the plot thickens...

God is amazing...

so why am i always so surprised when He DOES something amazing...

when we set up a weekly bible study with sosoro, we had in mind the book we wanted to go through with her...we had heard it was a good foundational study book...and others had used it. we searched and searched but couldn't find it. we asked and searched again...no one seemed to know what we were talking about. so we went with some online resources we had found.

yesterday after our bible study...sosoro tells us that the director of our school (who is not a believer) had asked her (a junior teacher) to prepare some bible language lessons for teachers to go through with their students. then she pulls out the book she was given to base the lessons off of...

i'm not kidding...it was the VERY book we had been looking for!

of all the teachers at the school...sosoro...of all the books...that book...could God's hand BE any more obvious!??!

i got CHILLS...i STILL get chills...

this is a more thrilling plot than in ANY prime time TV series!!!!!

can't wait to tune in next time...

bringing up boys...

so cj has been VERY interested in the potty these days...

he's barely 2 so i'm not pushing it at all...but i find myself thinking, "so THIS is potty training with boys!!?!!..."

let me just SHOW you what i mean! ;]

little man turns 2!

we planned to just have a small get-together with the ketels for cj's birthday, but some of our friends from the youth center found out we were celebrating and asked if they could join... i'm SO glad they did!

somehow the chaos of kids playing and wrapping paper all over the floor just MAKES a birthday! we had tons of fun and are SO glad for our little man!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CJ!!

so much bigger than us...

some of you may remember us talking about one of our teachers, sosoroo, in a prayer letter. she's more than a teacher...she's a friend. we go shopping together, she takes guitar lessons at the youth center, and she's one of the few i can truly say i've CONNECTED with.

when we got back to school this year, she started asking chris when he would start teaching about the bible, because she wanted to learn! long story short, we are meeting with her once a week and going through some lessons on the basics of christianity...IN MONGOLIAN!!! yesterday was our first meeting and it was amazing. we focused on the existence of God, and could see her eyes light up as she truly understood some of the points. and as she read through some of the scriptures she looked at us and said, "That sounds just like me!"

it's so obvious that God is at work and it is SO much bigger than us. it's easy to find myself crippled by a fear of misscommunicating, this is SUCH a challenging language, and end up keeping my mouth shut about spiritual things until i get "better" at the language. but i know this is what the Lord has put us here to do, that He is perfectly aware of our abilities (and lack thereof) at this very moment...and i am overwhelmed and unbelievably excited that He has allowed us to be part of what He's doing in sosoroo's life! thankfully we were were able to get ahold of some solid resources already translated into mongolian...so all we have to do is fascilitate and answer questions!!

we are praying, now more than ever, for her salvation!

one down...a LOT more to go!

well...we've all successfully completed our first week of school and are well in to conquering our second! :] honestly it's nice to be "back to the grind".

it's so cool to see the improvement in abby's language after such a short time...she's picked up a lot...and even when she's not actually speaking words there are mongolian "sounds" coming out of her lips!

we have lessons this semester with some teachers who haven't taught us in awhile...and it's been encouraging to hear them say that they can see a difference (for the better) in our communication. it's the shot in the arm we need to KEEP AT IT!!

chris is busy with the process of looking for TWO buildings...one for the youth center (long story...have to move) and one for another project we will be starting soon. it's not been a simple feat, but we know the Lord knows exactly where He wants both of these places...so we're actively waiting on Him.

nothing exciting really...just life...with us...in mongolia...and staying incredibly busy (in a good way) with it all.

without a hitch!!

picture this...

abby standing in her classroom smiling and waving good-bye, surrounded by other kids, a few of whom are crying...

us standing outside the classroom crying, surrounded by other parents, ALL of whom are simply waving good-bye...

foreigners!!! :]

we took the drive to pre-school as an opportunity for a last minute cram session..."ok, abby, if you have to go potty...what do you say?"..."how do i say i want plain tea without salt again, mommy?". we got there and were right on target with the flower and present for her teacher...we totally missed the mark on dressing her up like it was easter sunday! :]

she bounced right into her class and didn't think another thought about it all day. i thought about nothing ELSE all day. i went to pick her up this afternoon wondering what news would await me...

the report?...language...lunchtime with new and foreign foods...naptime...she handled them ALL like a pro! words can't express how proud i am of that little girl...she's amazing!

i am so glad God gave us the courage to take this step...i think it's going to be one of the best things ever for abby...