“Sain uu”
(which means) Hello!
It’s been some time since these words came across the pond. Yahweh has been making his mark & I’m glad to tell you that we arrived In china safely. Getting visas was a wall to climb but Let me tell you about Mongolia…..
We arrived but my bags didn’t, so I was rocking 1 pair of threads for a week. We were out in a countryside Staying in big white tents called gairs. YWAM was also staying there as well. We partnered with the local church to put on a revival concert. We hit the streets of Harhorim, promoting the concert for 4 days, giving out tickets, telling the gospel. We left the story telling up to the locals they knew the language better. My street team was 2 YWAM members and 2 local kids no more than 16 years old. Shout out to YWAM for having such a strong faith.
I’m friends with a few YWAM members and it was cool to connect with some mutual friends. one of them actually lived in the same house as I at one point. (haha thanks God 4 a dope intro to Mongolia)
it bothered me that YWAM trains for 3 Months before they hit the field while we only train for 10 Days…… it kinda felt like we weren’t ready at all. Like, what’d I get myself into now……..
Mongolian people: down to earth peaceful, doesn’t smell, uber generous. They didn’t have much to give but gave us everything they had. We were invited into their homes several times. Offered snacks, Milk Tea, Even cooked. They insisted we drink Attic… (fermented horse milk). If you drank enough, you’d feel the Buzz. It was like sour milk & vodka, a nice combo most would find unsatisfying. We put the concert on blast, going door to door like some boy scouts slinging the neighborhood popcorn. When the big night came, thousands of people rushed our huge yellow circus tents.
God knows my Soul, putting me with sound/worship team. Producing shows is something I was made for, On the other hand, my world race team didn’t seem super jazzed. I was drawn to the insane level of faith the Mongolians had. I can admit, I was running away from my team so I could talk God with the roadies. I thought we signed up to serve, not try to get #instafamous. I saw a lot of sitting around, taking selfies in front of the beautiful moutains of Mongolia. I didn’t feel attracted to be with my team even tho I was suppose to. I’m not ready to lead a team, I’m still learning how to let God lead myself. It’s also hard for me to connect with women, which is all of my team except one.
(SIDE BAR). This has been a reacquiring theme. A lot of the time I feel misunderstood. I have difficulty trusting my team because of past relationships with women. This must be one of Gods sick jokes to get me to crack so I’m finally healed from built up trauma. I don’t understand half of what He’s up to most of the time.
You try living close quarters with 6 chicks, your lead that is overly passionate about farts and a dude you just met. YIKES! Thats why they call me G-rant. It’s been better since we’ve hit china.
I ain’t tryna throw shay, that’s just what Ive been feeling. We’re all still growing up and I know I probably got a 2/4 from the stage we ripped apart after the show, still wedged up in my left eye socket, making my forehead big. I’m still learning how to love them and let them in.Easier said than done, Easier to lead 1 rather than 7.I found myself an odd ball becoming a lonely loner, Day n Night – Kid Cudi.
Only seeking out what was natural, connecting with the locals more and more everyday, life went on.The band ad I were tight, so they asked me to shoot a promo vid. All Rights Reserved, My team airdropped extra footage so I could complete the edit. I Cant take all the credit for any of this. Jason and I helped pack up shop, loading trucks, while the rest of the team were at base. We had a good time sipping on some attic and throwing down traditional Mongolian wrestling. I never lost cuz judo lol. We all jammed into a bus next morning and drove 8 HOURS through the countryside that looks like a screen saver from Windows XP. The road was super hairy and caused the suspension failed. We pulled over to fix it….
(They used a small house jack and wood blocks to elevate the rig to crawl underneath)
People were starved so the infamous old ladies whipped out their oversized cooking bowls to whip up mystery meat. I can’t remember what it was but Im sure jay and I finished the girls portion. (probably why I’ve been sick for 2 months)
The boys decided to play a miniature game of gladiator. We went on the hunt and captured a few grasshoppers to fight against the much more deadly opponent. Quoting mortal combat, the fat cicada roared, slowly ripping the head off the hopeless peasant locusts, like Muhammad Ali against a feather weight demolishing everything in its path. Finish him! They screamed till fatality. I was in sheer disbelief and filled with joy.
…..….. ALL OF THE SUDDEN……….
The vehicle we were traveling in slipped off its support, landing on top of the 2 men repairing the suspension. Panic shook the ground like black Friday, Immediately rushing over the crowd using our new strength, lifted up on the bus, but we were crazy to think that would work. Scrambled to get the jack back into place we started twisting it back into place. The crying died down and we finally got news in English that The men where unharmed, only escaping safely to look death in the face with a few minor scratches. After ten minutes they proceeded to crawl back underneath. Peace filled us as we finished our food. My Team was still a shook.
We arrived in the city of erdent and rented apartments. We taught English twice a day to a class around 15 to 40 kids. Most of them spoke English well. The classes where hosted at a coffee shop owned by the same people that put on the concert. They where very impressed with the promo vid and didn’t hesitate to ask for more help in that department plus some Logo designs for their coffee shop. In return, They opened up their radio station to record some music I was working on in my free time. We Partnered with Another World Race team so it was double crazy, loud Americans.
They’re where also locals originally from Oklahoma that moved in a few weeks before doing mission work. Shout out, Jarred & Malissa! Huge, help to our teams. Letting me stay the night when I needed space haha. We stayed up till 2AM talking God. I needed that wisdom download fasho.
We made some friends in erdent. One dude stuck out more than others. 15 yrs old and a phenomenal English speaker. We called him Monster Hat cause He always rocked monster energy apparel erryday. After class he would give us tours through mountains and city. He even translated a song I wrote into Mongolia and posted it on youtube! This opened up a door to share Truth because a lot of my lyrics are rooted in Father Timeless 😛 When the Sun went down we rounded up the Hoop Squad. We called another guy James Harden cause we pronounce his real name right and he was a savage on court. During day I took them to school, during night they took me to school.
2 Mormon’s lived local as well. Adam and Richard taught english somewhere else but we got a chance to talk about faith and share similarity’s between us. I love having conversation with religious people because it’s fun to blow minds with Jesus power. They were caught up on performance though, trying to reach the highest level in heaven. “I want to Be Jesus” they said. I’m good just being G-rant. Actually being Jesus sounds really hard, haven’t you seen bruce almighty? However I admire there faith. If we had more Christians with such level of dedication, the world would be a better place. We talked a lot and Adam expressed that he had a dream of us having the same conversation the night before. Maybe God was using us.
In closing, they really pushed the book of mormon on us, like we weren’t saved already. Good people but I think i’ll pass on the club. (unless you guys are barbecuing, I hear y’all got really big families = a lot of food;) Who Knows tho, I ain’t no Judge Judy.
Those were our last days in Ardent, Mongolia before we Headed out to Ulanbataar Mongolia.
To be continued…..
