Am I ready to leave yet? The answer is no and yes. I love the people here. I love how they are so open, eager to learn, and overwhelmingly kind. They take us on tours, give us food, and invite us into their homes. They want to communicate with us in English and love learning our language. This is something I took for granted back home. What would life look like if we were all open, eager, and kind? Our ministry this month was teaching English classes. At first I kept thinking I should be doing more. I mean it’s a mission trip, so I expected to be sharing the gospel everyday. It is different here when teaching English because they have to ask about it in order to share it. I am open about it if they ask why I am here. The Lord has blessed us with hot water, food to eat, and a good place to stay this month. The month has flown by. It seems like yesterday we were flying into Mongolia and loading up on a 10 hour bus ride. Now, we are only 3 days away from heading to Ulaanbaatar for month 1 debrief. Then we are off to China. I decided to write this blog to give you guys a glimpse of life this month. So here it goes.
I start my day by waking up and listening to worship and doing a short quiet time (unless I oversleep). Then we walk a short ways to Cornerstone coffee shop, where we teach English. We teach our kids class at 10am, so we make breakfast pretty quickly and prepare for the class beforehand. I have been with teenage boys for the morning class and I was definitely outnumbered, but enjoyed it so much. They are all so intelligent and learn quickly. We play english games toward the end of class and then send them home. After that English class we make lunch and have team time. We have been doing a devotional together and talking about how the day is going. It is good because it allows us to process things. We have a good amount of free time before the adult English class. We do one on ones and take walks a lot. I do quiet time with the Lord during this time. Sometimes I’ll take a quick nap if I’m feeling tired. Then, it’s time for adult English class. During this time I get to sit with one of the students daughters. I have grown very attached to them. We will watch Peppa the pig, or read books together. They are so sweet. They have shown me what it means to take down language barriers. They can’t speak english because they are so young but that hasn’t stopped us from connecting. Once English class is over we make dinner or go grab something at a restaurant nearby. We get adventure days on Saturday’s and got to go to the countryside and spend time relaxing. We go to church on Sundays and although I may not understand what they are saying, the people there do and man do they love the Lord. Just watching them worship fills my spirit. I have learned to cook some things (which is a miracle). So, I’m convinced I will be a pro by the time I get home (get ready mom). We have played a ton of spicy UNO. We’ve celebrated our students birthdays and we’ve built friendships. I definitely have more Facebook friends now. I have learned 8 Mongolian words.most of which you use in a taxi.
The Lord has been teaching me a lot this month. He has shown me what it means to slow down and hear his voice. This month I have learned what a consistent quiet time looks like. I have learned to trust him more. I have heard testimonies that have blown me away by his goodness. I have learned I don’t need much to be happy. I have learned that life is short and there are so many people who need to feel His love, grace, and mercies. They need to know that they can have a personal relationship with him. I always knew who he was and that he loved me but once I decided to accept him has a friend and loving father – that’s when it was a personal relationship. I desired that closeness with him and it changed my life. I want the same thing for those around me. I am a small part of this. I may never see the fruit of what I am doing here and I have learned to be content in that. My job is to love people with the overflow of Gods love, and that’s what I will do. Whatever he calls me to do I will do with a willing heart. So am I ready to leave Mongolia? The answer is yes and no. It is a no because I will be leaving a piece of my heart here, with these people and this place. I will miss walking to the yellow market for ice cream, and to Cornerstone coffee for class. But, it is a yes because I know this is the beginning and I have 10 more months of spreading his love, building relationships, and doing what we can to serve. So here was a glimpse of life here in Erdenet, Mongolia. Next stop: China.
This blog is all over the place, but a lot happens in a month 🙂
Some pics from the month:
