Our New Apartment, and Red Day at LEI !!

Kathy and I have moved into another apartment. We are happy in it! We had been thinking about moving, because we felt we needed a bigger living room for our Bible studies and different gatherings with friends. Some of you may know it isn't easy to make the decision to move, especially because of all the work involved, the unknowns, will we get a better apartment, will we get one not so good. Well, our landlord told us he and his family wanted to move in to the apartment again. Goodbye apartment! Goodbye beautiful view of the city center!! But we felt clear that God was the one arranging things, so we set to work finding a new place, which we did in about a week. We thank the Lord for kind Mongolian people who can do the translating and help with negotiating and so on. 

Kathy is very frugal with her money... our money :) She doesn't ask for lavish things. The apartment we chose is perfect for us, only one bedroom this time, but a larger living room, which we are very happy with, and a kitchen area that is much nicer for Kathy. Every time we have moved, we are pretty quick to hang up pictures, arrange things, make the place a home for us. During our married life we lived  in 6 homes in the US and this is now our second one here. We always make a point of fixing the place up when we move in, just little fixes, making it more convenient, nicer, but low budget :) So I guess we are set for the next year or two or who knows how many years here!

After these photos are some of some friends and of our Language Education Institute at MIU. The students had a "Red Day".... just a fun day to dress in red with sunglasses. You can see the photos!

We now live next to the tall building to the left in the photo.

Here is the complex, called American Denj, meaning American Hill.

Here is Kathy at the "supermarket" :)

We live in the building in the middle of the photo, 7th floor :)

the entry into our apartmemt

There is a desk for computer and studying in the entry way. It works well.

Our living room ...

Our living room with the kitchen and eating area off to one side.

... the kitchen table where Kathy serves her delicious meals :)

... our bedroom ...

... a visit to the office of our friends Bogi and Odko ....

Odko our dear friend :)

Red Day at LEI :)

... the morning class at LEI ...

... and the afternoon class ...

Some of our LEI teachers !!!!

Time for Friends, Coffee and Our Talent Show

Sometimes it is great to have a taste of the things where we came from in the U.S. of A :) Coffee Bean, a coffee shop so familiar to Kathy and I in the States, opened up a branch here in Ulaanbaatar. You should have seen the excitement on Kathy’s face!! Haha… well…. We went to check it out a few Sundays ago. Great place…. “just like home” :) We went with some of our church friends. Really nice time! 

Afterward Kathy and I walked the two miles home and stopped along the way at the Blue Sky Tower, a prominent landmark in the center of the city. We took some time to go up to the top floor and got some photos :) This week I met my friend Jonathan and had lunch in the top floor of another tall building facing the main square. Jonathan has an uncanny ability to discover some super places to eat, and cheap prices as well. So you can see my pics, and some of the view of the city from high up. I actually love going up to the top of the highest buildings anywhere in the world… in places like Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Rome, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Toronto, Chicago, New York, London, Vancouver, Mexico, Guatemala… so many places!! 

Our LEI department at MIU had its Talent Show last week. It’s always a great time to see some of the amazing talent the students have. Kathy and I and two other teachers were judges. Not an easy task!! 

And Kathy and I have really enjoyed spending time with Odko, who was a student at LEI last year. So nice to be with her and her friend Bogi :) 

Happy Kathy :)

Our church friends John, Bobby, Tulga, Esther and Hongbin

Carissa !!

Soldiers day in Ulaanbaatar :)

My friend and brother Jonathan

... a benefit concert for a lady with an illness ...

Our dear friend Odko with Kathy, me and Bogi at the Champion Table Tennis Club :)

Odko with Kathy :)

Odko with me :)

Many of the LEI students at the Talent Show

Some of our great teachers!