Mongolia Update 7/9/12

UB

Tsegii made it with just enough time for us to get on the train Saturday. We got into UB at 8 instead of 9:30 yesterday morning which was nice. I had woken up feeling nauseous and that feeling remained despite taking Ondansetron. I ended up spending nearly all day in bed with a fever, headache, and nausea. I really missed having Tsegii and Tsogoo to take care of me. Sara (a shuttle from Australia) was very sweet and stayed up with me until three this morning. I slept in this morning and woke up feeling better. Around noon, Saraa and I went downtown so I could do some shopping. I only lasted about an hour before I needed to come back and lay down again.

Mist in the mountains around UB; viewed from the train Sunday morning

Tsegii and I on the train

Tsogoo and I on the train

Mongolia Update 7/7/12

Center of Dornogovi

After breakfast this morning, Tsogoo and I left with the county governor to visit some herders. We stopped at three different ghers. At the first was a young mother with two small children and we just talked. At the second home, we drank milk tea and Tsogoo did some training. They also brought a sick kid to us. It had a wound on its right hind leg and the leg was swollen. I won't go into detail but it was pretty bad. We suspect that the kid has a disease called caseous lymphadenitis. We did what we could with limited supplies but the prognosis is poor. Our poor driver darted out the door at one point and the county governor followed him after a bit. Thankfully, her son remained behind and got some great pictures for me. He's definitely got a strong stomach. At our last stop, Tsogoo did some more training and we drank milk tea. I am becoming more accustomed to it. We discussed treatment for mastitis in does and scours in kids. One of the herders was kind enough to let me get a picture with one of his baby camels.

Tsogoo examining the kid

The herder helped us with her kid

Team effort

Tsogoo doing some training

A herd of sheep and goats

Baby camels!

We are now stranded in the center of the province with no money, no ID, and no train tickets because Tsegii can't find a ride from Zuunbayan. We are staying with her friend Saraa so we are safe and have food and water. Tsogoo keeps looking at me and saying he doesn't know what to do. God hasn't left me stranded yet; He will provide.

Bisick, Saraa's cat. He and I became good buddies and had a nap together

Mongolia Update 7/6/12

Zuunbayan

Tsogoo made me take the day off because I haven't been sleeping well. It drove me a little crazy but wasn't too bad. Tsegii came and joined us today. Before she got here, Tsogoo was going around, grinning like a little boy, and saying "Tsegii's coming, Tsegii's coming." It was cute. We all teased him about it at lunch time. I've never seen his face go that red. We ended up not being able to go back to UB today because we couldn't get our train tickets changed.
This evening, I went to church with the girls and we taught children's church for about twenty kids ranging in age from probably four to thirteen. The two girls who listened to my testimony were there. After some songs, I taught the lesson with Tsoomoo translating for me. I think it went pretty well. Tonight, Namjaa came to see Tsegii and we played Chinese Checkers and Dutch Blitz with her and her daughter. Urynga, Tsoomoo, the daughter, and I kept playing Dutch Blitz after Tsegii and Namjaa left to talk. We all ended up back in the main room for a late (after 10) supper of bread and noodles. Namjaa's grandbaby fell asleep on Urynga's bed. The way Temuujin was watching him was very sweet and tender. He really loves children.

Mongolia Update 7/5/12

Zuunbayan

We went to bed at 10:15 last night but I couldn't get to sleep until after 2:00a.m. Ugh. I guess the one good thing about not being able to sleep is I get up and study scripture and pray. We read Psalm 119 as part of devotions this morning and when I saw verse 148, I had to laugh. Tsogoo took off with the county governor this morning and spent the day training herders. I was bummed not to go but I am so exhausted it was best to stay and teach English and rest. I did get a two-hour nap which was wonderful. The girls and I went and visited Selenge this evening. I finished my crossstitch while we were there so she could see the finished product. When it came time to say goodbye, I was surprised how sad it made me. I will truly miss her.
This afternoon, five girls came to learn how to crochet from Urynga and Tsoomoo. After about an hour, they had me come and give part of my testimony. Urynga shared her testimony with them as well. The two girls in the front row listened so closely. They are very open and are talking of going to church. I hope they do. Temuujin translated for me and I think it went pretty well.
There were no fights in English class today but Temuujin was helping a student and the boy shoved him hard. Temuujin was understandably angry and scolded the student. The boy cried but from what I understand, Temuujin said nothing wrong, the kid just didn't like the consequences of his actions.

Walking back from Selenge's

The setting sun in Zuunbayan

Tsoomoo and Urynga with two little girls.

Me with some of the girls who listened to my testimony

My crossstitch; a sparrow on a tea towel. I gave it to Tsegii as a gift

Mongolia Update 7/4/12

Zuunbayan

We had nineteen students in our level 2 English class this morning and twelve in level 1. There were no real fights in level 2 today; a few punches and pinches were given but nothing too bad. I slept all night last night which was wonderful and got a really good nap this afternoon as well. I was able to spend a fair bit of time on my crossstitch which was great. Two of my 2nd level students came by after class to today to visit and try to teach me a bit about Mongolian history. There is definitely a language barrier and a lot got lost in translation but it was good to bond with them. I got to share a little bit about Jesus and hope to maybe present the gospel tomorrow.
We have devotions with Namjaa every morning and while I feel like I have nothing to say, it is still encouraging to me.
Temuujin and I had adult English class tonight and the girls had children's church. I met the county governor  in the hall before class and when I learned who she was, I was glad I had stood to meet her. We had two government men in our class tonight. One wanted to know if you could learn English without learning grammar. Um, not really. The other wants to learn as much as he can and we discussed getting a book to him. Then he said that no, he really wants to come to Colorado to study. So my next project is looking into that.

My students and I

Temuujin with two naughty little boys

Hard at work

Mongolia Update 7/3/12

Zuunbayan

This thing of getting very little sleep is starting to get really old, really fast. I only got maybe 3 1/2 hours last night and I have no idea why. Tsogoo is worried about me not sleeping so we are planning to go back to UB a day early so I can rest. I argued with him for probably an hour over it because to me it feels like I am cutting out early. I finally saw I don't have much choice though and gave in. It hurt to consent to leave Friday after class. I later realized I was fortunate he didn't take me back tomorrow as he had suggested and that my stubbornness and defiance were probably hurtful to someone who is only trying to take care of me so I thanked him for letting me stay until Friday. Not exactly an apology, I know.
I helped Temuujin with English class this morning. The first class, I physically broke up two students who were starting to fight before class had even started. We had three more fights during class. In one, a student whacked another boy in the head with his text book. What a change from Ulaanbadrakh! However, many are very bright; some too smart for their own good. A couple of the boys worked so fast they got every page in the lesson for today completed and then had nothing to do. A couple of girls brought their little brothers with them. The littlest guy fell asleep at his sister's desk. It was cute but also sort of sad that such a young girl had to bring her toddler brother to English class.

2nd level English class

1st level English class playing "Button Button, Who's Got the Button"

Later Same Day
It seems like everyone but me has had a "bad stomach" on this trip. Praise God that I haven't! By the way, I have apologized now and Tsogoo accepted it. This evening, I went with the girls to visit Selenge. I took along the crossstitch piece I was working on which gave me something to do while the other girls crocheted. Selenge showed me a beautiful crossstitch of grapes she has done; so much better than mine. She was very kind about my bird though and I'm pretty happy with it since it is my first large piece. Her life must be so difficult yet she is always smiling. I admire her so much.
Tsogoo, the girls, and I played badminton tonight. I am an absolutely awful player but it was still fun.

Tsoomoo and Selenge after church Sunday

Tsogoo

Urynga....note that you can see the birdie at the top

Tsoomoo

See.....I'm terrible at this haha

Pretty sky

Mongolia Update 7/2/12

Zuunbayan, Dornogovi

I only got about four hours of sleep last night so Tsogoo made me take the day off and go back to bed. Actual sleep only lasted about 1 1/2 hours though because it was too hot to sleep. I was bummed about not doing class but arguing was pointless. I helped Tsogoo a bit with lunch, then we went shopping for water and Coke. Temuujin and I went for adult English class tonight and when no one came after half an hour, we came back to the school. Maybe Wednesday they will come. I got out my dried cranberries tonight and the boys are hooked. The bag is 1.5lbs but I don't think it will last long.
Tsogoo took some pictures of the daycare children with Tsoomoo and Urynga today for me. The little ones are so cute. The girls have daycare from 9-1 every day (or a bit later) and provide the children with lunch, games, songs, and a safe place to be.

Mongolia Update 7/1/12

Zuunbayan, Dornogovi

Wow, how did it get to be July so fast? I can almost feel the summer slipping through my fingers. We slept till eight this morning and were at the church about 10:45. Church started at eleven with about 45 minutes of singing. I was glad they did "All in All" because I could sing it in English. Tsogoo was kind enough to sing the chorus in English with me. Which I suppose makes up for him telling me at the beginning that it was a different song. Haha. I told him it's not nice to play tricks on people in church.
For the message this morning, I gave my testimony and he translated. It was hot and I was a bit nervous so my palms were slick by the time we finished singing. Then there was the offering, another song and prayer and at 12:20, church was over. I think I counted 12 people in attendance and five were our team.

Then we waited till about one and had children's church for an hour. Lots of little ones came and they seemed to have a good time.

Later Same Day
I forgot to mention last night that we now have electricity. It is so nice to be able to have hot tea and lights at night. My bed is definitely not trustworthy. Urynga is the only one who hasn't "broken" it so far. Tsogoo gave me money for a shower today. I'm not sure if he was being nice because he knew how bad I wanted one or if he was tactfully trying to say I need one. Haha. (Neither actually. The money was from our per diem and Sunday is shower day here.) It feels really good to be clean again.

Mongolia Update 6/30/12

Zuunbayan, Dornogovi

Yesterday, Tsogoo and I left the team at Ulaanbadrakh and came here. We traveled in a Russian jeep with ten other people. Talk about crowded. But I was on the bottom layer in the back with no one on my lap so I can't really complain. Thankfully, it only took a little over an hour and a half and we were here. We got settled in, checked email and such, had lunch (and I had a nap.) Then Temuujin and I taught English class for teens and adults. One of our students is a 25 year-old who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. His English is pretty good, I think from working with the Americans while he was in the military.
After class, we went to a family's gher on the outskirts of town and.....butchered another sheep. [I later learned that it was Namjaa who opened her home to us. She is a leader in the church here]. Tsogoo teases I am eating too much since we've slaughtered two sheep on one trip. I sort of agree because I feel like I've gained weight since coming here. That's what a diet of carbs and fat will do to you, I guess. God definitely gave me more grace last night because I think that is the best milk tea I've ever had and I was able to eat about three pieces of blood sausage. Then we brought the other organs home (already cooked) and I found the heart and diaphragm both quite good. And I was even able to eat a piece of large intestine without gagging. Now that's pretty amazing!
I didn't write last night because we don't have electricity in our building so we ate by candlelight and went to bed shortly thereafter.

A half-abandoned apartment building in Zuunbayan

The school where we stayed.

Some houses in Zuunbayan

We got up at seven this morning and walked to the church for devotions. Then we came back and had breakfast. Now Tsogoo is cutting up meat from yesterday's sheep and Tsoomoo is counting our money. Oh, I forgot to mention it is much hotter here. And a board fell out of my bed last night and scared me to death. Instead of springs, the beds have wooden slats that run across the bottom. The slats are not cut evenly so they don't always fit right.

Later Same Day
I helped Tsoomoo prepare lunch (a little bit) then us girls went to Namjaa's gher to cook it. She is such a sweet-spirited, sincere woman; I wish to talk with her more. (via translator) After lunch, Tsogoo and I worked on my presentation for church tomorrow. I ended up rewriting the whole thing in good printing so he could read it. Took me forever! I think it is important though so we don't get confused tomorrow. We also played more than a few rounds of GOLF...and I won more than usual :)
This evening, I went with the girls again and we visited Selenge, a 27 year-old who is severely crippled. She is the only Christian in her home and both of her parents drink. Urynga has been doing a very basic Bible study with her on who God is and she seems to really enjoy it. Tsoomoo has been teaching her a very fine form of crochet and she is pretty good at it....definitely better than I am at it!
We came back and played with some kids for a little bit. Then we went inside and Namjaa and Gumbaa (another leader in the church) came over and the Mongolians worked on worship songs for tomorrow's church service. One of the songs was "All in All" and I couldn't quite remember the English lyrics so Tsogoo and I went across to the school where there is Wifi so I could look them up online. When we got back, we had a time of Bible study and prayer with Namjaa. Then a late supper and everyone dispersed to get ready for bed. It was too late for a shower :( But I got to wash my hair in  the sink which felt so good. I forgot to mention we have running water here! Tsoomoo was so sweet and braided my hair for me so that it will look nice for church.
Outside, I hear dogs barking, motorcycles speeding past, and drunks...always the drunks it seems in this place. Oh, and did I mention it's hot here?

Mongolia Update 6/28/12

Ulaanbadrakh

Today was Mongolia's federal elections so that gave us a holiday from class. Four years ago when elections were held, there was rioting in UB and people even died. So needless to say, the atmosphere leading up to today's elections has been quite tense. I think tomorrow we will learn of the results.
Tsegii made me sit in a steam tent for me cough, then sent me to bed. I got up after a bit and Tsogoo sent me back. He's as bad as she is.
Kherlan, Tsogoo, Tsegii, and I played GOLF for hours tonight. I gave Kherlan a pack of cards as a parting gift and she was quite excited. I have hidden a small flag for Naraa. I will miss her so.

The closest I ever saw to sunrise

Naraa and I

Tsegii and I

Kherlan and I