The Socks

Today as we were walking along the road, a young man approached us.  He said (in good English), "I am a student.  Can I ask you a question?"  I said, "What about?"  He had a small backpack and he proceeded to open it..."I am selling warm Mongolian socks!  Do you want to buy?"  "How much?" I said, knowing that if it was reasonable, I would buy some just to help support him.  "2,ooo tugrug." (About a dollar fifty.)  So we bought two pair, knowing that we didn't really want or need them, that we had plenty of very nice warm socks, and what were we going to do with them?  But he was happy; and he deserved to be, for he was trying his best to earn his living in an honest manner - and that is to be commended!

A block or two down the road we passed a man carrying a gunnysack on his back.  It was filled with rebar that was slipping out and clanging to the ground because the sack was so old.  His clothes were ragged, his face was almost black with dirt and soot, and he walked slowly despite the biting cold.  Tears threatened to come to my eyes - if only I could help all of them; but then I remembered the socks!  Quickly we got them back out of the back-pack and Beaver ran to get his attention - he was crossing the road now...  We hailed him in our less than authentic Mongolian, and in the middle of the road, Beaver gave him the two pair of socks...  A wide smile streaked across his face showing only two teeth, as he realized our purpose.  He crossed to near where I was standing on the curb, patted the socks over his heart, and nodded his head...  He didn't need to say anything - I understood....

Jesus understands, too - better than you or I or anyone can ever understand.  He hurts for each of His children, and He longs for them to know more about Him.  Oh, that we can learn to tell them better!

Ham Radio with the Pathfinders!

This last Sunday we had the pleasure of being able to teach the local pathfinder group about Amateur (Ham) Radio!  Beaver told them a little bit about it, since many have never heard of such a thing, and then we piled into our vehicle (12 or 13 in our cruiser!) and two taxis and went to the Mongolian Ham Radio office - a small room inside an apartment building!  The kids were so excited  - and I think the local radio operators were almost as excited - I doubt if they ever get that much of a crowd in their little room!  They waxed eloquent, and the kids were so attentive!  Beaver and I couldn't understand much of the Mongolian, but we could tell that everyone loved it!  The local operator passed out pins and stickers, too!  It was so special!

After meeting back at the church we had hot water and some biscuits for lunch, and then they all wanted to go hike Zaison, 700 steps (around that) to an old Russian monument!  Actually, we found out when we got there that they wanted to race up it!  That is a climb and a half especially in -10 degree weather with coats on!  My throat hurt soo bad by the time I reached the top that I almost couldn't breathe!  It still hurts!  Then we played some games and went back to the church!  I think they went ice skating after that - but I just didn't think I could breathe much more cold air!  It was so great to spend time with them, though!  It is our understanding that most of the children are not Adventist!  Their young teachers went out around the neighborhood and invited as many as would come!  We feel that is certainly what Jesus would have done!  What a blessing they all were to us!  We hope to work more with them in the future!

Paperwork, Politics, & Medicine!

(This was a pretty posh little place where Beaver had the Hepatitis test done - they used a butterfly without a protector on the end.  They just put the plastic covered needle into the vacutainer directly  - you health-care workers understand!  Anyway, it works!!  At least they were clean!)

Paperwork!  If you like it there is plenty of it here in Mongolia!!  And Politics - there's more than enough of that too!  :-)  This last week Beaver had lots of "fun" trying to get his medical certificate declaring that he is a safe (healthwise) pilot!  He had to obtain nine different doctors signatures in various and sundry hospitals and buildings.  He had to give blood for basic labs, HIV/AIDS testing, Hepatitis testing, and of course they did a urine test.  He saw a dentist TWICE, had to see a lung doctor, heart doctor, stomach doctor, reflexologist, eye doctor, neurologist, aviation doctor, and a SURGEON!!  HEhhehe!!  But that's not the best part!  Before doing all these things in the right order (which meant just trying to go to one and then being told to go to someone else first) he had to get other tests!!  He had an EEG (brain "wave" study - Beaver declares that his brain must have "waved" because they were happy, an ECG (heart study), chest x-rays, eye tests, hearing tests, abdominal ultrasound (no, he's not pregnant:-) and I can't remember what else!  Whewww!!!  All of that cost about $150 US dollars - a process that will hopefully never have to be repeated in it's entirety!  In the states all that Beaver has to do to get his medical is one visit to one physician and a urine test!  At least we learned more about the medical system through all of that, and became acquainted with a number of physicians who are very interested in our work!  God ALWAYS works ALL things for GOOD!!  Sometimes that is necessary to repeat to yourself as you are tramping unknown hallways in search of unknown test results in an unknown language!  There is a Constant in all of this confusion!!

Life In Mongolia

This is the view from one of our windows.  If you look closely here, you can see the scaffolding around that huge flag-pole.  These two guys had to erect the scaffolding as they went up, tie some sort of rope on to pull the flag up with, and then take down the scaffolding as they came down!  This is very high and VERY scary - all this in minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit or less - without the wind chill!  But they did it!  You can see them folding the flag on the ground before they raised it!

 It's the largest Mongolian flag in the world (they say;-)  right outside our window!!  We call it our flag!!

 

Giving big old frozen ice sculpture Chinggis Haan a hug!  The rest of the world calls him Ghengis Khaan - but he was Mongolian so we think we should call him what the Mongols do!

Our Sabbath evening home group!  These young people are so fun and full of love for Jesus!  We've just started having this meeting at our house by their suggestion so we can study the Bible together, sing, play games, and practice english/mongolian!  We're very blessed!

Last week on his way back from the airport, Beaver and Garid found this van turned over.  They stopped to help and found four foreigners and a few Mongolians.  Most of them had experienced no injury, but the passenger seated in front had bashed his head on the window when the driver tried to go around someone in the way on the road and then hit a pole, rolling over twice.  Beaver administered some basic 1st aid, and then Garid went with the injured Canadian to the hospital and was able to interpret for him.  These types of accidents are fairly common due to strange driving, icy roads, and the narrow wheel base on these Russian vans.  Don't look at the picture below if you get sick when you see blood!

Sliding on the River

Sabbath we went to the church that meets at the SDA english language school here in UB (Ulaanbataar).  The classes and sermon are directed toward teaching English while teaching the listeners about God at the same time.  Our Sabbath school class was really touching.  There was one fellow there who really wants to be a Christian, but argues with his wife all the time about it, since she is Buddhist.  We talked and prayed with him; hopefully he will keep coming.  There is still a lot of stigma acossiated with being a Christian here.  Amazingly, Communism and Buddhism still have a strong hold on the people - more than most of them will ever know.

After church, we were lunch was provided, but five minutes later - before we got in line - it was all gone!  So we brought the two english teachers and one of their fathers that was visiting home, and ate Thanksgiving left-overs!  Yummy!  Then we went sliding on the ice on a nearby river.  There we met a lady and some children sliding a big piece of wood across the river.  We realized they were trying to get some firewood to keep warm!  Beaver went and helped them carry it up the riverbank to their house.  We also met a ninteen year old young woman who spoke a little english.  She was dipping water from a hole in the ice, so they would have water to cook and clean with.  She attends one of the local colleges and was quite friendly.  The lives of most people here are not easy!  We have much to be thankful for; and also a responsibility to help others who have less as much as we can!

Back In Mongolia at Last

It's great to be back in Mongolia!  Yes there's changes, and yes there's the day to day challenges compounded by the language barrier and not knowing where or how or exactly what you need to do: but this is where God wants us - and it feels like home!  It's exciting to be delving back into the work again.

One of the big things that we can see has changed are the buildings.  Where there was nothing just over a year ago, there are huge buildings.  They are probably building faster than the market demands now, but still the value of our apartment here has almost doubled.  There is also wall to wall traffic in town in the mornings and evenings.  Most drivers here don't really obey traffic laws, so the mass of traffic is most unmanageable.  What does the future hold?  Ulaanbataar is outgrowing itself!

The temperatures have been quite tolerable especially if the wind doesn't blow too much.  It's been down to minus 14 or 15 degrees farenheit at night, and easily reaches into the teens during the daytime.  Put on a plump coat, and something over the ears, and you hardly feel it!  That's easily a bit of an overstatement, but we have to be tough!  The Mongolians say this is nothing!  December and January are the real deal, it seems.

 

The car is all prepped for countryside travel, thanks to Beaver, and we have two spares to load on top!  Countryside travel is a bit rough on rubber!  We're planning to leave early next week to look at Tsetserleg as a place to possibly establish our base of operation in the country!  We're really excited about it.  There is a grass strip there that used to be commercially used but now only private planes can fly into it - and the number of planes that are private in this country could probably be counted on half of your left hand.  Also it's very centrally located in the northwest part of Mongolia - the part of the country most in need of air transportation due to difficulty of ground travel.  It's also said to be the prettiest city in Mongolia!  Don't you want to come to visit now?:-)  

The air here in the winter is pretty smoggy.  We are so thankful that we live in the part of the city that has cleaner air, but it still can be pretty tough to inhale - it makes you wonder just how scarred it will leave your lung tissue.  The locals tell us that a lot of people are burning old tires to keep warm....no wonder it's bad!!  Both the pictures above are from our apartment window on different mornings!

There's not been much snow - everyone is wishing for more - especially Beaver.  There's still a lot of dust around that gets kicked up.  I know it's hard to imagine walking around in dust in your snowboots, but that's what you do here!  Throw out all your preconceived ideas, and you have Mongolia!

It's a Skunk!

This is just a funny picture to me!  We got to see Beaver's Aunt Benita in AK on our way out to GA with Dad before our flight from Atlanta to Mongolia.  Anyway, she raises dogs, and keeps this pet skunk around, too.  It's de-scented, and I touched it but it was so creepy!  I just couldn't hold it!  It's funny because Beaver always tells people that he's going to name one of his kids 'skunk'!  Not happening!:-)

The Mystery is Solved!

Some mysteries are never solved - others thankfully are!.  The definite cause of our engine failure and plane crash this summer is one of those resolved mysteries!

Among our blessings is that the airplane was insured, and insurance covered the cost of the airplane.  We were able to buy back the totaled airplane, recover the donated instruments, and sell the fuselage with very little if any loss.  The blood sweat and tears we put into that plane are worth something, too, because certainly there was character building and lesson learning in all that we went through - and that we'll never lose!

So, the mystery - here's how it was solved.  When we sold the fuselage, we had the tip tanks removed to sell separately (see the picture of the wing-tip tanks above) since the buyer didn't want them, and they're worth a fair bit.  They had been donated to us a few months before and Beaver had refurbished the exterior of the tanks, inspected the interior visually through the gas cap hole, and we had a professional shop install them.

After the crash we sold the tanks on E-bay, and sent them to the buyer.  A few days later he called Beaver.  "I think I know what caused your plane crash."  He went on to say that when he received the tip tanks he had a little camera with a scope on it that he inserted into the tanks to check the ends inside.  He found that someone had sprayed after market foam into them which was disintegrating and must have been in our fuel!  We immediately offered a full refund on the tanks to him, and called the shop where our plane was and had them pull the fuel filter.  Beaver had asked them to check the fuel system for the cause of the crash in the original inspection, but at the time nobody really listened. 

Now, when they pulled the filter to examine it, they found that our filter was more clogged than any they had every seen.  Now the picture was clear - the disintegrating foam ran into the fuel system, and at the high power settings needed for takeoff, blocked the filter, and starved the engine of fuel.  This caused our crash this summer immediately after takeoff!

If only we had known!  We had been flying that plane for several weeks since those tanks had been put on.  We flew over mountainous territory, and Beaver had taken off from the airport where we crashed in Montana twice that morning - once with Mom, and once with two other friends; it could have happened at any point!  God in His mercy allowed it to happen in the US instead of here in Mongolia!  What a blessing!  And what a blessing that the buyer had the special scope to check in the ends of the tanks, so the catastrophe was not repeated!  Praise the Lord!  We're thankful that we know what caused the accident; but we're the most thankful that God is in control of our lives!  As long as we let Him, He'll be our pilot!

Plane Crash!

Exactly a week to date from when we had picked up the airplane from Colorado (see previous blog) with it's newly overhauled engine, we were flying out of Thompson Falls, MT, when the unthinkable happened - the engine quite on take-off.  

The new engine already had almost thirty hours of flying on it.  Beaver had just made two flights that morning, first with his Mom, and then with some friends, flying over mountainous terrain without difficulty.  Then we had fueled all six fuel tanks, since fuel prices were good, Beaver sumped all of the tanks checking for any water, we taxied for take-off, did another engine run-up to check everything again, and took off down the runway.  The engine was purring beautifully, and I was chatting gaily to Beaver as he followed normal take-off procedures.  With good engine power, positive rate of climb, good ground speed, at between 50-100 feet off of the ground Beaver started the landing gear up - that's when the engine quit.

Beaver's Mom and Nana, some friends, and another pilot and his wife were on the ground and saw it all.  The pilot heard the engine spit twice, and then he and everyone else knew that the engine had quit.  

When the engine stopped Beaver told me, "We're going down!"  He started the gear back down, nosed the plane down to keep the airspeed up so we could glide down instead of stalling and falling out of the sky at somewhere between 50-100 feet.  I braced for the impact, and he flared just before we hit.  The landing gear was only part of the way back down, so it smashed back up inside of the airplane, and we slid on the belly of the plane for about 700 feet.

There was smoke rising from having slid in on the runway, and since we were full of fuel Beaver knew we were in danger.  "Get out, Get OUT!", he told me, his voice breaking.  Thankfully, nothing caught fire, and the tanks were not injured, and stopped leaking, but we felt as though all of our dreams and hard work had just gone up in smoke.  As our family, friends, and caring bystanders ran forward, Beaver's shoulders heaved with emotion. 'Are you ok?'  'I'm so glad you're ok!'  And then in our hearts the overwhelming thought, 'Why, God, why?'  'We were just ready to go!'  

There was little time for thoughtful contemplation as the police, news-reporter, airport manager, etc. pressed around us.  There were calls to the FAA, and the insurance company about the accident.  Thankfully, Beaver had just increased the insurance on the airplane by another $25,000 dollars just a week before - praise the Lord - so all of the damages should be covered!  A man with a truck that had a boom on it pressed forward and offered his services.  Thankfully, when we hoisted the airplane into the air with that, we were able to get the landing gear to come back down, with some difficulty, and then taxi the airplane to parking.

Between the two of us our only injury was a little bruise on the tip of my elbow.  We were so thankful to be alive, and yet so sad that this happened.  Today is the third day since the crash, and we're still in shock.  'Why, Lord?'  And yet we know that there are reasons.  Reasons that we may find out as soon as the engine is torn apart to examine it, or reasons that we may never know, but in the meantime we know that we must just trust His heart and move forward.  As the song says, "When you don't understand, when you can't see His plan, when you can't trace His hand, trust His heart!"  We know that as we get closer to getting the plane to Mongolia, the Devil is becoming more angry, and he is working harder, but God is stronger than the Devil and we will not be afraid!

There are different theories about the actual logistics of why the engine quit, and it seems that somehow perhaps some water was hiding somewhere in the fuel tanks that wouldn't have shown when Beaver sumped the tanks.  Right now, there is just no way to know for sure.  The FAA is conducting an investigation, and the insurance is moving forward in helping us get the plane back into running order.  Since there was a prop-strike, the entire engine has to be torn apart, body work has to be done, and probably the whole landing gear mechanism will have to be replaced.  The process may take anywhere from a couple months to five or six months. Hopefully we will know more in the next couple of weeks.

In the mean time, keep us in your prayers.  God knows what is best!  We still have our nursing jobs in the emergency room in Phoenix, and a pastor friend and his wife have offered to let us stay in their trailer on Thunderbird Academy campus, so we'll head back there for a few weeks while we wait to see what will happen with the airplane.  Right now we feel that there is much work for us to do in Mongolia (paperwork, language learning, selecting a building site for a house/hanger, etc. ) so we still plan to head that direction this fall.  Then we'll send the plane over in the crate perhaps late winter or early spring.  This is all tentative on what we find out in the next few days, so we'll keep you posted!  God bless!  Please keep praying!

Plans for Mongolia

Thursday, the 24th of August, Beaver and I drove to Colorado to pick up the airplane with the newly overhauled engine in it!  We were so excited!  The engine overhaul was finally complete (about 2 and 1/2 months later than planned), and now we could move forward with getting the plane to Mongolia!  Thursday morning we flew from Colorado Springs to Collegedale, TN, approximately 1200 miles in about 8 hours without stopping!  The new tip tanks and newly overhauled engine were working wonderfully.  We were thankful to be able to put hours on the new engine to thoroughly test it out before taking it to Mongolia, and at the same time be able to attend/participate in the wedding of our friends George and Jerryl Fuller (pictures soon to come!)  With each passing day, the plans seemed to be coming together better for getting the plane to Mongolia.

Thunderbird Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona consented to letting us place a container on their property in which to place the airplane after the wings are removed.  This academy has a taxi-way right onto a major airport and thus we can just taxi the airplane from the airport, to the academy, remove the wings and prepare the plane for shipping.  What a blessing!  We decided to ship the airplane in a crate versus flying it through Russia as we had previously intended to do, for a number of reasons.

First, Russia proved to be extremely difficult to work with.  Not friendly to private aviation and extremely leary of our purposes, the stacks of paperwork seemed endless.  Furthermore, there would be a charge PER KILOMETER that we were to fly through their airspace, not to mention landing fees, fuel, etc.  Secondly, the permits to fly through their airspace are given 1-3 days before the actual flight, so we would have had to fly up to the tip of Alaska, sit there and wait for permits, and then as soon as we crossed into Russia, the local authorities could make us turn around, something they would be more likely to do since they have only jet fuel, no aviation gasoline.  Our airplane can run on car gas, but who knows what they would have thought of that!  So we just felt that God was leading for us to crate the airplane, and thus be able to hopefully save some money, AND also be able take other things in the crate.  We are hoping to take some medical supplies, as well as some literature, foods, personal items, etc.

Our timeline to get all of this packed and shipped from Phoenix was the end of September, and then we would travel commercially to Mongolia to wait for the airplane, which could take anywhere from 2-6 months (?) to arrive.  In the meantime we would be working on paperwork, language learning, choosing a site for our base (house/hanger) in the countryside, and preparing to hopefully build there next summer!  As we happily prayed and planned, the future seemed to be fitting together - we had no idea what was going to happen in the next few days!

Western Skyways is the company that did and excellent job overhauling our engine in Colorado.

Beautiful skies!  These views make a pilot's heart leap for joy!

Mission Aviation Flight Camp

Our schedule got moved forward a week, when we found out that the dates we were given for Mission Aviation Flight Camp week at Camp Mivodan were incorrect.  But God knows the end from the beginning and had already helped Beaver to take his FAA checkride (the most difficult test for the flight instructor's rating) two weeks before he had planned!  Then we were able to change our tickets without cost because they were booked on Southwest airlines (the only airlines that we know of that doesn't charge for that); and we hadn't even thought about all that when we booked the tickets, but God knows!!

Jay Petersen pictured above (directing the flight camp) had asked Beaver to be a pastor for the kids taking the mission aviation flight class.  It was a small class with the kids ranging from 14-17, but there were lots of different personalities and many varied backrounds.  One person had never been in an airplane, and then flew for the first time as a student pilot in a two-seater airplane! We were able to be with them for five days, and each one was more fun as we saw them growing not only in knowledge, but saw their attitudes and focus changing.  Besides ground school, some flying, swimming, etc., we managed to fit some high ropes course team-building activities.  One of the things we did included the giant swing.  You were pulled up forty feet into the air, and then YOU had to pull the lever so you could drop and swing!  Wowie.  The facilitator asked each of us to let go of something bad (as we physically let go and dropped), and choose something good to replace it with.  What a blessing to see these young people choosing, even verbally, to let go of bad things, and take hold of good things!  That is what God wants for each of us.  We just have to choose to let go and take hold!!:-)

Flight Instruction with the Lloyds

Beaver was able to obtain his flight instructor's ratings this last month due to many providential circumstances and also largely because of the hospitality and instruction of Harry and Bonnie Lloyd.  Having been a mission pilot before, as well as a beloved instructor at Andrew's University, Harry & Bonnie took Beaver under their wings (sort of literally:-), and while obtainin his flight instructor ratings, Beaver learned valuable mission flying techniques, and made new friends!  (Feels more like family!)  Rebecca only got to spend a couple of days with them, but even that was special!  The plane that Beaver flew most of the time while there, was also a great blessing since it is owned by another mission pilot headed to Bolivia through GMI.  This pilot donated plane time to Beaver, so all we had to pay for was fuel!  Another check-off instructor gave Beaver instruction for free!  Praise the Lord for such dedicated workers!  Now Beaver can in turn provide instruction to others moving forward in the same line of work!  The last picture above is a picture of Michigan campmeeting where we flew in and had the pleasure of spending a night with our extended Sutton family.  How special!

Mexico & the Huichole Indians

Beaver and I were able to spend a few days with Mission pilot Dagoberto Cirilo and his wife this spring.  Flying in the mountains of Mexico where Pastor Dagoberto works with the Huichole indians was both thrilling and great practice for the strips in Mongolia.  One morning a young man was crushed between two vehicles, and Beaver and Pastor Dagoberto flew him out to a hospital.  Praise the Lord the airplane was there that day.  What a blessing to be able to help other people!  

Airplane Tip-tanks

In this picture you can see the tip-tanks that were installed on the wing-tips in a shop in Phoenix, AZ.  Each of these wing tanks will hold another 20 gallons of fuel, increasing the distance the airplane is able to fly without refueling by approximately another 500 miles.  This is so exciting for Mongolia, where fuel access is scarce!  Praise the Lord for the donation of these tanks!  They weren't new and though still functional, looked terrible to start with, but Beaver sanded and painted them in our garage (quite a messy process I must say), and now they are beautiful!  The mechanics shop owner also gave us a large discount on the tanks' instillation because he is interested/involved with mission work also.  God leads in amazing ways!

A closer look at the tanks.  These tanks actually also increase the airplane's payload, because they change the airflow over the wings, diminishing the effect of something called "Vortices"!  An extra bonus for sure!  (Have fun with that pilot term, vortices!)

Since obtaining the plane last fall we have been able to make many improvements to the instrument panel in the airplane.  Some instruments/radios were paid for by donors, others were sold at discounted prices by the retailers, and a few were donated by individuals.  Several weeks of chilling, intense work in Georgia in February by Beaver and some dedicated friends really paid off in what you see here.  To a pilot, this is an absolutely beautiful picture!  Praise the Lord!

A Chat With A Mongolian Politician

Yesterday I had the amazing opportunity to have a meeting with Oyuna Tsedvdamba, a democratic mongolian politician. Unfortunately, Beaver was still in Georgia outfitting the plane with IFR instrumentation, but with the encouragement of our friend Karen Kotoske (Director for Amistad International), who was arranging the meeting, (and this being the last day before Oyuna had to return to Mongolia) we decided to have lunch all together anyway.

It was with surprise and thankfulness that I discovered that Oyuna Tsedvdamba is a genuinely friendly, sincere, and kind individual who has nothing but the best desires for her country at heart. Her resume' includes having been secretary to two different Prime Ministers in Mongolia, as well as many other politically high positions. Currently she is running for a position herself in parliament, as well as campaigning for the democratic prime minister for the up and coming elections of June 2008. Also, her brother was the Minister of Civial Aviation Authority last year and though he is currently in Canada studying law, evidently still has great political influence in the country, having written many of it's laws himself.

Though the full import of all of these connections, remains to be seen, the possibilities are beyond imagination. Oyuna stated that because of the nature of our situation if their laws are not appropriate, perhaps her brother could write laws which would fit the needs of the people and the capabilities of the project's pilot and plane. Also, she said, that if the democratic party wins, then she will have direct connections to the prime minister, and that she will use those connections for the benefit of our Mongolia Medical Aviation project.

I told Oyuna that I would be praying that if it is God's will that she and the democratic party will win. God holds the future in His hands and we know that He can easily place or remove those that are not fulfilling His plans. Please pray that His will be done!

Anonymous Answered Prayers

Today I want to share with you something that someone out there already knows.

Beaver was talking to Gospel Ministry International's secretary, Damaris Robinson when he found out that a large donation had just been deposited into our ministry account. He was with several friends at the time, working feverishly on the newly acquired airplane in Georgia preparing to fly it back here and return to work. Our friends said that upon hanging up the phone Beaver started crying and just couldn't stop - they wondered what was wrong, and then he told them of the financial blessing that God performed through someone who wished to remain anonymous.

Now I share this with caution in my heart, because I feel that it is important for anyone reading this to recognize that every donation to God's cause, whether monetarily small or great is of huge importance not only to the current success of the cause, but also it's longevity - for it is usually the small amounts given faithfully that sustain such a project. And also it is in giving that our hearts are espoused to the project that we support, and then we can experience the joy's of it's successes as our own.

Having said that, the reason that I share about this larger donation is that for us it was a sign from God that our movements and decisions have been guided by Him. A large weight has rested upon us, as we have taken out several large personal loans to fund the purchase of our apartment, the airplane, etc. At times we wondered how we could keep moving forward without more financial aid, but we continued following as we saw God leading. Now we feel that God has used this donation to set His seal upon the work. It was a huge encouragement to our hearts.

So, are we financially free and clear? Far from it. But as we seek to wisely apply the funds God has provided we can rest that as He has provided in the past, so He will continue to do in the future. In the words of the song, "Thank you for giving to the Lord......I'm so glad you gave."

The Airplane!!!!!

The Airplane!

It is amazing how God leads. Several friends and I have been looking for an airplane for Mongolia that will be economical to operate and will be able to fly moderately fast (since the winds are often 20 knots and more) and can burn auto gas (since there is no aviation fuel in Mongolia). I looked on ebay one morning and there it was! A Beech Debonair 35-33 for sale with the perfect engine, low time on it, excellent condition, flap gap seals, engine heater, aux fuel tanks, multiple upgrades, and no corrosion for a price about 10-15 thousand dollars less than normal! We paid the down payment and the end of September, a friend, Erik Vandenburgh and I will be flying to Florida to do the final inspection on it and then fly it out to California. We will then be installing tip-tanks on it. Another miracle is that we are able to get a good instrument setup and Curtis Abrahamson, along with Gardner Aviation Specialist are going to help us with installation and ops check at no charge!! Thanks be to God who has put us in contact with so many other Christians who are helping to finish the work!! We don’t have the rest of the financing figured out yet, but we know God does!

Little Ones

I don't know if this child had ever had his picture taken before, but I have a bunch of photos of him. The little ones capture my heart so quickly. Jesus, "Suffer the little ones to come unto me, and for bid them not." Children are naturally drawn to Jesus, if they can only be told about the One who loves and cares for them above all others!

This picture overlooks the capital city of Unlaanbataar where our apartment is located. You can't see the apartment in the picture, but it is near these foothills out of the picture to the right.

Travel Trailers

So we discovered that they even have travel trailers in Mongolia! Not sure of the intended purpose, but we wondered if unruly kids might have played into the adaption!

Cemented

Beaver and his friends Doug Camps and Arthur Johnson, are grabbing a breath of fresh air out the apartment window. All walls, ceilings, etc. are made from concrete so when trying to reroute some wiring they had to saw into the concrete, retrack the wire, and then re-plaster. It was pretty dusty from the cement! We really appreciated Doug's expertise and the loan on the tools. Doug Camps and his wife Coral are full time volunteers for the Adventist mission in Mongolia.

Here are a few pictures of the inside of our apartment and the view that we are blessed with. Lots of sun in our location!

Apartment Rental

Apartment Rental

We only had a few days left before we were to leave Mongolia for the states again, but we decided to place a rental add anyway, to try to defray the cost of our apartment in Mongolia while we are not in it. Traipsing around town with our interpreter we finally found the little nooks where you could place ads for English-speaking occupants. Most Mongolians wouldn’t be able to afford the price we were asking, so we needed to target the foreigners. We were a little disheartened when we found out that the ad would only come out in one paper once one day before we were due to travel to the countryside and then out of the country. We placed the ad, praying for the right renter.

The day the ad came out we were busy preparing to leave. In the midst of moving chaos, someone called to see the apartment. A law firm had an American lawyer arriving that night who needed good/safe housing. One call, one visit, and the apartment was rented until we return. That was the only call we received but it was all that was needed and more; the apartment rented for double what most said that we could get for it

God can do all things – He knows how to take care of the one thing that you need!

Our Arrival

Our Arrival (written 6/24/07)

Well, we arrived in Ulaanbaatar after approx 28 hours of travel and a 14 hour time change. Thankfully we didn’t miss our connecting flight from Seoul, Korea to Mongolia, because one of our Mongolian friends was returning from Korea on that same flight and awakened us just as boarding was in progress! Praise the Lord!

The Juby’s (the ADRA director and wife) met us at the airport at midnight and took us to their home until we could get the key for our apartment and get moved in. The rest was sweet, and in the morning Beaver got a nice refreshing cold shower (the hot water in their district had been turned off for the usual ten days for maintenance)! I accepted the Juby’s offer of a bit of boiled water in a shallow bath to kill the shivers…

Two days later, we were able to obtain the key to our apartment and “move in”. We had four fifty-pound suitcases – not a lot to fill a one bedroom apartment, but the act of moving them was quite a fetching experience. You see, our apartment building was supposed to be completed in February, but as of now, our apartment itself is mostly “finished”, but the general building needs a bit of work. Mainly, the elevators are not currently functional! So everything we bring here, including ourselves, gets to be lugged up ten flights of stairs!! Good exercise!!

Now “finishing” an apartment in Mongolia, is a very different experience than in the states. Here a “finished” apartment comes without a kitchen, closets, lights, any appliances, bathroom fixtures, etc. So as we’ve been adding a few of these essentials and conveniences, you can imagine the long traipse up the stairs for either us or the assistants of the people we’ve bought things from. However, as the exercise has become easier for me, I’ve realized that I might be sorry when the elevator does work, because then I’ll be tempted to use it!

Tomorrow our kitchen is supposed to be installed, and every day we are adding things such as light fixtures and curtains etc. So we’ll post some pictures as the place nears a livable look!

Official Seal

During the last nine months in the states we’ve had minimal communication with the individuals here in Mongolia working to establish our organization as a “Foreign Representative Office” for Gospel Ministries international. After arriving here we were extremely excited to obtain in our very own hands the official document allowing us to operate here as a Christian organization.

This in itself is a miracle because in our request for official documents, we stated our Christian principles, intentions, etc. Most of the government here could be termed a Communistic Democracy (if those two words can be put together), so you can understand what their views of Christian processes may be!

While this official document is just the first of many that must be obtained before a plane here can wing its way to aid the sick and wounded, it is also the document that is first required before any other paperwork can be started.

The official organization stamp has also been obtained, using the Gospel Ministries International symbol. This must be utilized on all paper work, sort of like a Kings signet, sealing ancient documents.

Please pray for us as we work to begin the processes for the multiple permits needed to operate a Christian medical aviation project here! The task is long and tedious, but God has called us and He will help to complete this work.

The Passport Experience!

There is no doubt as to the fact that our God is living and involved in all the affairs of our lives. He is waiting to work for us, if we will but trust Him. This was proved again to me when we went to get “registered” a couple of days ago. Americans have a privileged entrance here, and are therefore not required to obtain a visa if staying less than three months, we only must “register”. Well last year when we were here, we were told that we had 30 days to “register”, so we assumed that the time limit would be the same this year. Not so!!

We went to register 1 week and 2 days after our arrival in Mongolia, and were told that we should have registered within 7 days of arrival or else pay the late fee of $100 each! We explained that no one had told us of this change, but that made no difference to them – we simply must pay the fee. They wouldn’t even let us pay for the registration form (you buy everything here) until we showed a receipt for the late fee. We had a translator with us and we really felt we had tried most every avenue, when we decided to get into the registration line to ask about long term visas. When the man there looked out our passports he asked why we did not have the registration form? He said that he would register us seeing that we were still in the same month as our arrival. So with that authority they let us pay for the papers and get back into this man’s line….

This is when it was really hard for me. When there was no hope, I didn’t fear; but when I had a little hope, I was afraid. Perhaps he would change his mind! Maybe he hadn’t realized that we were two days late? Perhaps he would demand the money. People scooted into line in front of us, stating “I am here”, and one lady had approx. 20 passports to get stamped, so the wait was long and I had plenty of time to ponder.

At last we were next in line, but even then the pressure continued. “What are you doing here?” he asked. As I tried to explain, wondering if he would approve or not, Beaver’s phone kept ringing. It was another mission worker telling us that some guests that we had staying with us simply must be at such and such a place within an hour. While Beaver was on the phone, the registration official asked for a certain address that I didn’t have, but Beaver was on the phone with someone who might know, and she was able to give us the necessary information at just the right moment.

Certainly all things couldn’t have worked out better, and as we rushed out to get our guests from the apartment to the appointed place, I was able to share with our interpreter, a Buddhist, how it was God who had worked for us! Later we found out that quite a few others have been levied this same fee without any possible escape and again it was proved to us that God had led us into that particular official’s line so that He might be glorified.

As I look back upon my fear of losing the $200, should the official change his mind, I am dismayed at my lack of faith. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God could remove the fine from us, but I did not rest myself in His will to have peace regardless of the outcome. Is not all of our money the Lord’s? Had not God already begun to show His power? Could I not rest the final decision in His hands? Where is my faith?

Praise God that He is not only our just Judge, but also our pitying Father. He knows that we are but dust. Praise Him for His might works!

Return to Mongolia in 2007

Beaver has now completed Commercial Pilot training in Phoenix Arizona and it is time to head back to Mongolia to continue the approval process for operation in the country. There is much to be done and we are excited to be going back!

We finally arrived back in Ulaanbaatar after approx 28 hours of travel and a 14 hour time change. Thankfully we didn’t miss our connecting flight from Seoul, Korea to Mongolia, because one of our Mongolian friends was returning from Korea on that same flight and awakened us just as boarding was in progress! Praise the Lord!

The Juby’s (the ADRA director and wife) met us at the airport at midnight and took us to their home until we could get the key for our apartment and get moved in. The rest was sweet, and in the morning Beaver got a nice refreshing cold shower (the hot water in their district had been turned off for the usual ten days for maintenance)! I accepted the Juby’s offer of a bit of boiled water in a shallow bath to kill the shivers…

Two days later, we were able to obtain the key to our apartment and “move in”. We had four fifty-pound suitcases – not a lot to fill a one bedroom apartment, but the act of moving them was quite a fetching experience. You see, our apartment building was supposed to be completed in February, but as of now, our apartment itself is mostly “finished”, but the general building needs a bit of work. Mainly, the elevators are not currently functional! So everything we bring here, including ourselves, gets to be lugged up ten flights of stairs!! Good exercise!!

Now “finishing” an apartment in Mongolia, is a very different experience than in the states. Here a “finished” apartment comes without a kitchen, closets, lights, any appliances, bathroom fixtures, etc. So as we’ve been adding a few of these essentials and conveniences, you can imagine the long traipse up the stairs for either us or the assistants of the people we’ve bought things from. However, as the exercise has become easier for me, I’ve realized that I might be sorry when the elevator does work, because then I’ll be tempted to use it!

Tomorrow our kitchen is supposed to be installed, and every day we are adding things such as light fixtures and curtains etc. So we’ll post some pictures as the place nears a livable look!

Flying Miracle

Beaver is out flying today!! It's just a miracle how it worked out! He was so discouraged that he wasn't able to fly with Blue Sky Aviation (Mission Aviation Fellowship) because it is so important that he learn the logistics/difficulties of flying here first hand. Beaver was just going to go and video them taking off, since it was supposed to be a commercial flight, and they can't take him on those. But they do medivacs also (although infrequently) and a medical flight was needed so they changed it to that, and told him he could go. He couldn't call to tell me, since I don't have a cell phone here, so he started calling my friends here. Before they could reach me, I called him, because I didn't have the keys to the house and so couldn't cook lunch while he was gone like we'd planned. Then he told me he was going flying andn would be back in 4 hours or so. It's already been 7 + but I talked to him and I guess they are waiting for the patient to arrive.... you would think they would be ready, but this IS MONGOLIA.

We'd been trying for days to video MAF just taking off, but kept delaying either because of their schedule or ours. Beaver had actually planned to be at the airport early this morning, but the time was changed, so he was there at just the perfect time!! Praise God, His ways are past finding out!!

Helping Hands

Beaver had just obtained his Mongolian driver's license (thanks to the help of ADRA and the local mission) when he was able to put it to use driving two ladies to their Global Evangelism campaign site on the east side of Ulaanbataar. The driving trip was uneventful despite the lack of driving etiquette displayed by most here in Mongolia; it was the destination that proved to be more hazardous than we expected.

A cute little brick two-story building was all that met the eye on arriving, but we were told that the construction wasn't sound, and therefore no one was allowed on the second floor. About half an hour into the sermon there was a loud crack and some saw the ceiling buckle. The pastor's wife ran quickly to get her husband, and a moment later he was moving the 60 or so attendants forward onto the front benches. The people crammed together, leaving the very back of the church empty except for Beaver and me, and the pastor and his wife a little further forward. Beaver moved to the doorway to protect the camera in case something happened, but since I was holding a sleeping child I didn't want to move. The thin plastic/type strips didn't look too scary.

A few moments later there was another loud crack. I didn't wait; just held the child close to me and ran to the doorway without looking up. No boards hit us but they must have been falling around us as I ran, because afterwards I looked like I'd been in a snowstorm; little pieces of wood, dust etc. were all over me. The little girl didn't make a peep as we stood looking at the 30 feet or so of rubbish; I was amazed that she didn't wake up and start crying in fear.

Only back third of the ceiling fell. The front two-thirds where the people were sitting appeared to be holding alright, and the people told the speaker to continue. They weren't worried about the ceiling - they just wanted to hear God's word.

Though the ceiling was light and relatively harmless, the nails in it, or the weight of the long strips falling just the right way, could have cut or injured someone. I am so thankful that God provided angels with helping hands to protect everyone!

Meeting With a Minister

This was a big meeting - you could tell if you didn't know by the suits and the solemn faces. The ADRA director, Monk Jargal(interpreter/advisor/SDA leader), Beaver and myself filed into the office of the Minister of Health with a prayer in our hearts. This man has involved in parliament and holds the highest position in the area of health/medical services. Certainly he could be an important key in the success of this project. We estimated we only had 15 minutes time, so we must present clearly and quickly.

Several items concerning ADRA were discussed, and then Beaver tried to quickly explain our project; emergency medical aviation. We offered to show him the short version of the aviation projects directed by Gospel Ministries/David Gates, and he accepted. Seating himself casually beside Beaver, the Minister Gundali watched the screen intently. Since he speaks english fluently, he was able to understand everything, including our purpose not only to reach people on a medical level, but also a spiritual level.

After the DVD, he began talking excitedly with us. Running to his desk he pulled out an AOPA flight magazine and handed it to Beaver. Beaver turned to the pages of his own favorite issue and showed Gundali a picture of the Kodiak plane - the plane that we hope to bring to Mongolia in time. Gundali held his hand up for Beaver to give him a high five - that was the very plane Gundali felt would be most effective in Mongolia!

Gundali told us that he has been trying to implent such a project for his people, but lacked resources - pilots, money for planes, etc. He said, "This will save lives." It would only take four hours to fly places that it takes 48 hours to drive - if the roads are passable and if there are no breakdowns. Gundali promised his support in every way available to him. Same-day processing of mongolian nursing licences, smoothing governmental red-tape, flying at his expense to the states to raise money if needed, full-time body-guards (we declined:-), his cell-phone number: these were just a few of the helps he offered us.

Then this non-Christian, even possibly anti-Christian Gundali said something that shocked my ears "God has sent you." Wow! How beautiful to be recognized as God's messengers! How humbling! After over an hour of visiting with Gundali, we left knowing that God had prepared the way for us! Gundali was placed in this important position just a few months ago, and he will be there until 2008, when he will most likely be moved because of the way the system works here. Praise God, His timing is perfect!!

Meeting with the Governor

This is a picture of us with the governor of Choibalsan and the Minister of health in the Darnod Imeg.

Meeting with important people is always a little bit nerve-wracking, but even more so here in Mongolia. Especially because we are young!! They really value age here, so if we could just grow a few gray hairs really quick, it would be helpful to our image!! It doesn't help us much though that people usually guess us several years under our respective ages...:-) But thankfully the Mongolian people are gracious and give us foreigners a little bit of extra space. Even though we are young we might know something!

At any rate, when we first met the governor with our interpreter and the Darnod Imeg minister of health, he appeared quite stern. The first words were difficult, and he wouldn't really look at us at all. He did tell our interpreter that we were much younger than he expected. After sharing a bit about our mission, we showed him the short version of what Gospel Ministries is doing in other countries. He loved it. Within moments he went from a stern governor to a friendly individuatl. He saw that we weren't kidding, and that we meant what we said. He was really excited after that and offerred to help us with any thing that was in his power to get this project started. Praise the Lord! We were thankful for the suggestions that prompted us to carry some visuals with us. Seeing an example of what is reality can make all the difference!

Health Care System

Choibalsan is an excellent location for a medical aviation project because of its loaction and position in the health care system. Mongolia is made up of 21 Imegs (or states) and each Imeg has many Sums (towns/cities). Choibalsan is the capital city of Darnod Imeg, and therefore has a fairly decent hospital by Mongolian standards. There are clinics/hospitals in many sums, but their equipment often consists of only a stethescope, if that. So for a higher level of care, the countryside people must travel to their their capital city. The hospital in Choibalsan also serves two other Imegs, so they serve a large population that is scattered hundreds and hundreds of kilometers around them. They are so excited that we would be able to fly out of Choibalsan to these small sums to pick up a medical emergency that would otherwise receive delayed treatment or possibly die. We would then bring the patient to Choibalsan if they have the capacity to treat the problem, or if it is above their capacity, we would fly the patient directly to UB! The minster of health in Choibalsan estimated from their data that approximately 200 patients each year imminently need this kind of service, but it has been unavailable to them!

On the Road to Choibalsan

Choibalsan is about 700 Kilometers from Ulaanbataar, the capital city. Of that distance, approximately 100k is paved, and the rest is rough road. We travelled this in a 4-wheel-drive SUV in approximately 14 hours. The weather was perfect, and our driver made the most of it. We said that his driving was like the driving of Jehu. Beaver says he is glad he still has all of his teeth. Along the way we saw many horses, camels, and flocks grazing on the steppe.

The trip back was much more eventful.:-) It had already been raining for several hours before we started out, and the dirt roads here have plenty of deep ruts for water to pool in. After a couple of hundred kilometers, we heard the front left tire go flat, so Beaver and the driver hopped out to change it to the spare tire while I tried to video them in the rain, a pillowcase over the camera. Even with the soft mud, they managed to change the tire quite proficiently and soon we were again on our way!

As we travelled the next few kilometers, we were quite cheery, thinking that we had endured a good hardship and now we had earned rights to drive this road. Not so! Within 20ks or so we heard the front left tire go flat! This time we were in a fix - because we didn't have another spare. But our driver Chagna had an inner tube, so we set about trying to separate the tire from the wheel. It was impossible without tools, and we didn't have a pump to pump the tube up with if we could separate the tire from the wheel. It was still almost freezing rain and the wind was blowing at least 35 knotts. We had seen a Ger (mongolian round tent) a little ways back, so our interpreter borrowed my coat because it was waterproof, and she and Beaver started walking that way to check for tools and a pump.

Several vehicles past us, but when we flagged them down, they said they couldn't stop to help us because they were carrying meat into town and it would spoil if they stopped to help. I sat huddled in the car praying and thinking while Beaver and Baggie walked to find help. I realized that I had already learned several lessons; #1 Don't only take sandals when travelling, #2 Take an extra jacket or sweater for someone else. Then I felt the truck fall off the jack, and I knew Chagna was part underneath. I swung the door open quickly trying to think in Mongolian. He was ok! Praise God! Just then a big Russian truck came by. I didn't flag them down because I thought Chagna would, but he just watched them go by. Beaver was down the road a bit, and when he saw them, he thought Baggie would stop them, but she wasn't either. He started waving and told her stop them. They agreed to come back and help us.

The job proved to be bigger than anyone anticipated. First they drove their truck over our tire to separate it from the wheel to put the tube in. They put the tube in three times, and inflated it without success. Finally they decided that they had put a hole in it at some point as it wouldn't hold any air. Then they decided to try to patch the tire with a screw - that didn't work, so they used their patch kit on it. Then to seal the bead on the tire, they poured a little gasoline in it and lit it. Beaver like that a lot!!:-) Baggie and I made the two men who stopped to help us some sandwhiches, and gave them lots of treats; they hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was now 9:00 pm so they were very thankful! We were soooo thankful that they stopped to help us, or we could have been there for a looonnnngggg time!

We set out slowly on our way, but stopped to check the tire every few ks. It was losing air. Chagna wanted Baggie and me to catch a ride into town with a car that was going the same direction, but their car was barely making it through the mudholes, and they wouldn't take us. We stopped at every tent or building we saw, checking for a pump to pump our tire up again with. Finally around midnight we found a lady at a roadside restaurant with a bike pump. We jacked up the car and Beaver and Chagna pumped for all they were worth. The lady let us buy the pump and we were on our way.

After another two hours of praying, cringing at the bumps that were cruel to the tire, and bobbing our heads we arrived in Onderhan. This town is the place we planned to stay the night, but we didn't know where the hotel was. We drove around knocking on doors at 2am in the morning and finally found someone who could direct us to the hotel. Praise the Lord we were somewhere where there was people and tire fixing tools!!:-) Certainly it was a miracle that we were able to make it soo far on rough roads on a tire that was leaking the whole way!

Our Interpreter to Choibalsan

WOW!! We just got back from a 4-day trip to Choibalsan. It is a city of an estimated 40,000 people in the far east side of Mongolia. Through different contacts it sounded like this town would be an ideal place to base our mission, so we decided to go look at it.

To start with, God provided us with a wonderful and talented interpreter, Batsteseg. The interpreter that we had planned to travel with, was unable to go with us, and so we were asking around when a Mongolian ADRA staff recommended her. "She knows English, she likes medical work, and she grew up in Choibalsan, so she knows everybody there - including government officals." We were so excited! It just isn't proper or easy to show up somewhere without some contacts - Baggie (her short name:-) was our connection. Promptly the ADRA staff called to ask her to go with us. At first she wasn't interested, but when she heard that it was for Choibalsan, and the type of project, she couldn't say no. Although she isn't a christian, she just loves to help people! She just doesn't know that those impulses come from Jesus! In the picture above, Baggie is on the far right. (This picture is actually just outside the Choibalsan airport, and the Darnod Imeg Minister of Health is in the middle. The other people are staff at the airport.)

A View of Ulaanbatar, the capital of Mongolia!

The first picture here shows just a little of the building quality. This building is actually within a few meters or so of the apartment complex where the prime minister lives. You can see that they wanted the building to look like it was made of glass, but notice what is underneath. They just tried to cover the bricks with glass!

In these pictures of the capital city of UB, you can see the big power plant with it's wisp of smoke rising. This plant not only provides electricity, but it also heats all the apartment and government buildings with steam. You can pick out the multi high-rise buildings that the "priviledged" ones live in. Many of these buildings would be condemned in some other country. A few have elevators; the kind that when you climb on, you wonder if this will be your last ride!:-)

You can't see the ger communities from here on the railway bridge, but they are areas dotted with round tents and houses that can usually be dismantled and moved elsewhere. These places often have electricity, but without a connection to the cities' heating system, they have to haul coal everyday to heat with. The burning coal in these areas makes the air difficult and unhealthful to breath. Because of the lack of running water, they haul barrels of water from a community spikot to their homes everyday. Sanitation is also sorely lacking in these areas. Approximately 60% of the approx. 1.2 million people that live in UB live in the ger cities.

Ulaanbataar is built directly on a known fault line. The buildings would never resist an earthquake, having been built almost entirely of bricks and mortar. The people here are lacking a vision. Daily survival demands most of their time, and they don't think of the future. Jesus wants to offer them a "future and a hope"! Oh, that we can be His messengers!

ADRA

Let me introduce Llewellyn and Renee Juby, the current ADRA directors here in Mongolia! They have been here for 8 years now, and have a wealth of knowledge which they have been willingly sharing with us. They have projects all over Mongolia, assisting in all kinds of development and relief projects. Llewellyn has received the Friendship award, the highest award this country offers, for his participation in education of the Mongolian people. We've spent many pleasant and enlightening hours with this wonderful couple already!

Our Mission

We also had the pleasure of meeting with Lllewllyn Juby and his wife Renee, the ADRA directors this week. Besides being very pleasant people, they shared valuable info/insights, and are very excited about the medical aviation work. While the capital city is crowded, dirty, and not at all perfect, different sources have shared that it is the people in the countryside who really suffer.....

When Russia was in control of the country, they established clinics, hospitals, and medical staff for the countryside. When Mongolia became and independent country, Russia removed their support. Now years later, there are hospitals/clinics in the countryside with only a nurse's aid to staff them, and not even a blood-pressure cuff to use as diagnostic equipment. In the places where there are doctors or nurses, these medical professionals are operating 25-30 years behind the times. Thus, their diagnoses are often incorrect, and treatment is antiquated, causing simple problems to progress into life-threatening illnesses. Then these patients need transport to Ulaanbataar for treatment, but have no way to get here, as they can't endure several days of rough riding in a minibus.

Many mothers also die in child-birth. Out in the mountain villages in their gers, they have no way to get to help in time. Traumatic accidents; those with broken bones, or other illnesses, suffer without the hope of getting to help.

ADRA is sooo excited about our mission to help these people. The minister of health (whom we hope to talk to soon) is also extremely interested in assisiting these suffering ones. Our mission is becoming clear to us: we want to, first of all, provide medical evacuation for remote emergencies, and secondly provide tranportation for missionary staff and medical teams to the countryside. Some have said that they feel that we could be engaged in this service 24 hours a day; we are sooo anxious to get started, but there is much to do first. Please pray that God will lead us in this preparation time! We feel that now is the time more than any other; the needs are great and the doors are wide open!

Freezing!

This last week was full of more fun language learning (every afternoon for three hours) and lots of other fun experiences! Sunday was nice and warm, and Tuesday it snowed. Perhaps I should clarify that. We went to the airport to check out the hanger owned by Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and to spend time discussing the logistics of flying in Mongolia with their pilot. It was breezy, but not realizing how cold it was, I (Rebecca) decided to go outside and do some videoing while the pilot and Beaver talked a bit inside. The wind was so biting cold that I could hardly manage the tripod, and just did one quick pan around the area. After that I tried to go inside, but the door was locked! Thankfully, Beaver heard me trying to open the door and came to my rescue. In all my growing up years in Montana winters, my fingers have been that cold very few times!!

Beaver and Jan Tore (the pilot) had several profitable hours of conversation, during which we were much enlightened as to the needs/difficulties of flying a plane here in Mongolia. Fuel for airplanes is difficult to obtain, and only jet fuel is really available, limiting the kind of plane that we can use to one with a turbine engine (for those of you who know 'bout plane stuff). All the complications would have been almost completely overwhelming, except that we remembered that this is God's project, and that He is in charge!! Also, MAF is willing to share their hanger with us just for the price of expenses, and their hanger is, we understand, the only heated hanger in the whole country! Great blessings!!

When we left the hanger a few hours later we walked out into a different world. With no windows in the hanger, we hadn't seen the snow falling. Now there was several inches!! The Mongolians have a saying here, that in one day you can see all four seasons. It is so true!!

Adventist Workers

It has been a pleasure to get to know Elbert and Cleidie Kuhn, as well as their dear little dog Dolly. Elbert is the Ministerial Director and Cleidie is the family ministry director. They are from Brazil, and never really imagined themselves as missionaries, but God led them here and they are doing a great work. Right now Pastor Kuhn is the Adventist Mission Director, until the new director arrives from Australia. We love this couple so much already.

Our Bed:-)

This is a picture of the underside of our first twin mattress; the one that some thought would not hold Beaver at all. The truth is that it held both of us for 4 nights! Now we are sleeping on another twin mattress whose integrity is better, but the frame it is held up by is still quite questionable!! Also, the word mattress here, I think would "translate" into something like a box-spring in the states. So to prevent feeling the metal coil bumps in our backs, we put our camping mattresses on top of the "mattress" and then the blanket, and on top of that, the bottom sheet. So now we sleep quite plushy!! We were so thrilled to lie down on a bed that night without major dips and terrible scary creaking sounds!

Language Class

Here's the four of us in the survival language class. This is one of our "bagsh" (teacher); she is very sweet and actually speaks some English too, so she is the easiest to learn from. "Be mongohl hel jahaan meden." That's means I speak just a little Mongolian - sorry I don't have mongolian script on my computer.:-)

Mongolian Church in Darhan

This is one of the two churches that we attended our first Sabbath here in Mongolia. The accomodations are fairly primitive, but everyone who attends church here appeared very happy. Especially the young people in all the churches we've attended just love to sing, and are very good at it. They certainly make a joyful noise unto the Lord. And of course babies are always so cute - they seem to understand any language!

The Aussie Couple

This is a picture of Doug and Coral. They are so dear and sweet and have been a blessing to us in so many ways already. We understand each other on a very deep level. It is interesting that just before they left Australia for Mongolia, they were able to here David Gates speak and were just so excited and inspired by the message he gave. They have many interesting miracle stories to tell relating to how they ended up coming here.

1st Week at a glance

Wow, this last week was really amazing! The time is right to enter Mongolia with medical aviation work. Everyone that we talk to about this work is so excited – they really can hardly believe what God is going to do!

On Monday, Beaver visited with the director of Mission Aviation Fellowship, called Blue Sky Aviation here in Mongolia. They are willing for us to share their airplane hanger (the only heated hanger in the whole country), and have also offered us the use of their Cessna Caravan, capable of seating nine passengers. We are thrilled to work with them, yet we are also praying unceasingly for wisdom as to our level of involvement; legalities can become overwhelming. Pray for us as we will meet with this group again this coming Tuesday to talk with their pilot, and view their hanger, plane, etc.

This past week we also met with the Minister of Aviation and the director of Aviation Safety Certification. Both of these men are native Mongolians, and expressed interest and amazement regarding this project. In their words, “This is something that we only dream of.” Normally, some restrictions apply to non-Mongolian pilots, but they stated that since we are not coming here with commercial purposes, a year-round pilot license for Beaver should not be difficult to obtain. Also, right now their tower-to-pilot communication is in the Mongolian language, but this January is their date when all air-traffic controllers must use English for communication. This is a real blessing to us!! God’s timing is always perfect.

We also had the opportunity to meet a young man who is very skilled in the television programming area. He is the news producer for a large television station in the area. Although he is not a Christian, he has a lot of interest in our project because of his previous positive association with the Adventist work. Not only does he want to bring his news production team to televise the aviation project at some point, but he has connections with a Christian network here that may enable us to show some Christian programming (ie. nature pictures and music) some time each day at no cost to us! What a way to reach people! Evidently this Christian network is very respected by the people for honesty, so it has excellent publicity. Please pray about all of these possibilities; for we know where God is working, there Satan wants to be messing things up. Thank you for your prayers!

Language Study

On Monday we became legal! Praise the Lord, we were able to get our 3-month visas in a matter of minutes without any questions asked, and it only cost us a total of two dollars for the visas plus the two dollars we spent on passport photos!! That was sooo exciting! Also, we now have a cell phone, because someone here knew someone that had one that they were not using (complicated?:-))! This is sooo nice because now if we are lost or just need to talk to someone right away, they are just a phonecall away!

We also started a language survival course early Monday afternoon. The course is 3 hours an afternoon, 5 days a week for two weeks. Wow, it is intense! There are 35 signs in their alphabet, and thirteen are vowels; many of these sounds are gutteral and must be pronounced from the throat or with with the tongue in a certain place. Our teachers really know only a few words in English, so it is pretty much impossible to ask intelligent questions; it is fun though to turn the tables sometimes and try to teach them an English word or two. They have almost as hard a time with English as we have with Mongolian. I think Beaver's name is one of their greatest challenges. They don't have anything that compares to the "V" sound in their language, so they can't manage it well. If only they could understand the meaning!:) It is rather hard to explain--we need to get a picture of an animal beaver to show them. At least we have company in our efforts, as the Aussie couple Doug and Coral that I mentioned before are taking the class with us. We will try to post some pictures.

On the bright side, after only three days in Mongolia, we can read the language! Now I won't say that we can pronounce it properly or that we understand even 1% of it, but at least we can read on a 1st grade level! It is exciting to be able to make sense of their strange looking alphabet. Please pray for us especially in this area, because we feel that it is extremely important to learn the language so that we can communicate!