So its our first morning of ministry in Mongolia. I wake up relatively early (earlier than usual)…its cold outside. The sun has just come up over the mountains that surround Ulaanbaatar (or UB City as the locals call it). I grab my devotional, my bible and my ipod and head outside to the balcony that completely surrounds our 16th floor apartment. we had hammocks set up at the corners because why not? I sit down turn my ipod on and begin to spend an innocent hour with the lord. as I finish, Im hit with the urge to worship and pray over the city. what could go wrong? all I wanted to do was bless the people and for the lord to make his presence known…its no big deal…just doing the Lords work.
I hopped up onto the ledge of our balcony the has a 2 and half foot tall metal railing with a 3 foot stone overhang past the metal railing. the night before my squad mates Abby Dustin, Nikki, and myself were sitting on said railing watching the sun set. it was gorgeous. so im like “im going to do that while I worship and pray!” except I didn’t sit down. I was standing. I was standing on the corner with my legs pressed up against the railing. I was in no danger of falling. it was kinda cool actually. I almost wanted to get my guitar and do my best reenactment of the rooftop concert the Beatles did in London.
I start to worship, letting the worship also be my prayers for the city. I could see everything. the traffic, the people on there way to work or school, the homes on the distance mountain side…it was great! at that point I really started going for it. singing at the top of my lungs, arms stretched out wide. I was in the zone.
I looked down at one point and saw a guy on his phone looking up at me with 3 or 4 other people. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I stood up there for probably 20 minutes singing and praying (about 3 or 4 songs…maybe 5). I hopped down and headed in side for breakfast. Our squad leader Myles was making eggs and bacon…it smelled glorious. I was sitting down for not even a minute and I heared Dustin say “uhhhh….we’ve got company” I turn in my swivel stool and I see two guys in hardhats, harnesses, blue jumpsuits, and combat boots carrying the big metal…thing (we assume it was a piece of rescue equipment) followed closely by another man in a blue uniform with a yellow safety vest the said in very bold letters “POLICE”…it was that moment it clicked. the guy that was on the phone…he was talking to the authorities because he thought I was going to Jump…oh crap. I then bolted for the bathroom at the back of the apartment and locked myself in… they had no idea what I looked like so when they came in they went right for the balcony looking for the jumper.
I wasn’t not present for this next event…
when they couldn’t find me (the jumper) they started to ask Dustin questions in Mongolian and (attempted) some sign language. I should also mention that my squad doesn’t yet know that they were there to rescue me from myself. they all thought they were there to wash the windows on the outside of the building or do some kind of construction. when speaking in Mongolian and signing didn’t work one of them said “Sprechen sie deutsch?” my team mate james perks up and starts to converse with the officer and then the jig was up (as they say). James translates that they were looking for me (the jumper) and he told them that I was in the shower (or something like that) and didn’t want to go get me out (thanks James!) they basically said “no more” and left the building.
Back to me (the jumper) in the bathroom…
I heard laughter and loud talking from bathroom and that signaled the all clear. as I opened the door I saw Trey come walking up in a fit of laughter saying “they thought you were gonna jump!!!”…
it was not the start to ministry that I expected or intended…
