2012

Time to count the blessings of 2011, learn from the scars, and prepare to walk out dreams in 2012. Thank you God for your faithfulness....

Christmas Challenge

Angel: "For nothing will be impossible with God."

Mary: "I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her."

Challenging sermon this morning- the faith of Mary and the willingness to be used by God even though she would suffer shame and discomfort and a lot of unknowns (a single, unwed teen, more than likely disowned by her family)....

Makes me think about what my challenges are, and am I willing to give them all up? Am I willing to trust in a larger picture? Do I trust when I hear clearly the next step but do not see the final destination? If there is no guarantee of freedom from pain or suffering?

I am so glad that this sermon was not just a 'Christmas' message but that it applied the hope we have Christ- what will we do with it? Such a joyous time and I am so thankful for this season to reflect on God's sacrifice for us and also His call , so personal to each of us, to a close relationship with Himself.

Blessings as you enter into this Christmas week!~

Toilet Paper strikes again

I recently placed a post, while I was in Mongolia, about every nation across the world runs the risk of running out of toilet paper. Im now in Brisbane Australia, and the dilemma has hit again :) Thankfully refilled today so the risk is at a minimal.... hahaha

Arrived in brisbane

Thank you for all your prayers. After the initial delay and reschedule, my flight went off without any problems and my bag arrived safely to Brisbane also. Is good to reconnect and see a lot of new faces on the base! The DTS just left on outreach to Vanuatu for one month. We also were hosting a Fijian Youth Outreach that will be leaving tomorrow. Thankful for all their hard work and support. Base should be quiet this week and holidays start Friday. Thank you again for your prayers and have a wonderful holiday season! Blessings, Alissa

Waiting

Waiting at the airport for over seven hours, some of the 'joys' of the missionary life!! ~Alissa

Gift from YWAM base

This is a wonderful hand made gift made by a YWAM staff (cut out). It includes Manasa and my name ,as well as Youth with a Mission, written in traditional Mongolian script on one side and the individuals on the horses represent Manasa and I. Such a beautiful expression of their culture.

Airport

There was some fog and 'bad weather' that cancelled most flights going out of Ulan Bator.... It was a frustrating day of waiting in the airport only to have to return back. Also dealing with Air China was not helpful and was thankful that Emirates airline was much more helpful, rebooking the entire flight for the same flights, a couple days later for just 80 US dollars. Praying that the weather clears up as today was still foggy, snowy and low visibility.... Alissa

Pics

It was Ingkushe's fourth birthday so we celebrated her birthday as well as my farewell. So fun! Living in community can have it's positive such as wonderful food and fellowships, and of course lots of laughs. Because I was leaving some of the leaders started singing the chorus of some Mongolian love songs about 'don't go, come back' aimed at Manasa. Another common thing is to put out plates of candy.... Mongolians love their hard candies!

Goodbye dinner

A few pictures from the wonderful 'Goodbye' lunch prepared by the YWAM staff with traditional "hushuur" ( a mixture of cooked potatoes, vegetables, and meat in a fried dough). It was a blessing. We were joined by an outreach team that is here for one week .

Time in Mongolia

My time in Mongolia is running down. I tried to fly out yesterday only to face an entire day of delays due to 'bad weather' (just looked a little gloomy to me). Korean Air cancelled their flights right away (i guess they are a bit more cautious) and mine got rescheduled until 10pm. Finally they could get me to Bejing, 2 days to get to singapore with overnight and no ticket from singapore to brisbane. I didnt want to get stuck, and staying overnight along was a bit scary so we came back to our guest house and I called Emirates airlines directly who graciously rescheduled my entire ticket for three days from now- the same flights, layovers etc for only 80 american dollars change fee. I feel God answers those prayers to take care of me... I will be flying out on Tuesday afternoon.
- Please pray for good weather
-Please pray for finances for my next couple days in the capitol Ulan Bator (a Korean church runs a 'guest house' ministry so the rooms are fair price -25 dollars anight-but with 2 of us needing rooms the price adds up....)

So thankful the base in Darhan is so supportive and has been prayer warriors for us. Also thankful for Manasa who can speak the Mongolian language and is always taking good care of me. I know God must have a reason for a couple more days here in Mongolia.

Thank you for your prayers!! Alissa

Great need for more missions outreach

Nation of Mongolia as of a few years ago
Population: over 2 600 000
Christian 0.03 %
Muslim 4.0%
Buddhist 26.0%
Animist 50.0%
Other 20.0%

Mongolia has become more open to christian churches in the past years however international missionaries still have to be very careful as they can be asked to leave the country (as one Korean YWAM family did a few years ago). There is no preaching on the streets etc so outreach is through relationship building and mercy ministries. Even the Mongolian staff have to be careful to keep specific records of money etc in case asked by the government. We need more willing to pioneer this frontier!

Toilet paper

No matter the country, we all run the risk of running out of toilet paper....

Manasa

Feeling very blessed today to spend time with Manasa and experience his world. There are so many opportunities to minister in this area and teaching english has been a big open door. Thankful for God leading us together and praying about what the future holds! We both will continue with our base commitments  (him here in Mongolia and myself in Brisbane Australia) and are expecting God to open doors for us in the near future to be together again. ~

Friendship Club

Enjoying conversation, singing and a short english sunday school lesson for Mongolian teenagers wishing to improve their english. It is run by Myrna, a Filipino lady who is an english as second language school teacher for ninth graders. The girls were eager to sing and we had lots of giggles.

Walking

Scene from after church today. We turned the corner to three cows running through the streets with a traditionally dressed man and woman following closely behind. I am still a bit spooked by the wandering cows due to their size (and their horns) so always quickly pull Manasa in front of me....just in case! hahaha . There are some dogs that also roam the street but so far they have all been friendly. They typically do belong to a family however they run around the streets and are often just barely missed on the streets by the taxis.

Ger tent for church

Our church is in a traditional 'Ger' tent. Ive included a description from Wikipedia to describe it. Sometimes my clothes smell a bit like charcoal after our service. Im always warm and we take off our coats when come in (but keep on our boots). Traditionally people sit in a circle around the inside. Also it is used as a house with division enough for just a bed, a sitting area and near the stove is the kitchen . For church however we seat the chairs behind the stove facing a podium. We have lights, projector and microphone so electricity is used in the tent also. The 'ger' is the mongolian word for Yurt, however there are a few differences as seen in the description:

"The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel (tüýnük) usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall (again steam bent). The top of the wall is prevented from spreading by means of a tension band which opposes the force of the roof ribs. The structure is usually covered by layers of fabric and sheeps-wool felt for insulation and weatherproofing. The similar Mongolic nomadic structure the ger is often wrongly referred to by westerners as a yurt but differs in that the heavier roof wheel (toono) is supported on posts and the roof ribs are straight rather than bending down at the wall junction. The wall lattice is of a ger is constructed of straight pieces as opposed to the the yurt's curved lattice."

Pot Pies?

Making a dish similar to pot pies- some of them had chicken and corn (no sauce) while the other had a milk/cheese mixture. Both had pie crust on top to make little 'pie'- like appetizers. Was fun cooking with the kids and have become found of Oroongo (spelling is probably not correct) who lives downstairs and comes up every other day or so. Her english is very good and she enjoys practicing. She is also learning German and hopes to visit Germany for a week long exchange program next year. She also plays piano well and competed this weekend. There have been reports of some drunk men in our building, with rumors of them kidnapping a young girl, so Oroongo and the other girls always leave together, or with Manasa to stay safe. Unfortunately children's innocence leaves too quickly in any nation. Over all Mongolia has been a very safe place to go and many women live alone in apartments. The next pictures are of some of the other children showing me their dance (they are in their black and white dance outfits). The dance was not a traditional Mongolian dance but rather what seemed a 'pop' song. We've had lots of laughs singing and dancing together. Friday night we prayed for one of the girls who has a reoccuring ear problem that doctors are unable to explain. We are praying that God uses this time to heal her and in that testify to her family of the TRUE God

pizza pic

Pizza night

Pizza Night! Manasa , Boonoo and I ordered pizza last night. I was surprised by the 'selection' of pizzas including tuna pizza, Kimche (Korean), eggplant etc... We ordered the meat pizza and I was surprised that there was little to no pizza sauce on the pizza, instead a couple of 'ketchup' packets were included. Not quite the same taste but it was fine! Also love that coke products can be found anywhere with Korean, Russian or Mongolian translations.

Skyping

Thankful that mongolia has regular internet system as I was able to 'skype' with my parents the other day and check email regularly. One friend Evonia, even has 'magic jack' phone system from the USA that connects through her internet here. It carries a Boston phone number so her family in America is able to call a local number, yet through the internet, reach Evonia here in Mongolia. If I had regular internet connection in Brisbane I would certainly consider that option as it's easy to contact Americans through their cell phones. They also use cell phones and texting here in Mongolia. Their television carries a few english stations including BBC, the Cartoon Network and one Australian channel . The rest are either from Russia or Mongolia. Yesterday there was a Korean program about learning Mongolian.... Wow! Not too many seem to speak English fluently however the children have the choice of Japanese, English and German in school.

Truly a mongolian

It is still around -20 degrees in Mongolia and when you have to face the cold you quickly adapt to the warmest options, thus the big winter coats (layers!) , mittens and hats. They have taxis that run continuously and are about one dollar a passenger to get half way across town. These 'taxis' are simply individual runs with their own cars so if one would want to make some extra gas money they could just pick up passengers on the side of the road. There are some 'vans' that act more like a regular bus system but I have yet to see anything more convenient that the 'taxis'. The driving still amazes me as it is not uncommon to pass two or three cars within inches. The Mongolians live a difficult life when you look at how they have to face the elements everyday. The kids seem to make the most of it as they have created a skating rink within a block of our apartment and spend time there during breaks at school. On the lower level of most apartment complexes are individually owned 'stores' that carry common bathroom and kitchen needs, very helpful in cold weather.