We would prefer Thailand over Bust for the record. Every year around this time our organization has a conference in the northern capital of Thailand, Chiang Mai. All teachers are required to attend; but it is meant to be a time of relaxation, refreshment, and fellowship. There are business aspects to this trip, but hopefully there will be a good portion of R and R.
I am writing about this now to inform you that we will not be posting for the next month. Thank you to those of you who keep up with our blog, and sorry that we do not post more often than we do. Life is hectic wherever you live. Sometimes something just has to hit the back of the shelf for a little while.
After we get back from our travels, we will include a lot of information, stories, and pictures. This trip will indeed be an adventure for us both. We fly out of UB on 01/20, or our tomorrow, morning. We are going through Beijing into Bangkok where we will be spending the night. On 01/21 we will travel by train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. We are very excited about this opportunity to see a lot of the Thai countryside. We will be in Chiang Mai for nearly two weeks and then will spend a few days back in Bangkok sight-seeing before we start our journey home. On our way back, we are stopping off in Beijing for a week to sight-see. We have both always wanted to visit the Great Wall. This year it seems our dreams will come true. We are very excited about and thankful for this amazing opportunity. After our time in Beijing, we will take the train to UB.
We are excited but a little nervous. We have never traveled on this side of the world before. Frankly, we never thought we would be living on this side of the world let only travel to some of the places that we are getting ready to visit. Lift us up during this time. We know that He goes before us and with us. This is yet another adventure of life that makes it more exciting. We appropriately named our blog "Life...More Abundantly" because we have experienced aspects of life that we never thought we would. In a month, we will have experience numerous more. We will include you in these adventures after we get back to UB, our current home.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
End of the Semester
Friday was the last official day of our training Semester here in UB. It is hard to believe that we have already spent over four months studying the language, learning about the culture, and preparing to teach starting next semester. Our time here has been a difficult one. We have had many ups and downs and, at times, have considered that this is not where we need to be. However, the place of His choosing is often not the one that is most comfortable.
This semester has gone out with a bang. I am not speaking literally unless you consider the racket we made chasing our first Mongolian mouse. Yes, you heard me right, we had a mouse. Even though it has been -30 F regularly, a mouse was somehow able to sneak into our house. You may be asking yourself, "Don't they have a cat?" Indeed we do, but I doubt he had ever seen a mouse before because he was a little uncertain what to do when he finally found it. Long story short, we had to tear our bedroom apart in order to track down the little bugger. Our hunt was successful, and the unwelcome visitor was slain. Even though he was little help in bringing about the death of the assailant, Jejeg was very proud of the end result and acted as if he had vanquished the foe all by himself.
Before our mouse experience, we gave an English placement test to a group of prospective students for our class next semester. We had a very small group of English teachers attend the test. We were expecting more, but only a few came. This is problematic because we need enough students for two different classes, an advanced level and an intermediate level. Because we had such a small number, two people who work with the office will give another test while we are traveling.
The next day after our mouse experience, we took an end of semester Mongolian language exam. It was not too difficult, but it highlighted what we have learned well and what we have not learned at all. We have been very encouraged by the level of Mongolian that we have reached in such a short time. There is much that we do not know, but we are capable of having simple conversations in only Mongolian. We were given our test results today. All four of us did well, and our teachers where proud of us.
We have learned a lot this semester, but we have also learned that we have a lot more to learn. That may sound confusing, but let it set for a while and you will catch it. No matter how much we have learned or what we have done, there is always room for improvement. This semester has been a set of new challenges and learning experiences. Next semester will be a whole new set of challenges as we step into the classroom full-time. We are thankful for the experiences that we have had and for what we have been taught. We are most thankful for the One who has supplied all of our needs during this time.
This semester has gone out with a bang. I am not speaking literally unless you consider the racket we made chasing our first Mongolian mouse. Yes, you heard me right, we had a mouse. Even though it has been -30 F regularly, a mouse was somehow able to sneak into our house. You may be asking yourself, "Don't they have a cat?" Indeed we do, but I doubt he had ever seen a mouse before because he was a little uncertain what to do when he finally found it. Long story short, we had to tear our bedroom apart in order to track down the little bugger. Our hunt was successful, and the unwelcome visitor was slain. Even though he was little help in bringing about the death of the assailant, Jejeg was very proud of the end result and acted as if he had vanquished the foe all by himself.
Before our mouse experience, we gave an English placement test to a group of prospective students for our class next semester. We had a very small group of English teachers attend the test. We were expecting more, but only a few came. This is problematic because we need enough students for two different classes, an advanced level and an intermediate level. Because we had such a small number, two people who work with the office will give another test while we are traveling.
The next day after our mouse experience, we took an end of semester Mongolian language exam. It was not too difficult, but it highlighted what we have learned well and what we have not learned at all. We have been very encouraged by the level of Mongolian that we have reached in such a short time. There is much that we do not know, but we are capable of having simple conversations in only Mongolian. We were given our test results today. All four of us did well, and our teachers where proud of us.
We have learned a lot this semester, but we have also learned that we have a lot more to learn. That may sound confusing, but let it set for a while and you will catch it. No matter how much we have learned or what we have done, there is always room for improvement. This semester has been a set of new challenges and learning experiences. Next semester will be a whole new set of challenges as we step into the classroom full-time. We are thankful for the experiences that we have had and for what we have been taught. We are most thankful for the One who has supplied all of our needs during this time.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Christmas: Mongolian Style Part 2
Ah! Christmas Morning! What a blessed day it is when we can celebrate the most precious gift of all ages! It is also a time of remembering the laughs, food, friends, and family of celebrations in years past. This Christmas Morning was no less special. We awoke refreshed and in a cheerful mood. Jennifer fixed a wonderful breakfast! We ate homemade biscuits and gravy with Mongolian bacon (different than what we are used to but yummy non-the-less).
As we feasted we listened to streaming Christmas music over the Internet from the Nashville radio station that we used to listen to when we lived there. It was a nice taste of home! After breakfast, we Skyped with Joshua's parents. So that they might take part in our joy, we waited to open our Christmas box from them until we were talking with them. 
Technology has made it possible for us to share in the holiday together even though we are a world away! Following our conversation with them, we opened the few presents that we had gotten for each other. 
It was a wonderful time! Jejeg even got a new toy from Grandma that he enjoyed playing with all Christmas day.
Our main meal of the day was a Barbecued Brisket with Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, and Dressing. Apple Pie and Ice Cream topped the whole thing off. 
It was a delicious meal! Jennifer did a wonderful job, especially considering that she had to make a lot of it from absolute scratch. Ever tried making your own cream of mushroom soup and fried onions so you can make a green bean casserole? Just another of the joys and challenges of living in Mongolia.
As we feasted we listened to streaming Christmas music over the Internet from the Nashville radio station that we used to listen to when we lived there. It was a nice taste of home! After breakfast, we Skyped with Joshua's parents. So that they might take part in our joy, we waited to open our Christmas box from them until we were talking with them. Technology has made it possible for us to share in the holiday together even though we are a world away! Following our conversation with them, we opened the few presents that we had gotten for each other. It was a wonderful time! Jejeg even got a new toy from Grandma that he enjoyed playing with all Christmas day.Our main meal of the day was a Barbecued Brisket with Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, and Dressing. Apple Pie and Ice Cream topped the whole thing off. It was a delicious meal! Jennifer did a wonderful job, especially considering that she had to make a lot of it from absolute scratch. Ever tried making your own cream of mushroom soup and fried onions so you can make a green bean casserole? Just another of the joys and challenges of living in Mongolia.The rest of the day was spent relaxing. 
We read for a while, watched a movie, and overall did as little as we could. It was such a wonderful time of rest and reflection! We were so thankful for the opportunity to rest that we had been given. Later in the evening, we Skyped with Jennifer's family. After a good time with them, we headed off to bed.
We read for a while, watched a movie, and overall did as little as we could. It was such a wonderful time of rest and reflection! We were so thankful for the opportunity to rest that we had been given. Later in the evening, we Skyped with Jennifer's family. After a good time with them, we headed off to bed.The day after Christmas, we had our all team Christmas party. For lunch, pizza and salad were on the menu. The pizzas had been ordered from the restaurant below our apartment, so we picked them up and got a taxi to the west side of town where our party was at. Almost everybody was there. We had a great time of fellowship while eating! After the food, an announcement was made that some people in attendance had received holiday mail; however, in order to get the mail the people to whom it belonged would have to do a crazy performance. Unfortunately, one of the cards was for the two of us, so we had do something to get it. 
Once all the mail had been handed out, we did a gift exchange. We then shared what gifts we had received. 
Afterwards, we had a long time of sharing and uplifting. People played a few games, we ate sweets, and we loaded into taxis to go home. 
The time went by fast, but we enjoyed the opportunity to be together and celebrate with our friends.
Once all the mail had been handed out, we did a gift exchange. We then shared what gifts we had received. Afterwards, we had a long time of sharing and uplifting. People played a few games, we ate sweets, and we loaded into taxis to go home. The time went by fast, but we enjoyed the opportunity to be together and celebrate with our friends.We hope that Christmas was a joyful time for all of you as well. Thank you so much for your thoughts and well wishes during this season! We love an appreciate you all! May the true joy of the season fill your hearts throughout this new year!!
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