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.
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| A half-abandoned apartment building in Zuunbayan |
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| The school where we stayed. |
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| 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?
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