3/29/09
introducing...spidey j...
these are his best attempt at the "spidey-pose"...when coupled with the "whsssssh"...it's pretty convincing... :)
"it's been a long day fighting crime..."
"it's been a long day fighting crime..."
oh where oh where has our little dog gone...
ok...
so i was asked for a little more explanation on our dog being stolen. i hate to talk AGAIN about the not-so-positive...but...i will oblige.
some of you may have read the blog and seen the pictures of our precious little st bernard...freckles...
basically...she started living at the manna site...which was her purpose in the first place. about a week later chris stopped by to check on her and feed her before we headed to church...then after church went back with abby to "tuck her in" for the night. it hadn't been three HOURS since his first trip...but when they opened the gate...she was nowhere to be found.
they searched for awhile...but she was gone...abby was heartbroken. in fact...after praying for freckles..she thought they should take a proactive approach and enlist the help of some birds...since they have a much better view and can cover ground a lot faster than us land-bound creatures. but to no avail...
everyone we've talked to says that dog theft is on the rise...so kudos to the guy who hopped the fence with a thrashing puppy in his arms. and since st bernards are a very popular breed here...we can take comfort in the fact that she was most likely stolen to sell at the market. honestly it's a relief...because some dogs end up dead at the hands of "dog bounty hunters" or worse yet...on some poor, unknowing soul's dinner plate.
so we've learned our lesson...and the next dogS (plural) to make their home at the yard will be mutts off the street...since there seem to be a pluthera of those and we would be saving them from death by a bounty hunter's gunshot...
live and learn...and all the best for you in life, sweet freckles...
so i was asked for a little more explanation on our dog being stolen. i hate to talk AGAIN about the not-so-positive...but...i will oblige.
some of you may have read the blog and seen the pictures of our precious little st bernard...freckles...
basically...she started living at the manna site...which was her purpose in the first place. about a week later chris stopped by to check on her and feed her before we headed to church...then after church went back with abby to "tuck her in" for the night. it hadn't been three HOURS since his first trip...but when they opened the gate...she was nowhere to be found.
they searched for awhile...but she was gone...abby was heartbroken. in fact...after praying for freckles..she thought they should take a proactive approach and enlist the help of some birds...since they have a much better view and can cover ground a lot faster than us land-bound creatures. but to no avail...
everyone we've talked to says that dog theft is on the rise...so kudos to the guy who hopped the fence with a thrashing puppy in his arms. and since st bernards are a very popular breed here...we can take comfort in the fact that she was most likely stolen to sell at the market. honestly it's a relief...because some dogs end up dead at the hands of "dog bounty hunters" or worse yet...on some poor, unknowing soul's dinner plate.
so we've learned our lesson...and the next dogS (plural) to make their home at the yard will be mutts off the street...since there seem to be a pluthera of those and we would be saving them from death by a bounty hunter's gunshot...
live and learn...and all the best for you in life, sweet freckles...
our stupid car...
so...we've faced a little opposition as we've slowly gotten things rolling in the ger district...
a few months ago we bought a dog to be a presence there...she was stolen within the first 10 days...
our building is within yelling distance of a buddhist monastery, and as we were passing out invitations and talking with some kids about the Bible lesson...we had one of the young boys studying there pass by and yell at the kids..."don't listen to the crazy people!"
and the other day...in the amount of time it took chris to walk in and open the gate to put the car inside the fence...someone etched "teneg" into the paint of our car...
it means "stupid"...seriously...how embarrassing it THAT as we drive around town?...i'm thinking this weeks plans will involve a hunt for some kind of bumper sticker...
it can be discouraging...but stepping back and looking at the bigger picture we realize...that's what it's meant to do...discourage...
we are about to head into the heat of the battle with an enemy who knows his ultimate fate...so we recognize his tactics and we stand, not in our own strenth (physical OR emotional)...but in the strength of the One who will win that battle for us...
sometimes though...that's easier written afterward than remembered in the moment...so, thanks for fighting with us in prayer...
a few months ago we bought a dog to be a presence there...she was stolen within the first 10 days...
our building is within yelling distance of a buddhist monastery, and as we were passing out invitations and talking with some kids about the Bible lesson...we had one of the young boys studying there pass by and yell at the kids..."don't listen to the crazy people!"
and the other day...in the amount of time it took chris to walk in and open the gate to put the car inside the fence...someone etched "teneg" into the paint of our car...
it means "stupid"...seriously...how embarrassing it THAT as we drive around town?...i'm thinking this weeks plans will involve a hunt for some kind of bumper sticker...
it can be discouraging...but stepping back and looking at the bigger picture we realize...that's what it's meant to do...discourage...
we are about to head into the heat of the battle with an enemy who knows his ultimate fate...so we recognize his tactics and we stand, not in our own strenth (physical OR emotional)...but in the strength of the One who will win that battle for us...
sometimes though...that's easier written afterward than remembered in the moment...so, thanks for fighting with us in prayer...
3/28/09
lots to tell...
until yesterday...we weren't able to access our blogs...for some reason google gave us a "you look like a spammer" message every time we tried...
so it's been awhile... and let me tell you...what a WHILE it's been...
today was our first kids' church at our future "manna" feeding center site. we are STILL trying to get all the footwork done to start the actually feeding, but the Lord knew and i think it's almost better we started with the Bible lessons first.
i'm sort of working backward...but that's how it works when you haven't been able to blog on a week like this one. as i met with monkhoo, our babysitter and friend who is helping out with the bible lessons each week, i sensed she was hesitant about teaching the lesson herself. she has never taught or even seen a lesson taught specifically for kids, so this week i realized i would be teaching the kids myself...in mongolian...about the Bible...for the first time...YIKES! i was more than a little nervous...obstacle #1...
twice we made invitations and headed out to the ger district...both times it was the coldest and windiest it'd been all week...the last day it was even snowing! needless to say kids weren't playing outside much and we were only able to hand out a handful each time, so going into it, i was honestly just praying that SOMEone would show...obstacle #2...
i wondered what the children would be like...would they talk to me or shy away from the foreigner?...would they know anything about Christianity?...would they even want to sing songs and talk about Jesus and God? i was teaching creation and i wondered what stories had been told them by grandparents and parents about the very same subject...stories so very different from the truth of the Bible...would they look at me like what i was saying is insanity?...obstacle #3...
not long before starting time...we heard little voices outside...and my heart got all excited. four little kids walked in and we got to know them for a little while before starting the lesson. no one else showed...but i have to tell you...it's the most fun i've had in awhile. they sang and did the motions to the songs...they interacted during the lesson...they answered my questions (whether they believed what i was teaching or not) and they had a BLAST doing the craft.
God is so faithful...i can't wait to see what He does next week...
so it's been awhile... and let me tell you...what a WHILE it's been...
today was our first kids' church at our future "manna" feeding center site. we are STILL trying to get all the footwork done to start the actually feeding, but the Lord knew and i think it's almost better we started with the Bible lessons first.
i'm sort of working backward...but that's how it works when you haven't been able to blog on a week like this one. as i met with monkhoo, our babysitter and friend who is helping out with the bible lessons each week, i sensed she was hesitant about teaching the lesson herself. she has never taught or even seen a lesson taught specifically for kids, so this week i realized i would be teaching the kids myself...in mongolian...about the Bible...for the first time...YIKES! i was more than a little nervous...obstacle #1...
twice we made invitations and headed out to the ger district...both times it was the coldest and windiest it'd been all week...the last day it was even snowing! needless to say kids weren't playing outside much and we were only able to hand out a handful each time, so going into it, i was honestly just praying that SOMEone would show...obstacle #2...
i wondered what the children would be like...would they talk to me or shy away from the foreigner?...would they know anything about Christianity?...would they even want to sing songs and talk about Jesus and God? i was teaching creation and i wondered what stories had been told them by grandparents and parents about the very same subject...stories so very different from the truth of the Bible...would they look at me like what i was saying is insanity?...obstacle #3...
not long before starting time...we heard little voices outside...and my heart got all excited. four little kids walked in and we got to know them for a little while before starting the lesson. no one else showed...but i have to tell you...it's the most fun i've had in awhile. they sang and did the motions to the songs...they interacted during the lesson...they answered my questions (whether they believed what i was teaching or not) and they had a BLAST doing the craft.
God is so faithful...i can't wait to see what He does next week...
3/17/09
produce on steroids...
ok...so i just have to share one of the many many things that are different about buying groceries in mongolia...how in the world does a carrot get this unnaturally large?...
3/15/09
84th school...
once a week i lead some conversation practice with a class at the 84th middle/high school. here are some pictures with some of the kids...
the girls on my left used to come to our youth center...oyoka and yenjka
if you're cool in mongolia...this is how you pose for a picture...
the girls on my left used to come to our youth center...oyoka and yenjka
3/14/09
learning the essentials...
though i'm pretty sure we all love watching our kids more than anyone else...i know my parents and family will appreciate this video just to get a glimpse of CJ...
and i know our texas friends will be glad to know he's learning the essentials...
and i know our texas friends will be glad to know he's learning the essentials...
3/2/09
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