October in Mongolia

October    That blue october to the left is a link to  click on to read my October Newsletter. Thank you for Visiting!

September

      Hello to everyone from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. I want to tell you about some my preparations, travel and arrival experiences I had this past month for my Mission trip in Mongolia.

     I had three weeks of training for this program from July 28^th through August 18^th and was commissioned as a United Methodist Missionary on our last day. James and I were supposed to leave for Mongolia September 8^th but did not leave until September 21^st. We were originally told that our Visa’s would be ready to pick up at the Mongolian Embassy in NYC and they would only need to be sent to us. Somehow, our paperwork that was sent got lost or mixed up in the process and the Embassy had never heard of my roommate (James) or me. After much frustration, James and I were given plane tickets and headed to Mongolia without our Visa’s. Americans are allowed to visit the country for 30 days without a Visa. We will soon go to China and come back into Mongolia so we can get our Visa’s.

      I do not know if you have ever been on a thirteen hour flight but this was my first one. The flight sure was a long and I feel sorry for people who do it often. I flew Korean Air from Chicago to Seoul, Korea then to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. I had to go through security about a half a dozen times. The airline was very nice as they served us two meals, drinks, hot towels and they even had slippers, blankets and small pillows. Once I got to Seoul, I knew I would meet James before our flight. I got to the security line and I saw this white kid with a guitar case one person in front of me, and low and behold it was James. We had a couple hours before our flight to Ulaanbaatar, so we walked around a bit, got on the internet, and I rested with my legs flat for a while.

     When we arrived in Ulaanbaatar our boss (Helen) was waiting for us past the immigration checkpoint. I grabbed my three checked bags and I thank God they all came through. Another GBGM of Mongolia employee and her husband came with Helen to give us a ride to our apartment. We loaded our bags and drove about a half hour to our apartment. The whole ride I watched the passing cars weave in and out of the unmarked and extremely bumpy roads.

     When we finally got to our apartment at 11:30 pm the electricity was out in the whole building. We climbed seven flights of stairs with all of our bags with one flashlight that I had, and our boss realized we went up the wrong stairwell. We went back down, over to the right stairs and up another seven flights of stairs to our apartment. My legs felt like rubber.  I did not fall asleep until about 2 am and had to be up in three hours.

     Three days after getting here I have met numerous people, learned a few Mongolian words, been to church, been to both centers we will serve with, painted gates outside some Ger’s with about ten people, eaten local food, shopped at different markets for food and miscellaneous items, learned that you must look both ways numerous times before you cross the street in Ulaanbaatar, began to get a sense of direction for traveling around my neighborhood, unpacked and organized my things, rearranged our living room, climbed over a hundred floors of stairs, and many more things. I have a lot to learn as I feel like a baby is this foreign place.

     This week James and I will accompany a volunteer team on Hospice visits throughout the city and couple a few hours outside of the city. I will continue to pray for you and keep you informed in my ministry. If you would, please continue to pray for James and me as we serve the Lord in a land completely new to us.

Painting Hasha Doors

Hello everyone!

Hello everyone. Welcome to my first EVER blog. I have been asked by the General Board of Global Ministries to start writing these. I plan on writing entries throughout my Mission Intern Program experience for the next three years. I hope you follow along. Feel free to comment on anything and ask as many questions as you would like also. And Enjoy!