China and Home

As Heather reported (thanks, Heather!) we did make it out of Mongolia on time. Though there was a lot of crying as we said goodbye to the Sprengers, we managed to get to the airport and on the plane intact and the plane (miraculously) left as scheduled.


At the Beijing airport, we made our way out to the main terminal, found our tour guide, and commenced a whirlwind tour of the Temple of Heaven. Lisa, our tour guide, gave us a lot of information about China and Beijing on our way into the capitol city and then took us through the Temple of Heaven ... explaining the many instances of symbolism in the architecture and in the various temple sites throughout the park. It was fun to see this small part of China ... I think most of us wish we could have spent a little more time there. Next time, right? ;)

After returning to the airport, we had some dinner and made our way to the gate only to discover along the way that our flight had been delayed 2 1/2 hours. This, of course, meant that we missed our connecting flight in L.A. We were all struggling to remain Semper Gumby as we waited to find out what Air China was going to do for us, but when we found out that they were putting us up for the night at the LAX Hilton and providing dinner and breakfast for us, well ... let's just say that being Semper Gumby got quite a bit easier. :) We had some yummy food, took showers, and slept on super-comfy beds. It was kind of a nice way to end the trip.

And now ... everyone is home attempting to stay awake until the evening.

I'll have more pictures up in the next couple of days.

They're off!

I just wanted to let everyone know that the team left this morning (our time), and should be in Beijing! It was very sad to see them go. They were a HUGE blessing to all of us! Thanks, everyone, for sending them over!

Friday -- our last day :(

It's been a fairly full day for our team:

• some last minute shopping at the Za*glottal sound*
• lunch with Mike, CB, and Heather at Millie's -- an American-style restaurant owned by an Ethiopian woman and managed by a Cuban man

• down time at the Sprengers in the afternoon
• a 4th of July feast provided by CB and Caleb on the grill: hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, veggies, pickles, chips, baked beans ... YUM!!!

• the finals of the Bubbling Springs Open, which were attended by most of our group and some teammates of Mike and CB's that we've had a chance to work with during the last couple weeks
• our final evening with the Sprengers ... lots of tears from Ardi, Rachel, and I (we're the criers of the group)

We are so, so thankful for our time here and for all of you who helped get us here.

We leave tomorrow (Saturday) morning for China and -- after an 8-hour layover in Beijing -- make the final journey home. If all goes as planned, we should be arriving around 11pm Saturday night. I'll be posting some pictures of our tour in Beijing, so make sure to check back early next week. :)

Thanks again for following our time on this blog and for keeping us in your prayers.

360 of the Mongolian Countryside

a Mongolian thank you

w/ the Mongolian worship team, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

Mike and CB let us know that the worship team would want to set aside a time especially for thanking Scott and our team. It's the Mongolian way. And so Thursday night, we ordered Chinese food and invited all of the team over to the Sprengers. We played a group hand-slapping game (so very difficult to explain), ate yummy food, and then had some time to share how we've been blessed by one another.

It was really encouraging to hear all the great things the team had to say about Scott ... they were so thankful for all the time and energy he gave to them, to the Sprengers for connecting him with them, and to God for making it all happen.

I wanted to share a little bit of what they said with all of you ... my hope is that since you've been walking this road with us, you will be encouraged with us.

Dulguun said:
Before you came, I was hoping to learn all kinds of new things about music, but you came and taught me all these things about what it means to worship. I realized that I could learn to play an instrument any time, but this opportunity to learn about worship was something I wouldn't have at any time.

Mendee said:
Our worship team needed to take the next step. You came and helped us to make it.

Olaana said a lot, but this especially touched me. It was the first thing he said:
I'm thankful to God for bringing you to us. It was all from Him.

We had such different plans for this trip. In the original schedule, Scott would have had very little time to spend with this team. We are SO THANKFUL that God's plans were so much bigger than ours.

Community Worship Service (part II)

Even though tonight's service had to be canceled because of the bans on public gatherings, all was not lost. Mike has decided that instead of canceling the service, it will just be rescheduled for the start of the co-op school year.

What this means for us is that Scott, Ron, and I got to meet today with the students for some extra music practice. We practiced our two hymns and even did a couple rounds of Holy, Holy, Holy in four-part harmony. Then we moved on to the 5 contemporary songs that had been chosen and got to run through all of those multiple times. Scott was able to offer some help to Cam on the drums and to David on his mandolin. :) It was fun to hear the songs all come together so quickly. After we'd run through the songs, Ron helped one of the girls practice a skit that she'd be doing in the program -- a conversation between God and a teenage girl who just isn't interested in giving her whole life to him. (The skit will be used as part of a non-monetary offering.)

I'm excited that we got to be part of the planning and practicing for this event even though we won't be able to be part of the service itself. We've asked Mike to email us when the date of the service draws nearer so that we can be praying for him and the students. Their hope is to encourage this really diverse group of foreigners to draw together in unity around the theme of One Faith, One Hope, One Lord.

Wednesday -- day after the riots

Well ... yesterday was a quiet day for us. Because of all the government bans and restrictions, we pretty much stayed inside except for a special event that one of Mike's teammates pulled together in the afternoon.

Scott, Ron, Mike, Tom, and some of the Sprenger kids participated in the first EVER Bubbling Springs Open (that's a golf tournament for those of you who, like me, are clueless about all things golf-related). These were some fierce rounds of putt-putt. [Did you know that Scott is competitive? His motto? "Do whatever it takes (to win)." Watch out!] The game started with 10 players and after each round of 10 holes (5 holes played twice each), the lowest scorers were cut until only four were left: Scott, Mike, Tom, and Caleb. Way to represent the younger crowd, C!

The Final Four was scheduled for today, but rain has prevented it. We were at the building just a short time ago and all of the holes were under at least an inch or two of water. It remains to be seen if the weather will cooperate tomorrow -- we need the sun to come out and dry up all this rain!

Mongolian Church Service

Another video for you! :) Ardi took this at church on Sunday and I thought it would be fun to share with all of you.

Anyone recognize the song?

Wondering what Mongolian sounds like?

An update

The crowd that was rioting dispersed (or was dispersed) at some point during the night. Since then, the street on which most of the rioting occurred has been closed off. There is an armed police presence on the streets and the government has made some restrictions on public gatherings. People are still moving about and most places of business are still open, but the streets are quieter than they have been since we've arrived.

The worship service that was planned for tomorrow night has been canceled. Baseball camp has been canceled. Our next few days are looking a lot different than we had thought they would. We're not sure what we'll be doing, but we are looking at this as a chance to spend even more intentional and personal time with the Sprengers. (Yay!)

We know that God has been working in a lot of unexpected ways on this trip -- Scott's motto of "Semper Gumby" has become a reality for our team -- and we've seen Him do MORE than we could have planned (or imagined). We know that this new twist is one more opportunity to trust Him and His timing instead of our own.

Thank you for praying. We'll keep you updated.

Rioting in UlaanBaatar

Just a few days ago, I posted about the elections that are going on in Mongolia. Voting day was Sunday.

The results won't be finalized until July 10th, but the news today was that the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (which is communist) has maintained the majority seating in Mongolia's parliament. Immediately after the results were announced at 1:30pm, thousands of Mongolians headed to the main area of town -- Sukhbaatar Square -- to protest what they are claiming was a fixed election. Even though it is now nearly 10pm, friends of Mike and CB's who are down in the square are saying that the rioting is still going strong.

I've added a news stream to the sidebar of the blog in case you're interested in staying abreast of the the situation here in UlaanBaatar. Here's a link to a brief story that touches on the history of party politics in the country as well as what's going on right now.

We want to assure you that we are safe. There has been no violence against foreigners. This anger is internally focused. Most (if not all) of it is being directed at the MPRP.

Please be praying for the political situation.

a trip to the countryside

Today was a BLAST! We had so much fun ... I'm not sure where to begin.

Mike took our team and three of our new Mongolian friends (Olaana, Mendee, and Dulguun -- members of the worship team) out to see the sites in the countryside. We drove an hour and a half out of UlaanBaatar and this is what we encountered.

The Cave of the 100 Lam

Shortly after the Soviets liberated the Mongolians from Chinese rule, they began what came to be known as "The Purge" during which most of the Buddhist temples were destroyed and many of the monks (or "lams") were executed. We stopped at a mostly nondescript rock formation by the side of the road that was a hiding spot for lams during the Purge. Somehow, this group of lams was discovered and 100 of them were executed on the spot. It has become a spot were most Buddhist Mongolians will stop and pay tribute.


Question: What do an Eagle and two Camels have in common?
















Answer: They are the stars of a roadside petting zoo of sorts. A family of Mongolians spends the day sitting by the side of the road with their two camels and their golden eagle awaiting anyone who might be interested in a ride on the camel or a turn holding the bird. Since Ardi and Rachel had been hoping to ride a camel before the trip was over, we just couldn't pass up on this opportunity.


Turelj (or) Turtle Rock

It really does look like a turtle, doesn't it? Shortly after arriving, four of our group decided they'd like to ride Mongolian horses (which are smaller than the horses we are used to in the States). Scott, Sharon, Ron, and Dulguun set off on a short journey down the valley and back.

After their return, all of us except Ardi and Sharon decided to try tackling Turtle Rock. We climbed up the back of the formation and -- after squeezing through an exceptionally small hole at the top -- came out on the face of Turtle Rock.

Just after taking our group picture, the 19% (statistic made up on the spot by Mike) chance of rain jumped to 100% when the clouds burst out with rain and hail and we all had to high-tail it back down the rocks as fast as we could without twisting our ankles. Don't worry, we all made it and piled back into the van where we proceeded to steam ourselves dry. :)


UB2 (not a character from Star Wars)

After escaping the rain, we headed to the UlaanBaatar 2 hotel for lunch and a stroll along the river that runs behind and beside it. We enjoyed our own private dining room (we're not sure why) and after a yummy meal (at which some ate Mongolian dishes and some American) we headed back towards the city.

Visiting a Ger

As we were driving back to the city, Mike decided to pull off the road at one of the ger camps and ask someone if we could see the inside of their ger. Now, before you think Mike unbelievably impertinent, let me assure you as he (and our Mongolian friends) assured me: This is totally normal and is not considered rude in the least. In fact, they probably thought it was more strange that we wouldn't expect a meal or some milk tea as part of the visit (Mike had Dulguun assure them that we didn't). And so we got to see the inside of a ger -- the way that many, many Mongolians still live. It came complete with the traditional cooking fire in the center of the ger, a Mongolian husband asleep on the bed, a recently severed goat's head on the floor, a TV, and a freezer. Interesting, huh?

Hitchhiker

Though you can call for a cab (in the American sense of the phrase) here in Mongolia, it is much more common to just step out to the curb and raise your arm a foot or two up from the side of your body (not raised in the air like we do). This is the sign for a taxi to stop, but it is more often answered by some random person driving down the road who happens to be heading in the same direction or is interested in making a few extra bucks. We experienced this part of Mongolian culture when we passed by the camel/eagle petting zoo on our return trip. The little girl who had led one of our camels was standing by the side of the road trying to wave down cars. We pulled over with a "Hello! Remember us?" and she said that her mom needed a ride to UlaanBaatar. Since it was only one person, Mike said SURE and she hopped on in.

Learning Mongolian

Rachel and I had a lot of fun trying to learn how to say some phrases in Mongolian. It's a very difficult language for our tongues to master ... so many of the sounds are nothing like anything we say in English. Our favorite?

Caйн бaйнa yy миний uxэp нuug ээ!

which means ...

Hello, my cow friends!

There is no way I could possibly explain how it came about that we even needed that sentence in Mongolian. Suffice it to say, we were trying to play "Hey, cow!" in Mongolian. At this point in the day, we all found this rather amusing -- especially the Mongolians.

And that, my friends, was our day.