laura's visit

what a great time laura and i had while she was here! pictures follow this post, so you can skip to those if you want and then come back and read some more. :)

the Father's timing in my life is so perfect, and he brought laura to me exactly when i needed her. my first year in mongolia was a lot harder and lonelier than i had anticipated. the events in recent months at my local fellowship have rocked my world in ways i couldn't have imagined were possible. there have been a small number of people who have helped me process it all, and laura is one of them.

laura is a friend who isn't afraid to ask tough, deep questions, and doesn't let me get away with surface-y answers. her visit to me in mongolia, just a few weeks before i return to the states for the summer, was just what i needed. she helped me think about my experiences here and sort through the good, the bad, and the ugly. being able to do that in person is something i definitely don't take for granted. being able to do that before i'm bombarded with life in the states is a blessing beyond anything i deserve!

and of course, we just had a good time together. :) laura brought over several movies that i've been wanting to watch for a while, and it was awesome to sit on my bed and watch them together. we spent one night in the countryside in a ger and a couple of nights in darhan at my friends' house. we walked around, shopped, ate, laughed, and drank lots of coffee. i can't even express how refreshing it was to have her here, to share some of my life with her, and to introduce her to some of my favorite people here. the Father is so good to me, and i'm thankful for the friendship he gave us with each other.

and now for a few pictures...

mongolian princesses?

i convinced laura to get pictures taken wearing traditional mongolian costumes. i think the results are pretty hysterical.

viz garcan okhduud

these girls are going to spend 3 months in virginia this summer through a program called interexchange. i helped them practice for their visa interview, and they had just gotten their visas this day. as you can see they are pretty excited. :)

haircuts

laura and i both got our hair cut at a salon here. less than $7 each and i think we look pretty good. we ate yummy chicken for lunch afterward.

pink cafe

one of the great things about having a friend visit is that it gives me a reason to eat out and not look like a weirdo for eating alone. this cafe is almost entirely pink and red. this picture was taken using a setting that only picked up those two colors, so you can see what i mean. :)

ger camp

we spent one night in the countryside. it was quite an adventure. we stayed with a real countryside family and ate meals in their ger with animals coming in and out. laura's bed broke in the middle of the night and we tried to build a fire, but ended up nearly choking on smoke. needless to say, i'm a city girl at heart and prefer a life where i don't need to make my own fire to keep warm. hehe

zaisan monument

laura and i at the zaisan monument overlooking ub. it's a great place to go to get a view of the whole city.

countdowns

i have begun counting down to the three most exciting things that are coming up for me.
1. my dear friend laura's visit here....she'll be here on may 13th.
2. my last day of mongolian language lessons....june 3.
3. my flight to the states for the summer....june 12. :)

here's the problem with countdowns though; it's hard to feel content here in the meantime. and the last couple of months have been pretty tough anyway.

there's been a lot going on in my mind lately about relationships and the fact that currently almost everyone i care about lives on the other side of the world. there is a mongolian phrase that has been entering my thoughts along with all this relationship stuff.
"dotnii naiz" it basically means an intimate, comfortable, be totally yourself with kind of friend. i don't have anyone like that here in ub, and it's been a pretty lonely year. i am longing for a "dotnii naiz" here in mongolia. and counting down until i get to spend time with my "dotnii naizuud" (that's the plural) in america this summer!

grace & mercy

simple sunday school definitions:
grace - getting something good that i didn't earn
mercy - not getting something bad that i did earn

how i've been seeing these words lived out in mongolia in the past few weeks:
GRACE
*an inspiring and fun two weeks of practice teaching
*a friend giving me about 4 kilos of fresh beef from one of her relatives who lives in the countryside
*skipping church this morning at 11 and running into an old friend on the street when i finally left my house around 1
*discovering a new depth in friendships with both foreigners and mongolians alike
*counting down the days until my friend laura comes to visit me (current count 22!)
*finding a great cat sitter for the summer

MERCY
*being connected to a local body here and experiencing the ways the Father uses to make us hunger for holiness
*sticking within my budget last month because so many friends offered me unexpected meals
*warmer weather this spring than most mongolians have experienced for the past several years
*potential conflict at my language school avoided
*needing some plumbing repairs and having the women who work at the elic office take care of everything

GRACE + MERCY
*being given my teaching assignment for next year.....at a college here in the city that is known for having high academic standards (and girls who dress like they are on "fashion tv" hehe)
*being given a choice of where to live next year
*choosing to stay in my current apartment....this will be the first time i haven't moved in 10 years!!!!!!

practice teaching

i have spent the last two weeks doing a teaching practicum of sorts. 20 countryside teachers came to ub during their spring break in order to attend our seminar and improve their speaking and listening skills. i was amazed at their low level of english, and i wonder what exactly they are teaching their own students! it helps me gain perspective on what an amazing privilege and huge responsibility i have here as an english teacher. being able to influence these teachers even for just 2 weeks, means that i will have an impact on all sorts of students way out in the countryside, too. oh how humbling to think that the Father called me to this work!

many of you know that i'm a fan of the tv show, "the office". well, if you know that show, this picture will probably make you laugh. we had our own version of "diversity day". hehehe

easter

he is risen!!!!!!!

this morning i enjoyed singing about this world changing event in the midst of a couple hundred mongolians who were dancing, waving flags, and showing their joy in ways more obvious than i have seen it expressed in most american easter sunday morning services.  it brought me to tears to think about all the changed lives surrounding me that only a few years ago or even a few months ago had never experienced the joy of knowing that HE IS RISEN!

we boisterously sang songs that proclaimed this most beautiful of all truths.  it was like being at a high school pep rally - in the best way. :)  then the tone changed as one of the college aged guys brought out his violin and played during a song about our "servant king".  (this is an old song written by graham kendrick if you want to find all the lyrics) part of the chorus says: he calls us now to follow Him, to bring our lives as a daily offering of worship to the servant king.

we have sung this song many times on sundays, but today it rang true to me in a new way.  i was teary as i sang it, and looked around to see many of the same people who had just been cheering now crying as well.  i think the reality hit me that it isn't enough to just be joyful because he is risen.  certainly this is a response that pleases the father, but he wants more.  he wants us to follow him every day and give our lives as an offering of worship.  i know that more times than not, i fail in this.  instead of seeking to worship him in all things i find myself focusing on my own wants and needs, hurts and disappointments.  i am neither joyful nor living an offering of worship.  my desire for this year is to put Him ahead of myself and really, truly live as a follower.  i want the fact that he is risen to be the defining mark of my life!

setting goals

lately i've been thinking a lot about setting life goals. some of them are just for the next month, others for the coming year, and of course then still more for the long term. i never imagined that i'd be 28 and still trying to figure out what my future might hold. i took a class in college called "gifts, guidance, and goals." one of the assignments was to write an imaginary time line for my life. according to that time line by this age i should be married, have a kid or two, and be happily settled in some warm, exotic asian country.

hmmm, i can check off only part of one of those dreams. i've got the exotic asian country, but it certainly isn't warm most of the time. hehe and as for being settled here, well, that's something that's surprised me. i'm learning that life really and truly is all about a Person. it isn't about a place, family, friends, language, warm boots, fresh coffee, good books, disappointments, laughter, or feeling so angry i want to scream. it's about how well i know and love the One who created ME and ALL these things i both love and hate about life this side of heaven. i'm coming to grips with the idea that i'll never feel settled here or anywhere on earth because this isn't the place i was created for.

so then how do i set goals when i know that reaching them isn't going to bring the satisfaction that i expect? i guess it has something to do with remembering that changed expectations and goals are the result of our fallenness and the fact that life on earth will never bring me the one thing i really crave.....uninterrupted fellowship with my Creator. i can set goals for my time here as long as i remember that i'll never be truly satisfied until i look into the loving eyes of the One who made me.

it's still winter because.....

yesterday was probably the first day that it "warmed up" to above freezing. i wore my big winter boots to class, because there had still been some ice on the sidewalks the day before, and i didn't want to fall. on the way home from class, i noticed that the ice had almost all disappeared. with much excitement i decided NOT to wear my boots to the event i was going to last night.

my sisters can tell you the rest of the story, and i'm sure most of you can guess. :)

just in case you can't guess, i'll give you a hint. it wasn't above freezing last night and my butt is rather sore this morning. hehe

back to "routine"

will life in mongolia ever be totally routine for me? sometimes i think the answer to that question is yes, and other times it is decidedly NO. today i feel like there would be one simple way to make my life seem easier and more "routine". here's a not so simple story explaining what that "solution" is:

i've been back to language school for a week now. last semester, there were 3 small mongolian classes meeting at the same time, and we enjoyed a coffee break together halfway through our 3 hour lessons. i always needed those few minutes to only speak english, have a chance to catch up with my teammates and just generally have some social time. this semester it's just me, my teacher, and my friend jen who studies with us 3 mornings a week. you can guess what a difference it makes for me when there is no one else to talk to for 3 hours and even during "break" time i'm still communicating only in mongolian. today was one of the days when jen wasn't even there, and by the end of class i though my brain had turned to complete mush. all i wanted to do was come home and take a long nap. here's why that didn't happen:

my bathroom light has been broken for about a week. this afternoon i knew my friend odko was coming to fix it, so i had to wait for him to call. he came around 2:30, figured out that he needed to buy another part for the light, went to the store, and promised to return by 4:00. in the meantime, i got a message from my cell group leader, mandy. last night we had agreed to meet at a certain bus stop today at 5:00 to go to her new house together. apparently it's hard to find her new place, and she didn't want me to get lost. anyway, mandy sent me a text message asking if i could meet her somewhere else. i asked her what bus i needed to take in order to get there, and she said she'd just meet me somewhere else instead, because i guess she didn't know which bus i needed either. so i need to leave here in about 5 minutes and go wait for her at the bus stop. here's why i don't want to do that:

it's cold today. muji kept me up until 2 last night because he thought it was a better idea to run around on my bed than to sleep. it's cold today. i really just want to put on my pj's, watch a movie, and eat kettle corn. cell group is in mongolian, and as i already mentioned, my brain has turned to mush for the day. and did i mention that it's cold today? hehe

so it all comes down to one very simple thing. (please understand my sarcasm here. hehe) if i had a car all my problems would be solved because i wouldn't have to leave my house in 5 minutes and stand in the cold at the bus stop!

the best vacation ever

wow, it's been over a month since i last posted. and what a month it has been!
i just got back from the vacation i have dreamed of for years.....THAILAND!!!!!!
in college i had friends who told me stories about either visiting or living in thailand and i was captivated by their tales. thailand became my #1 dream vacation destination. (ok, it was actually tied for #1 with paris. hehe) i began compiling a list of all the things i wanted to experience in thailand, and i was able to do almost all of those things on this trip. riding an elephant will have to wait until next time though!
as inigo says in "the princess bride" -'let me explain. no, there is too much. let me sum up.' here are a few pictures and stories to give you a glimpse of my dream vacation.

it all started with a few days in korea visiting my dear friends from college, virginia and sally. these two girls treated me like a princess and were so good to listen to my stories about my first semester in mongolia. they shared their lives with me as well. i think that if i didn't know i'm supposed to be here in mongolia, i would seriously consider applying for a job at the school where they work. :)


after spending a few days in korea, i went to bangkok where i stayed with another good friend from college. louisa and i did some sightseeing in bangkok and then went to the beach for two nights. the #1 experience on my bangkok dream list had been a visit to "the oriental" hotel since i've read about it in travel+leisure magazine for years. i wanted to be able to say that i had sat on the hotel's terrace overlooking the chao praya river while the sun was setting. louisa was kind enough to indulge me in my fantasy, and we enjoyed delicious fruit smoothies there one evening.


louisa and i also spent two fabulous days at the beach south of bangkok. we pretty much had the beach to ourselves as we weren't in a major tourist spot. it was the most peaceful part of my vacation, and i could have stayed there for several more days.


after bangkok i made my way to chiang mai for about a week and a half before our teacher's conference. the highlight of my time there was a visit from my sweet friend and former roommate crissy. we explored parts of chiang mai on foot and rented a motorbike to explore the mountains outside the city with more speed. :) one day we went to a monastery on top of the mountain and then went on further to a hmong village. another day we got up in time to see the sunrise and then found a coffee plantation in time for a morning cup just when we needed a boost for the rest of the day. some of the places we discovered on the motorbike were dreamier than any that i could have imagined. this is a monk's retreat we found in the hills above the hmong village.


crissy and me in our helmets. pretty sweet, huh? haha


crissy and i said goodbye on the day the conference started, and i spent the next week enjoying the company of over 500 other teachers who are serving with elic. it was awesome to sing together and hear from the Word. we heard reports of what the Father is doing in countries across asia, and it was encouraging to be reminded of Who called me to mongolia. He used the time spent at the conference to show me some surprising things about myself. most importantly he brought healing to brokenness i had been holding on to for a long time. i have returned to mongolia feeling more like myself and closer in my relationship with him than i have in years. HE IS GOOD!

so i guess that seems like a lot of explaining when i meant to just sum up. hehe. i hope you enjoyed the brief glimpse at my vacation. if you want to see more pictures you can check out some albums i have on facebook. :)
~amanda