We are officially back in Canada! In Camrose, to be specific. We got back on Wednesday, January 27th. We have been so busy with things since then, so I apologize for not updating this post, and I also apologize for the confusing matter it is now. :)
We are busy with last minute 'figuring things out', (mostly financial-wise) and then we have a presentation to do on our time in Mongolia on Friday. Its been a little stressful with it all, but that's life!
I hope you enjoyed our blogs, and it is bitter-sweet to be ending it all. It was fun to be in Mongolia and writing blogs! But its also good to be back in Canada. We learned a lot about appreciating what we had and thanking God for all our blessings! We are SO blessed!! The lifestyle is very different from here, and some of us responded to it positively, and for some of us, the experience was not so good. But I think I can safely say that we all learned quite a bit from the experience.
But if you want to hear more, you will have to come to our presentation on Friday! Or ask any one of us for stories and such.
God Bless you all, and I hope you were blessed to read about Mongolia as we were blessed to be in Mongolia.
For maybe the last time, :)
Demara
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Today! (finally... :)
Thursday is today. The 21st. My birthday! Anika woke me up with a nice slice of chocolate cake from the nearest ‘mapket’, which is Russian/Mongolian for market, which is really just a little store. :) It was very good, and a great way to start off the day. Today, we made the pizza dough for the pizza that we are making for the YWAM staff. It will only be us and the staff eating it, because today was the graduation service for the 8 YWAM students. It was beautiful. They had it in the upstairs hallways of the base building. Which was interesting, and it really worked out well. It was ingenious! It was a kind of candlelight service, and it was so beautiful. Then we had supper and now we are hanging out! We got the tickets this morning for the bus ride back to UB, the capital city, on Saturday. We got seats near the back, so it may be a bumpy ride! We were hoping for seats in the middle, but apparently the people in the ticket-buying place were convinced that the sport of buying tickets is full-contact. It was kind of humorous, kind of frustrating. :) But it will be a fun ride, with the team, Shauna, Mega (a person of staff here at YWAM that is heading to Erdenet) and two students from the YWAM graduated crew heading home.
Tomorrow is our last day, and it will be sad to leave this place. For me this time in Bayankhongor was… incredible. This was the word I have been using to describe nearly everything since the time we stepped into the Edmonton airport. From then on, absolutely everything was a whole new experience!! The first time in an airport, the first time on a plane, the first time overseas, the first time in a foreign country (US does not count), etc. It is incredible! But also, a stretching time. We have been forced to do things that maybe aren’t the most comfortable, both mentally, spiritually and physically. But, I hope I can safely say for my team, we have had a positive experience here, as a whole. While learning to appreciate the small enjoyments, we could start to see God’s hand at work absolutely everywhere. It was incredible. :)
Well, I think I have maybe written enough... sorry for the novel! And especially sorry if it has scared anyone off from reading this… oops. Sometimes I tend to be long winded, and I apologize. I just get so excited!!
If we do not write tomorrow, I hope we will have time to write some in UB!
Talk to you later, folks! And GOD BLESS YOU, EVERYONE! :)
Love, Demara
Tomorrow is our last day, and it will be sad to leave this place. For me this time in Bayankhongor was… incredible. This was the word I have been using to describe nearly everything since the time we stepped into the Edmonton airport. From then on, absolutely everything was a whole new experience!! The first time in an airport, the first time on a plane, the first time overseas, the first time in a foreign country (US does not count), etc. It is incredible! But also, a stretching time. We have been forced to do things that maybe aren’t the most comfortable, both mentally, spiritually and physically. But, I hope I can safely say for my team, we have had a positive experience here, as a whole. While learning to appreciate the small enjoyments, we could start to see God’s hand at work absolutely everywhere. It was incredible. :)
Well, I think I have maybe written enough... sorry for the novel! And especially sorry if it has scared anyone off from reading this… oops. Sometimes I tend to be long winded, and I apologize. I just get so excited!!
If we do not write tomorrow, I hope we will have time to write some in UB!
Talk to you later, folks! And GOD BLESS YOU, EVERYONE! :)
Love, Demara
The Great Mongolian Gher And Super Hospitality Experience! (named by Demara, of course)
Hi big world out there, Andreas writing
Here in Mongolia is quite a bit going on right now. It has been a challenging time for me where we had to go out of our comfort zone (a couple times).
We had the opportunity to spend a night in a real Mongolian “Gher” (Mongolian house/tent) where you basically just have one room. This room is your kitchen, living room, bed room, change room and your hallway (room), (thankfully not your bathroom, therefore they have an out house, brrr). Our team split up into three groups (Demara by herself, Calvin and I, Anika and an YWAM stuff member) and we left on Tuesday night and stayed there until the next morning. It was very interesting to stay over night basally in someone’s master bedroom. For Calvin and I it created some awkward moments not only because communication problems like you can probably imagine, but also it is a tradition to serve the guests a special Mongolian drink which is a delicious sounding “salted milk tea”. Even though my team members don’t seem to have a big problem with it, believe me, I’m fighting hard with it. This tea is something the Mongolians seem to love, I wonder why. Anyway, let’s move on from this and tell you what you can find in a gher: Things like a TV, a fridge, and sometimes a computer is not unusual, there is a bed, some dressers and stuff and most important a stove to keep the gher warm. Calvin and I were sleeping on the floor, with a bunch of blankets on top and underneath, it was pretty warm, but pretty hard too. We got also introduced to the real gher live which includes stoking the fire, spitting wood, clearing the sidewalk around the gher, getting coal and getting water from the well. On the street, if you meet a dog that kind of seem scary, you better pick up a rock and get ready to throw it at him, just in case, because it is not uncommon to get bitten by it. (silly dogs, I always liked cats better…) So that was a need experience after all, but it would be difficult for me here, I guess. Thanks be to God for what he does here in Mongolia and for the things he has shown us. Sheep up and God bless, by Andreas
Here in Mongolia is quite a bit going on right now. It has been a challenging time for me where we had to go out of our comfort zone (a couple times).
We had the opportunity to spend a night in a real Mongolian “Gher” (Mongolian house/tent) where you basically just have one room. This room is your kitchen, living room, bed room, change room and your hallway (room), (thankfully not your bathroom, therefore they have an out house, brrr). Our team split up into three groups (Demara by herself, Calvin and I, Anika and an YWAM stuff member) and we left on Tuesday night and stayed there until the next morning. It was very interesting to stay over night basally in someone’s master bedroom. For Calvin and I it created some awkward moments not only because communication problems like you can probably imagine, but also it is a tradition to serve the guests a special Mongolian drink which is a delicious sounding “salted milk tea”. Even though my team members don’t seem to have a big problem with it, believe me, I’m fighting hard with it. This tea is something the Mongolians seem to love, I wonder why. Anyway, let’s move on from this and tell you what you can find in a gher: Things like a TV, a fridge, and sometimes a computer is not unusual, there is a bed, some dressers and stuff and most important a stove to keep the gher warm. Calvin and I were sleeping on the floor, with a bunch of blankets on top and underneath, it was pretty warm, but pretty hard too. We got also introduced to the real gher live which includes stoking the fire, spitting wood, clearing the sidewalk around the gher, getting coal and getting water from the well. On the street, if you meet a dog that kind of seem scary, you better pick up a rock and get ready to throw it at him, just in case, because it is not uncommon to get bitten by it. (silly dogs, I always liked cats better…) So that was a need experience after all, but it would be difficult for me here, I guess. Thanks be to God for what he does here in Mongolia and for the things he has shown us. Sheep up and God bless, by Andreas
Fluffy the camel has... two humps!
Hello, friends!
Sorry for not writing for a bit.. Life here has just been so full!
So, Anika wrote last on Saturday, January 16. That seems like a lifetime ago! On Sunday, we had the privilege of talking at some church services here in Bayankhongor. The first one we went to was held in a gher, like a house church. There were maybe 10-20 people in attendance.. Probably could not have fit many more! Andreas and I were the preachers. (They insist that if we share what God has laid on our hearts, we are preaching, although I do not feel like a preacher. :) They mostly consisted of our testimonies. I also gave a short “bible study” on encouragement.)It was fun. They are very responsive, always lots of ‘amens’, which is always encouraging. From there, we went to a ‘youth’ service that ‘started’ at 1:00. The reason for the ‘ ’ around ‘youth’, is that we were expecting people maybe our age or even a little bit younger. I think all who came were under 14. :) Which was awesome to see, because you don’t often see kids away from their parents, worshiping God totally on their own accord. It was very fun. The reason for the ‘ ’ around ‘started’ was because time is not important in Mongolia. (a hot-climate culture) The service actually started probably around 2:00, but who was watching the clock? :) At the service, Ankia shared on 1 Tim 4:12, and following. (the “don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young..etc etc etc..” passage) It was very good, and they loved her. As always. :) When it came to the part about training/teaching, she related it to training a dog to play fetch. (She made sure to mention that dogs are actually pets in Canada, instead of enemies. :) ) She had Andreas be her ‘dog’ and ‘taught’ him how to sit, stay, roll over and fetch. He missed the ‘treat’ a couple times, but then caught it on the third time, (third time’s the charm!) making a good example about how to teach.
From there, we went to our friends’, Jep and Shauna. (…his name is actually Jeff, but all the Mongolians call him Jep, because the letter ‘f’ is not in their alphabet, so they have a very hard time pronouncing his name right. It has kind of stuck on our team… or at least a few of us.) We hung out there for a while, having a late lunch/early supper, making sure to be back at the YWAM base for English class at 6:00.
Monday we got to ride camels!! Yay! …or camel, singular, I guess. Her name (we named her) is Fluffy. Because she is. We just thought it was logical. Okay, so maybe it was mostly me, but I thought it was ingenius. :) She was a 3-year old female camel, and we got to ride her. It was awesome, let me tell you! If you even get the chance… don’t do it in Canada because that is lame. Do it somewhere where they are actually used. Like Mongolia! We took a 1 ½ hour (45 minutes to Ulzii, a small town on the way, then 45 minutes out searching in the mountains for this herder.) ‘porgon’ ride out to see this particular herder and camel. A ‘porgon’ is a Russian van, and it is pretty spectacular.. They are all over here, because they can literally go ANYWHERE. Believe me, we have proved this. :) The ride is a little bumpy, but imagine it as the best carnival ride you can think of, and you are good to go. Apparently, it didn’t work for Andreas and Calvin, especially Calvin as he ended up ‘blowing chunks’ (as he calls it) anyways… oops. :) But riding the camel was fun! When they run… maybe not so fun for the boys. But for us girls it was just dandy! After we were finished taking turns riding her, we thanked the herder profusely, (“Bayarlai, Bayarlai!” ...spelling may or may not be correct...pronounced “Bayarsh-lah!” …kind of…) and then headed off to go find a male camel, because they, apparently, are bigger and meaner! So we rounded this one small mountain, and BAM! There are like 30 camels just sittin’ there, watching us. It was awesome! Brown, black, light brown, white, all kinds of colors… okay, maybe not ALL kinds. That would be sweet! Yes, they have bright neon green camels in Mongolia. :) After the Great Camel Experience, we went and had the Great Mongolian Hospitality Experience in the little town called Ulzii. We had buutz and watched Sumo wrestling. There is a picture of it below. And that was all for Monday!
Tuesday was The Great Mongolian Gher And Super Hospitality Experience! Which Andreas will write about below. :)
Sorry for not writing for a bit.. Life here has just been so full!
So, Anika wrote last on Saturday, January 16. That seems like a lifetime ago! On Sunday, we had the privilege of talking at some church services here in Bayankhongor. The first one we went to was held in a gher, like a house church. There were maybe 10-20 people in attendance.. Probably could not have fit many more! Andreas and I were the preachers. (They insist that if we share what God has laid on our hearts, we are preaching, although I do not feel like a preacher. :) They mostly consisted of our testimonies. I also gave a short “bible study” on encouragement.)It was fun. They are very responsive, always lots of ‘amens’, which is always encouraging. From there, we went to a ‘youth’ service that ‘started’ at 1:00. The reason for the ‘ ’ around ‘youth’, is that we were expecting people maybe our age or even a little bit younger. I think all who came were under 14. :) Which was awesome to see, because you don’t often see kids away from their parents, worshiping God totally on their own accord. It was very fun. The reason for the ‘ ’ around ‘started’ was because time is not important in Mongolia. (a hot-climate culture) The service actually started probably around 2:00, but who was watching the clock? :) At the service, Ankia shared on 1 Tim 4:12, and following. (the “don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young..etc etc etc..” passage) It was very good, and they loved her. As always. :) When it came to the part about training/teaching, she related it to training a dog to play fetch. (She made sure to mention that dogs are actually pets in Canada, instead of enemies. :) ) She had Andreas be her ‘dog’ and ‘taught’ him how to sit, stay, roll over and fetch. He missed the ‘treat’ a couple times, but then caught it on the third time, (third time’s the charm!) making a good example about how to teach.
From there, we went to our friends’, Jep and Shauna. (…his name is actually Jeff, but all the Mongolians call him Jep, because the letter ‘f’ is not in their alphabet, so they have a very hard time pronouncing his name right. It has kind of stuck on our team… or at least a few of us.) We hung out there for a while, having a late lunch/early supper, making sure to be back at the YWAM base for English class at 6:00.
Monday we got to ride camels!! Yay! …or camel, singular, I guess. Her name (we named her) is Fluffy. Because she is. We just thought it was logical. Okay, so maybe it was mostly me, but I thought it was ingenius. :) She was a 3-year old female camel, and we got to ride her. It was awesome, let me tell you! If you even get the chance… don’t do it in Canada because that is lame. Do it somewhere where they are actually used. Like Mongolia! We took a 1 ½ hour (45 minutes to Ulzii, a small town on the way, then 45 minutes out searching in the mountains for this herder.) ‘porgon’ ride out to see this particular herder and camel. A ‘porgon’ is a Russian van, and it is pretty spectacular.. They are all over here, because they can literally go ANYWHERE. Believe me, we have proved this. :) The ride is a little bumpy, but imagine it as the best carnival ride you can think of, and you are good to go. Apparently, it didn’t work for Andreas and Calvin, especially Calvin as he ended up ‘blowing chunks’ (as he calls it) anyways… oops. :) But riding the camel was fun! When they run… maybe not so fun for the boys. But for us girls it was just dandy! After we were finished taking turns riding her, we thanked the herder profusely, (“Bayarlai, Bayarlai!” ...spelling may or may not be correct...pronounced “Bayarsh-lah!” …kind of…) and then headed off to go find a male camel, because they, apparently, are bigger and meaner! So we rounded this one small mountain, and BAM! There are like 30 camels just sittin’ there, watching us. It was awesome! Brown, black, light brown, white, all kinds of colors… okay, maybe not ALL kinds. That would be sweet! Yes, they have bright neon green camels in Mongolia. :) After the Great Camel Experience, we went and had the Great Mongolian Hospitality Experience in the little town called Ulzii. We had buutz and watched Sumo wrestling. There is a picture of it below. And that was all for Monday!
Tuesday was The Great Mongolian Gher And Super Hospitality Experience! Which Andreas will write about below. :)
Monday, January 18, 2010
PICTURES!
The team drinking salted milk tea in a family's home. (gher) There was Sumo wrestling on TV, it is very big deal here in Mongolia! I quote one of the men in the gher - "We may not be smart like you Americans, but we are strong. We can fight!"
PICTURES!
Meat shop at the market in Bayanhonger!
Playing over-under-over-under at one of the youth events.
Andreas and Calvin with their group for English class in the YWAM cafeteria.
Andreas' little helper during meal times!
One of the kinds of "boots" worn by sales people at the outdoor market. They have to stand around outside all day!
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