Recent Photo Update in Ulaanbaatar :) :)

Take a look at some recent photos :) Life continues on here. There is a deep, steady clarity in my heart that I am in the right place at this point in my life. I love it!!

Here are some random photos of friends in our weekly Bible study, a church Kathy and I visited recently, some photos of the old Orthodox Church buildings on the way to my work each day, and some photos of things going on at MIU.

Friends and me at our home for our weekly Bible study :)

Altjin, Nara and Javkhlan:)

Our dear friend Munguu!!

Hulan and Bilgee :)

A cake for Bilgee's birthday :)

My talented little friend JP! (Javzanpagma)

And my "daughter" Anu... :)

JP and Amy my "daughter" :)

The road to the church we visited a few Sundays ago...

... another photos of the way I walk to MIU each morning ....

The old Ukrainian church building I see each day on my way to MIU.

... some of the foreign staff at MIU.. nice meal together :)

Our LEI teachers had a going away lunch for Bayarmaa.

Dr. and Mrs. Kwon at a recent signing of an agreement with city officials.

Some of our MIU staff with city officials. I know I look a bit different that the rest of them.. haha :)

... another view from our apartment window...

LEI Basketball Competition!!

Last Saturday LEI students organized a basketball competition. At least half of the English students participated, and most of our revered teaching staff. It was a great time for everyone. The students rented a high school gym not far from MIU. They did a great job organizing it all. Our team won 2 and lost 1. I hope we can do it again! You should have seen us! Who cares if the NBA is on strike, considering the games we played... haha! See if you can find me in some of the photos. I am hard to recognize because I blend in with everyone else .. :) :)

This Week in Pictures

I  love to be with people. I love to take photos, if you haven't noticed already.. haha. I love to communicate what is going on in my life with any who are interested. Sometimes I don't know what to title my blog post. So I have chosen the obvious... This Week in Pictures. As you know, "a picture speaks a thousand words." So it is :) Take a look at the photos of this week, with my short description of each group.

These first are of the LEI office I am in. Things are running pretty smoothly these days. As I have said too many times, it is great to be working at Mongolian International University.

Nasim the Afghan, who calls me dad, sitting at my desk with 2 students :)

... and Amy from Korea who calls me dad ... :)

I got some more photos recently from a student who took photos at the MIU basketbaal competition a few weeks ago. So I thought I would post a few .....

Sulide, from Inner Mongolia, China, and me .....

Yea... I made a few points :)

The Bible study we have at our home has become a special thing for all of us. God is blessing our friendships and pursuit of Him! Some of us went into the center of the city, to Sukhbaatar Square a few weeks ago. In the background you can see the main government building with the revered statue of Genghis Khan (spelled Chinggis Khan in Mongolia).

What a great group!! :)

Javzanpagma and me :)

We took a bike ride around the square...

Sainaa, Javzanpagma's sister

Hulan and her Aunt Nergui

Many weddings and special occasions are held in the square...

Zolboo and the others in our home.

This last Sunday Kathy and I visited a church where our friend Bogi goes. Bogi is a dear sister in the Lord who works at Papa Cafe, the cafe next door to us. We met her there some months ago. Kathy and I have gotten together with her several times recently.

The place where the church meets; photo taken from our apartment window.

Bogi loves to sing and play guitar.

This week I met a brother named Tom. He is here from Michigan, spending a year to learn Mongolian and then plans to head out to the countryside to minister the Lord in spiritual and practical ways. He left his career in dentistry to come to Mongolia. I am constantly amazed by the caliber of men and women who have left so much to give their lives for other people. 

This past Tuesday I introduced him to my friend Amar who is head of Dentistry at Health Sciences University of Mongolia. It was an excellent opportunity for Tom and Amar to make a connection for working together in the future. Amar has trusted the Lord Jesus to provide the building and the equipment for the university. His desire is not for money, but to provide dental help for many of the poor of Mongolia. Great work!

Tom in front of the university building.

Tom got the privilege of sitting in Amar's chair at his desk in the head office... :)

Tom has opportunity to speak to the staff at the univesity.

Here is some of the state-of-the-art equipment at the university.

And this week we had a great time with one of the LEI students, Tseko, and her mother at Papa Cafe where Bogi works. Interestingly, Papa Cafe is also where I met Tom recently.