so here it was...my son's very first birthday...one of the biggest milestones (and photo ops) in all his little life...but all i could think about was the fact that we were stuck all alone in the middle of mongolia. there would be no big party, no huge group of friends or family to join in the celebration. cj would forever be mentally scarred because of the lackluster party to celebrate the very first anniversary of his birth!
i planned a little weekend get together...and...less than satisfied...headed to bible study. we sang...i walked around with the kids to keep from disrupting the lesson...and afterward we returned to our seats. there was an awkward silence...who missed their cue? everything became clear when the pastor's wife grabbed cj and some other church members met him up front with his very first birthday cake. i believe it's the first time the "happy birthday" song has brought tears to my eyes. it's amazing how one little candle can light such a sad, dark spirit.
thank You, Lord...for mongolian friends that refuse to let us feel alone...so far from everything and everyone familiar.
9/14/07
i am a goat
yesterday in language class...i looked my teacher straight in the face and said "I am a goat!" no...it's NOT what i MEANT to say! ;] she was rolling with laughter, and even though i felt incredibly stupid, i had to smile and laugh at myself too! i was glad to hear that, on the same day, chris called me his cow and told his teacher his cow had a new bag! nothing like learning a new language to completely humble (or humiliate) you. at least these things are happening in the classroom and not on the street...that would be even funnier!
that being said, our language study is actually going well. as i sit in class i'm so discouraged by the fact it takes me several minutes to get a simple sentence out of my mouth...only to have it corrected most of the time. but when i get out and am able to communicate simple thoughts or ask where something is at the store...i'm excited and encouraged to press on!
so i guess i have to say that, today, i'll gladly be a goat, or a cow with a new bag, if it means that "tomorrow" i'll be able to carry on an intelligent conversation with the friends i am making here every day.
that being said, our language study is actually going well. as i sit in class i'm so discouraged by the fact it takes me several minutes to get a simple sentence out of my mouth...only to have it corrected most of the time. but when i get out and am able to communicate simple thoughts or ask where something is at the store...i'm excited and encouraged to press on!
so i guess i have to say that, today, i'll gladly be a goat, or a cow with a new bag, if it means that "tomorrow" i'll be able to carry on an intelligent conversation with the friends i am making here every day.
9/9/07
every tribe, every tongue, every nation
today we went to church...which is always strange when i can't understand a WORD that is being said. although today...i think i picked out three or four! guess my language is getting a LITTLE better.
but today something amazing happened, and it wasn't the first time, just the first time i've written about it.
i've always loved the worship service, there is so much excitement in the people here as they sing, they can't help but express the joy the Lord has put in their hearts and i absolutely LOVE observing it! but today, i actually understood a couple phrases in a couple songs, and went from observing to participating. it was the most incredible thing i've ever experienced as i sang in a language so foreign to my own, with people so very different from me, and yet as we praised the same Creator, the same Savior, we were more alike than we will ever be at any other time. what an amazing unity God brings!! it makes me so excited for the day when i will experience the same thing, on a hugely higher level, in heaven, when i stand together with people from EVERY tribe and EVERY tongue and EVERY nation and praise our unspeakably amazing Savior Jesus Christ!
suddenly...eternity doesn't seem long enough!
but today something amazing happened, and it wasn't the first time, just the first time i've written about it.
i've always loved the worship service, there is so much excitement in the people here as they sing, they can't help but express the joy the Lord has put in their hearts and i absolutely LOVE observing it! but today, i actually understood a couple phrases in a couple songs, and went from observing to participating. it was the most incredible thing i've ever experienced as i sang in a language so foreign to my own, with people so very different from me, and yet as we praised the same Creator, the same Savior, we were more alike than we will ever be at any other time. what an amazing unity God brings!! it makes me so excited for the day when i will experience the same thing, on a hugely higher level, in heaven, when i stand together with people from EVERY tribe and EVERY tongue and EVERY nation and praise our unspeakably amazing Savior Jesus Christ!
suddenly...eternity doesn't seem long enough!
9/3/07
a b c's and 1 2 3's
today was my first day of language school. we worked on reading the alphabet...and i was totally botching the whole thing. i couldn't remember how to write half the letters and got all the vowels mixed up. it was like being a three-year-old in pre-school...seriously...a really DELAYED three-year-old! i thought i was on top of things because i can read the signs around town...but come to find out that handwriting is like a totally new alphabet...it looks nothing like the print...and a lot of the lower case letters look the same to me!! wow...do i have a long way to go!!
i kept asking my teacher if everyone is this stupid the first day...she just smiled and said...basically...yes! :] but i know it will come...slowly but surely...and one day...i will laugh at not even being able to say my "a b c's" and "1 2 3's"
i kept asking my teacher if everyone is this stupid the first day...she just smiled and said...basically...yes! :] but i know it will come...slowly but surely...and one day...i will laugh at not even being able to say my "a b c's" and "1 2 3's"
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