wha? wednesday? wedding?

can it really be that i am flying to america on wednesday and my younger sister is getting married on saturday??????
here are some things i'm looking forward to in the next 2 1/2 weeks - in no particular order.
*hugging my family
*kissing my family
*seeing lacey in her wedding dress and getting to be there for the big day
(ok those three are definitely the top things in the list, the rest are in no particular order)
*starbucks at the airport in beijing
*shopping in stores where there is more than one size of each piece of clothing
*zaxby's, pf chang's, and panera
*grass
*driving
*country music radio stations
*seeing extended family at the wedding
*barnes & noble
*slightly warmer weather
*THANKSGIVING DINNER WITH MY FAM (ok so this one should be one of the top of the list!)

now for a few things that i'll miss from mongolia.
*sunday morning fellowship and singing
*my kitten
*learning new ways to communicate everyday
*my teammates, fellow students, and teacher

fall back

mongolia chose not to do daylight savings time this year, so we didn't "fall back". however i'm suddenly wishing that i could fall back to about age 7. i remember my 7th birthday very clearly. i had a party in our yard and lots of my friends came. i wore a new dress and felt like a princess. all that mattered was making a good wish and blowing out the candles on my cake.

fast forward to my life today. i just had one of the most painful conversations of my life with a friend here. earlier today i was challenged to be "the bucket" in the Father's well. basically i need to realize that he has all the resources i need for life and ministry, and i am only able to scoop them up and use them for the good of those around me. a few hours ago i was wishing someone else was nearby with their bucket to pour it over me. what resources did i need? courage, grace, mercy, love, gentleness, patience, humility, forgiveness, and more love - because it is the best resource of all.

i am challenged to look for the people around me who need a good wash with the Father's resources.

peek-a-boo

muji disappeared on me this morning and this is where i found him.

muji's water fountain

muji's favorite spot

can you see that this cat is the perfect pet for me? he loves alistair (my computer) almost as much as i do. hehe

g12 conference

this weekend was probably the best one i've had since i got to mongolia. i traveled to darhan with my teammate, andrea. darhan is my old hometown in mongolia, so it was a relief to be there and know exactly where to find things. darhan has about a tenth of the population of ub, so it is also very peaceful there. the lack of people also means a lack of pollution, so i could actually breathe this weekend. :)
all of those things aside though, it was the g12 (ch. small group) conference that made this the best weekend yet. i was able to sing with hundreds of mongolian brothers and sisters - there is nothing sweeter to me than joining them as we praise our father.

here's a video of us singing. do you recognize the song? it's been translated into mongolian but the first two words of the chorus are in english. can you hear us sing "rain down"? :)


next to singing, the highlight of the weekend was building relationships that help me feel more like i belong to a family here. a few weeks ago i was invited to a g12, and the girls were so sweet. a few of them were at the conference and invited to have dinner with them on friday night. here we are at "santain cafe". it's a favorite of students in darhan, and i used to eat here when i lived in darhan 5 years ago. :)

new places and people

yesterday was the kind of saturday that makes life in a city so much
fun. my teammate, andrea, and i went for a walk to a part of the
city neither of us had ever explored before. we were looking for a
russian market that apparently doesn't exist any more, but it was a
beautiful day and we enjoyed people watching along the way. we
stopped at a few places on the way that seemed interesting - one of
the nicest hotels in town, the mongolian ministry of defense, a
fabulous cooking store, etc. it felt good to be able to wander and
have nowhere i HAD to be.

then we decided to sit for a while in the big square in the middle of
town. not long after we parked ourselves, a 6th grade class
descended upon us to practice their english. we were surrounded by
smiling, laughing kids who asked us where we were from, if we had
husbands or kids, and most importantly if we knew kobe bryant (the
basketball player) or anyone in hollywood. hehehe they reminded my
why i fell in love with mongolia in the first place. the kids here
are so much fun, and i can't resist those sweet smiles.

next we stopped for "coffee" and a look through the mongolian lonely
planet guidebook to plan future weekend adventures. then it was off
to a restaurant called "millie's espresso" that is a popular place
for foreigners. andrea and i were going to meet a girl that i had
just met through facebook. i never cease to be amazed when social
networking websites like that actually result in a face to face
meeting - even though it's never happened before for me.

anyway, in typical mongolian fashion, millie's was closed by 7 on
saturday night. sheesh, didn't they know that us 3 foreigners wanted
to meet and eat there? haha so we decided to meet at another place
called "ub delicatessen" that is also popular with foreigners. now
for those of you who don't know much about traditional mongolian
food, i'll give you one word that sums it all up: MUTTON. there is a
reason why a few places are more popular with us foreigners than
others. no mutton on the menu. :)

we all enjoyed our non-mutton meals and the chance to connect with
someone new. andrea and i had a good time walking home and
experiencing the city with the faint glow of a few streetlights. it
felt good to spend the whole day outside of my apartment. i need to
have more days like that where i make myself a part of the city.
here's to more adventures!

my new living room

i got a couch and a bookshelf and did a bit more decorating, so here's what my place looks like now. i would have never chosen this couch in the states, but for what the other choices are here, i think i got a good one. :) i saw a similar one at the market with tiger print on the back - just to give you an idea. hehe

ps notice my pig placemats in the first picture. don't they make you smile? :)

big burger

fast food is making it's way to mongolia. doesn't that picture in the middle look strangely familiar?
not that this place called "big burger" is exactly like a similiar restaurant in the states. the newest additions to the menu were "noodle soup with egg or noodle soup with shrimp" :)

my view this morning

ah yes, october in mongolia. where the first snow happens before the first week has passed. a couple of days ago i was wearing a tank top. this morning i saw snow on the rooftops when i woke up.

who needs a hat?

in case i find that my head needs a little extra heat in the winter i know now what to do.

sunday in mongolia

i am so unworthy of the love bestowed on me by the creator of the universe. when i feel lonely and sad and even heartbroken, he knows just what i need to bring a smile to my face and remind me how much he loves me.

he gives me unexpected encounters with old friends and lots of hugs at ch. from new friends.

he led me to the funniest placemats i've ever seen and at a reasonable enough price that they are now sitting on my table and making me smile every time i walk past.

he gave me a sweet kitten who is currently sitting on my lap and purring happily as he watches me type.

he reminded me in ch. today that i am living the life i've dreamed of for the past 5 years. i actually started crying as that realization really sank in. he has brought me back to mongolia, and i actually LIVE here. i'm not just here for the summer or for a few months. i'm going to live here for at least the next 4 years!

and even when i haven't been making a lot of room for him in my life, he has been patiently waiting for me to look up and see him working out all the little details - like friends and placemats and kittens.

i say with david: i will boast only in the lord. let all who are discouraged take heart.

feeling heavy

this week was filled with heavy stories about life in mongolia. my classmates and i somehow began talking about the many scams that people try to pull on each other here. the desire to go to america is so strong for some that they will give all their savings for an american visa only to have the company that promised them the visa turn out to be a scam. they never get the visa, and their money is long gone. others have it even worse, especially if they are young and beautiful. you can guess what kind of scams get pulled on them, but just in case you can't, i'll tell you that one of the words i learned this week is the mongolian word for pr*stitute. my heart breaks knowing the desperation for a better life and how easy it is for evil people to prey on those with such strong hope.
my life has been so easy compared to what most of the people around me have lived. even so, i've had disappointments and my heart has been broken a few times. i often find "hope" to be one of the hardest words for me to maintain in my own vocabulary. how much more difficult it is for the mongolian people to hold on to hope! please join me in asking the Giver of Hope to fill this land with his glory and provide reasons for the people to have what only he can give.

a cause for celebration

ok a few causes for celebration.
#1 i just downloaded david crowder band's new album. yipeeeeeee! i love itunes. it is quite amazing to be here in mongolia and be able to get new music as soon as it is available. and of course, the music itself is amazing.

#2 i have a flight reserved to come to the states for my sister lacey's wedding! i have such an incredible family, and i can't wait to see them. and of course, i can't wait for lacey's wedding. she will be such a gorgeous bride.

#3 i just picked up my phone and called "mongol cowboys meat". they will soon be delivering some chicken breasts, ground beef, and various other things. not only is it fabulous that they are bringing it to me, but i didn't have to go to a market and stare down a cow's head sitting on the table next to me as i tried to purchase ground beef. and of course, it is always easier to eat meat when i haven't been so recently reminded that it used to be a living animal. hehe

a few random shots

forget red bull. in mongolia everything, and i mean everything, is better if it's named after mongolia's most famous citizen. check out the small print at the bottom of the can. sweet!



this is the "nomin" supermarket where i do most of my shopping. there are two aisles dedicated to vodka, one aisle dedicated to preserved polish relishes, and no baking powder to be found anywhere!



the front of my apartment building. i walk up the first set of stairs, and my apartment is on the second floor facing out on the other side.