Reflections near the beginning of the year...

Hey y'all...
I wrote the following a couple of weeks ago for our newsletter... but seems like it's too long to include in the email. So, in case someone clicks over and is interested in this, I'll post it here. :)

(January 2012)
Today we had an old friend over for lunch after church. She is my age, and called to one of the most closed countries in the world. When I last lived in Ulaanbaatar (which would be about 2002-03), I was part of her life-group at our church. She reminded me of that today.  Since then, she has faithfully and consistently been serving the Lord and keeping the vision He has given her for this group of people He loves in a very tough place to reach—let’s call it the Hidden Land.

How did He prepare her? She served our church here in Ulaanbaatar and also served in a very rural, countryside fellowship in Mongolia. She studied and graduated from the Bible School here. She has ministered to street children and hopes to work with orphans in the Hidden Land. She followed the Lord to another country, where she had to learn 2 new languages (English, to communicate with team members, and the language of that country, to minister there and to take care of daily life) while planning and preparing to move to the Hidden Land, and also studying that language as well. She has been living there, by faith, for some years now, and finally it seems the Lord is opening the door for her to move to the Hidden Land… may it be so, Amen!

And just what does this have to do with us?

Oh, it just encouraged me so much to see my beautiful, full-of-faith Mongolian sister leaving all that she calls home for the chance to share the good news with those who so need to hear that there is hope, there is Someone who loves them with a powerful, gentle, Father’s heart love… She also blessed us by saying that visiting us was also a blessing for her.

It was also a message to me from the Lord, underlining the promise of His provision and faithfulness He reminded me of over the last few days. Friday night was one of those nights when, despite being tired, sleep would not come. My mind was racing, thinking of so many things: things to do, things to prepare for, things left undone. I tried to put all into God’s hands, but still, it was a long time before I finally drifted to sleep. Saturday morning came early—seems like it’s always after a night like that that one of the kids wakes up super-early, cheerful and raring to go! ;) Anyway, bleary-eyed, I think I put on a video (I admit it) and, bleary-eyed, opened up the old copy of Daily Light I’d just come across a day or two earlier. What verses do you think I found? Any fans of Daily Light out there? January 28 morning (here’s a sample): As thy days, so shall thy strength be (Dt 33.25). Take no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Mt 6.34). The God of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto His people. Blessed be God (Ps 68.35). My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness… that the power of Christ may rest upon me… for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor 12. 9-10). Thank you Lord!

We are doing well, overall. I am just at the end of winter break, so have had a delicious taste of what being a stay-at-home-mom is like. I say “delicious” because I do love being with my kids! But they can wear me out, too.  It’s especially hard, I guess, in cold climates since it’s difficult to get out of the house. But we enjoyed our time together; now, when I’m finally figuring how to make the day run a little more smoothly, we have to get used to our old routine of going to school again. ;)

The other night, I watched part of a movie—the Descendants. Not sure if I’d recommend it or not. It seemed rather depressing to me. At the same time, though, it reminded me that most of us go through really, really difficult seasons at some point in our lives. Right now, Javkhaa and I—we’re still in a season of adjusting, I’d say. But my heart was just tuned in to the fact that people we love, friends and family here and all over the world, are going through a really tough time. Some things we know about. Other situations I’m sure we have no idea about, but I just want to say that if you’re in that kind of dark, lonely, or desert place, that God is right there with you. And my prayer is that you will sense His great love for you, His tender Father’s heart reaching out to enfold you and cover you with His wings. Again, from Daily Light: I know their sorrows (Ex 3.7), A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Is 53.3), Jesus, being wearied from his journey, sat… (Jn 4.6), When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path (Ps 142.3), In their affliction He was afflicted (Is 63.9). Our Lord is not distant, nor was He immune to trials, grief, or sadness while He lived in our world. He knows exactly what you are going through, and I pray that His great lovingkindness and mercy will supply all that you need, by His Spirit and through His children too.

Looking back at 2011, it’s been quite a year of seeing God’s provision and trying to figure out where He was leading us. We're still listening and watching but it's exciting to begin to see where things might lead...

We're Going! (We're Coming...!) :)

...back to Mongolia!

Lots to do, not much time left...

We'll fly out of Norfolk on the 5th of August. So, in the next couple of weeks (I'm not counting the days!) we need to go thru all of our stuff, and sort into take, give, sell, ship, and discard piles. whew! hoping that this sunday afternoon can be a massive sprint thru everything in a garage, and then we'll tackle the house. ;)

pray for us!

but besides all that, we are excited to be heading back.

you can read our recent newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/eTmJg

we'll miss folks on this side of the world but are looking forwad to seeing friends and family on the other side!

more steps!

Josiah has taken a little step once or twice before, but this morning he's taken a few baby steps a few times! :) First, between a toy and Yvelle's bed; then, when he was playing with his big beach ball, he stood up, bounced it and then took a couple steps to follow it...

Fun! and Daddy saw over Skype from DC! :)

Then, when J was in in the pack n play and I ran upstairs, i could hear Yvelle saying, "I'm here Josiah, I'm here." When I came back, she sang him "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and he was dancing to her song. SO cute! :) (I love their happy brother and sister moments..."

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Yvelle wore her Christmas dress today for the St Paddy's day party at her school ^.^

and... Javkhaa finished the first draft of our prayer letter... yay! ;)

Radical, Crazy Love

Our lifegroup is reading Radical. I haven't finished yet, but enjoyed the read. I'm also reading Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. They're actually kind of similar--both about God's awesomeness and how we should really be totally abandoned to Him... He's worthy of everything, and His amazing love for us assures us that He will take care of us. They also talk about what the Bible really says and whether we take God at His word, or try to explain away certain passages...

Kids got up a while ago; gotta go!

Over the Flu & a Sunny Weekend

Wow, this year we sure did get hit with it... kids had it for about a week. :/ Poor them. Thankfully, they usually felt pretty well in the mornings and after taking their medicine. Then in the evenings they were more uncomfortable.

Now other than runny noses and a little coughing, they are a lot better. Yay!

Friday was BEAUTIFUL and Saturday and Sunday were sunny too. We actually went to the zoo yesterday; Yvelle enjoyed seeing the animals and Josiah (hopefully) was enjoying being outside too.

Javkhaa and I enjoyed the sights but we were hoping the "Asia" section was open; no, we have to wait until April to see the new exhibit, which will have orangutans, some kind of noisy apes, and tigers (from the Cincinnati Zoo), among other animals.

I took the zoo train with Yvelle and she had a blast--she did NOT want to sit on my lap, but wanted to sit in her own spot. She certainly has a mind of her own. ;) Sometimes at school she joins in playing with the children, but other times she just sits on the sidelines with a teacher. I'm not quite sure what that's about but when I ask her, she said she likes to watch and listen...

April will mark 2 big events: Josiah (Bilguunee) will turn 1, and we will have been in Virginia 5 years. Javkhaa is more than ready to be back in Mongolia, and I am fully on board with that. So Lord willing, before Christmas, we will be living back in Ulaanbaatar. Not quite sure how the transition will look, but we are at this point appointees with an organization (Interserve) which sends people to work in their professions in a variety of countries around the world. It seems like a good fit for our bi-cultural family. :)

Appreciate your prayers!

thankful! (and pictures) ^.^

Thanksgiving is almost here and we have a LOT to be thankful for. God is good! Javkhaa starts a new, full-time job on Monday with the School of Government (here at Regent), which is a big answer to prayer. We SO want to come back to Mongolia, but don't have the resources to just pick up an go. So, this job, working with people he greatly respects and admires, is the Lord's provision for us during what we trust is a final season of preparation before he leads us back to the land of milk and mutton. ;)

Yvelle is almost 2 1/2 (going on 15). She makes us laugh every day. As many of you know, Javkhaa has a great sense of humor, and this seems to be rubbing off. ;) Last night as I was buckling her into her carseat, she said w/ a twinkle, "Let's leave Mommy! ...I'm just joking!" (Followed by giggles--this was before Daddy got into the car.) She turns toys into "ice skates" and a stool into a stage. "This is my stage."

Josiah is a smiley, happy boy who loves watching his sister. Her antics start him laughing and there's nothing more refreshing than being with these 2 when they are having fun together. (Of course, there are other times that are a bit more trying...!)

With J's new job, Yvelle is going to start school on Monday. What a big girl! We're still figuring out the logistics: I'd like to send her just for half-days but it would be great if she were there just a little longer into the afternoon. I'm required to work 30 hrs/wk (for benefits--once J gets them we can reevaluate the situation) and so the logistics of that and how many different child-care plans we have (and the various cost of each, plus what is best for the kids) is a puzzle we're still working on.

Met a wonderful couple yesterday who may be able to help us w/ taking care of Josiah... I can't wait till I can be home more with the kids but for now, we're praying for the best situation possible for each of them. And actually, I'm sure Yvelle will thrive in preschool, after she adjusts to the transition.

Next weekend we're visiting our church in Philadelphia. :) It's their annual global conference, and it will be great to see old friends and renew relationships. Tough to make deep connections in such a quick trip, but I'm hoping that the Lord will make the impossible possible. I'm so thankful that Pastor Bruce, Liz and the team there thought of us and invited us to come and be a part of things.

Honestly, as we transition to a new schedule and having Javkhaa working more, I expect there to be some stress simply from the adjustment... however, I really hope and believe that after a couple of weeks, things will settle down and we'll be able to breathe a little more easily. When I think back over the past 5 years, it seriously seems like we've been sprinting a marathon.

(Hmm.)

September, I think, marked our 5th year anniversary of coming to the States. Next month we'll have our 5th year anniversary. Next April will be 5 years that we've been in Virginia Beach. So within the past 5 years (approximately), we moved from one country to another, got married, J completed 2 degrees (in a 2nd language), we've had 3 children, we lost our first son, J's sister Oogii came and lived with us for over a year to study, his dad was with us for 9 months and took wonderful care of Yvelle, Oogii got married, J graduated, dad and Oogii moved away, we moved in with a wonderful couple after leaving student housing (where we are now :), and have become Interserve partners. It's good to look back and recall all the wonderful ways God has supplied our needs through these years.



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i

a little update

happy...sleepy...

turning into a great cook like her aunt oogii!

"i wanna make buuz!!"

egch duu 2

posing!

fun!

welcome to the world of this tired mommy! :) life is good, the kids are great--they're so much fun! yvelle is talking away and tells us exactly what she thinks, especially when she wants something "right now"! ;) josiah is a dear, happy boy who has the sweetest smile and a chuckle that puts a smile on everyone else's face.

since javkhaa graduated in may, we had to move out of student housing in early August. we weren't sure where to go or quite how to plan, since we are hoping to move back to Mongolia (soon, whatever that turns out to mean) and we didn't want to be locked into a year or even a 6 month lease, if such a thing could be found. the Lord put it on my heart and into my head to ask an acquaintance at Regent if we could stay with her and her husband. they had another family with 2 kids live with them about a year ago, and so i just thought it might be possible...

and here we are! it has been a great blessing to us in many ways. moving was an adventure... never moved with kids before. we're so grateful for the babysitting help we had that gave us a little extra time to pack, but even with that, it was down to the wire. without the LATE night help of a few angel-friends, we would have been in trouble. (Lord, please bless all the friends who cleaned, sorted, threw away, gave away, and moved stuff for us!!)

we're about 12-15 minutes from Regent now, so that makes our day a little more complicated than before. i was working in the am, coming home, j was going to work for a while, coming home, and then i was going back to work at the end of the day. that's not so convenient from here.

please pray for J to get a good job! there was one UNDP position he applied for in UB which would have been a good fit, but they didn't have a budget for relocation :/ and it is seeming like they went with someone else.

that's all for now, it's pretty early and i'm fighting a cold so i should go back to bed. :) it's a treat to have the quiet space to post something, though!

Welcoming Enkh-Bilguun Josiah!

Y is now often heard saying: my hold him, my hold him! baby CUTE! my here, no cry, my here. baby siah!

hee hee, oogii is very empathetic! ;)

proud daddy and big sister!

April 14, 8:47 am, 7 lbs 10.5 oz, 20.6 inches

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:) After being without internet for most of the week, we're back online. Thankful!

wow!! it's been far too long...

will try to post an update soon (before baby boy comes on the scene)! ;)