Meditating on this verse today.

Rainy sleeting icy day today so church is cancelled :( Using the time to meditate on Gods word. ~ Have a great week everyone!

"Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home." - Psalm 51:13

New ways to support us!

We are happy to announce that we have now partnered with World Outreach Ministries to make it most convenient to receive ministry financial gifts, even internationally.

If you would like to support our ministry, the fastest way is to make an Online Donation

via www.WorldOutreach.org. Go to "Donate" and select our name from the list.

You can also set up automatic Monthly Gifts with your credit card!

Or simply mail your gift to:

World Outreach Ministries

PO Box B

Marietta, GA 30061

*please make sure to designate “Alissa and Manasa Qaranivalu #202”

(Belmond Evangelical Free Church will continue to be able to accept donations as well)

**Both options have a tax receipt option available

Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or other options!

~THANK YOU~

***Also using new email address: knomads@excite.com ***

Sorry for the long overdue update....more soon!

After the holidays, it's back to work! We've enjoyed the holidays with family, and friends. Thankful for the clear weather so travel has been no problem. We are currently preparing for our presentation to my home church (Belmond Evangelical Free Church) that is this Sunday ~ how fun to look back on all that God has done this year! We are currently raising support, and still handling some health issues that may result in some minor surgeries. Please be praying for discernment ~ We plan on being in the USA until March, possibly pushing that date back a bit depending on recuperation time etc. Praise God for His faithfulness to us this year!
A new update is a switch on where we gather our financial support, more information will come soon. A highlight is being able to accept credit card donations!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

This has been a big year for us as we've seen God blessings in many ways. The highlight for this year was, of course, our wedding in July. We have been enjoying our first year of marriage, learning more about each other and are excited about the opportunities God is giving us for the year 2013.

We've spent the last five months in Mongolia, and are excited about how the church is growing and maturing (Christianity is only 20 years old). Manasa had the opportunity to do some teachings on how to teach and study the Bible, as well as some preaching opportunities. We feel God growing our hearts for mercy ministries as we regularly faced the homeless, broken beautiful people of Mongolia. We look forward to seeing where God takes and uses that heart. Being from a strong shamanism and Buddhist background, more people came to experience genuine love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and a willingness to lay down their life and follow Him. Many Mongolians took the challenge and answered the called of God to further the Gospel to their own people and also to the nations such as Afghanistan, China –Inner Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia – Buriat Mongol, and a heart to reach North Korea.

In October, Alissa faced some health issues, possibly liver inflammation and gall bladder issues. After much prayer, we felt God start to close ministry doors in Mongolia and guide us to take a 3 month break to return to the USA for medical care, preparation for this next season of ministry and family fellowship. This is Manasa's first time to the USA, so we look forward to traveling a bit and being able to support our friends and family. Alissa is currently taking some medical tests and expect the results to lead to full healing to be able to get back to ministry. We are praying about the many upcoming opportunities and would appreciate your prayer support during the next few months. We are also looking to increase our support base. While in Mongolia, we realized that we are able to meet our personal needs (rent food) however we would love to be able to have some finances available to pour into the ministries also (food/blankets for homeless, books/handouts for evangelism etc).
We can't say enough how important it is for us to connect and appreciate our supporters. There are still a lot of people living in darkness and we can unite to reach them, each using the gifts and blessings we've been given. What a great privilege to be used by God as an instrument of proclaiming God’s love through His Son Jesus Christ to the lost and dying soul on the mission field and in our own backyard. Our prayers are that God will continue to bless each of you, and that many people, nations and tribes will be blessed through your faith, love, prayer and generous support.

We wish you and your family a blessed Christmas season~

Email us at : knomads@excite.com or skillet25@gmail.com

Ulziimaa's Testimony at Times Square Church

New language

Learning a new language isn't easy...when you are over (cough cough) 30.... So we have greatly appreciated our Mongolia teachers who teach with a sense of humor, and using lots of practical everyday terms. Even learning an alphabet that uses different sounds (example the r sounds like a 'g') and new symbols (there is one that looks like a tent that is the "d" sound....) doesn't come easy so having a professional teacher is important! Here is a picture with our teacher Tuya (Tuya Bagsh) at a Korean restaurant ~

The broken...the homeless

As Manasa and I continue to pray about how to serve the people here in Mongolia, our hearts and more and more stirred for the homeless population. Because the winters get so cold here, there are often hungry, frost bitten (and sometimes passed out drunk) men and women (sometimes children) finding their warmth in apartment corridors, or even underground (as picture shows). Just the other night Manasa passed by a man who was in the drainage pipe, passed out. He was worried enough that he later went back out to see if this man was okay (he was already gone by that time). This youtube video was taken by an organization in the main capital city, we have not yet heard of a homeless shelter in our town. We do know a church that provides a meal once a week...we hope to be a part of increasing the resources for those who are poor, or without a home. Feel free to check out this link.....

"Being homeless in Mongolia"
http://youtu.be/PXqON2dDnd0

Back to schoooooool

Taking classes to learn Mongolian isn't easy. I am however thankful for such patient and supportive teachers as we've found at our Mongolian language school. I am now starting to learn common phrases and the brain feels so tired after a three hour class. I attend class Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Manasa is more advanced so he attends just two times a week, Tuesday and Thursday. The positive of having one on one time with a teacher is being able to review the 'hard' parts and practice practice practice. Our last session included asking and responding to family member's names (what is your husband's name, what is your sister's name), as well as asking "will you go _____?" , do you want to eat ____?, do you want to drink ____? and do you speak (and study) followed by the different languages. Sometimes the question is easy but forming the answer isn't hahaha. Looking forward to continuing to learn phrases and words that I often hear amongst my friends.

Reading ~

We are always on the lookout for new and truthful ways of introducing people to the story of Jesus. When all you've heard about it is either from word of mouth or a small four minute clip on television, you don't really get the joy of understanding the full story and the power of who God is. This last weekend a friend showed us this Mongolian comic book that they are using and we were so excited!  Looking forward to sharing the Jesus story in a new way!

Put this up on facebook earlier and thought Id share

 

Highlights from my day so far
Me: "I feel like a stuffed potato"
island husband: "gooooood"

Went to school only to find door locked, called teacher and apparently it's Chinggis Khan's birthday so NO SCHOOL!

On way home from school
husband: "im going to watch a movie when i get home"
me: "oh I thought of maybe exercising"
husband : *pause* "we are not on the same page"

Fun day!

Birthday of Genghis Khan

Today is Genghis Khan's birthday. I did not know this until Manasa and I arrived at my school for Mongolia classes and the door was locked. After calling the teacher we found out it was a national holiday to celebrate this respected leader's birthday. When we got in the taxi, we decided to stop at the store on the way home, and the taxi driver was saying how Mongolians are crazy because they celebrate this birthday today even though no one knows for sure what date is Genghis Khan's day of birth. He described that it's a day when families get together. When we got home we turned on the television to hear the very wise President ( Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj) of Mongolia discuss Genghis Khan's victories but more importantly used it to promote decisions to unify and strengthen the country today.  Genghis Khan was known as a warrior, fearless and smart. He was only 20 when he began building a large army and started destroying the armies of the rest of Asia. He was successful – the Mongol Empire was the largest empire in the world before the British Empire.

The words  "Genghis Khan," mean "universal ruler". All this rich history makes me think of the lineage of Christ. Ask any Mongolian to tell you some stories about this warrior (also known as Chingis Khan or Jingis) and they will be able to tell you folklore stories, historical facts, maybe something about a family member or the town where he was born. I asked myself what would I say about my 'Lord', and ruler- Jesus Christ. Would I be able to tell you stories of His victories, great speeches and legacy? More importantly would I be bold enough to share what He is doing in my life today? Good challenges and thoughts on a day where Ive been blessed learning more about the culture I live in, and also thankful for the 'leader' that I will always follow ~
*Me in front of Genghis Khan's monument in Sükhbaatar Square, UlaanBaatar Mongolia

Highs and Lows

I found this table interesting, found at World Weather website (for Mongolia).... ah something to look forward to...

Climatological Information

Month Mean Temperature oC Mean Total Precipitation (mm) Mean Number of Precipitation Days Daily Minimum Daily Maximum Jan -30.8 -16.4 4.3 6 Feb -26.5 -9.6 2.8 5 Mar -14.5 1.1 3.2 4 Apr -4.8 12.1 8.9 6 May 2.4 20.4 19.9 8 Jun 8.8 24.6 57.0 14 Jul 12.6 26.0 86.6 16 Aug 10.5 24.1 82.0 14 Sep 2.5 17.8 40.8 10 Oct -5.8 9.6 14.4 7 Nov -17.4 -3.3 5.6 7 Dec -25.8 -12.2 5.2 8

Let it snow , let it snow....

We were met with a delightful snow today. Delightful only because I could stay in my warm house today while Manasa ventured out to attend Mongolian class. I watched as people slipped a bit then noticed a man sitting on the ground. A few passerbys helped him up and I realized he was drunk (not unusual for this area). As I watched him stumble and slip I thought about how this moment, possibly entertaining and funny, only made my heart hurt. I wondered how far away he lived. When he got home would there be someone there to take care of him? Did he have heat? If he has coal burning stove, is he too impaired to know how to warm it? I prayed for all those who are cold, sick , or like this man struggling with substances. God can keep them warm and safe and ultimately reveal Himself in a personalized way. For now Ill enjoy my warm apartment, venturing out tomorrow in my new (second hand) coat bought yesterday and thank God for His provisions.

Faith Hope and Love

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is love (2 Corinthians 13:13)

Taken from Stuart Briscoe's book "Living Love God's Way"

Something that becomes evident without much meditation is that these three qualities- faith, hope and love- go together. You can't pick and choose among them. The Bible draws a picture of these three graces as inextricably related and bound up in each other.

Faith is at the root of human experience. When you have faith in a valid object of faith, it produces hope. Hope becomes a branch that grows out of the root of faith. When you become a person of faith and hope, you develop a faith and hope in other people and in God, and that leads you to love God and love people. Love is the ultimate fruit.

Of these three superb Christian graces-absolutly interrelated, absolutely indispensable- love is still the greatest. We don't need to diminish faith or diminish hope in order to glorify love. Instead, we need to upgrade both faith and hope; and that allows love to flourish. Without hope, we become pessimistic and lethargic. Why do anything, since everything is such a mess anyway? That certainly isn't conducive to love. And faith is the ability to see what God sees- the divine potential He's planted in people. Faith keeps us from giving up on one another. Faith sees ahead, and love energizes growth toward that vision. Without faith, we could be sentimental and wish that things might work out, cry over another person's struggles, without the confidence that the struggles won't have the last word.

And what do we have if love is missing? Love is our ability to act in such a way that we build up others and ourselves. Love is action that springs from the very goodness and holiness of God. Love is what makes is all happen. That's why its the greatest of the three. Love is actually God's very character translated into something tangible for us to know.

Manasa took a long walk yesterday to his Mongolian class and took some pictures along the way, thought I'd share a few.