Think You've Got It Bad?

The other while waiting for Renee to pick up groceries in a store, a young man walked up to me and motioned with his arms he wanted to talk. His gesture caught my eye because there were no hands on his arms. There was nothing below either upper arm. When asked, I understood him to say he was in some sort of accident that caused his condition.

Then he went on to say, unasked by me, that he was a Jesus person, and and elder in his church.

So I got to thinking, whatever I or you think may be holding us back from what we were meant to do, it might seem like a bit of an excuse if we told it a brother like this one.

Easter Musical Guests

These guys came to play for our Easter Service. They didn't come too far, only ten kilometers. But for them I'm sure it seemed like a different world. All four are residents of the local Prison.

My friend from church goes there regularly to give them stuff, like warm socks, candy, and the best give of all: The Promise of New Life. These four have found true freedom in Jesus Christ.

After playing and singing for us, they spoke with tender hearts about their life and faith.

Minivan and Mongolian Accent by Committee

Today Maggie and I rode an unusual Taxi. I didn't realize it was different until we were inside.

I realized the seats in this van were home-made so it seated more than the usual 20 or so people. (You might call them Minivans, like what you may have seen in the States in the early 90s. Here most of them are made by Korean companies like Hyundai)

I looked up and saw some German writing on the skylight above me. (German Language and Skylights do not come standard on Taxis) Also, I realized this thing was about a foot wider than a regular "Micro", which is what they call taxi-vans. So I'm curious about the vehicle....

Then I announce where we will be getting off. Blank stares and silence from the driver. They ask me what I said, I say the same thing louder. Then around 23 people say the word with proper again, either translating for the driver, or correcting my pronunciation. The driver helpfully points toward our destination as we get out, and walk away.

I looked at him behind the wheel of his strange van and remembered to check the front to see what make it was. There was the good old blue emblem of Detroit: Ford. It must have been made in Germany some decades ago. It was a memorable ride, that I thought you might enjoy.

The Big Picture So Far

Today a couple different people asked me how long we've been in the country. So I'll tell you too. Since we got here September 1st, today is 7 months living in Mongolia.

Six of those months has been spent studying Mongolian Language in a formal classroom setting.

We live in the City of Darhan, which has 100,000 people and is 3 hours by car from the Capital.

Ulaanbaatar is the name of the Capital. It has 1 million people and the only international airport in the country. Ulaanbaatar has at least half the churches in the country. Darhan and UB together have almost half the population of the Mongolia, which is around 2.5 million.