saturday

yesterday my team and i went to a place called "gachuurt" to visit the gravesite of aleta's mom. her mom, lola, spent the last year here in mongolia and passed away this summer. aleta brought her here to be cared for because she had dementia and was not being well cared for in the states. it was inspiring to be here and see how lola's life touched so many people even when she often had no idea what was going on. she is one of the few foreigners, if not the only, buried in this cemetery. her tombstone really stands out for two reasons. the first is obviously her name, written in english among a crowd of mongolian names. what makes her tombstone the most unique, however, is what is below her name, written in mongolian:

J said, i am the resurrection and the life. whoever believes in me will not die but have eternal life. from the bible.

the majority of the mongolians who visit the cemetery have never read this verse and may not even know who J is or what the Bible is. however, i imagine that their curiosity over lola's grave must pique their interest. i didn't know lola before she came to mongolia, but aleta has told many stories of how her mom lived her whole life in love with J. even in her death, she continues to proclaim his glory. she is an inspiration to me, and i hope to you, too!