Flat Stanley came to Mongolia

Last week Flat Stanley arrived in the mail from Gerry Dalziel (Barb and Tom's son) and his Grade two class in Loveland, Ohio.  Stanley is a boy who got flattened when a bulletin board fell on him.  Now he is travelling the world looking for new sights and adventures!!

Sister Largin getting her cast checked

The Doctor

A typical bumpy street

One of his first stops was at the Orthopedic Surgeon's office with his new friend Sister Largin.  She was hurrying in the dark in the Ger District and fell on one of the very bumpy icy roads and broke her ankle. 

 Gers are the felt houses that many of the local people live in.  The streets in Ulaanbaatar are very  uneven and it is always necessary to be watching every step!  

Stanley went to visit someone in their Ger (Mongolian home)

One of the next stops was at the BioMedical University of Mongolia where he participated in a class with first year students.  They are learning about Cells and Genes in English - they liked Stanley!

Cold but not too much snow!

Chinggis on his throne

No trip to Mongolia would be complete without a visit to Sukhbaatar Square in the middle of UB.  The snow is starting to pile up and the great Mongolian leader, Chinggis Khan, guards the whole place with his trusty horsemen by his sides. 

One of the many thousand horsemen from his army

Last stop for this week was a cultural show where he listened to some great Mongolian music -

played on the "Horse Head violin"  -  the khuur,  and the traditional Mongolian harp with it's 23 strings (bet you string players would love to try to keep that tuned). A beautiful girl danced and could sure bend in a lot of directions!

The Horse Head Violin

The week was not really spent just touring around looking at sights.  The pictures at Sukhbaatar Square happened when we were on our way to buy drugs to stock up our office - all good drugs from a very progressive pharmacy.  

Our English classes are going well and we are learning lots about BioMedicine that we forgot we even knew.  It is a big relearning curve for me!!

We have met several Doctors this week.  At one hospital we were even offered the chance to get temporary licences on the spot so we could come to work.  Anne teaching Nursing and Cal teaching Medicine!!  Now that would be a stretch!!

The young Missionaries are amazing as they go about doing their work in the cold weather without complaint.  The members are faithful and loving. Lots of young people are getting their missionary applications filled out since the new age guidelines were announced - they are excited at the prospect of serving their Heavenly Father here in Mongolia. 

Life is Good and All is Well