Some things are back to normal

Hi everyone. i know that a couple of posts ago I said that I would share what happened in August & then many things happened. I am sorry for making this even shorter than I planned, but here is it. In the 1st week & a half we went to the countryside for a retreat. During the retreat we slept in a Mongolian ger & were together with many of our friends from all over Mongolia. We had guest speakers (husband/wife team) that served in Brazil with their children for many years & are now living in New Zealand. While we, the adults were in our sessions the kids had a program that was taught by an American team.

It really was a great time, but due to the extraordinary amount of rain this year there were a lot more insects this year sleeping in the ger. One night at about 3am Teresa jumped out of bed & said "Matt. Something just bit my foot." when I shined on her bed we both saw the biggest Locust we had ever seen. It was 8cm long & it's body was 2cm think. Here is a picture I took during the day.

The week after we packed up our bags & went camping for a week in the countryside, knowing that it would be our last chance before school started & winter came. We of course had some friends come along. One is Canadian teacher here & the other is Australian that is an MK currently studying Mongolian having grown up in different countries & served in a different country before coming here. They both are part of our small group of friends.

 

Here is a picture of our here we stayed. The day I took this picture it was 35 degrees Celsius. When I look at this picture it is still amazing to think that in 3 months this exact same place will be -35 degrees Celsius.

Mongolia is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It is a gift to be able to live here.

Kiel is back to school & is enjoying being in grade 4. Went we came back this year all of us were curious as to if we had made a difference at Kiel's school. Well as soon as we went back we knew that we did. All of the foreign, Mongolian teachers, staff & students were so excited to see us. They all stopped to talk & ask Kiel about his summer. Teresa & I had parents, teachers & students (both foreign & Mongolian) excited to see us & wanted to hear the details of our summer. They all said that they were looking forward to seeing us this year.

Esme had an awesome birthday, with 9 of her friends. I think it's awesome when I look at her friends & where they are from (Mongolia, Australia, South Korea, Canada, United States, Switzerland, UK & more.) Here is a picture of the homemade ice cream cake that Teresa is becoming famous for. Russian ice cream is the most amazing thing in the world. There is something about ice cream made with 100% cream that makes a difference.

Home schooling is going really well this year. Esme did not forget the things she learned last year & Teresa has a very busy schedule this year. Teresa, Angela, Naomi & me will be teaching her this year & some of her home schooling will be with 2 of her Korean/Australian friends. Esme this year will also be taking a Mongolian language class each week. Teresa & I are so excited that soon all four of us will be able to communicate in Mongolian together. It will be so awesome when we return to Canada & all four of us can speak in a language that others will not.