Not Your Average BIRTHDAY

Turning 68 in a far away country is an Adventure in itself but this year had to be a bit more!!

Ulziika had a surprise party in the office for me.  She had invited all the Senior Couples and some of the other staff.  When we came back from teaching our English Class, the office seemed dark and suddenly lights, music, decorations and a great cake!  I was completely surprised because it was Oct. 3 (we were leaving the next day)!

We celebrated my real birthday by going off to Khovd and then Bayan Olgii for the "EAGLE FESTIVAL". We needed to visit the missionaries in Khovd, do a little training, and have a fireside for the youth who went to the Mongolian Trek.  There was a very professional DVD made so we were able to show it to them.

 The plane was an hour and a half late leaving from Ulaanbaatar which got us to Khovd late and by the time we got on the "road", it was 5:30pm and dark by just after 6:30pm.  The driver was not familiar with the road so we needed to inquire of locals at several junctures.  Using the word road is a very loose term as most of it was more like a trail. At one point we came to a stop at the end of a valley where a little old man came out of his home, got in with us and took us back to a place where two trails crossed, pointed us in the right direction, then got out, and walked back to his own place in the black of night.  Even then we couldn't find the trail but our guardian angel in the form of a lonely Jeep came along and showed us where to cross the river!!  It was "enlightening" to see where we had been the night before, as we drove back, this time seeing the other end in the daylight.

There were professional photographers from all over the world at the Eagle Festival.  It is apparently a choice destination for "adventure photography".  We met people from Germany, Italy, Thailand and Korea for starters.  I also found a Canadian Toonie on the ground by the displays so there must have been some other Canadians there too!!

                                           The oldest Eagle Hunter was 80 years old.

The hunters dress in their traditional clothing and have their eagles hooded so they can not see until it is time to hunt!!

Bayan-lgii is very close to Kazakstan and most of the people there speak Kazak.  They also do beautiful embroidery as is evidenced by their clothes and costumes

The children are dressed and ready for the competitions too.

Love his real fox head hat!!

Maybe the next generation of eagles and hunters!

The parade begins

Even camels in the parade with twins riding in their boxes!

Some of the men perch up on the mountain side to release the eagles for the timed competition.  They see which eagle returns to his hunter in the shortest time.

Meat in hand, waiting for his eagle to come

Looking for the right hunter!

Coming in for the landing

Reward for a great flight!

It was a Photographers Paradise!!

We had the chance to attend Church in Khovd and participate with the members and Missionaries.  We visited with the Branch President at his home.

He has quite a collection of geese, ducks, chickens and even turkeys.

For their P-Day we took the Missionaries for a little hike up to a lookout over the city.

In front of the Church

Now I am older but I'm not sure about wiser!  Yes, I am wiser, we were able to watch all the sessions of General Conference!  We appreciated the talks and found it very interesting how the messages apply to everyone, everywhere.  Many challenges are the same, no matter if you are in Outer Mongolia or Southern Alberta!!  We appreciate all the support and encouragement from home!

Life is Good and All is Well

PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS

Mongolia is an amazingly diverse country. We have had a chance to see so many things over the past few months!!

On the way to Darkhan we happened upon a herd of camels - often see sheep, goats, horses and cattle but it is not too common to see camels!  There were over 100 in this herd!

At the entrance to Darkhan there is a huge statue made of various kinds of metal parts, a sewing machine, tire rims, kitchen sink, filing cabinets, etc., etc.

Ulaanbaatar has become the Hollywood North for a while so the props are appearing near the Square.

In our apartment we use filtered water.  There is a little pin on the end of the faucet and when it is pulled out the water that comes from the side spout is filtered.  We use it for brushing teeth and drinking.  I always think of Jane Wilde when we use the filtered water to wash our fruit and vegetables with a bit of bleach. When they served in Africa, they too washed their produce in bleach water and that was the first I had heard of such a thing!!

One of the Sisters in our branch has a big garden out by the river where there are many "community" gardens.  She asked us to go out one Saturday to help harvest some of her produce.  It was about a 30 minute walk from the end of the bus route.  She was working on her onions that day and we helped her dig 14 gunny sacks of onions.  She had been at it since 5 in the morning and we finished about 5:30 in the afternoon - a hard worker to say the least!!  I think she must sell them to some of the little markets.

At the end of August we were able to travel with the Young Single Adults to a Conference that was held at the same location as the Handcart Trek.  We got to experience another train ride overnight and enjoy the company of about 200 young adults.  They had a great time mingling and getting to know other members from all over Mongolia.  They had lots of activities including pyramid building and wrestling Mongolian style.

Almost looks like a Stewart Christmas pyramid!

Some of the girls did the Hula for the Talent Show

And the guys did the HAKA

The girls participated in a cross country race

In traditional Mongolian Wrestling there are not many rules,
first one to touch the ground with anything but feet or hands loses!

The winner always STRUTS around the flag!

There have been two different events with cars arriving at the Chinggis Hotel across from our apartment.  The first was the "Peking to Paris" vintage cars with Ulaanbaatar as one stop on the way.  Now we have the MONGOL RALLY finishing here. They started in London England and arrive in UB, 10,000 miles later.  These are just little cars, and the first one arrived on July 26 and the 207th one came in on September 15! They are a bit strung out!!

For our District Conference some of the men went out visiting people they had not seen for a while.  The terrain is often challenging, not necessarily car friendly!!  

They took a bit of basic food for the family

Not your average "Bridge"

The road was not really meant for cars! He found out the hard way!

A cute little kid soaking up the sun outside his home

We went to the "Horse Parade" there were more than 10,000 horses - a new "Guiness Record"!

On their way to the start of the parade

In the "thing" category, a very interesting Dog House and "shaggy" dog!.

SOME CUTE KIDS

One last picture - the tallest missionary in our mission and the shortest one - they were companions!!

Here with Parker and Matt and their new MONGOLIAN ties.

As you can tell there are lots of People, Places and Things!!

AND REMEMBER, THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM!
This week's IDIOM for English class!

Life is Good and All is Well . . .