Small Steps, Long Walks

Our mode of transportation before coming to Mongolia was our beautiful Mustang. In the past few months we rolled the odometer on that baby driving all over the place. Here our primary mode of transportation are two pairs of tennis shoes. Since we landed Sunday we have walked a lot. Not that I am complaining by any means. Walking is a great way to get around plus a wonderful form of exercise that most Americans have almost forgotten about. The last few days we have been shown more around town. The girls were clued in on the good grocery stores and markets while the guys were shown the "Home Depot" district of UB. Besides going out with some of our new friends here, we have also taken it upon ourselves to get out and explore a little on our own. It has been a lot of fun. The Mongolian culture and language are very different from our own. It is easy to feel very different even scared because of this. With such great barriers before us it is not always the big things that excite us. The past few days the small steps have been encouraging. Learning our way around our part of town, eating at resturants without anybody to translate, and learning a few words that can be recalled later are all just a few of the small victories that can help carry us through this time of transition. We are encouraged by the quality of our living space and the new friends that we have already made. It is going to take a lot of time for us to become more at home in our new home, so we must rely on our Father for humility and patience. Something we learned in our preperations to get here was that there is joy in the journey. Every stage of transition, growth, or travel has its own unique characteristics and pleasures. Our goal is to make the best of and enjoy every moment of our learning experience.