Alone.... and Kindle!

ALONE.

What does that mean to you? 

For me, it means the past two days my ears have rang because of the silence that threatens to engulf me. At night, the dark and quiet closes in and reminds me that I am all alone. I may be living on the outskirts of a town with 3,000 other people, but there are only two Americans currently here. And the other isn't someone I would willingly chose to spend time with. 

I don't mind being alone. Reading, studying, tutoring and emailing have filled up much of my time. Besides the normal living, as in stoking the fires to stay warm and cooking food. But as much as I enjoy it, it is eerie. 

My Christmas presents from my family came a week or so ago. I had requested and received a Kindle! I love to read, but had refrained from getting a Kindle or Nook, because I prefer a real book. There is just something about having a book in your hands, breathing in the aroma of old paper and ink while living the experiences of another person during a different time. But I've realized this trip what a blessing a Kindle can be. While in Xinjiang we traveled with only backpacks for days. We had many hours in buses, but I couldn't  afford to bring any books. (besides my NT) One of my traveling companions had a Kindle with hundreds of reading options! I decided then and there, it was time to get one. 

Funny thing is, in order to add books to your Kindle library one must register the Kindle. No problem, except you need wifi to do so. Ugh, I am in the middle of Outer Mongolia! Wifi doesn't exist out here! All internet is dial up, so I can't connect and add books yet. The only books that came on the device are two different dictionaries. Now don't laugh, but at times I've taken to "reading" through parts of the dictionary. Hey, it's helping build my vocabulary! And it has been helpful also while studying, I can easily look up a definition when I want a better explanation of a word. 

Just to reassure y'all. While I may be humanly "alone," I am not truly alone. My Lord has never left me. And my time with Him has been sweet. 

God is good!

Oh, one more thing.... 

I just want to say "GO NANOOKS!!"

Our college hockey team, University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks have won the past six games! They are now #20 in the nation in Division I College Hockey. I may be thousands of miles away and not able to attend any games this season, I'm still cheering them on. I've been able to listen online to a couple of their games and have enjoyed it immensely. 

Joy in Winter

Mongolia is known as the Land of Blue Sky. It is hardly ever overcast and cloudy here. Most days the sun is shining and the sky is a brilliant blue. I love it. Sunshine and blue skies make me happy. But as I shared yesterday at the Ladies Bible Study, our happiness should not come from our surroundings, our circumstances. But we are to be happy, ie. have joy, ALL the time. 

Some days it may be a struggle to be joyful, but when we think of our salvation and our hope of spending eternity with the Almighty God, we can be joyful! 

Psalm 16:11 says that there is fullness of joy in the Lord's presence. So, when you are tempted to be discouraged, spend time with God. Then you will have true, lasting happiness. :) 

Thought I'd share a few pictures. I haven't taken many since I've been here. I know, I know, I was supposed to take a lot of pictures. But this is my fourth time here and it's kinda like home, so it's weird to have the camera out all the time. But I'll do better. :)

This picture reminds me of joy... 

out my window this morning

almost full moon (I have a hard time capturing the moon)

working upstairs during twilight hours

Shopping, Baking and Blessings!

Earlier this week I went to the дэлгүүр (store) by myself! I am housesitting for a friend and there wasn't much in way of food at the house. So, off to the store I went. I used Mongolian mostly and the lady shopkeeper understood me! They didn't have everything I wanted but I was able to get a few things so I could have something to eat at least. I was just pleased with myself that I went alone and used my Mongolian. :) 

the store I went to - right across the road from my cabin

All this for $10USD!! pretty good I'd say. 

Then, when I got home I make myself some biscuits. (of course always reminded of Nicole!) And boy, did they taste good! Most anything would taste good since all I had eaten was one slice of bread in about 30 hours. Was reminded again how thankful I am for food! Especially the variety of American food. Here the norm is meat (sheep, yak or cow), potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions and flour. Now I like all those things but if that's all you have to work with..... day after day. 

my biscuits. tribute to Nicole :)

Today was a blessing. 

We had a ladies prayer meeting at Сайхнаа's house. I spoke on how praying together can bring us all together. One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Acts 2, where it says that the first church was gathered in one place in one accord. It fascinates me that so many different diverse people can be gathered at one location and been of the same mindset. They had Jesus in common and because of it, they put everything else aside. Prayer is an important tool to our Christian life and to the church. When we pray together, we come together and are united. I spoke for maybe 20 minutes, then we shared requests for another 20-30 minutes. We finished up by praying.... for an hour! 

What a sweet time it was. At one point while one of the ladies was praying, I thought of Hebrews 4:16. 

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to to help in time of need."

There we were six ladies (five Mongols and one American) praying in our native tongue, beseeching the throne of grace. Pleading for healing, for lost family and friends, for God to move in our community. 

I think I caught a glimpse of heaven today. 

The bond we as believers have is powerful. Though I can't sit and talk more than small talk to most of those ladies, we have a bond of sisterhood. We love each other because we all love the Lord. 

Also today something happened that I never thought would happen! 

Four years ago when I was here working, I lost my high school class ring. I had no idea how or where I lost it. When I realized it was gone, I was here in Hatgal, but thought it might have been lost in UB. I looked and looked and asked numerous people if they had seen it. After returning home, I thought about it every now and then and kept praying that someone would find it. Eventually I gave up and forgot about it. 

Well, today Сайхнаа brought out my ring and asked "is this yours?"

I was shocked to see it! She said her husband found it 2 years ago! But they had no idea who's it was and everyone they asked didn't recognize it. I had given it up as lost forever and wasn't really concerned about it. But isn't God good to bring it back to me!? 

I just want to say again - My God is an Awesome God. Not only did He create this entire world. He loves me.... Unconditionally! And His Son died for my sin debt, so I could be reunited with Him. 

I'm so glad I know Him. 

Do you?

Life, Change, etc.

What is my life? 

How do I want to expend this short life on earth? 

My purpose (as is all of our purpose) is to glorify God. It is why I was made. 

Am I truly fulfilling that purpose? 

I am not satisfied with what I am. I want to be more like my Saviour. 

Change has never been a friend of mine. Many times I've resisted change, because I liked where I was, what I was doing, who I was with, etc. But without my permission change still came. And after a while, I would realize that change is good. Sure, I sometimes remember the good times of the past years. But do I want to be that age, that time, that place forever? 

God knows best! He is the One who orchestrates change in my life. Why resist Him? 

"We need to be honest with ourselves. Is how we're spending our time right now preparing us for what we hope to become in the future? Are we doing things now that will equip us for the greater things God may have for us to do? These are the fundamental questions for this season of our lives."

from Do Hard Things by Alex & Brett Harris

A book written by teens for teens. And while I am far from the teen years, it still has some great truths and has made me continue to think about where I am in life.

No, I don't know what the future holds. Or where I'll be in 4 months or 4 years.

But I need to continue to grow, mold, transform into Christ's image, so when He brings change, I'll be ready for whatever it is.

Just some thoughts from the past few days.

Hope to post pics of Mongolia soon. :)

Cold Walk

Cold is part of Mongolian culture. Comes with the territory. But being an Alaskan, it's no problem for me. :) Though here I don't have the luxury of a vehicle. So everywhere I go, it's by walking. Today Jaaz and I went to the store and postoffice. We argued about the distance - we both really have no idea. But we probably walked at least a mile there and back. Good exercise. And it was warmer today! Only about -10 or -5. With all my layers on, I actually got hot walking. Which is nice after wearing five layers and still being cold.

The past two weeks, I've been trying to spend a couple hours each day learning what I can of the Mongolian language. Thankfully I'm staying with a lady who likes to teach her language. I've learned a bit, but SO much more to learn. I do ok with reading and writing, but when it comes to hearing and understanding, well that's still a struggle.

Hatgal's main street

ready for walk

Friends For a Lifetime!

Hello from Outer Mongolia! Yes, I am still alive. I know I haven't posted in a while... but being so far from "civilization," my internet is not the greatest. Actually, this is the first time I've been online with my own computer. And its like the old days of slllllooooowwww internet speed. :) Good test of my patience. 

So far, my stay here has been good. Great to see old friends. One huge blessing was to see my very good friend (sister) Lkhamaa!! Last time we saw each other was almost 3 years ago. She now lives Down Under with her Aussie husband, but was in UB for just a week's visit. Thankfully our stays overlapped and we got to spend some time catching up! She was my first Mongolian friend and we have so many awesome memories together!!! haha, one of my favorite was learning how to Mongolian wrestle. 

Also, working with the teens together. I was so incredibly nervous when she first asked me to teach. But now I'm so grateful she did. It was a blessing to share my heart with them each week. And oh the games we played! They all thought I was crazy when I introduced a new game for teen competitions. 

And hours of playing basketball. Rain, shine, snow or ice. warm or cold, we would play almost every day. 

Then there were the sledding trips, the hike to the frozen ship, wrestling on the lake, walking up the hill that overlooks the town and "breaking" my ankle. HAHA! 

2007

Not just fun memories but serious memories. Talks of the future, of our Lord and His Word.

My friend, thank you for the wonderful years of friendship. Even though now many miles separate us and we don't talk often, I still count you one of my dearest friends and you will always be in my heart! 

2009

2012

I love you!