Mongolian Mission Week 9 - the miracle

 

Mongolia Mission Week 9 

Our hope with this blog is to share highlights with our family and friends about our exciting opportunities and awesome responsibilities as missionaries. It's an impossible task, though, because it's hard to condense everything into a few words and pictures. So ask us individually if you'd like to know more about anything! You can contact us by email (jrose219@gmail.com or krose213@gmail.com), Facebook messenger, or you can text Kathy's phone (515-537-3273).

We believe in miracles. We know that they happen all the time - more often than we all realize. We've been trying to be more mindful of seeming coincidences and of learning to recognize the tender mercies that the Lord blesses us with. This week's is really a small miracle, but still is an example of how miracles take place in our lives.

On December 27, we stopped at the grocery store on our way home from English class at the church. We bought some groceries, paid with a credit card, then went outside and got a ride in a "taxi." (We described this unique ride share arrangement in Week 4.) When we got home, John didn't have his wallet. Only three options - left it at the cash register, left it in the taxi, or dropped it getting out of the taxi. Went back to the unloading spot. No wallet. Got ahold of a bi-lingual former missionary who is visiting this area where he used to serve. He met us at the store and they went though security video. Saw the payment. Saw the wallet put in a pocket. Saw us get in a car. Couldn't see the license plate. John doesn't keep Mongolian money in the wallet. And only a couple of cards and a little US currency (for no good reason). So only a small loss and inconvenience. We don't keep our valuables all in one place. But it had cards advertising our English classes with phone numbers of the Mongolian speaking young missionaries we serve with. We prayed about it and both felt that it would be returned.

9 days later, a lady called the missionaries and said she found a wallet at the store. They gave her directions to their place and collected John's wallet. Everything was in it except the USD currency he had in it, left over from our travels from the USA to Mongolia. Just a few bucks. Everything else was still in place. Coincidence? We think not.

We have these informational cards to pass out.

Last week we told you that the missionaries did a video advertising these classes and explained that we had 34 students turn up the next day, Friday night, when we usually have 3-5. That was a very encouraging increase. Monday night (when the the power was out for some kind of maintenance!) we had 98 students show up. They filled all three of our teaching spaces. They filled every chair we have. So we all taught English to packed classrooms by the light of cell phone flashlights. It worked. We all had fun and the students were all very attentive. Near the end of our hour, the lights came back on, but what a challenge! These students have a strong desire to learn English, and their parents also really want them to learn. We'd like more adults in class, but we did get some.

Room #1 - the "cultural hall"

Room #2 - filled to the brim

Room #3 - filled beyond the brim. 

This week was Kathy's turn to venture out for a haircut. Being much smarter (or more vain) than John, she took a friend, who is a bilingual English teacher at the school where we teach. So she was able to end with a much better outcome. But without nearly as much adventure!!

Our friend was getting an "oil treatment' 
for dry hair, so Kathy decided to get one,
too. It came with an extremely vigorous
massage and warming treatment.

You may have been wondering about yurts. Every city in Mongolia has an area called the "ger district." A ger is what other areas of the world call  a "yurt." In the countryside, these homes are a good, mobile choice for nomadic herders. They are lined with a thick felt and must be quite warm. In the cities, these districts are not strictly filled with the dome-shaped gers, but often with other small buildings. In many cases, people who can't afford a house just set up a ger in the same area where their family lives. Here's the view of one such district we see as we walk along the main street of town, walking from our apartment into the heart of the city. It's unusual because it has a partially wooden fence. The fences around the lots are usually made of metal because there are not many trees around here.

And here's a brief language lesson:

Several Mongolian letters look and sound like English ones, such as M, T, K, A, E

Several Mongolian letters look like English letters but have different sounds:

• H sounds like N
• P sounds like a rolled R
• C sounds like S
• N sounds like a short I
• Y sounds like OO

Other Mongolian letters are new symbols to us:

• П sounds like P
• Ш sounds like SH
• Д sounds like D

There is also a troublesome symbol that looks rather like a pi sign and makes a sound that our tongues don't seem to want to make. 

Some words we see are clearly Mongolian words, like CYM means "church." But several are adopted words and then spelled using the Mongolian alphabet. These are really helpful for those of us who kind of know the alphabet, but not Mongolian words.  For instance,

ATM KNOCK: using the substitutions provided
 above, is pronounced kiosk.

MNMN MAPKET: mini market

CYПEP MAPKET: super market

More than you maybe wanted to know, but we are getting by - mostly. And it's miraculous that we get around as well as we do. It really is. 

Speaking of miracles, some require some sacrifice. There's a native Mongolian man in our group who went on a mission to Nebraska as a young man. He returned to Mongolia, married, and had a family. They've been living in a town in the northern part of the country, where he was a branch president for the church and worked in construction. He said our mission president approached him and asked if he and his family would be willing to move to Sainshand, a small town in the southern part of the country. They said yes, sold their house and car, loaded everything they could into a few suitcases, said goodbye to extended family, and moved here. All so that we could begin a unit of the Church here with a strong family. Incidentally, there was a major flood in his town 4 days after they left, and their prior home was damaged. That was just over a year ago; they are settled here, and he is working in construction. What pioneers! What an investment in the future of the Church in this city! What a commitment to the Savior.

But the biggest miracle is the atonement of Jesus Christ. Nothing else compares. What He did for each of us is beyond comprehension. And we are all blessed by what He did, whether we appreciate it or not. Because of Him, we will all be resurrected and live again. Because of Him, we can all be forgiven of our sins. Because of His grace, we can all be enough. Enough to return to our Father in Heaven and live with Him again. That is the miracle. And it's one we often take for granted, just as we do all the little miracles in our lives. It doesn't have to be that way. Let's start noticing the miracles. And thanking God each day for them. Even if it "just" a sunrise. Or a returned wallet.