Mischievious

This is our youngest, Isaiah. You will probably notice right away his charming looks and the glint in his eye. His Mongolian pre-school teacher sure does! Every day she calls him a "mischievious little boy" with delight. Mongolians, like most cultures, think that naughty boys are adorable and obedient helpful girls are a blessing. Sometimes we aren't so sure! He always makes us laugh, though, and we certainly enjoy having an extrovert in the family.

Friends in the Family

I had a lovely trip to Baronghara yesterday (our first sub-zero day!). My partner Dawaa and I met with some church leaders to talk about ways the church can use projects to reach their community and/or better support their "elder." This is the "elder's" family...no, not the older man, and no not the husband (although he assists). Her name is Batjargal and her husband in Munko, and they have a lovely joy-filled family (even though their only income is grandpa's social security). Please pray for them!

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!

School time

First week of school. For Zeke this is 'old hat' - Mongolian kindergarten in the mornings, English 1st grade in the afternoons (plus an hour with mom doing homework). Zeke is now counting by 10's, doing addition, and already starting to read with phonics! For Saiah things are still kind of new. His very first day he was so excited that he forgot to cry...but the next couple days he would scream 'mommy' or 'daddy' as his Mongolian preschool teacher kept him from attempting a desperate escape. Finally, after just one week, he has decided he is a 'big' boy and likes going to school. He likes the snacks and even takes his nap there! There is still time to get out and play with friends, though. Not only are the Bergevin girls cute, but they have horses too!

Meeting family

Over the weekend we visited the capital city where we met with our adoption agency worker, Susie. Much to our surprise, Susie took us to meet our daughter Bayasaa ("Buy-suh"). We all got a bit of time to play with her and at lunch time Saiah sat down next to her and asked for his food. Zeke was a bit more stand-offish at first. We were also surprised with the news that we may have first committee approval within the next couple weeks and then we can foster our daughter till the second committee approval comes through! We are thrilled with these developments (even if we did walk around in a daze the rest of that day). Change is coming fast and we could not be more pleased!!

Last summer fling?

As you can see there are some beautiful spots in Mongolia (we just happen to live on the treeless steppe). We had some great camping trips this month. Here Krista is carrying her wild rhubarb, Zeke is packing his homemade bow, and Saiah travels light so that he can jump and climb and run after anything that catches his eye. We got rained out on the last night but we got to wade through streams, climb mountains, have pinecone fights, chase eagles, visit an old monastery, and spend time with our friends. Hopefully there will be plenty more Fall fun, but it is starting to get cool already (last night was down to 40)...

Blessed

I don't talk about money very often, but we have been working on our house and garden (which are getting better every year!) and we are so thankful to work in Mongolia for CAMA Services. Not only do they house us, but they help us raise funds for living and ministry too! Thank you for giving to support us through CAMA (P.O. Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935), because it is your gifts that help us to grow vegetables, fix up our house, provide water to neighbors, and work with local churches to bring the presence of God into our Mongolian communities. We are truly blessed to be a blessing! By the way, the car isn't paid for yet...

Beautiful baby girl?

As many of you know, we are going through the long process of searching for our daughter. This is Bayasaa. We have just been matched with Bayasaa which is very exciting, but we still have a lot of approval committees and paperwork to get through. We are waiting on the Lord to complete what He has promised for our family! Please pray with us that, if Bayasaa is meant to be with us, the authorities will release her quickly and easily so that she can come home to be with us!

Wet & wild summer

The boys have had a great summer so far...one more month until Mongolian pre-school and kindergarten! Zeke will also study half-time with our MK teacher. July has been surprisingly wet which makes for lots of great puddles. Yesterday they caught a can-full of frogs down by the river (we had a baptismal ceremony with our church). They cried when we made them let the frogs go, but other than that it has been a pleasant, scar-free summer!

Twins?

Nope, not twins, but there is certainly a resemblance ... especially for Mongolians who think all white people look alike! Zeke is 6 and Saiah is 3, and despite all of the bickering (and bruises) they are pretty good brothers. I'm surprised how much they play together ... and Saiah can almost hold his own in wrestling! Zeke is starting to do "chores" around the house for an allowance. Saiah, on the other hand, has no interest in work of any kind ... what do you expect from a 3-year-old (or 30 for that matter)?

A Monumental View

Here we are at the opening of the newest monument in town. The workers put in long hours to get it done in time for Nadaam, the summer holiday of manly sports. This year was the 800th anniversary of Ghengis Khan as well as our city's 45th anniversary. There were big doings for both (archery, wrestling and horse racing), and this monument is one of the 45 improvements they are making around town.

Loving the great outdoors

Friday and Saturday we packed up the car (with camping stuff and lots of friends!) and headed off over the mountains. We found a nice little spot next to the Orhon river for a little retreat with our church leaders. We played (I even swam), we laughed (my sandal floated downriver), we got eaten by misquitos, we sang, and we studied some great examples of God's love in the Bible. What a pleasant weekend!

Summertime!

Summer is finally here...we even had a 100 degree day. Here is an action shot of our place - our house (far right), "our" car (which I am supposed to sell), our garden (or at least a beginning of one), our pump (getting good use in the hot weather), our neighbor's house and chicken coop (with 10 new chicks), and a few extra foreigners (our short-term team from Wisconsin whom we deeply enjoyed and appreciated for the variety of things they helped out with). That's it, nothing fancy, just a snapshot of one moment in our day...

Missionary AND rock star?

Wow, a dream come true. There was an international cultural event last Friday, which included a singing competition (in Mongolian). Luckily, I had a couple of traditional songs up my sleeve! It may not be rock-n-roll, but I must tell you that quite a few people were impressed (and a bit surprised). My Mongolian teacher even called me a "star." Not only do I get to think about God and help people every day, but I get to "work on my music" too! All glory to God!

All kinds of neighbors...

This is Saknaa, our next door neighbor boy...back from the military! All young men are required to do 1-year of border patrol (and most of them love it!). All the neighbor kids are thrilled to have him back. But now Saknaa needs to find work, so I think he is leaving again today to go pan for gold. There is a gold mine about an hour south of Darhan. Maybe he'll find a fortune and help his parents to buy their own home (about $1000)!

Outdoorsmen.

Hail, the pale stranger gazing into the sun with squinted eyes, surveying the endless steppe with an unconquerable spirit of adventure. Yup, that's my 3-year old Saiah. It is now June, and even though we are still wearing long-johns the time has come to explore Mongolia. Why just last week we were out and about, and if we hadn't got stuck in three feet of mud then we wouldn't have been able to ride a horse! What adventure awaits this weekend as we head to Zunghara for a church's 1-year anniversary? Only God knows! Thankfully we can trust Him to get us out of anything He gets us into!!