Thursday, July 24, 2008

We Are In Mongolia

As if we could forget...then again maybe we do sometimes, that we're living in such a different place.  

Twice this month I've been reminded at the top of two different Mongolian men's lungs that I'm in Mongolia.

One came when I was helping a horseman handle his foals as they suckled milk from the mare. (They let the foal have a little taste then milk the rest into a pail which becomes the national beverage, fermented mares milk) 

My horseman host showed me how to hold the foal.  Then I showed him how we do it in America in a tone that said, "this is one thing I don't need to be told how to do".  So he firmly reminded me "You're in Mongolia".  Since they have their own way of doing almost everything, this was indeed something, among many others, I needed to be told how to do. 

Second came at the garage where our car has been out of service for a couple weeks awaiting parts.  So after showing frustration at how long things were taking to get me back on the road, the greasy mechanic firmly reminded me "This is Mongolia, these kind of parts can't be found". They're on the way from somewhere far away, probably Japan or China.  So this is why waiting has become a finely tuned art for those who live here long.  

I'm still a novice artist in this medium.  But one thing I'm sure of.  I'm in Mongolia.

How Does Your Garden Grow?


Renee's garden peas are starting to bloom. Not bad for a first year.
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Saturday, July 12, 2008

Water Balloon Toss

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Johanna is Three

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Festive Expressive Lydia

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Cake Time


Johanna turned 3 on July 4th. Here she is enjoying herself with a table full of kids ready for home made birthday cake.
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Stormy Summer Setting


Our friends Bernie and Renee came up from Ulaanbaatar for a couple nights and took this picture on one of our stormy days. They said in the last two weeks there have only been two days without rain. For someone from the Pacific Northwest, it's God's special blessing. Also for Mongolian herdsman who depend on rain to water the pastures, it's also a great blessing. Everyone is surprised how green the surrounding hills are becoming. Out of the grey comes green. Speaking of color, any votes on what color we should paint our house?
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Rolling Dough


Counter space is limited iin a Mongolian mobile (tent) home. Here are the girls helping with work in the kitchen, which is also the bedroom. They're helping flatten out dough that ended up as noodles steamed with meat and potatoes.
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Camping on The Ranch


Maggie and the girls got to experience life on a Mongolian ranch at cowboy camp. This filly was found out on the prairie with no mother by our herdsman host family.
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Cow(girl) Camp


There were even some firsts for the English teacher at this year's first cowboy camp.
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Friday, July 11, 2008

Cowboy Camp

Hey, we had a nice first go at cowboy camp.  Looking forward to trying it again in August.  Hope to get pictures up soon.

Nice Article on Living

You know when you read something good and simple, you want to pass it on.  Well here's a little article I found on Eugene Peterson, respected theologian and author of The Message bible translation.  Take a look if you like at http://www.worldmag.com/articles/13985