THE BABIES NEEDED BLANKETS

Life is speeding past so quickly. Our ward at home did a project to collect and send some hearing aids. We had a big problem getting them and had to pay some customs on them but we finally got them and we were able to share them with several people in our community. We have changed the lives of several people in the area where we serve.

Several months ago we visited the local hospital and we were given a royal tour of the maternity ward. We were impressed with the dedication of the nurses and attendants, considering what they must work with. They have very old Russian beds and equipment and what they have is falling apart but they manage to keep it in some repair as best they can and they deliver several hundred babies each month.  The saddest thing was to watch the dads and family at the end of the hall. They are only allowed to look into the hall of the ward through a small slit of a window in a door on the landing of a stairwell. They take turns looking through the slit, looking to see when their wife goes into the hall on her way to delivery. The delivery room was old and the 4 delivery chairs, all in the same room, were over 35 year old simple frames that the mom climbed onto and when the baby came, it was put on a homemade wooden table to be cleaned and wrapped.

We were told that they had an immediate need for baby blankets and caps because the government had decided that the baby blankets that they were using were not safe (we assumed that they must have used some kind of animal hair for batting) and they must throw them all out. We told them that we would see what we could do and we set about asking the various church groups for help. One of the brothers in our small branch came up with a way to provide about 20 quilts that were hand done but they were hand tied and the hospital said that the ties were not good for the new babies. We tried several other avenues for help from America and had several offers for help but there were many obstacles such as shipping, customs, etc. (We have a friend who had a load of coats donated for an immediate need from America. It took months to get here and then got held up in customs. They had to pay several hundred dollars to have them released.) We finally decided to just make them so with the help of our wonderful mission doctor and his wife we purchased the material and set up a Saturday Branch Activity. Surprisingly, we had many wonderful Sisters show up early to help and they worked through the day and into the evening making wonderful quilts.

We delivered 50 beautiful baby quilts to the hospital at a ceremony that was great. We were blessed to be able to work with the local sisters and get closer to them and to serve the community.

Our ward back at home was willing to provide the blankets but we decided that, after our friends coat fiasco, we would go ahead and take care of it locally.

We did feel that our home ward might be able to help with some baby caps and they agreed to have several sisters knit some caps. They finished them and sent them in a small box which simply passed through customs unnoticed (we think they had an angel place a cloak of invisibility over them) and they arrived in just over a week with no customs charge . When we delivered them to the hospital the nurses went right into the babies room and put some on the babies and took pictures with them. The caps and the babies were so cute.

 We are so grateful for the opportunity that we have to be here in Mongolia doing a very small part in the Work of The Lord. There is much to do, but like filling a bucket one drop at a time, each drip makes a difference and the ripples extend outward forever. 














We started offering Zumba in our church during the Summer and it is something that they really enjoy. Sister Hill broke her arm and messed up her knee so she hasn't been able to partisipate but we still put it on every week. Here is a video of a few of the people dancing at zumba.

OK, I'LL CONTINUE THE MONGOLIAN BLOG

OK, today is October 17, 2014 and I haven't posted anything since July. I know that most have given up looking at our blog but maybe I can keep it for a memory book. I posted on Facebook a few weeks ago that I wasn't going to write in my blog anymore but a few people encouraged me to continue and I know that I should write things down so I'll try to keep it up a little better.
We can't believe that we have been in Mongolia for nearly a year already.(Actually 10 months but the time is flying fast)  We were in a mission conference a few weeks ago and Elder Black of the 70's said "The days are long but the weeks are fast" and that is so true.
So much has happened since my last post that it will be hard to remember it all and take the time to get it all down.In August, I was at a district training in Darkhan and I got a call from Sister Hill. She had fallen and was in pain. I called the Erdenet Elders and asked them to check on her and help her get to a doctor and I thought I would go on with the training and then speak in Selang as a High Councilmen the next day. Deni called again and said that the Dr said that her shoulder was dislocated and probably broken but they couldn't tell for sure until the hospital could X-ray it when they opened at 4:00. Could I come back to Erdenet NOW please. I caught a taxi back and got there in time to go to the hospital for the x-ray. We met with the Dr and were told that the shoulder was dislocated and the bone was broken right where it goes into the socket. She would need surgery with pins and it couldn't be done in Erdenet. Deni was in quite a bit of pain as we considered our options of how to best get to Ulanbaatar. The Hand of The Lord was with us as we started the journey of healing. UB is about 6 - 8 hours by taxi or bus (depending upon road construction going on at the time) or an all night trip on the train. She couldn't lay down and any movement was painful but we had to travel. It turned out that Dr and Sister Lewis were in Darkhan (2 hours) and were leaving on Sunday for UB and had room in their SUV for us. We left first thing Sunday morning in a Taxi for Darkhan. The bouncing of the taxi was hard on Deni and the pain made her nauseated but we got to Darkhan in time to attend Sacrament Meeting in our New Darkhan Branch. (Deni stayed out in the car and rested). The road to UB was rough and she had to fight the nausea but we drove straight to the new hospital to see what could be done on Sunday evening. Turned out, nothing could be done on Sunday evening. We stayed at the mission home and Monday morning we went to another hospital for x-rays and consultation. We decided that if she needed surgery we would fly to Hong Kong because there really weren't any good options in Mongolia. The x-ray Dr said that the new x-rays showed that the arm was no longer displaced but that it probably would need surgery. We decided to get another opinion and sent the x-rays to specialists in SLC. It took a few days to get the results and consult with the SLC experts but the results were worth the wait. They said that the arm should heal fine on its own and that they no longer recommend casting it but she did need to work with a Good Physical Therapist. Dr Lewis said that might be a problem since he had been looking for a PT and there really weren't any in Mongolia...Oh, wait. This morning he got a call from an Elder asking if anyone needed a PT because there were 2 PT's here in UB from the US doing training for 2 days and they were available to help anyone if needed. Dr Lewis told them that he didn't know of anyone and forgot about it....Until now. He contacted the PT and made arrangements for them to meet us later that evening. They came to the Dr's office in the mission home and it turned out that Ken Brown had 35 years experience specializing in ... Shoulders. Coincidence?? Only in Mongolia for 2 days, specialist in shoulder injuries, willing to continue to work with Deni via Skype. I know The Lord loves us and watches out for us. 
We left that evening by bus for Erdenet. That was a mistake. We planned to take the train but we were concerned that Deni couldn't really lie down comfortably and we wanted to get home as quickly as possible. On the train you can get up and walk around. There is a bathroom right there. You can sleep and enjoy the view, etc. On the bus we were squeezed in and no place to move and with construction it took over 8 hours. We made it home safely and were grateful to be home. 
Deni's arm has healed quickly. We went back to UB a few weeks ago for a follow-up x-ray and they said that the break had healed completely. With the regular help of the PT she is getting more movement in her shoulder and the pain is less. She is able to use the are more and more each day. After all of the trauma with her shoulder slowed down, she realized that when she fell, she not only banged her shoulder but she had fallen on her knee which wanted some attention as soon as possible. She has been working on that also and is slowly healing that too. 
Before the injury we had been planning to move from our apartment. We have been looking for several months and many members and people from the Children's Palace where we work have been looking for us and with us. We would tell them that we were spoiled and wanted something newer with american type kitchen, bedroom, etc. They would tell us that they found the perfect place and we would go with them to see it. All of them were in old Russian apartment buildings often with no kitchen cabinets or no bed. They were furnished but many Mongolians don't sleep in a bed. They use a mat on the floor. 
We got discouraged looking but a new building was being built near our church and our work and every time we would walk past it, Sister Hill would say "I want to live there". There were a few new buildings around town so I decided to put together a sign in Mongolian reading "Mature American couple looking for a fully furnished apartment to rent for 1 year" and I put our translators phone number on it. I went around and put them at the entrance to the newer buildings. By the next day the building maintenance had taken down all of the signs but we still got several calls and one of them was from the owner of an apartment in the new building where we wanted to live. We looked, we liked, we moved. We have been in our new apartment, overlooking our church, for about a month now and we really love it. Once again, The Lord's Hand has been present in helping us find and move and we are so grateful for our comfortable new apartment. We are so blessed. 
We are grateful for the friends and family who we hear from and for those who we don't get to hear from. We are grateful to get to serve in Mongolia and for all of the lessons that we are blessed to be learning. Thank you for following us. We love to hear from you.

No Water For Six Days

Once again, we are on our way to Darkhan. Tomorrow we have a "zone conference" which, this time, we think will just be an excuse to enjoy the beautiful weather and countryside. Everyone here talks about "going to countryside" which I heard a pretty good description of: When someone in UB (the city) goes to the countryside they might be going to Darkhan or Erdenet (where we live) but several times a day we here of someone who "went to countryside". Since we live in the countryside I was confused until I learned that the countryside is anywhere smaller than where you are.
A few weeks ago I had a toothache. Nothing serious but I wanted to have it checked. The Dr x-rayed it, worked on it for a while, and told me that I had to come back 5 times to apply chemical (Fluoride I assume). I scheduled for the following Mon and returned at the appointed time. I waited about 20 minutes and finally went up to the receptionist and asked how much longer. She said "the Dr went to countryside". I rescheduled for Thur for me to get my "chemical treatment" and for Deni to have her teeth cleaned. Again, we showed up at the appointed time, talked to the receptionist, waited 20 minutes, asked the receptionist how much longer, and were told " Dr went to countryside". Much more common than you would imagine. Time is so completely different and they don't complain of inconvenience. It is just part of life for them.
Today is day 6 of no water. I think this is the first time in more than 50 years that I have gone more than a few days without showering. Deni has started to offer a Zumba class at the church. Most of them had never Zumbaed before but they love it and they are really good at it. We have to set up our computer, projector and speakers before the 6AM class so we have to leave at 5:30 to walk to class.

IT IS NOW OCTOBER AND I AM GOING TO GO AHEAD AND POST THIS ANYWAY SINCE I CAN'T REMEMBER THAT FAR BACK.
I do remember that our water finally came back on and we were grateful for the blessing of a hot shower. 

Celebrating Mongolian NAADAM

Naadam is the biggest festival of the year for Mongolians. Although the event incorporates Mongolia's traditional nomadic, sporting, and military cultures, the three-day festival formally celebrates the Mongolian Revolution of 1921 and the nation's independence from Chinese occupation.
We are in the beautiful town of Erdenet and got to celebrate with our friends and the young missionaries. The town practically shuts down and the three big events are wrestling, archery, and horseback riding. I think the really big event is eating khuushuur and drinking Vodka. We avoided the vodka but we loved the khuushuur (pronounced housher) which are something like a taco with seasoned mutton, beef, camel or horse and then deep fried. The wrestling and archery take place at the large stadium which seems to have been built for this purpose and the horseback racing takes place a few miles out of town.
Thursday we spent the day at the stadium eating khuushuurs and watching wrestling and archery. We tried, but we never could understand how the wrestling worked. Sometimes there was a large man with a little guy which didn't seem fair. The smaller guy never won but there must be a reason they do it that way. Most of the time there were large guys paired with large guys but even then we couldn't figure out how the contest works. They all wear a small speedo type suit and have a band or a strap around their middle. An important part of the ceremony seems to be the strutting and waving their arms around like an eagle. It is very majestic and interesting to watch. 

The archery is really interesting. The target is a line of cork cylinders on the ground about 2 feet high and 6 feet wide and is about 250 feet from the archer. The archer shoots the arrow in a long arch high above the target in order to be able to reach it. It is amazing to watch how accurate they could be shooting into the air. I could see how the ancient Mongolian armies would line up and accurately shoot              at the opposing army by firing into the air.

CountrySide near the Cabin

Deni and I were invited by a family to spend part of our Naadam celebration with their family at their countryside cabin. They picked us up in the morning and first took us to their apartment. On the way to their apartment the husband told us that he had gone out early that morning and bought a live sheep, had it killed and skinned and that we would be enjoying it that day. They have a beautiful apartment and as we entered the front door, there on the floor was a dead and cleaned whole sheep. He proceeded to cut up the sheep while the wife boiled the innards. Deni and I waited there for about an hour as they prepared their sheep and then packed their car and we headed for the countryside. To get to their small cabin we took a dirt road out into the country. As we drove offroading we saw herds of the normal Mongolian animals, sheep, goats, cattle, horses and then we saw three LARGE birds on the hill. We drove over to get a closer look and as they ran for a take off we realized that they were Eagles. They took off and joined 2 others already in the air. We watched them circle the valley for a while. When we got to the cabin they set up a portable stove and proceeded to cook the sheep. We enjoyed a fine meal of mutton and potato salad (they really do make the best potato salad here), cucumbers (they serve cucumbers with most meals) and Chocolate cake (provided by Deni). We had a great visit seeing the beautiful countryside. 
On Friday we spent part of the day at the stadium eating khuushuurs and watching the various cultural events. They had dancing and bands and beautiful singing, etc. In the afternoon we took a 15 passenger meeker squeezed in with 23 other people and went back out to the countryside to the horse races. The Mongolian horses are small and strong and the riders are small and young. They start their riders practicing to race at age 3 and all of the riders are between 6 and 12 years old.
We got to the race just as the horse and riders were leaving the finish line headed for the starting line. They rode out of site for the 10K ride to the beginning of the race. After about an hour the speakers announced that the race had started. I figured that it would take just a few minutes to make it back to the start but it took about 45 minutes before we saw them coming.




                                                                          The crowd lined up along the racecourse to get a good view of the winner.

 We got there early enough to get into the VIP stand and we had the best spot to watch the race from.

After 2 hours of watching the crowd we could see a small dust cloud in the far distant. We watched as the cloud came closer and finally in came the young riders. They looked tired as they continued to whip their steeds and raced to the finish. I am told that there is a prize for 1st - 5th place and then last place gets a prize for trying.  A few horses came in without a rider and I can only guess the rider fell off. I understand that several young riders are seriously injured every year by falling off their horse.
Long after the crowd left and they were clearing off the track and packing up equipment I saw a lone rider slowly make his way to the finish line. He was very young and he probably got lost along the path somewhere but at least he finished. He was the last to finish (as far as I know.
 As we headed back with the crowd to find a meeker ride back to town, I realized that with hundreds of people, there were NO Restrooms, trees or bushes. I had had a lot of water to stay hydrated and now it was no longer needed. I decided to be Mongolian and do what came naturally.

The ride home in the 15 passenger meeker with 26 other people. These are some of our young missionaries who we love serving with.

Trans Siberia Mongolia RailRoad

We have been working with a couple who live under the stairs of an apartment building. The room that you see here is their entire apartment. We just love them and we love visiting with them even though we don't understand anything the other one says. They are the "security" for the 9 story Russian built building that they live in. They get their "apartment" and 2500 Tugriks per day (about $1.80) and if they stay for 3 years and don't have any robberies in the building the company will build them a Ger. I don't know how they can keep from having any robberies but we sure hope they can make it happen. 

Deni and I have been able to travel to UB a few times over the past month. Earlier in the year when we went to UB we took the bus which took about 6 hours and was just a long bus ride. I knew that there was a train that ran from Erdenet (where we live now) to UB but everyone that I asked about it said "oh, you don't want to take the train". Well, why not? I really wanted to experience the train so when Deni broke another tooth and we had to go to UB to get it repaired I talked her into taking the Trans-Siberia-Mongolia RR. The train leaves Erdenet at 6:30 PM and arrives in UB at 5:30 AM. We weren't really sure what to expect and when we asked the young missionaries who take the train regularly they couldn't really tell us much. Turns out that there is 1st class, 2nd class, and public. We have now ridden all 3 classes but our first time we went 1st class. We were in a room with one other couple who spoke almost no English and we, of course, spoke almost no Mongolian.  The tickets were 20,000 Tugriks ($12) each, and then on the train, if you want sheets and a pillow, it's another 2,500.We had a great time working out ways to communicate. We crossed some of the most beautiful countryside that you could imagine.  

We laughed and took pictures and got up and wandered and just had a really good time. Since Deni and I were the old ones we got the bottom bunks. 

It gets dark here about 10 PM so we got to see a lot of scenery before it got too dark to see.  When we first got on the train I thought that I smelled campfire and I thought "there is no way this train runs on fire so maybe I just smell someone who has been out at a camp. Turns out that they have a wood burning water heater to serve hot water to the guests.  Who woulda thought. 

Here is our cabin before our roommates got there. The cabin was quite nice and and we were comfortable. A few weeks later we had to go back to UB to have Deni's crown attached permanently. We decided to try 2nd class and the only difference was no door on the cabin and 6 people to a cabin. It cost about $4.50 less but was a little more crowded. 

Sunrise at 4AM 

The next week we went to Youth Camp for a week with about 300 youth. We got a ride to the camp but got to walk 10 Kilometers out from the camp to the train tracks that run up the valley in the middle of no where. It was really a thrill to walk out with about 200 youth. We sat by the tracks waiting for the train to come along and stop. About half of them were going South to UB and our half were going North to Darkhan. We boarded our 3rd class train car at 1PM and got to Darkhan at about 5PM. Third class means that as many as want to get on can get on, seat or not. We all had a seat but it was a little crowded. In Darkhan we had to wait with those going onto Erdenet to catch the 3 AM train. We got home at 7AM on Sunday after a week of being outdoors with no shower and were supposed to be to church by 9AM to speak in Sacrament Meeting. We quickly cleaned up and dashed just to be told that they had changed the schedule and we didn't need to speak. Oh well, at least it got us to hurry to church. 

This is Deni at the Dentist Office getting another new Crown.  The first one cost about $150 but she didn't like the fact that they used a bunson burner to heat some of the equipment so this time we went to a more modern dentist and it was about $300.  In the states it is about $1,000 so we are still getting a good deal. 

Today I went to a local Erdenet Dentist and got a filling and had my teeth cleaned. It was 30,000 for the filling and 30,000 for the cleaning. ($18 + $18) Last week in UB I went to the Dermatology Hospital and had the pre-cancers burned that I have had to have burned off every 6 months for the last several years. The Dr spent over an hour burning the spots on my face and my head and then told me that it was usually 5,000 but since she had to take so long she needed to charge 10,000 ($6.00).  We have health insurance and can get paid back but the health care here is so inexpensive that it is hardly worth turning it in. These simple basic services are great but we pray that we never really get sick here because the real health care is not very good (there is a new state of the art medical center in UB now).  When someone really has to go to a hospital for major care it is really sad. We went to visit a lady who had cancer and she had to go back 3 times after being sent home after surgery. She was oozing infection and couldn't afford bandages. We went and bought some bandages for her and the nurse put them on her. The family had to bring food every day for her while she was in the hospital and even though they tried hard to keep it clean, it wasn't.  We wouldn't want to have to stay there. 

Here is a picture of Deni at the side of our church in Erdenet. Notice her two friends. We don't usually see cows in town during the summer because they have plenty of grass in the fields to eat but these thought maybe the grass by the church might taste better. In the winter the cows come into town and eat the garbage from the garbage rooms in the large cement 9 story apartment buildings. 

Many want to know about our weather. It is absolutely beautiful. It is usually in the mid 70's during the day and in the 50's at night. We are told that we will see a bit of rain most days but it doesn't usually last very long. The fields are green and lush and it is hard to remember how cold and bare everything was just a few months ago. I guess it will start getting cold again in September but we will enjoy this beautiful weather while we can. 

Well, we are healthy and happy and greatly blessed. We like the food too much and it shows but we are committed to start working on doing better as soon as we can which may come as soon as we are more committed. Until then, we will just keep thinking about doing better. 

Thanks for checking on us. Let us know how you are doing.

Uses For Used Tires

I am constantly amazed at how creative people can be. I really don’t know what we do with all of the used tires in the US because they aren't supposed to go into the landfills and you can't burn them, but here in Mongolia everything has a useful purpose.  I tried to capture a few of the uses that I have seen for used tires. In the background of this picture you can see tires used to cover manholes. 

Everywhere there are barricades made from used tires. They are really quite clever.  They set them sticking up with half above ground and half buried in the ground. If it is to be used as a fence they are right next to each other, if it is simply to keep cars out and allow foot traffic, then they space them so you can walk through but too close for cars to fit through (like around a park).  I have seen tires used as flower pots and filled with cement for holding up a basketball standard or used all over town to cover manholes.

Speaking of manholes, because of the severe weather, the sewage pipes and anything running underground must be far down in the ground. Many of the manholes are left open and they appear to be about 15 feet deep. They are in the middle of the sidewalk or a driveway or yard.   I am told that if they use metal manhole covers they are stolen because they can be sold for scrap so many of them have large concrete blocks or tires filled with concrete. I read that about 200 people per year are killed in Mongolia from falling into open manholes. 

We have been spending a lot more time visiting with people in their homes and Gers. I have not been able to figure out how addresses work and someone finally explained it to me. The city is divided into districts so if someone tells you that they live in the 5th district you know what part of the city they are in. Each district then has its own addresses. For example: an apartment is built on a large lot and another built down the block. The first would be district 5-1, the next would be 5-2. Sounds great until a few years later another 2 buildings get built between 1 and 2. The row of apartments might then be 5-1, 5-4, 5-3, 5-2.  It gets even more confusing when, years later, another gets squeezed in between, after maybe 25 have been built and then one gets built between 5-4, 5-26, 5-3 etc. At least now I understand how it happened but it doesn't make it any easier to find an address. 

I wrote this over a month ago and planned to add to it but we have been so busy that I haven't done it so I am just going to post what I have.
Know that we are healthy, happy and greatly blessed.
Thank you for taking the time to read my notes. Please let us know how you are doing and that you read what I write. 

We Are Sooo Spoiled (Blessed)...

Communicating with these good people is our greatest challenge. We often have someone around who speaks "some" English but then they either don't really understand or they go on and translate what they thought we said and we have no idea what they said because we don't speak their language.

We had the 4 missionaries and a branch member over for dinner last night.  Three of the four missionaries are Mongolian and we wanted to give them an American experience.  We went out and bought as many authentic American pizza ingredients as we could find. We have found mozzarella cheese in the past but we couldn't find it this time. Deni sent me out looking for mozzarella cheese and fresh mushrooms.  There are small stores everywhere and almost all of them have EXACTLY the same thing but occasionally one will have something that the others don’t have.  I went into a small vegetable shop in the basement of a small department store about ½ mile from home where I knew they had a fridge.  I knew that they had Gouda and Edam cheese (like all the other stores that have cheese) but I thought they might have others. I asked for cheese for pizza and they pointed at the Edam and I said “no, I need mozzarella”. They lifted a few things off the bottom of the fridge and pulled out a wax sealed block of cheese. I futilely tried to find any words that I might know on the label and asked if it was for pizza and he kind of shrugged his shoulders. I decided to take a gamble and I had him cut off a small piece. I drew a line in the wax to cut off and he cut off about an extra inch which I had to pay for.  I tasted a small piece and it wasn't mozzarella (maybe swiss) but I hoped Deni wouldn't be so picky.  They didn't have fresh mushrooms but they did have dried mushrooms so I bought the cheese and the dried mushrooms and walked home to the boss.

Deni tasted the cheese and said “that isn’t mozzarella”.  I tried to look surprised but she had me go back out and look again and if I didn't find any I was to walk to the large grocery store and buy some Gouda because most of the stores were closed by then. I went looking but didn't find any so I walked about a mile to the store and bought Gouda cheese.

We had met some really nice people last week from Holland who spoke English. They are vacationing all around Mongolia. We had them over for dinner and enjoyed visiting and learning about their country and their lives. When they left for UB and a tour to the Gobi Desert they stopped by our place and dropped off a large bag of wonderful fruit. Things that we see at the stores here but never buy because they are very expensive: watermelon, grapes, plums, large apples, etc.

After church on Sunday Deni went home and made the pizza dough, cut the watermelon in half, cut up the fruit, added a few things that we had like canned peaches, pineapple and bananas and put it all back in the half watermelon bowl.

 When the Mongolian’s saw the fruit bowl their eyes got big and one of them said “this is culture stock”.  They were so excited and so cute.  They loved the fruit and the bowl and they were so appreciative. When most of the fruit was gone I poured the juice out of the watermelon into a glass.  One of them tasted it and said that it was like from heaven. She let her companion taste it and then it was like two cats fighting over some milk. They loved it and said it was the best cultural experience they had had.


We then had them make their own pizza. We had cut up red, yellow and green peppers, reconstituted mushrooms (which were OK), pineapple, onions, ham, etc. and of course, lots of cheese. They heaped on the goodies and we baked it. 
The pizza was another great hit and then we made waffles, something they had never seen. We served it with powdered sugar (from the US, very expensive), syrup and some of the fruit. They said that they were stuffed but they couldn't stop eating. We thought that we would have some pizza or fruit left over for today but it didn't happen. They ate every bite and licked out the watermelon bowl.   

We really love being here and learning to love the people and their culture. We are the ones having a Cultural Experience. They treat us with such love and respect and we are the ones who really respect them. They are like pioneers, working hard to change the way things have been and make them better. 

DARN THOSE SOCKS....

When we left for two years in Mongolia we knew that some things would be different but we did not realize how much would be the same. We have enjoyed the wonderful people and the weather and the food. We are learning to cook so many new things that we knew about before but we had never tried. The big difference is that the fresh vegetables are really fresh and tasty. We have started eating boc-choy and leeks and curry and we really love them.
I knew we would be walking more but I didn't realize how much more. In the US a pair of shoes would last me close to a year so I figured that I should get at least 6 months out of a pair here. NOT SO. Our first 3 months here were so cold that we wore our heavy boots which we hope might make it through next winter but we started wearing our street shoes about two months ago. I think that I wrote in my last blog about the street vendor who repairs shoes. The sole of my shoe was coming loose so I stopped and asked him if he could fix it. He pulled out a tube of super-glue, ran a bead of glue around the sole, stuck it down, and asked me for 3,000 Tuges (about $1.80). That was a few weeks ago and surprisingly, it is still holding. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the shoe. They are already about worn out. We walk a few miles a day over very uneven ground, through mud and rocks, etc. This week has been snowy and our boots are already packed away so the street shoes will have to do. I brought two new pairs of shoes with me but will have to buy another pair here soon. We were warned before we came that larger size clothes would be hard to find in Mongolia but we figured "we're not that large so we won't have a problem". NOT SO, especially shoes. Deni looked for boots all winter and found many she really liked but never found one that would fit. Most of their stores here are very old large Russian buildings that have rows and rows of small "booths" where a person will set up a shop to sell a little something. The interesting thing is that the entire building will have maybe 50 booths and Every Single booth will have Exactly the same thing. Booth after booth after booth of boots or pants or whatever that building has and none of them fit. The people do seem to have smaller feet but they aren't small people. Generally, they seem about the same size as us but not as much obesity.
As I thought about the fact that I might go through shoes faster in Mongolia I didn't think about the fact that that my socks would also wear out faster. Sure enough, I am wearing holes in my socks quickly. During TsaganSar we received gifts at each house that we visited and many of them gave us socks. (Seemed like a great custom to give gifts rather than expect the guest to bring a gift but socks seemed a little interesting) so as I am wearing out my socks I decided to use some of the new socks that we got as gifts. I wore 3 pairs over 3 days and all 3 pairs wore out with one wearing.  I then went into one of the booths and bought a few pairs that looked more like the gold toe socks from home and they seem to be wearing better. I am also learning to DARN the holes in the good socks brought from home.

Last night we went to visit the home of a large family in the branch. We went with 4 young missionaries who knew how to get there. We rode in a meeker which is a van designed to hold about 15 people. In the one last night they had 28 people each paying 400 Tuges (about 24 cents) so they don't make much money but they sure pack them in. We got to their Ger (see previous blogs for pictures of Gers). I have learned that Gers come if different sizes and this one seemed to be about a medium size. The family of: mom, dad, and 6 children all live in one round room about 15 feet across. They are such a wonderful family who work together and make it work. We were treated like royalty with herium (traditional Mongolian drink of hot milk, water and salt) and homemade raisin bread made in the little wood burning stove seen here in the middle of the room.
There was a very large pot of soup boiling on the wood stove when we came in. After visiting for a while large sheep ribs were fished out of the soup and we all shared them, chewing off the meat and working on chewing it for a while. It was tough but very tasty. The mom and oldest daughter were busy making what looked to me like the traditional boodes which were small pieces of dough made into a flat circle, filled with meat, then dropped into the soup. When we were each served a large bowl of soup I commented that I have never had boode soup and was told that it isn't boode soup. I don't remember what they call it but it isn't boode soup. I said that I've watched them make boodes and they are exactly the same as these and they said that they are very different because boodes are steamed and these are boiled. Well, they looked the same and pretty much taste the same but apparently, they aren't the same. (They suggested it might be like brownies and cake. Same ingredients cooked differently.) The soup was delicious and even the baby enjoyed chewing on one of the sheep bones. All of the kids participated in a program for us of singing, dancing, reciting traditional Mongolian poems, etc.

Last week we got to take a meeker to Darkhan for a meeting. We had a great time visiting with our friends and learning from our Zone Conference.

 On the way home we rode with about 10 young missionaries who were hungry about half way home and wanted to stop for something to eat. We stopped at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.

Here is the meeker and the restaurant. 

I asked an English speaker where the restroom was and he told me that it was outside. He looked at me like I should know where it would be. I walked outside expecting it to be an outside door around the corner but this is the view that I saw. The outhouse is one of the little wood buildings against the wood fence clear across the field. In the background you can see several Gers. 

As I got closer I could see that this was no ordinary outhouse. This was a 3 room executive suite maybe with seats. When I got there I was disappointed to find that it was not that delux. No seats, no TP, just nature but 3 "natural" slots rather than just one.

 When I returned to the restaurant I asked where I could wash my hands. Again, they looked at me like I had something wrong with me. Didn't I even see the sink as I walked in. I really thought that the miniature sink by the front door was a decoration of some kind. It was the sink for washing up. The blue container above the sink is supposed to have water in it but there was no water or soap. Washing isn't really that important.

Back at home our town is cleaning up after a long cold winter. They aren't very efficient but they seem to be quite effective. The city really is quite clean considering what little they have to work with. I have come to realize that the way they do things might just be the best for them. If they had large garbage dumpsters and two men in a garbage truck they would have two men employed. They do have the large garbage trucks but they have many people who go around and shovel the trash from piles thrown in or near little trash  sheds near the apartments and businesses. They then drive up close and shovel it into the trash truck. All along the main street they have large shrubbery strips with bushes and what look like they may soon be flowers. They have a large water truck with a large water hose that pulls up close to the strips to water them. Several people with small buckets use the hose to fill a bucket and go down the street and water the plants. Two could do it by one driving and the other using the hose on each plant but then only two would be employed. You see here a street sweeper lady sweeping the street. Dust and dirt are everywhere and moving it around does seem to help.

Here is a great short video of the family that we visited in their Ger. 

No Bugs...

This morning we woke up to the howl of blowing wind and snow. Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny 66 degrees without a cloud in the sky. Today is a blustery 23 degrees with about 3 inches of snow and more to come. I don't know what the wind chill is but we have been out walking in it since 8 and it is bone chilling. Deni has joined a yoga class that starts at 8:30AM. She has 3 of the group coming to the church for our Saturday English class. She didn't want to go this morning but I convinced her that we would be able to catch a taxi and she wouldn't suffer much. We did catch one right away and he took us right to her class for 60 cents. We needed some carrots, onions and potatoes for the missionaries that we are having to dinner tonight so I braved the storm and walked about a half mile to the stores.  I found that none of the workers wanted to brave the storm to open early so we will have to walk back again after I get Deni from her class.
We are busy nearly every day with English class and humanitarian projects. We are "sponsored" by The Children's Castle which is like a YMCA so we teach English there on MWT then we teach a free class at the church on Saturday. We get about one request each week to teach at a business but our main purpose is not to teach English so we decline most. Deni has a soft heart and gives into the individual requests so we spend a lot of time helping people learn English.
We are working on several projects to help the community. We have a "garden project" where we help provide tools, training, and seeds to help poor families provide vegetables for themselves.This Saturday we are sponsoring a "city cleanup" and we are working hard to make a difference. It is now Thursday night and it is still cold. It only got into the 20s today and it is now 19 and still snowing. We haven't seen much snow here all winter (I'm told that it is too cold to snow) but we got a few inches today.
Tomorrow will be in the 40s and Saturday will be back to the 60s.
We had to dig out our cold clothes and I even found the black tights that I wore under my pants every day this winter. Walking around town today, I was really glad that I was wearing them.
I realize that if I only talk about the weather people will stop reading so I will tell you a little more of our joys and frustrations. I have come to realize that I can live without taking a shower every single morning. I have slowed down on taking them for several reasons. One, the water temperature is just above warm. I am very grateful that it isn't cold but I enjoy a hot shower and the water in our apartment isn't like our last apartment where you could cook your vegetables with the water straight from the tap. Two, the weather is so dry that my skin is dry and cracked. My feet crack and get sores on the bottom and I am told that soap drys skin so I try to wash often for sanitation but I don't want to dry out my feet and hair.
We saw NO INSECTS all winter and we are just now seeing a very few flies and spiders. I think it is just too cold for insects to survive. I haven't even seen an ant or mosquito or anything that you would think would come out in the spring. Maybe they will when it gets really warm. We'll see.
This morning I used our printer to make a sign for us to remember to cover the printer. It is SO DUSTY here and I'm afraid the new printer will stop working if we don't keep it covered. I vacuumed our apartment and when I emptied out the bag it looked like mud. I've tried to figure out why they have the custom about not EVER putting anything personal on the floor. It may be because things are so dusty and also because that dust comes from the ground that everyone (including us) spit and farmer blow our noses constantly. For some reason, mucus just seems to snowball, especially in the cold and much of it goes onto the dirt which becomes dust. Their propensity to not have anything on the floor is sometimes comical. In the winter when everyone is so bundled up against the extreme cold and they come into the church they will take one seat for themselves and at least one seat for all of their stuff. You can look under the seats from the front or the back and not one thing will be on the carpet. If I put my backpack or my books on the floor someone will come up and politely move them to a chair, I'm sure, assuming that they must have fallen because no one would intentionally put something on the floor. 
I will close by expressing our appreciation for our health, safety and protection, and our family and friends. We are truly blessed beyond measure.  We love Mongolia and we love the wonderful people here. 

Here is a picture of our good friends in Darkhan, President Baji and his wife, Suvdaa. I got to visit with them last week when I was in Darkhan for a meeting. We miss them very much. 

An Adventure...

A few days ago I was planning a trip to Darkhan for a training meeting and I told a friend that I wanted to take the Train. The train leaves here in the evening and gets into Darkhan at about one in the morning. The train comes with a sleeper room and is really inexpensive. 

He told me that "you don't want to take the train. It is a long trip." I told him that I wanted an adventure. Well, I didn't take the train (because I didn't want to get into town at 1AM and have to bother my friends that late at night) so I decided to take a meeker AND I did have an adventure. 
I am in a meeker (a minivan designed to hold 10 but they often squeeze 15 in) that is supposed to be taking me to a meeting 3 hours away in Darkhan but we are sitting on the side of the road waiting for something. Since I can't speak their language I'm not sure what we are waiting for but I would guess that they have more passengers who will pay to take them to Darkhan. If there is more than one, I don't where they will sit because they can only squeeze one more in here. They don't seem to have much sense of urgency like Westerners do. Someone explained to me that before the cities, as nomads, they would tell someone that they would see them tomorrow... or maybe the next day. As specific as they ever got was morning or afternoon, so time means very little to them. We've been sitting at the side of the road for about an hour so far and no one seems bothered (maybe because they all know what is going on).
Ok, we are now on our way. We were waiting for someone and now I know why the driver was willing to wait for so long. He gets 15,000 Tuges (about $9) per passenger. He just squeezed FOUR more into 2 seats.... Oops, false alarm. I thought we were on our way but we stopped about a mile out of town at a convenience store. Everyone got out and went into the store and came back with lots of junk. The guy sharing the seat with me and his little girl came out with a 1 1/2 liter Coke and proceeded to drink it. I know what our next stop will be. 
The road to Darkhan was a beautiful drive. It could have been the road through Southern Utah before I-15 40 years ago. No fences and lots of cows, sheep, goats and horses. We had to slow down or stop often for animals on the 2 lane highway. Most herds had a herdsman, most on their small horses wearing their traditional dells, a few on small motorbikes. The hills and fields look exactly like Utah.
Along any road in Mongolia will be a pole or a tree covered in blue silk strips of cloth. As near as I can understand, they are Buddhist symbols of good luck. We actually stopped at one large one while a female passenger got out and walked around it while throwing what appeared to be pieces of bread and shaking water or milk from a bottle. Some of the men took the opportunity to get out and relieve themselves. My seatmate, of course, took his first of 3 stops. 
In town it is common to see people relieve themselves anywhere. Usually men but sometimes even women. It is a very different culture.
Speaking of culture, they have a custom that if your foot touches someone else's foot it is polite to shake hands. I heard of the custom and I thought "that's nice but how often does it really happen"? You would be surprised how often your foot touches someone's foot. Without even thinking,if our feet touch, they stick out their hand. A few days ago Deni and I were having a meeting with a few people. The man had his feet sticking under the table and when I stuck my feet under our feet touched. He reached all the way across the table to shake my hand. Deni saw him shake my hand and thought this was a strange time to end the meeting but she stood up and started thanking people. We had a good chuckle. We love ho innocent these people are. They are down to earth and real. 
Well, I made it to Darkhan, had a great visit with good friends, enjoyed the meetings, and rode back home with several other people who had come to the meetings also. 

At the all day meeting a man came up to me and said through a translator "I am supposed to talk for 2 hours about preparing for a mission. I can't talk for 2 hours. Could you talk for 1 of the hours?" I asked him "NOW?" I couldn't believe it. He had a month to prepare and I had a few minutes. I put something together and I think I did a good job but, again, I realize time isn't that important in their culture. 




Just like in Utah, the weather changes quickly here. We had warm weather for about a week and then it snowed for a few days. We have been up in the mid 70's but we are supposed to have snow again on Thursday with a high of 29F. We put our warm coats and mittens away for the summer but we had to take them out and this time we will keep them out until we are sure the weather will stay warm. We are looking forward to a beautiful spring and summer.