Halloween for Jesus?

This is Bodio and Aruka. Bodio graduated with an English degree (at 19) and is now translating for CAMA. Aruka is studying Japanese...I'm not sure why. They were both a part of our community research team this summer, and they are both helping to lead the youth group here in Darhan. Here they are making pinatas. Why? Because we are preparing a Halloween party for English students. Mongolians already know about Halloween... all of the bad things anyway. As Christians we want these students to know that Halloween is really holy day, a day to laugh and celebrate victory over evil through Jesus. So that's what we'll tell them!

Toothless

Zeke lost his first tooth. Most Mongolians tease him that he "looks like a grandpa" now. I tease him that he needs to stop fighting at school. But he is thrilled. It hung in there for a week or two and then, of course, he must have swallowed it or something. So here he is writing the Toothfairy a note to explain the whole situation. And yes, she did leave him a nice dollar (is she American?) under his pillow from Grammie ... now Isaiah wants to lose his teeth.

Mongol funeral

I had the privelege to attend a funeral yesterday. We piled into cars and headed to the cemetery at 7am on a Wednesday (they must bury on Mon., Wed. or Fri.). It was neat to see how cleanly everything was prepared and the small traditions (sprinkling milk and seeds, piling white stones)...despite the cold steppe wind. It was a very special day because Tsingay was a Christian (notice the cross on top). The family, mostly "Buddhist," respected Tsingay and his wife Digit (in the wheelchair, with the orange blanket) and pastor Tsogoo was able to read and explain the hope we have in Christ (for 2 minutes). Unfortunately, not many who die in Mongolia share this hope...

Cooking

Here is a happy three-some, huddled over our one-burner making an evening meal. Zeke absolutely loves to cook...unfortunately, he almost always wants soup (that's what he has almost every day at Mongolian kindergarten). Saiah, on the other hand, just likes to watch and stick his fingers into whatever is close by. Oh, and notice the head chef's hot new haircut!

Thirsty

We've started a new venture in our little community this month - "driving" for water. I hired a young guy named Saihnaa, who is taking evening Bible courses, to research local materials and methods for drilling wells (our "western" method was difficult and expensive). So we started hand-drilling the first two meters (until we hit water) and then we simply put a pipe in the ground (with a point on it) and start pounding it down. This was our first well (we are now on our third and taking orders for more!), with Baljee and Gerlay doing the heavy lifting and pounding. Pray that 8-10 meters is deep enough for clean water, and that we figure out a way to keep the wells from freezing throughout our -30 winters!