We have all been on a much needed break this week. So while none of us had school, Jonathan and Dad decided to take off on a little exploring adventure outside of the city. We decided to go to Hustai National Park, about 90 km (read: 54 miles) outside of UB. This park is unique, in that it is the only place in the world where the Takhi wild horse is still wild. We were able to get out and see the horses in their habitat, which was quite interesting. National Geographic Explorer, Live. Other highlights from our trip were: staying in a ger, guideless horseback riding up a mountain in the snow (I felt like a cowboy), and viewing 6th and 7th century Turkish burial grounds. The graves are marked with stones, many of which are shaped like humans. Here are a few photo highlights. You can go to the photos page to view all of the pictures from the trip.
Jeff, a friend from our language class joined us on the trip. Jonathan enjoyed playing five games of chess with him. Good times in the Mongolian wilderness!
October 22nd, 2006
For those of you who were part of our lives in Franklin, you know that one of my favorite things to do was have an Open House. This is something I did every year at Christmas time, and if I could find an occasion, at other times as well. I loved to prepare a smorgasbord of different appetizers, desserts and beverages. I would work for weeks on a menu, shopping list and other phases of planning. Then I would cook for days before while Bernie and the kids would clean up and run various other errands.
Last week I had the opportunity to do that here in Mongolia. God has provided our little church with a new facility. We are renting a theatre for worship services and have four rooms in the basement for various ministry purposes. After a weekend of ministry training by a visiting Korean short-term team, the students went out into the streets to invite passers-by to our new worship place and then to a fellowship celebration afterwards.
So about two weeks ago I started putting together the menu and making my lists. I knew it had to be quite different from those I would do in the States because of limited access to ingredients and the Mongolians’ simple food tastes (i.e., meat and potatoes). The completed list looked like this:
Luncheon Meats (salami, bologna and various other fatty meats)
Fresh Bread
Veggie Tray with Ranch dip and Spicy Salsa dip
Fruit Bowl
Crackers and Cheese (Cheddar and Mozzarella – NOT Mongolian)
Peanuts
Sugar Cookies (decorated by Cori)
Banana Bread and Strawberry Bread
Chinese Donuts
Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Overall, I was pleased with the list. The ladies on our Mongolian team have a secondary agenda to introduce vegetables into the student’s diet. I knew they would love the sandwiches (which they coat with mayonnaise) and fruit. I hoped they would try the veggies, and who doesn’t like cookies?
Junhy Kim suggested we explain to them about the food before starting, but her husband Jacob was eager to get started, so he prayed to bless the food and turned them loose. Here is what happened:
• We had three tables in a corner of one room. The drinks and plates were on the first table, the meat, cheese, crackers, etc. on the second table and the sweets on the third table. They have no concept of forming a line here, so they all grabbed plates from the first table, skipped the second table and went to the other end of the dessert table. They filled their plates and then moved en masse to the second table.
• They were very intrigued by the cauliflower. They thought it was a type of mushroom. Juhny had to show them to dip it in the Ranch dressing and assure them it was good. Some were convinced to try it, some weren’t.
• Some of them put two or three things on their plate. Some of them piled their plate with huge mounds of food – three plates full!
• I had purchased the mayonnaise in a squeeze bottle to make it simpler. They had never done this before, so Junhy had to put the mayonnaise on their bread.
• Many of them didn’t try the European cheese. Narah had six slices – on her banana bread.
• They were confused by the dip. Some of them put it on their sandwiches, some on their banana bread and some of them put it on their sugar cookies (with icing and blue sprinkles).
Overall, it was successful. They ate all the meat, bread, fruit and cookies and about half of the vegetables. They didn’t eat very much crackers and cheese. Most of them cleaned their plates. We threw away very little food, except for one plate of someone’s uneaten cookies. I think I saw a tear in Dennis’ eye when he had to throw that away. Our field director loves his cookies.
The food was not the only interesting dynamic. Bernie and I had invited one of our language teachers and she came with two Korean friends. That was exciting for us. There was also a good response to the invitations given out by the students just before the service. There was a little street boy who came to the service and took the opportunity to ask all the foreigners for money. There was the older gentleman in traditional Mongolian clothing who went outside to smoke a joint between the service and the meal. They all had one thing in common – they realize their hunger for food. They need to know that the hunger in their heart can only be filled by God.
The students themselves were very encouraged and seemed to have a good time. Dennis asked us what we learned. As an afterthought, I know what I learned. Every one of the guys came up to me with a big smile on their face, shook my hand and thanked me. None of the girls did this. Moral of the story – regardless of what culture you are in - the way to men’s heart is still through their stomach.
October 10th, 2006
Jonathan and Dad had fun running around the city making this short little film. We hope it gives you a better idea of where we live. We used a video camera that Jonathan borrowed in order to do a school project. He’s making a short film about polution and traffic in UB. We’ll post it when he’s finished.
Pick your connection speed and check it out!
October 8th, 2006
