The Next Thing

We gave a presentation on Sunday called “Just Do the Next Thing.” On Monday we got news that changed things. Sometimes the ‘Next Thing’ is not on the 'to do' list. Our plan was to stay in Mongolia a full 2 years before leaving the country. In December 2008, Central United in Richland Washington offered to pay for our plane tickets if we would attend their mission conference in February, 2009. We accepted this gift and flew back Feb. 20. Our tickets were for returning to Mongolia on March 20.
While 'home', we each had a battery of medical check-ups. Jim's blood test showed a high P.S.A. count. On Monday we got the news that a follow-up biopsy indicated an aggressive form of prostate cancer. If we had not come back to the US until 2010, as was OUR plan, the cancer could have been much more advanced.
“Coincidentally,” one of our friends is a leading prostate cancer surgeon. He will perform the procedure on April 17 in Norfolk, Virginia. So the next thing obviously is surgery & then recovery. We hope to be able to return to Mongolia before the end of May. There have been numerous examples of One going before us preparing the way. We are quite astounded, encouraged, and amazed at His provision and care. Thanks for being part of that.

We are trusting and doing the next thing . . .

Lung Therapy

Since we're back in the Pacific NW, we have snuck away for a few days on the Oregon coast with our daughter. We're really enjoying the beauty and family time. And it's just what the doctor ordered as we breathe the clean ocean air cleansing our lungs of UB coal smoke.

Mission Conference

Brought home for a mission conference at CUP Richland, another huge privelege. We expected to be in Mongolia for 2 years before getting to come home.

Thawing.

It's been a real treat to get to shed our fur & thaw out for a few weeks.

They have kayaks in Thailand :)

Sorry for the silence. We were blessed with having to go to Thailand for a Covenant business meeting. While there, we just had to kayak tho we forgot to take a camera on the water. So we staged this the next day.

Check it Out

We're testing video capability on this blog.
Look to the right of this post.
Click on the picture under "Winter in Mongolia"
and see if you see what we hope you see.

New Year's Eve Dinner - Mongolian style

We were invited to Liz's language tutor's home for New Year's Eve dinner. So we arrived at 7pm expecting mutton and cake. We were "coached" a little on what to bring.

(Photo of "Shin Geel" New Year's tree with Mongolian money in the branches. "Grandfather Winter and his Grand daughter statues are under the tree.)When we arrived we presented Ariuna's mother with a box of nice chocolates and Ariuna with a bottle of Coca Cola (her favorite). The apartment, for Mom, Dad, Ariuna and her 10-year old sister, has a kitchen, living room and one bedroom. The parents sleep on the fold-down living room couch.

We were escorted into the living room. While the family was out of the room, I placed Mongolian money on the New Year’s (Christmas) tree for the children (a Mongolian tradition). Liz also made earrings for Ariuna, her mother and sister, so I put those on the tree also.


As the family returned to the room, we turned our attention to the table in front of the couch. On the table before us was the front half or a roasted piglet decorated with spiral cucumbers. We were served a cup of salty milk tea.

Then Ariuna served the NINE salads; carrot, cucumber and tomato, fruit in yoghurt, red cabbage, white cabbage, pickled various vegetables, and everything in various combinations. We were given a little salad plate and salad fork and told to serve ourselves. We were also warned that we could not leave until all the food was gone.

After enjoying samples of all the salads, Ariuna's father poured us each a shot glass of vodka, which we did not have to drink, but we needed to accept. Ariuna’s non-Christian father dipped the tip of his right middle finger in his vodka and flicked it in 4 directions, then touched his forehead.

Then Ariuna and her mother served the meat. Cold beef ribs, beef tongue and heart and mutton butz (dumplings). There was some red hot sauce that we added to the butz but Ariuna’s father just put a whole dumpling in his mouth. He commented that I wasn’t a Mongolian yet because I used a fork to eat the butz.

After the meat, Ariuna served the chocolate, 3-layer cake. (See the Dec 31 blog re: Mongolian cake conspiracy).

After 3 hours of feasting, we made it clear that we could not eat anymore. We thanked our hosts and as we got up to leave the table, the family presented us with gifts; long underwear and mint mouth wash for me and white chocolate and a sock box for Liz. It’s amazing to experience Mongolian hospitality.

More ugly "Christmas" trees

As we said on our November 27 blog, very few Mongolians celebrate Christmas. But everyone celebrates "Shin Geel" or New Years.

Instead of the Christmas tree, Mongolians have Shin Geel trees. There are not a whole lot of natural trees in Mongolia so a few stores sell artifical trees. I think some Mongolians have forgotten what a real tree looks like, because some of the Shin Geel trees are REALLY UGLY.

Blue is the Mongolian national color (like the sky) so it's no surprise that they sell blue colored trees. But ketchup red must be a left over from the Communists' favorite color.

Mongolian "Fast Lane"

Ulaanbaatar has terrible sidewalks. The old sidewalks are cracked and often have rebar poking thru the worn cement. As a safety guy for 20 years, I’m used to pointing out tripping hazards. In Mongolia, forget it.

It’s cold most of the year in Mongolia. Since mid-November, the sidewalks have a solid layer of compacted snow. This has an interesting effect. The cracked sidewalks suddenly become smooth; very smooth!

The kids have this figured out. On most of the hillside sidewalks, the kids have chipped away the compacted snow to get down to the layer of ice. This strip of ice becomes the “Fast Lane” as the kids and adults use this icy strip to slide down the hill.

The Great Mongolian Cake Conspiracy

Mongolians rarely bake. I think most apartments have ovens but I don't know of any indigenous foods that require baking. Of course, they don't bake in gers.

(Photo of Ariuna, Liz's tutor) Apparently cakes are an essential part of a modern Mongolian New Year's eve party. Today (New Year's Eve) there were stacks of boxed cakes at the grocery store. During our walk home from school, I counted 18 people carrying cakes in one block!

I think it was a Communist plot to create work for the bakeries. If cakes were not part of the culture, and New Years celebrations were not part of the Mongolian culture, and you want to destroy old Mongolian culture and make it Russian, create a New Year's holiday and tell everyone that you must have a cake to properly celebrate!

Many Mongolians have told me they don't like sweet baked items. Two weeks ago I got a big piece of cake at the Ukrainian restaurant and asked Liz & Bolooro to share it with me. Bolooro took one bite and said she really didn't like cake. Mongolians don’t like it but they buy it for New Years. It’s a plot by the bakery industry.

Do Americans have a traditional food that no one likes? The Norwegians have lutefisk, the Germans have blood sausage. The French have liver pate'. The Japanese have their salted fermented squid guts. The Chinese have century-year old eggs. Maybe the Americans have hot dogs at Coney Island and baseball games. Got to eat one but no one would order one at a restaurant. (Becky votes for Fruit cake!)