Hi all! This is my first blog post. I normally leave the blog up to Matt but since this is mostly my news I thought it only fair to write the post! I wanted to share with you some the things going on here in Mongolia in my life. As most of you already know I have been teaching the kids school here at home in the mornings and doing my language training a few afternoons a week. We are also taking the kids to some activities at the Home School Co-op two afternoons a week, and on Fridays I do the family shopping. It's so funny for me to even say that, since at home in Canada shopping never made it onto a schedule! Things are very different here though! We also have a small group meeting every Tues. evening and church of course...Needless to say a fairly busy week.
What I really wanted to share with you is about some of the relationships that I have had the opportunity to develop here. Our home helper Oyuka comes to the house 3 mornings a week and I have really enjoyed getting to know her and her family. Her husband has been looking for work for a little more than a year and what we are able to pay them, is what they have been living on. They have two beautiful boys that love dinky cars! (Kiel has given them a lot of the ones that we brought with us just because he knows how much they enjoy them.) I have had the privilege of helping Oyuka and her husband get a small business off the ground in the last few weeks. They are now selling beef and doing a great job! I am so pleased for them and would ask that you would keep them and this new budding business in your prayers!
We have also been able to assist two other families with the help of the Ladies at Colby Drive Bible Chapel who so generously knitted sweaters, and other winter gear, as well as provided some much loved stuffed animals and baby dolls! We were able to give a single mom and her daughter some much needed clothing and food. Esme passed on her clothes that she had out grown and was very generous in passing on her favourite back pack too! They live in the stairwell of one of the apartment buildings and their only income comes from cleaning the stairwell. They live in a space that is about 5X5 feet. The mother was so thankful because she said that her daughter was ostracized at school because of her old and dirty clothes and now she would have something nice to wear! It's amazing how something so small can make such a difference in a little girls life!
The other family that we were able to help was a family with two little boys. They each got a beautiful sweater and a nice new hat. Kiel passed on some of his toys and clothes for the boys too. We supplied the family with the money they needed to get some food because their cupboards were bare. Can you believe that for about $70 this family will eat well for a few months? We will be able to distribute more things as the days and weeks go by, as there is no lack of need.
We are getting to a place now that we are needing to make some big decisions for the future. We need to decide if we are to stay in Ulaanbaatar or move to the country side. We are trying to discern the direction that God has for us here and what types of ministries we are to be involved in. We need to make decisions about a possible change of schooling situation for the kids, especially Kiel as we are thinking about sending him to an English speaking private school here in UB in September. We have many things that need to be decided on and we would ask for your prayers as we make these decisions. Thanks so much for all your prayer support thus far! We know that it is making a huge difference here in our lives!