We had a great time celebrating with her (and Jonathan on Skype!)

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake was divine.

Cori is becoming a lovely young lady and we couldn’t be more proud of her (even amidst the craziness … but she comes by that honestly).

Happy Birthday, Cori!

While it was no replacement for Jonathan, this year we invited two Mongolian friends (Onon and Haliuna) over to help put up the tree and put on the decorations.  We ended up having a great time eating together, listening to Christmas music and “decking the halls” … or in our case “the hall” … since we really only have one.

You may download a regular copy to read on your computer, or you may download a hi-resolution copy to print and distribute at your church or prayer group.

Please download and freely distribute!

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Good ingredients and good help are the key …

And of course we know the essential ingredient is Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese. Nothing else will do. We imported this for just this occasion.

My first assistant was Cori’s Puppy who made sure that nothing edible was left on the floor.

Cori makes a lovely server.

And it was a delicious final product that we all enjoyed immensely.

Part of the reason for silence on the blog front is probably due to busyness of schedule in recent months. We’ve found that things have been quite intense lately. Here’s a rundown of recent activity:

We are continuing our work with students at the “Grain of Wheat” student center. It has been a real blessing to see students show up for English class and cafe’, as well as guitar lessons. We are in the process now of making plans for a big start-up in the fall. We are raising money to purchase a computer, books for the library, as well as a stove so we can begin making our own pastries, cakes and other speciality items. We are going to kick things off this fall with a full program. For those who are going to the C&MA’s General Council, be sure to look for the Yak Polo/Vision for Chile booth to purchase your 2009 Yak Polo shirt – as proceeds will go toward Grain of Wheat. Friday, May 29th will be “Yak Polo Friday”, so I hope that we will see photos of all of you sporting the latest Yak Polo fashion trend!

Another new twist in our current ministry is the start of an International Church in UB. Cornerstone Church of All Nations has been officially meeting since Easter Sunday. On the first Sunday we had almost 180 people, from over 23 nations in attendance. Since then we’ve continued to see the Lord’s blessing and His hand upon the church. Last Sunday we were blessed with Dilip Kurian from the Hillsongs worship team who led worship at our church (with over 200 in attendance). We’ve already more or less outgrown the rented space we are using now. A church like this is such a need in this city. Currently I am serving as interim pastor, until we can find a pastor to take this task on full time. We are praying for God to call the right person here to take on this ministry. It’s a little strange to be “Pastor Bernie” again, but not too strange. It is a blessing to see God at work and a real need being met in our adopted hometown.

Another area of ministry for us is the discipleship of Mongolian students in UB. Right now we are finishing up the school year, and many of our students are heading home for the summer. There will be a few residual students staying in the city, but most will be departing. However, summer will still be busy for us, as we will begin making preparations for the Fall. We are going to begin working with a team of Mongolian students to start a Student Fellowship on Friday evenings which will be used to reach their peers. From this, we want to disciple and equip them to be involved with or start local churches around the city. This will be a challenge on many levels, but we’re excited about the potential we see in reaching students in Mongolia for the Kingdom of God.

Our field director couple Dennis and Marilyn Maves have left the country for their one year home assignment. This also leaves some extra responsibilities for those of us left here in the city. I will be working some in the field office, and Renee’ will be working with the female staff members through Bible study, discipleship and prayer with them.

Renee’ also has her plate full with ‘volunteering’ (that is a mandatory volunteering!) at the kid’s school every week, as well as attending a ladies’ Bible study and helping at the Student Center and with the International Church.

I am also currently working on a graduate degree program from the University of South Africa. This is consuming time and energy, as well. However, I am enjoying the reading and writing that is involved. When I am finished I will have a recognized degree for the first time in my life. I feel that it is a necessary thing to obtain, as I desire to work more closely with higher education here in a Mongolian context. Having the proper degree is important to them in this regard.

On top of all this, Cori has brought home a new puppy. I managed to dodge the last “new puppy” bullet, as we found a home for it. When she brought this one home, I tried to be the hard-nosed Dad for as long as possible – but I went soft in the end and let her keep it. So now we have Gemma, the fluff ball. She is good for a laugh most of the time, and Cori has something to sleep with her at night – now that it’s finally stopped it’s night whining. Sadie seems to get along with it fairly well. They seem to keep each other company.

Jonathan and Cori are both finishing up their school year this month. Jonathan is having to say goodbye to a lot of friends who graduating this week. We’re all continuing to learn that this lifestyle involves saying good-bye alot. It can be hard on the kids, at times. But it is amazing to see our good God at work bringing new friends into our lives and meeting our every need.

In it all He’s been faithful. We look to Him to supply for all we need now and all that is to come.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers, support and partnership!

We have several pictures to share with you today. First, on our way back from the US we had to spend the night in Incheon, Korea (town near the Seoul airport). When we arrived at the airport to catch our flight back to Ulaanbaatar, we ran into a couple of families who are friends and whose kids go to school with our kids. Jonathan and Cori had a good time in the airport reuniting with friends.

Here are the MacBook twins …

After arriving in Mongolia, the temps have dropped pretty drastically. This thermometer is right outside our window and is in reality about 15-20 degrees warmer than the actual outside temperature. This was in reality about what yesterday’s high was! I am personally happy that I have a new coat and hat…

We all enjoyed time with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, with good American Christmas cooking!

We spent New Years in Gatlinburg, TN. We were able to watch the fireworks and festivities from the balcony of our room. Here’s a shot a few minutes before mid-night.

And the fun just keeps right on rolling…

After a stop in Chattanooga, TN (speaking in a church there), we head to Atlanta for our final couple of weeks with Mom and Dad Anderson (AKA, Grammy and Pop). We are looking forward to spending time relaxing and reacquainting with them before shipping back to Ulaanbaatar.

We appreciate your partnership with us!

We wish all of you a blessed 2009.

Below is the original group of folks that we joined with in 1993 to “restart” the Franklin church.

Of course, at the time Jonathan was only a year old and our friends John and Darlena Fox’s son Jarod was about 6 or 7 and their daughter Emily was a newborn. None of the other folks in the picture above had children. Of course that’s changed somewhat since then.

Finally, here is a shot of our family with David and Natanya Yoder and their family. David has taken on the job I used to have, pastoring the church in Franklin. We’re happy to be in joyous fellowship with Pastor Yoder, and look forward to years of working together – although on different continents, we serve the same purpose.