CAMA Mongolia

Oops, touched a button, and title went in without the picture.

THe CAMA Mongolia team met this year at the Nukht Hotel outside of Ulaan Baatar for prayer retreat on March 6 - 8. Jack and Diana Stimmel, with Homer and Diana Madison from Menomonie Alliance Church visited us again and led the prayer retreat and fellowship.

CAMA Mongolia

First class

Enrollment and orientation for the first group of students were held on March 13 and 14. The students are from 2 different churches, Nikdovnigon here in Darhan and Suxh Baatar on the border with Russia. The students have enrolled for the Certificate in Christian Ministry, and they will continue with the next series of learning circles. Pieter will visit the group in Sugh Baatar every Saturday and the Nikdovnigon students here in Darhan during the week. Mughee (on the left) is our translator at CLTC.

Happy New Year

Saeghan Chinleree!

Wishing you a Happy New Year! It’s the beginning of spring here in Mongolia, with the temperatures well below freezing. But, the sun is shining, and if you can find a spot in the sun with no wind, you might just think that spring is really here.

The picture of us is with our neighbors, Batbold and Gerlee and his parents in a small town a little away from Darhan. The New Year in Mongolia is called Tsagaan Sar, which translates as White Month or White Moon. Some say tsagaan sar comes from the word Tsagaa (milk foods) as it is customary for Mongolians to eat a lot of milk products during this time. Others think it is because of the color white which is a symbol of all that is beneficial, of happiness, purity and frankness. In 1206, Temujin was proclaimed Great Khaan of all the Mongols. To celebrate, he arranged a great feast at the beginning of spring, and so creating a tradition.

Families start preparing for the holiday at least a month in advance, beginning with the preparation of plenty of gifts and foods. Homes must be cleaned out. Every family makes hundreds of buuz and makes or buys new clothes. The fattest sheep is killed and the lower back and tail are steamed to become the centerpiece of the table for the holiday.

The table are set with sheep’s back, ul boov (pastry), berees (rice cooked with butter and raisins) and traditional milk products. Ul boov are put in tiers on a big plate, with three, five or nine layers. The number nine for Mongolians is very symbolic, so nine layers of ul boov are served for very important state ceremonies. Elders usually make seven layers of ul boov (as in our picture). A family in which the grandfather is alive makes five layers. Young newlyweds make a three-layer ul boov, as the number three is associated with the beginning of everything. The top of the ul boov heap has to be decorated with sweets, pieces of sugar, cream and Mongolian butter.

This year tsagaan sar fell on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday then became also a public holiday, Sunday turned into a normal working day. Schools, government offices, and banks were all open. There were not many people in church on that Sunday morning.

Tsagan Sar - getting ready.

Tsagan Sar has come early for the students at the language school. Tuya (our language teacher) will be with her mother this year during the holidays, and therefor had the school’s tsagan sar party already two weeks ago. Tuya always arrange something cultural for these occasions, and all the students have to practice how to greet and learn about the different foods served during this very important celebration.

Picture on the left:  Mark getting "wrapped-around".

The things we do!

The Darhan University asked us a few weeks ago if they could use the hall at CLTC for their Annual English Contest. The next request, could Cinda, Kirsten and I do the judging at this event. Not something I thought I will ever do, but living and working overseas make you do things you never thought would be possible. Here we are, really concentrating hard to look important.

Delayed in Bangkok - November 2008

We're somewhere in this crowd.

Delayed in Bankok.

This is a long story, but I’ll try to make it short. We were suppose to leave Bangkok on the evening of the 28th, but because of the protest at the airport which started on the 26th, we could only leave on the 2nd of December. We soon realized the airport will not open soon, and decided to follow the instructions on the Thai goverment website. On Sunday morning we went to the first location where foreigners could sign up, just to be told to go to Thai Airways. When we got there, we were number 558. We never reached the front of the line on that day. Monday morning early out of bed, and ready for another long line, we were number 10 (we were very proud of ourselves). We did get to the front, and walked out with a ticket from Thai Air to Seoul on the 3rd of December in the evening. From there, we were on our own, which means we had to buy an extra ticket to get us to South Africa. The next morning, the 2nd, we decided to try again, maybe we can get a ticket closer to home. We were number 14 this time. By nine o’clock, we had a new air ticket to Hong Kong. We rushed back to the guesthouse, packed the last stuff, while Pieter had to make bookings for us with Cathay Pacific to Johannesburg. By ten we arrived at the hotel in Bangkok where all passengers had to check in, and soon after that we were on one of the many busses on our way to U-Tapao, a military base 2 hours away from Bangkok. And then came the chaos. No one knew where to go, the intercom system did not work, announcements were made on A4 papers. We were standing outside in the sun for almost two hours, it was hot!!! Another four hours inside, with no space to move. The lines got wider and wider, more people were let in, but not many people were getting out to the planes waiting. By that time we were so thirsty, but the stress of getting on the plane made us forget about all other things. We were suppose to leave at four o’clock, we only left at six. We worried about being late for our flight the same night from Hong Kong to Johannesburg. We were so grateful when the plane finally started moving. In Hong Kong we had very little time, and we first had to go through immigration and customs (to get our bags), and then back through check-in, immigration. In between there, we ran into Diners Club lounge, jumped in the showers, and ran to the next boarding gate. We were the last ones to board. We arrived in SA the following morning at six o’clock. We were so glad to see Anri and Sonja.