Week 9 Countryside Road Trip
The week started off with a simple tender mercy from our sweet sisters in our district. They "heart attacked" our door. The cool thing though was they had written a scripture on a heart in the middle of the door that states, "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." How did they know that this is our mission scripture that we had engraved on our plaque before leaving? They didn't! They have truly been our "angels round about us".
This week we'll take you along and show you a few sites from the countryside. It's an amazing and diverse country full of history and wonderful people. Darkhan, the 2nd largest city in Mongolia and home of one of the country's steel mills. Statue made out of steel parts at the entrance to the mill.
Just driving down the road and minding our own business and happened upon a herd of camels, free ranging. As with most, if not all, of the animals along the road. They are owned by one of the 100's of herder families out along the STEPP (countryside, range).
The striped fields remind us a lot of Eastern Wyoming, Western Nebraska, which they rotate each year.
The trees are mostly Larch, which are green all summer and then turn yellow in the fall and then lose their needles. There just about gone. Zula, our English teaching coordinator for the mission and Gan-Erdene, our driver, have become great friends. Zula knows the people and gets us in the doors and Gan-Erdene is a walking book of knowledge. He is a tour guide, so he knows everything about the country. It made the nearly 2000 km (1250 miles) ride go very fast and interesting.
Low and behold, out of the corner of my eye spotted our first herd of Yaks. We got as close as we could, they were on the other side of the river. Amazing beast, they are pretty much a long-haired cow built for work, clothing, ropes and meat.
As I took these pictures of the sunset and more specifically the crescent moon I was thinking about the grandchildren and that they would see the same moon in 15 hours. It's an amazing world we are blessed to live on.
The following day we had another encounter with the Yak. This time they were being herded right along the road so Gan-Erdene pulled over, got out and yelled to the herder to come over. He told him we wanted to take his picture. We hadn't discussed that, but it worked out. The herder explained that he and his entire family were moving all of their animals to their winter spot. As we continued down the road we passed his herd of goats, sheep, cows and horses. They had already been pushing them for more than 80 km (50 miles).
The Black Vultures were gathering, and it felt a bit like Halloween. The roadkill doesn't last long. They were all waiting in line and there was definitely a picking order. They are larger that the Golden Eagle and their beak is as big as a man's fist. They are pretty ominous looking.
More countryside and the first sign of any irrigation. It just happened to be a potato field too.
Stepp housing. The Ger is the go-to mobile home. Out on the stepp they move them three or four times a year, following the food for their herds. They can pick them up and move them with a couple people and reassemble them in about two hours (only because they know what they are doing). The winter, last move of the year, the herder's family end up at a more permanent location where they usually have corals for the livestock. If the families choose to send their children to school, they often send them alone, usually to live with extended family members. Sometimes the mother may go with them and leave the father to herd alone. Some may stay at boarding schools, and some may stay on their own.
Once we crossed the river we started seeing fish stands. Fresh caught, smoked and hung. We couldn't resist.
As usual the utility vehicle is hard at work. We were actually going up a hill and couldn't get around, so we enjoyed the scenery while it lasted.
Our road trip concluded with a twilight ride down the mountain, back into the city smog. The Ger districts that surround the city burn wood, coal and yes dung to heat their home all winter, so the air quality is really getting bad. The masks are now standard issue for the next few months.
Now it's time to get to work, the reason we came on the road trip in the first place. The top two are Darkhan University. They have several programs, and we have begun teaching English classes there. The bottom photo is at the Polytechnic College where we will be starting to do the same.
In this room you felt the compassion from each of these amazing ladies as they reach out to the community to teach, instruct and assist others to improve their skills.
These ladies are learning how to make traditional Deels. The silk material is always so beautiful.
We met some incredible people along the way in the cities of Darkhan, Selenge, Erdenet and Murun. Polytechnic Colleges, Universities, Lifelong Learning Center, American Corners, Court Officials, Women's Center, Orphanage, and Immigration offices. It was an awesome experience, and we continue to see the Lord's hand in our work. For example, we met with someone that mentioned to us that she had just requested English teachers the previous day from her administration, and we show up.
We had our first, impromptu, morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) lesson from the music teacher at the Lifelong Learning Center. Fun guy.
We happened to be in Erdenet on Preparation Day at lunch time, so we were able to meet up with some of our teachers. They are amazing and resilient in so many ways. Their example is truly remarkable. We can definitely say that we are enjoying the journey.
We also had the opportunity to spend some time with David and Danny Namgur, President's sons, while they were in training meetings. They are awesome young men. David (16) is an accomplished pianist and has just applied to College and Danny (14) excels in soccer and is also musical, although he won't play for us. Thanks, guys, for a great time.
For the mapping geeks that might read this, Murun sets at 50° N and 100° E and just North of town there is Khuvsgul Lake. It is the largest freshwater lake in the country. It's about 136 km (85 miles) long and 138 m (450') deep. Didn't make it to the lake, next trip. One of the gentlemen we met promised me a fishing trip.
We had an incredible week on this journey through the countryside of this beautiful country. We are truly blessed to be here and can't deny that there are "angels round about us", every step we take. We miss you all and hope you recognize God's hand in you daily comings and goings.
Khairtai Shuu!
Comments
Post a Comment