New Life

Spring is such a beautiful time of year.  When we came last fall all the trees had lost their leaves and there were lots of dead looking "ever greens".  We wondered if they were Tamarack (Larch) and sure enough they were.  It has been exciting to watch them get green.

At home we see them on the Tamarack Trail but we never have the opportunity to see them as the needles come out because it is too early in the season for us to be hiking high up in the mountains.  Our altitude here is about  4500 feet above sea level so is comparable to a bit higher than Waterton Townsite!!          

 Different stages of "leafing out" of Larch.

Last week we went for a tour of the Parliament Building.  They have a big "Chamber" that looks like it could be Canadian, with the ruling party on one side and the opposition on the other.  They have been a democracy since the Russians left in the early 1990's.  Progress is being made and the next Presidential Election happens the end of June.







We were able to see the official Mongolian Peace Flag - nine flags made of only the best horse tails, white to be flown in peaceful times and black to be flown during times of war.  The horse tails are from all 21 provinces of Mongolia.  It only leaves the official Government spot during Nadaam, when it flies at the Nadaam Stadium.

We have now finished teaching English for the summer so we are looking forward to that break.  It was fun getting to know all the students.  So many of them are keen and enthused about learning English.  It really makes a big difference for their future when they become more fluent.  The experience sure did give us a great appreciation for all those teachers who have worked with us and our family through the years!!

Some of the Nurses we taught at Songdo Hospital
who took us out for dinner after our last class

Thanks to everyone for all your support.  The work is going great in Mongolia!!
                          All is well and Life is Good!!

Spring

We are happy to announce that Spring is really coming to Mongolia!!  There is green grass poking through and lots of trees are showing the signs of forthcoming buds.  The temperature is warming up - one day it was about +25C but is back cool today.

We even had a picnic out in front of the Church Building yesterday!  There is a small fenced in area below the street level with a bit of grass, some bushes, trees and soon to come flowers.  It is a pleasant oasis in the midst of the big city.

Since we are trying to learn more about Mongolian Culture, on Saturday we visited the Gandantegchenling Monastery (Gandan).  Much of it was destroyed during the Communist occupation but in 1990, after the Democratic Revolution, they started on a restoration project.  According to their info there are about 900 monks living or working there.  It was interesting to visit some of the different temples, hear the chanting and witness some of their music.  There were hundreds of prayer wheels which people touch or turn in seeking blessings.  They also have a 26.5 meter (about 90 feet) Buddha housed in one of the temples.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside.

 It was a busy place with literally thousands of pigeons.  They have many people selling small bags of wheat (does not look like our wheat!) to feed them.

The little lady we bought our bag of wheat from

We are trying to make some progress on a project to get Cochlear implants for some of the deaf people here.  This morning we went to a very small building where a deaf man runs a sewing business, employing other deaf people.  They do contract sewing as well as making bags and other small items.  What a wonderful opportunity it is for those folks to do something productive and be able to make a bit of money to support themselves.  It was not only informative, but inspirational to see a man making an effort to help people help themselves!

There are over 10,000 deaf people in Ulaanbaatar, many because of antibiotics or other tainted drugs given about 20 years ago to children.  A typical story is that they were sick, given a shot and then became deaf.  Several of our missionaries are deaf but are able to function quite well with a "sign language" companion.  They are excited at the prospect of cochlear implants!


We are busy  -   All is Well and Life is Good!!



  

20th Anniversary

There was a big celebration last week to recognize the beginning of the Church here in Mongolia 20 years ago.  Some of the old Mission Presidents and wives and other missionaries from the past came to enjoy the reunion.

The land was dedicated by Neal A. Maxwell at Zaisan Hill, so 20 years later, there was a service there where we heard the dedicatory prayer as recorded those 20 years ago.   The Stake Choir sang and there were a few messages given. Apparently that day 20 years ago, was clear and sunny but this year it was cold with lots of snow on the ground but the enthusiasm was plentiful!  The monument was built by the Russians to celebrate the cooperation of Russia and Mongolia and heros of the past wars.
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Part of the Choir and Crowd at Zaisan

Some of the crowd coming down from the Monument

There were meetings all week starting with a YSA Family Home Evening, reunions of the different groups who have served over the years, concluding with an Extravaganza at the "Circus".  There are many very talented members who performed the traditional music and dance of Mongolia.  The Choir sang and the background videos were extremely well done.  All in all, everyone felt it was a very successful week of celebrations.

Mongolians make beautiful cakes so
we got 10 decorated saying
"Congratulations on the Twentieth Anniversary"
(in Mongolian)
for the YSA Family Home Evening

The young people are so good at showing off their traditions.

Spring seems to be coming!!

Thanks again to all who helped with Grandpa's funeral.


Life is good and All is Well

Grandpa Stewart

On April 13, 2013 Cal's Dad, Karless Nels (Curly) Stewart passed away.  He had been in failing health for a few years and was ready to leave this life for a better one.  It was hard for us, being so far away but we are forever grateful to all those who made the arrangements and took care of all the details at home.

We felt blessed by the technology (and people) who made it possible for us to participate as spectators from afar.  We were able to be at the graveside, see and hear the proceedings, even Arme's harmonica rendition of "God be with you 'til we meet again".  It was a beautiful morning.  Then we were able to be at the funeral and see and hear all the speakers and musical numbers.  After the service Barb took us into the gym where we were able to visit with some of the people and see the great spread of food prepared by Elaine Leishman and a vast crew.  We could not have asked for better help and support.

                                                                                                                                                                       

Curly was a hard working, kind and honest man.  He has a wonderful posterity.  He will be missed.

A display of some of the things
that were special to Grandpa

Life is still good and we are well!!

English Teaching

It has been a stretch for us to do our English Teaching.  Now we have a book with an outline for both classes but it seems to get a bit boring to just do the exercises. We always try to think up some other interesting activities to go along with the material.  Our assignment is supposed to be to teach Conversational English so our aim is always to try to get them talking in English!!

All the students at the BioMedical University take an English Class, ours seem to be some of the better speakers.  They have lots of programs to promote the learning of English.  In fact there is an ETC Club.  (English Training Club).  This week they have posted an English Typing Competition and last week there was an "English Singing Competition".  It was a big event with 25 competitors each singing a song in English.  We were asked to be one of the judges or to find one from our friends!  Now that would have been a stretch but we got our translator to represent us.  She has a great musical background having won singing competitions herself and being an expert pianist.

The Judges

There were three judges, Ulziika, an American who teaches English at the school and a famous Mongolian composer.  The participants were judged based on choice of song, suitability to their voice, singing ability, costume or dress, and English pronunciation.  Each judge had cards and raised their number for every song.  It was a challenging assignment to be a judge (sure glad we delegated)!!  After they had all performed, the top seven were chosen and then each sang again, with a different song.  It was a three hour night but very interesting!  There were numbers from Rap to Romance and everything in between.

The winner and our sponsors

One thing we did not expect to attend in Mongolia was a High School Alumni Basketball tournament. Last night Ulziika invited us to go to her old High School (a Japanese School) to watch some games.
She played and so did her brother.  The girls games were two 6 minute halves and the guys were two 8 minute halves.  It was fun to go and see that Basketball is much the same world over!

This weekend we are watching Conference - all the sessions are broadcast at the Church with them dubbed in Mongolian in the Chapel and shown in English in another room.  It is great to hear all the messages and realize that no matter where you are in the world, we all face the same kinds of challenges!  We are grateful for the opportunity to be some of the "wave of missionaries" serving through out the world.

Life is Good and All Is Well!!
(I had done this a week and a half ago but it did not get posted!  Lots has happened since then.)  

 

Easter Snow

On Sunday we had the most  snow of the year.  The Missionaries who have been here two winters said it is the most at one time they have seen.  It snowed about 4 or 5 inches and was the kind of snow we get at home in the spring - fluffy with bigger snow flakes and quite wet.  When we came out of Church the sky was beautiful blue, the ground was white and it was quiet.  It turned out that it was "No Car Day".  There were people walking down the middle of Tokyo Street,  kids on sleds and even bikers in big groups.  That just does not happen on a normal day with so many cars and buses on busy, noisy streets!  It was great to have Easter, "No Car Day" and the big snow on the same day.

Easter is not celebrated here in Mongolia at all.  We saw no evidence of it anywhere.  At the Church we had a very professional concert Sunday night put on by the Institute Choir.  There are about 60 members mostly young people with a very talented director.  They did a beautiful presentation of the Easter message with narration in both Mongolian and English and music, some pieces in English and some in Mongolian.

The Japanese Prime Minister visited UB last week so we got lots of chances to see the Mongolian Police out in full force.  He and his party stayed at the Chinggis Khan Hotel just across the street so several times the whole street was blocked off and police were stationed every 100 feet on both sides of the road for miles!

View from our window in the snow - police doing their duty

There have been several missionaries with major health challenges this past week so we have spent lots of time working with them.  One of the side benefits is that we get to know them well, feed them and encourage them!  We are always reminiscent of those who helped Brian out so much when he had his face surgery in Germany.  We were so grateful for them and their service to him! 

We think spring is coming and look forward to seeing the green countryside!

We appreciate your love and support .

Life is Good and All is Well!!

Happy Birthday

It was Calvin's 68th Birthday last week and he celebrated in style.

Sister Wood made a delicious chocolate cake with chocolate pudding, cherries and whipped cream.

 We had lots of the staff here in the building come by for good wishes. Ulziikaa, our translator, decorated our office, door and got a big cake for the second party!!

Getting older isn't so bad after all!!

Life is Good and All is Well!!