Time

            Have you ever noticed that though time is consistent it often doesn’t feel that way?  There are always 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day.  We cannot decide that there will be more or less.  It is always the same!  However, there are days when 12 hours feel like 3 and others when 12 hours feel like 36.  But the seconds always tick by at the same speed. 

            We have been feeling the clock speed up over the past two weeks.  As is usual, it was not until the end of the semester that things got really crazy.  Actually, time has been moving very quickly since we returned from Thailand in February.  Our spring semester was quite short.  Because of end of year testing in the Mongolian schools, it is best for the teachers in our program to finish before they begin testing the first of May.  So we obliged and all three city teams were finished teaching by the first week of May. 

We were actually the last one to end, but that was partially because all of our students were in their first year and were not graduating. Therefore, we had our last class on May 7^th. Since the students had been reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe we decided to watch the new Disney version for our final listening seminar. There was popcorn and drinks, and we showed the movie via a projector. The students all seemed to enjoy it. We would have loved to discuss some of the deeper themes in both the movie and the book but, alas, the time escaped us. However, we hope that the book influenced their thinking as they read it and did homework on it. 

After the class, we all went to a nearby restaurant to eat lunch together.  We had food, fun, and photos!!!

 

 

  

There were many hurdles to jump this year, but we are so thankful for our group of students.  They all worked hard and stuck in with the program even during the busy and tough times.  As Jennifer and I move on to university teaching next year, we are sad to see our students go.  Since Craig and Sarah are moving to western Mongolia to start a business and we are transitioning to university teaching, all of our students will get new supervisors next year.  They were sad to hear this, but we hope that they will continue and graduate from the program in the spring.

           An event that need not go unmentioned is our fourth wedding anniversary.  Yep, we have been married for four years!  Since our anniversary is on the 4^th and our teammates’ is on the 5^th, for the past two years we have had a joint anniversary celebration dinner.  As both we and they got married four years ago, we have spent as many anniversaries together as we have apart.  Talk about team unity! 

Baring unforeseen problems, we plan on doing the same next year.  In similar form to last year we went to a restaurant called Millie’s.  It is geared toward westerners living in Mongolia and serves some delicious food.  The owner is a Cuban guy that has been living and working in UB for many years.  It is kind of ironic that the best hamburger I have ever eaten was made by a Cuban guy in Mongolia!

We ate hardy and then returned to Matt and Jess’ apartment for ice-cream.  We had a great anniversary and are so thankful for each other and the time that we have been blessed with!

           Things for next year continue to develop.  This past year there were three teacher training programs in the city.  Two of the programs had several students complete their second year of study and graduate.  Since our organization is diversifying, the remaining students from all three city programs will be combined into a single class that will meet in a central location to all of the students’ districts.  A few things will be changed for next year but overall it will remain similar to this year and previous.  However, at the same time, our curriculum coordinator will be piloting an in-school teacher training program, hopefully.  That is the idea anyway, but it is too soon to know if the proper support and response will be there for it.  Two or three others will be working in a high school to help retrain teachers and instruct the students.  Jennifer and I will be working for a university but are still not sure which one.  Only time will tell.

            Since our class finished on the 7^th life has been a dash to the finish line of this semester.  I mean we have literally been running!  Seven days is not a lot of time to have wrap-up meetings and get together with people before we leave.  Traveling has begun to sound restful.  Though time has been speeding by, we have been able to accomplish a lot and visit with a lot of folks before we and they head out.  It is sad to know that Craig and Sarah will not be living and working in UB next year.  We have really enjoyed having them as teammates and will miss them.  They at least will still be in Mongolia though.  Sadly, there are many others that will not be returning.  We have been able to see most and wish them well on the next adventures of their lives.  In addition to our teammates, we have met with a Mongolian friend in our building and a few Korean friends.  We have discovered that it is tough having to say goodbye about every four to five months.  During the summer, we spend three months in the States and then have to say goodbye to friends and family to travel to Mongolia.  We are in Mongolia for about five months and then have to say goodbye to our Mongolian friends to travel to Thailand.  We are in Thailand for a month with friends who live and work across Asia and then have to say goodbye to return to Mongolia.  We are in Mongolia for three to four months before we once again have to say goodbye and travel to the States to start the process all over again.  I don’t care who you are, that wares on the emotions.

            By the time you are reading this, we will have already traveled back to the States.  We are looking forward to being back, but there is another type of stress that comes with that transition.  Please think of us during the summer months.  Our desire is to be refreshed and productive.  It may be a vacation from our work in Asia, but there is to be no vacation from life.  We hope to be an encouragement to others and challenge them and you to seek His will in your life every day.

The beauty of time is that as it passes it always brings something new, and there will be new stuff coming your way the first of June!