to get it. I'm happy to say I arrived safely in Mongolia last week and am settling in nicely into my apartment. But not without a bizarre experience in Beijing, where I had my connecting flight to Mongolia.

All was well on United Airlines from Houston-Chicago-Beijing. I stopped and spent the night in an airport hotel in Beijing like I've done before, and got up Thursday morning expecting to take Air China (AC) flight 901 at 9am, arriving in Ulaan Baatar (UB) by 11:15am. By about 8:45am, while waiting in the warm and smelly international terminal, AC started handing out food. Hmm. No information, mind you, just food. We eventually were told there was bad weather in UB, and we were delayed until 7pm. Yowza. Shortly thereafter, we were told (not asked) that we were going to a hotel. Before I knew it, all the passengers were herded onto 2 buses and driven 30 minutes to a lovely Chinese hotel nowhere near the airport. Again, no information.

Upon arriving at random hotel, we were paired up into rooms. Being solo, that means I got to pair up with a complete stranger. Luckily, she was a 30-year old girl with another mission group so it worked out ok for me. Some of the other passengers were not as enthusiastic about their new bunkmates.

For about 8 hours, the passengers of AC flight 901 napped, read, ate the provided Chinese food, tried to contact friends/family, and generally became increasingly restless. There were a couple of hotheaded German guys, a cranky Nigerian, a chatterbox Brit, and several other nations represented. I befriended the mission team from Canada, including my new roommate. The only communication we got was a poorly translated written message posted in the lobby that said:

"AC 901 delayed bad weather in UB. Please stay in room and will call when bus arrives. We hope you enjoy your stay in our hotel!"

By 5pm we were starting to worry we would be stuck overnight in the random hotel. Rumors were circulating that in fact the weather in UB was perfectly fine, and instead the issue must be with AC since they seemed to be going out of their way to provide us free food and lodging. But God was merciful and we finally left for the airport at 6pm! That put us back in the (less) warm and smelly terminal at about 7pm. Still no real information about a departure time, so we just waited.

In the meantime, I chatted with one of the passengers, a Chinese man from Shanghai who spoke very good English. He told me that AC stands for "Always Cancels." It was interesting to see a Chinese person just as annoyed as the rest of us. At some point, he pulled out his laptop and started watching a DVD. I notice it's the original episode of the ABC show "LOST." The one where the plane crashes and there's mass chaos, and all the passengers are running around screaming, etc. At this point in the day, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. Come on, Shanghai man, use some judgment.

Finally, after a 13-hour delay, at about 10pm we get on a plane and leave for UB. It's not only the longest delay I've experienced, but the strangest. It left me with some distinct impressions about the Chinese. Let's just say I'm really happy to be in Mongolia.

Sorry for the length! I expect future stories to be shorter, but this one was just too good not to share. In the future it will be all Mongolia!!

Perspective

2007-04-15T14:44:00.000-06:00

I expect my perspective to change this year. This word is about your view - physical, personal, spiritual, relational, etc. Your view, and therefore your perspective, is largely dependent on what's within eyesight and earshot. My view will be very different for a while, as I live and work in Mongolia.

I'm blessed to have the opportunity to take a sabbatical, and direct all my energies into a ministry that I have come to love. Lifeqwest (http://www.lifeqwest.org) was started by Jerry and Susan Smith, American missionaries, to rescue abused and abandoned children in Mongolia. In the 10+ years since then, God has grown and blessed their ministry, which now provides a number of other humanitarian services to the community in and around Darkhan, Mongolia. Having worked there over the last 3 summers on short trips, I can't wait to get there and stay for a while.

I created this blog because I thought it would be the best way to share my experiences with friends and family. I have no idea how often I'll update it when I'm there, but I hope to post at least weekly, including photos. You might enjoy learning a little bit about Mongolia. Here's a picture of the kids that Lifeqwest cares for. They are dear to me, and I can't wait to tell them that I'm staying longer this time!