eagle feastival

Eagle hunting is a sport here. There is a festival  for it west of here . they hunt  small animals with golden                      

Eagle

Dung/cow poo

Dung is dried cow poo that is burned in fires instead of wood.  It is my job to bring it in the house to burn.  It burns hot and fast.  I get it from a pile outside in our yard about once every two days.  This job is kind of gross but it is also fun.

Coal Kids

Last Tuesday we moved as much of the coal as me, Saiah, and Eli could move. It was very heavy but we ended up finishing it that night. Thankfully we didn’t have to move all ten tons; instead the Lains and us split it. So we only had to move four of the tons, now all we have to do is break it down to fist size pieces. But it was fun and I liked that I could help the family.              From: Zeke Fields

Isaiah's Photo Feast

Our host family fed us 1 night. We had a big feast. We share from a big dish. And we got to use our fingers.  
(note: Isaiah is more of a photographer, as you can see, than an author...)

First Week for Zeke

We recently found a house to rent, though I’ve asked both Mom and Dad I haven’t got an answer if we're thinking about buying it. It is starting to look a lot more like home though and I like it, we also think we have all of our suitcases out of the Lain's. 

We met Hazel and Bob the other day and we're taking care of the lain's cat, but we also got our own kitten in the proses! I believe that’s about it. 
                                                           Sincerely Zeke

Local exploration

Our family went on kind of a backyard expedition this Saturday. Out past our Hovd airport is a famed local hill, on the backside of which are well-known petroglyphs. So we grabbed the blue russian van (iVan) and our notebooks to go and document them. At first we parked and climbed right past the ancient pictures... there aren't many signs or bulletin boards for tourist information!












On our way back down the mini-mountain we descended right through a cluster of petroglyphs - mostly of simple mountain goats, with a few deer. The boys started drawing every single one but eventually quit (either because there were too many OR they all looked about the same). It was kind of like a historical egg hunt. To finish the day with some drama, our van wouldn't start... so we utilized the good old-fashioned family push-start to get the van turned around and rolling slightly downhill (it was close!). Another successful adventure!

Summer holiday

Ahh, the bright break of summer holiday in Hovd. Although Krista has continued some schoolwork and gardening, she has also found some time to relax in the dependable sunshine of western Mongolia and enjoy our front lawn. It may not be much, but it is enough for toes and the upkeep isn't too tough!














We missed the 4th of July this year - fireworks and roasting marshmallows down by the river - but grandma Adiad brought a nice goathead over for roasting! The boys joined in with a couple of legs, hoofs and all, and quite enjoyed themselves! Not so good on hershey's and graham crackers, however...

New Years in the Countryside

Spring is here!! Two weeks ago was the annual Kazak New Years celebration, the marker for spring's beginning. Our family and the Lains were invited to go to the countryside and visit our hosting Grandma's son.

We piled into two cars, one driven by a family friend and the other by another brother and headed for about an hour ride out to where this family currently kept their gers. We arrived to a barren area with little more than dirt, rocks, a ger and a corral for the animals. We were warmly welcomed and all 5 kids headed straight for, well, the kids. There were at least 50 kids and lambs one of which was still slimy from birth.

We were called in and enjoy several cups of tea and then after a few minutes outside, to wash hands, we all came in and ate!! The table was laid with candy, several salads, dried milk curd, and meat. Everyone made a good dent in the meat, me being handed a rib and told to clean it, then the soup is served. This is the main food of this holiday and is a milk based rice soup. In every home you are to have two bowls, one to fill each of your legs. The kids were then quick to return to the vast outdoors and all the wonderful babies to be chased, hugged and generally adored!

As the sun began to drop it was time for the ewes to return and the job of helping the lambs and kids find the right mother began. Both ladies of the house knew all the sets of twins by sight and keep handing them to all of us for safe keeping. When the mothers did arrive it is a wonderful mass of animals and people working to get the matches correct.

Before we headed home we were back for one more cup of tea and a few family pictures were snapped. We then pile in again for the ride back, with the addition of two students from a near by ger that were returning to the city after the holiday. The trip, animals and full stomachs made for a wonderfully memorable day!!

Birthday Season

March and April are the birthday season for our family and team (not to mention the Kazakh New Year... blog forthcoming)! Unfortunately we have been without a working camera lately (soon to be remedied on Krista's birthday), so thanks to Zeke for these great birthday photos!

First was Eden's birthday - already 6! She got a big pink birthday cake and LOTS of presents and some dandy hand-made birthday cards. Presents included dolls and chapstick and anything pink, and she walked around for days afterwards asking how cute everyone thought she was. Here is a Mongolian doll that we have been saving for her since we brought her into our family 4 years ago...









Next was Saiah - now 8. His birthday included a sunny hike to the Children's Park with lots of friends and ice cream cones... hey, it was almost above freezing so why not?! Kids were all over the trees (wow, a park with real trees!) and statues of livestock, which seemed to be quite more fun than the weird "exercise equipment."











Then it was off to dinner, one of the only real restaurants in town, with presents and lots of kids "flirting" with the table of English-speaking ladies across from them. After that is has just been a flurry of more birthdays - Marvin, Eli, Krista Lain, Zeke next week, then our Krista!

Christmas in Hovd

Sometimes in western Mongolia you just have to make do... Christmas, for example! There is no wrapping paper of any kind here. While our friends creatively cut up a Christmas tablecloth, we made some potato stamps and decorated our own paper. Who knew that wrapping presents could be almost as fun as un-wrapping them!












There are also, of course, no trees in western Mongolia. While it may be possible to buy a plastic pygmy tree from the market (usually the week before New Year's), we chose to contextualize a bit this year - a beautiful section of ger wall strung with lights and hosting a variety of ornaments and ribbons!












Another great thing about Christmas are the concerts... and we were able to find a few. Eden (and Avery) has been taking dance lessons at the Childrens' Palace. They had a zoo of a holiday concert with all kinds of song and dance numbers. Eden was slightly overshadowed in stardom by the young male vocalist standing directly in front of her stunning dance performance, but she enjoyed it thoroughly (and is happy to dance for anyone on command!). I enjoyed a little stardom of my own, participating in the Christmas choir for our all-Hovd Church Celebration ;)





And of course you need presents to celebrate the Birthday!! Somehow we didn't have a problem finding these - thanks to a fruitful trip to UB (November) and some fantastic packages from the grandparents! It was a good first Christmas in Hovd... and it is such a privilege to celebrate the coming of our King among a people who have been so long without one.

Eagle Hunting

We had an amazing opportunity to take a long weekend and travel with friends to the annual Kazakh Eagle Festival in Bayan-Ulgii. Of course the kids were thrilled... Zeke has been waiting over a year to see the golden eagle hunters! We even met the youngest hunter, who got 4th place and was Zeke's age - 10! I don't think that they would trust any of us with their eagles, but we got to hold this falcon.




There were horse and camel races, a tug-of-war game on horseback, and lots of local crafts, but of course the eagles were the best part. They would take off from a small mountain and pounce on a fur being dragged behind their trainer. Some would wander off, some missed, but most were deadly accurate. I think the fastest eagle was about 12 seconds from peak to pounce. The hunters themselves were quite impressive as well, dressed in their furs and colorful embroidery.

Not only that, but creation itself was most impressive. We stayed in a ger camp next to a large, clear river (I didn't know they HAD any large OR clear rivers in Mongolia!). There were even a few trees (right next to the river). But the mountains were awesome - jagged with a few perennial snowcaps. As we went through the highest pass our intrepid teammate (Larry) ran up to 9000ft... after we set up this base camp at 8800 ;)

Home Sweet Home

We made it to Hovd and, by God's grace, we have a home... temporarily. Living in a ger (yurt) is certainly a daily reminder that we are just pilgrims on earth! It's a beautiful spot on the northern end of town in the middle of the Kazakh neighborhood. We are surrounded by harsh yet majestic mountains (some of which we've climbed already). We can get fresh milk every morning... we just have to watch our step around the yard!

It is a fairly large, yet still snug ger. At first we weren't really sure if we would fit - no corners to stack suitcases, beds take up most of the wallspace, etc. This is the "kitchen" which transitions into the "library" and "master bedroom."

On the other side we have the "walk-in closet" transitioning into the "kids' bedroom." Notice how we even hung a sheet to give the illusion of actual rooms! In the center, of course, is our fireplace (and "dining room"). We use a bit of wood (the neighbors use brush) to get it going and some coal to make it last longer, but primarily we are burning cow dung ($2/bag!). Any questions?!

Summer camping 1

Our first camping trip for August started out with an exciting "shortcut" over mountains and streams... this one included a ferry crossing! Although the ferry itself seemed quite sea-worthy, the boarding and de-boarding process was a bit tricky - driving over rickety 2x4s. The trip via backroads was beautiful and perhaps shorter as the crow flies... but we certainly didn't save any time! And a few people wanted to throw up most of the time ;)

There were LOTS of kids (11 out of 17) and plenty of food. Our "western dish" for the day was spaghetti. It was surprisingly damp and cool in the evenings, though our days were fabulous. So the kids spent all day in the nearby stream and then bundled up tight for the night. We also had a race to the top of the mountain which got the blood flowing and a wild game with our football of mongolianized "500."

This was our last special time with Dawaa and Bathoik (our project staff) and their families. I managed to sneak a little bit of work in as we spent a few hours reflecting on the example of the Grameen Bank, and a bit of reflection as we gathered around the evening fire to talk about these last few years and share communion. Camping can be hard work, but God is good and this was definitely worth it!