We have had a wonderful visit with "grandma & grandpa" over the past 2 weeks. We've had so much fun it has flown by! We started out in UB enjoying the "fancy" stores and restaurants. Here we are at an Irish Pub in Mongolia... doesn't it look like we belong?! I think we have also had Italian, American, Mongolian and tonight maybe Thai food.
First day of school for Eden... notice the frown. At least she isn't screaming! Despite the morning tears she genuinely seems to like her teacher and the other kids. Sometimes she can't decide if she likes being a "big girl" who has her own school now, or if she prefers to stay close to mommy or daddy. A lot of times she would rather stay inside and hang out with adults rather than play... lots of attention! But she also loves to listen and watch other kids. Pray for her!
It's that time of year again already! Here are our VERY excited young students on their first day of MK school... Isaiah (starting Kindergarten), Averi Lain (2nd grade), and Zeke (3rd grade). Miss Kirsten has 10 students in our little Darhan school this year, though Krista will be helping out with Saiah every morning in their very own kindergarten class! Eden will probably start Mongolian pre-school Sept. 1st.
Well, here we are - CAMA Mongolia. There are a few extras (a vision team from Tennessee), but not too many, and I think that adults are now officially outnumbered by kids!! We are very blessed. Our initial team in 2003 was about 7 families, which went down to 2 (the Yims and us!), but now we have 7 just in Darhan (if you match up Alli our Australian and Kirsten the MK kids' teacher) and 4 in UB. Praise God! What will all of these people do?! Well, at least half of them are still in language study...
Our team just received 2 new families in UB and 2 here in Darhan. Right after breakfast our kids run over to play with the Lains (Avery & Eli), who have been staying in a Mongolian ger and "living with" one of our neighbor families. Eden would be there too, but she is still pouting over her toast. Tomorrow we all head to our Field Forum Retreat!
They showed up on our doorstep and, after Saiah fed them once, refused to leave. I refused to feed them (Mongolians don't like female puppies, not functional enough) ...but finally gave in because the kids were having so much fun. So, please meet "Puppy Chow" and "Snack Attack." Also notice the green in our yard and the coming vegetables! Oh, and we mongolianized (de-Americanized?) the water pump and it is working much better...
Another weekend fieldtrip! We took our visiting dentist (Dr. Anderson) and his lovely assistant (Linda) a half-hour north and found this Mongolian oasis. Loads of camels and horses and cows, not to mention goats and sheep... ALL five of the traditional Mongolian livestock! It was a super hot day (104F) but we had lots of fun. Then we went to Bulgan to visit our friends the Bergevins (and ride horses), and now I am getting ready to head West on an even bigger adventure!
Here's our little cutie snuggling a kitty...
School is out and our mischievious band of MK kids are back on the streets! Zeke is enjoying staying at home (I didn't even see him this morning because he was sleeping in). He wakes up (eventually), eats breakfast in his underwear, plays on his GameBoy, watches a movie, grabs a snack, plays on the computer... he doesn't realize that we are going to kick him out of the house whenever there is no rain or sandstorm! It will be a little more difficult to make him play with his little brother and sister...
It's that time of year! Krista has been busy planting and watering. Thankfully we have lots of helpers! Here they are trying out our foot-pump (quite popular with the neighbors since our hand-pump is having problems!). It's a bit messy, but we are trying to canal the water through our garden. Notice the small trees behind them beginning to bud and the small patch of grass to the right... pathetic for an Oregonian, but we finally have some green!
We went on a fieldtrip the other week and it was quite the Mongolian adventure! After figuring out the "pecking order" with the local bully (see pic) our kids were able to chase the goat kids to their hearts' content. And of course there was plenty of fresh milk, which was good because we didn't take lunches and we were stuck there for quite some time with a flat tire (and no spare). Thankfully friends brought some glue and a bike pump so we could fix the tube...
Mongolians say that Spring makes you tired (probably from surviving the long harsh winter). Well, it is true, and we have been exhausted this past week. Our projects and churches are a juggling act, our house and well need some work, and there is a big beautiful garden to plant! God help us to help Him!
Summertime in Mongolia! I know I promised no more ice pictures... but if that's so then you may never see a picture of us again! The weather has been fabulous, despite the thickness of ice. Saiah just HAD to dig into our boxes to find his shorts... and Eden doesn't want to wear any clothes at all! We had a nice little stroll, and sometimes we take our kite. Too bad we didn't have our beach blankets! We could even make snow castles... but I don't suppose anyone would want to be buried on our beach...
Happy Birthday to Eden and Saiah! 3 and 5, we can't believe it... and Zeke turns 8 in a week or so! We kept our parties small and simple (of course I had a leadership training all that weekend!). Eden got a chocolate cake (American) and Saiah got this frosting bonanza right here in Darhan. Thankfully the weather has been great so they have played outside LOTS! Their favorite toy is the shovel and so far we have a nice big pit right in the middle of garden. We're just happy to have them outside!
Ok, last picture of ice for the year, honest! (Actually I don't have a choice because our long Mongolian winter is apparently over!). We are now officially moving on to Birthday season. Two of Zeke's friends had birthdays recently (the Liberda boys), and they went ice-skating at the nearby homemade rink. It was Zeke's first time and he had a wonderful attitude... he also got lots of advice, like from this young expert. Next week we will celebrate both Isaiah and Eden's birthdays, followed next month by Zeke and Krista! With all of these parties, along with the slushy puddles, tis our season to be jolly...
Yes, I know you are getting tired of pictures of snow and ice...
Here is the local watering hole - the Haraa river about 100 meters from our house. Thankfully we mostly only see the cows using it now, although before taking the picture I told another man to please get water from our well. The ice is at least a foot thick, perhaps not smooth enough for skates but great for a little sled ride with our friends! If you can stand the bitter wind, that is...
We have an announcement to make... our middle son will heretorfore be referred to as "Johnny" - a head-banging lead guitarist for his new band, Rockadooz. He's been practicing quite a bit, and he has some moves that will really make you gasp (in amazement, or perhaps just in fits of laughter). Anyway, thought you should know.
Things are much better now that everyone is healthy ... mostly. Krista is on her last couple weeks of medication, praise God! Eden is a busybody - up and down the ladder, carrying the cat all over the house, and changing her clothes like a mad woman. She also colors in most of her free time (when she is not helping Orna to wash dishes and clothes). Anyway, I think they are pretty! Zeke, though, is in his "I hate girls" phase, so don't ask him.
Well, 2008 is off to a "rough" start. I know we look happy, but it is COLD! And it is going to get colder this weekend (-40). Several of us were sick this last week, including both parents. Who is supposed to cook and keep the fire going when that happens?! But things are looking up. Actually we are always looking up, which is where our hope and our strength come from! I believe it is going to be a wonderful year after all...
Eden has never celebrated Christmas before ... but I think she likes it! She loves keeping all of her goodies in a stocking, especially her gum. She can chew it for hours! She likes getting presents, especially her little plastic tea set (it is hard to find nice gifts here, i.e. anything more than $5). Unfortunately she is not quite old enough to understand WHY we are celebrating Christmas. Hopefully all of Mongolia's children will come to celebrate the birth of Jesus!
Lots of silliness occurred during our Christmas break. Most of us had been sick one way or another, so we didn't do anything productive the entire time... but I realized that just living can be pretty hard work sometimes! How did the pioneers do it? How do Mongolians?!
We put up our decorations, which took about 15 minutes total, and we spend about that much time every day picking them up again as Eden takes ornaments off the tree, figures off the advent calendar, or pictures off the Waiting Tree. I think she likes Christmas! She is either cute as pie, walking around singing "Yesus, Yesus" (Jesus in Mongolian), or a mischeivious elf. Isaiah usually is too, but he has hardly gotten up from his bed all week with a fever! A blessed Christmas to all...
and for the kids that meant playing and making Christmas cookies. Although I did enjoy a cookie or two myself...
The ground is beginning to freeze here in Mongolia, but Saiknaa and his crew are still driving wells. We have slowly perfected the process and completed 14 of these wells. Next year we are praying for God to enable us to do at least 50. It's pretty simple - weld a point on a piece of pipe, beat it into the ground, weld on another pipe, repeat - but it sure is HARD work! This well (about 35' deep) was for Tsetsekmaa and cost about $150, half of which the families are asked to raise themselves.
We got in a little game of soccer this weekend, which is good because we got a lot of snow last night. Not that you can't play soccer in the snow! It is Zeke's new favorite sport (can you tell his school is very international?!). Also notice the little green tree in our yard... I planted 3 of them (plus my 6 poplars). Anything to add some green!
We are back to work ... well, at least these guys are. Zeke is doing great in the 2nd grade at our little MK school. He's especially working on spelling and reading, which he is finally interested in doing. Saiah is back going to Mongolian pre-school, which some days he is excited about and other days he cries hysterically. But he loves coming home and doing English homework with his big brother! And so does Eden, though nobody is quite sure what she is writing or drawing. Isn't it funny how kids love to try things and learn ... whatever happened to us?!
I love the nervous energy of kids starting school! Our boys are so excited to go and make friends, learn how to read, swim or play dodgeball (do they still do that?)... it's a little bit scary, and it's a lot of work, but think of the experiences and growth that will occur! I have to say that I kind of feel the same way about going back to Mongolia (Sept 23rd). It's a little overwhelming to follow Jesus, and there will be plenty of sacrifice, but think of the chances to grow and help people... possibly even save them for eternity. That's exciting! We hope you are excited to go and grow this year too.
More fun for the Fields family! Most of us had never been sailing before. It seems like endless vacation, but there really are some important things we are doing...honest. And we would really like to go back and get to work for Jesus in Mongolia! Two more weeks until our next tests and Krista's x-ray...
Although restless to be back in Mongolia (or back in God's calling?), we are enjoying some extra time in the States. We even had a little romantic getaway for our 11th anniversary! Some US time in the U.S. How cute are we?! And how beautiful is Oregon?! Thank you, God!! We have about 3 more weeks before Krista's next x-ray, but she is feeling good and we are hopeful to head back into "the fray" late September...God willing.
Due to unexpectedly being diagnosed with TB, our family will not be returning to Mongolia for at least a couple more months. Although we were looking forward to going back, we will certainly enjoy some more time around here with family, friends and church! This is "The Cabin," our favorite hangout, on the family farm where I grew up on the Santiam river. It's my "homeland" or, you could say, the closest thing to heaven on this earth. And a pretty nice place to be semi-quarintined for a couple months!
Another fun outing this past month was the Enchanted Forest. We met up with some cousins and spent a whole day among the kiddie rides and fairy-tale creatures. It was a LOT of fun even for us big kids (very nostalgic). Eden liked it too, even though she hasn't heard any of the fairy-tale stories yet! Even with the roller-coaster and log-ride I still think the boys liked running around in the Indian cave-maze the best.
No, this is not Mongolia...it's the Oregon coast! These last couple weeks we have spent a lot of time with our families in some really neat places. Krista's parents live in Reedsport so we spent several days visiting sand dunes, tidepools, and the beach. Then we were off to spend a few days at a hot springs resort in the Cascades. Surrounded by green trees and warmth... we are a long ways from Mongolia!
Travelling with 3 small kids can be a challenge. Especially when it takes 2 car rides, 3 airplanes, a host of metal detectors, and about 30 hours to get home! Thankfully they all did great ... notice we are mostly smiles and only one plane left to fly! Of course real french fries and a grande latte go a long way in making us happy (even if they do cost twice as much in the airport). It is sure nice to finally be "home" for a couple months. We're not in any hurry yet to do the 30-hour trip back to Mongolia!
Well, we'd say Eden continues to adapt very well around here. I don't think that they ever let her play outside very much, so now she is out in the dirt every chance she gets. She also likes to wrestle with the dog and the cat. Fortunately for her, this has been our earliest thaw and the weather is great (but a bit windy and sandy). We even planted some potatoes and everybody helped out. She hopes there is lots of dirt in America, because here we come!
It's that time again, as we get ready to go back to the States for a couple months... family portrait time. As if it is not hard enough with two active boys, now we also have a TWO-year-old! So we figure 4 out of 5 good smiles is pretty good (what is Zeke doing?!). Here we are, standing in front of our small ger (yurt) church in Tosgon (a rural suburb of Darhan, in northern Mongolia). It's certainly a long ways from the US of A!
It has been a month of birthdays...first Saiah and Eden, then Zeke, and now Krista. Of course they got wonderful packages from the States (except Krista, she got a vacuum from the market)! And no, Zeke did not get a new little brother...that's Isaiah in his new personalized carry-on. He's quite the world traveler! And they are all VERY excited to be going back to "America" to see their grandparents (and fastfood is probably somewhere near the top of the list too).
She is here! We have waited a long time to bring our girl home. God gave us His heart, He provided the means, He heard our prayers and taught us how to seek Him more deeply. Her name is Eden Glory. "Eden" means delight, and so does her Mongolian name "Bayasaa." She is adjusting well beyond our expectations and she is truly a delight. But our greatest delight (and glory) remains in the love and faithfulness of our great God - Father to the fatherless and Redeemer of His lost children!
This was our third visit with Bayasaa. We didn't have any "officials" with us this time, so we could stay and play for as long as we wanted! It took about 30 minutes for all the kids to warm up to us...and then we were flooded, especially Zeke! We were also able to meet with Susie, our social worker from Holt, who hopefully made some headway with the "higher-ups." We are praying that the final committee will meet this week. Bayasaa's birthday will be March 16th...
This is my crew! In the back (left to right) there is Munko and Olambayar, our maintenance guys, and Sansar, the newest addition who has begun researching cultural traditions related to funerals and death (tough first job!). In the front we have Dawaa in the middle, my "right-hand man" and good friend, and then Saihnaa and Gerlay on the ends, who have driven three water wells and will begin implementing the slow-sand filters they've constructed next week. Right now, though, we are all dressed up and ready to welcome the new Mongolian year. Happy Tsagaan Sar!
Relaxing AND stressful. What a pleasure to stay in a nice highrise, surrounded by an assortment of restaurants and cable TV, for a few days. And yet, the traffic and chaotic errands add heaps of frustration. But best of all we were able to visit Bayasaa again. We continue to hope and pray that the final committee will approve us in the next couple weeks...
That week of Christmas was such a blur that I forgot we had pictures! Here I am entertaining the crowds. It was fun to tell new people about the amazing (and somewhat strange) birth of Jesus...especially because there are so many similarities to Mongolian culture. The signs and wonders of Jesus' birth marked a humble yet glorious destiny far beyond even that of Chingis Khan. Long live the King!
Land of the blue sky...and icy toes. It is now -20s (a mild winter) and I finally pulled out my thick wool socks. I may even need a scarf soon! I like this picture because it sums up our city and much of Mongolia. There is a huge post-communist infrastructure...that flour factory in the distance is HUGE, and very empty. Many of the development efforts are now hollow "monuments to failure," a sign that the Russians forgot to invest in the most important things - people. So many Mongolians continue to set up and survive in their traditional gers, living in the shadows of their industrialized (now computerized) dreams. May God grant Mongolia peace and self-respect as it struggles to become like other nations...
Once our 2-day "Birth of King Jesus" extravaganza was over we were able to relax in our own home over Christmas break. Of course several of us had colds and our house can be a small space with two boys, but it was a pleasant and refreshing time overall. This is our candlelight carol session (right before the unwrapping frenzy). Now we are back to work and school, with our minds full of exciting goals for 2007 and our hearts full of passion to share our King.
This is Zeke, our oldest son (6). His English school did a small Christmas program, and here he is playing the angel Gabriel. Isn't he sweet?! Of course the next day, when I asked him to stand up with us in church and sing a praise song, he responded, "It's my life and I can do what I want." Thank you, Disney. Upon later discussion we discovered that is a quote from "Mighty Ducks 3," and that our lil' angel has a photographic memory when it comes to cartoons and movies...
Over a year ago our team in Mongolia was down to four people...now look at us! And most of the bigger kids are away studying in Taiwan! We are truly blessed to have each of these special people. Sure, sometimes it is difficult - gender, age, culture, personalities, etc. On our team we have brothers and sisters who have been born in the U.S., Canada, Korea, Vietnam, and South Africa (plus Isaiah was born in the Philippines!). But we are all citizens of Heaven, striving together to bring others home through Jesus.
Well, it's been white for quite some time now, but we just put up our Christmas decorations this weekend. The boys had a blast (notice all the branches decorated within their reach). Sure it's a 3-foot plastic tree (we put it up on a box to look taller), but there is just something about celebrating our King that warms the heart and lightens the spirit! We plan on inviting about 60-80 neighbors (over 2 nights) for a Christmas feast and to introduce them to the birth of our living Khan.
