Mongolia Mission Trip

From: "Morris Community Church"
To:
Subject: Announcements 9-9-05
Date: Fri, 09 Sep 2005 07:31:39 -0700

5. Update From Ruth On Mongolia Trip
Neil taught his first class at the ministry school last night. There was quite a crowd in the little church. Ruslan and Sveta said that between 60 to 80 people signed up. Most of Ruslan's church has been through our school, so these students are from other churches in the city. We met a man from a new house church who we were able to encourage. God really does want more churches started up in this city. There are so many people who haven't heard the good news.

Yesterday we went shopping. Butta, our interpreter, wasn't crazy about our oatmeal for breakfast. He asked in almost disbelief, "you eat this every morning?" Then he made a face like it was almost impossible for him to swallow it. He did finish his bowl, because I encouraged him that it would keep him from getting hungry before lunch. We stopped at a cafe after shopping and Butta ordered something that really filled his plate. I think he didn't trust our cooking. The cafe had the show Braveheart playing, which I had never seen. I walked out on the show when it began getting really brutal, which was almost right away, but at least I had finished my lunch by then.

There was a fairly long prayer line after the teaching last night. The prayer needs are pretty serious, so we are humbled when we pray. We know that only Jesus answers prayer, and that is very good, because we have so little to help with their great needs. Neil announced to the class that I would also be sharing some things in class from the material I am preparing for our Women's Retreat back home. That means that I need to get my material in a little better readiness while I am here. That is good. When I get home, the busyness will hit us again, and it will be hard to find the time...

...Saturday, Ruslan will be in the prison all day ministering, and he has invited us to come along. I don't know if I will get to go along, or if it will just be Neil and Butta. It is an all male prison. I hope I can go. About half of them have become Christians this year since Ruslan began working with them.

That is all for today.

Love,
Ruth

From: "Patrick F.
To:
Subject: Updates from Neil,Ruth in Mongolia
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 18:10:53 -0500

Dear Outfitters and Church Family -
Here are some updates from Neil and Ruth in Mongolia in 3 chapters
Part 1 - Arrival
Part 2 - Settling In
Part 3 - Prayer requested

Part 1 Arrival
Dear pat, and ruth's family,

... at the internet cafe, the keyboard i am using doesn't let me make capital letters without throwing in some extra characters, so i will just use small letters as i type this.

neil is also sending a message, so i won't go into much description. we made it through airports like clockwork with our flights arriving and leaving on time. in denver the plane boarded almost as soon as we got to our departure gate. we had a little bit of time in beijing and were able to stretch out on the benches and get a little nap. neil was able to sleep on the plane, but i only got about half an hour in. however, on our taxi drive from ulaanbaatar, i slept over half of that 5 hour drive. what beautiful hilly country! budda was waiting for us at the airport in ulaanbaatar last night and had a taxi waiting to bring us to a hotel where we slept well and got a hot shower this morning. his home is in ulaanbaatar, so he didn't seem to mind that our flight arrived after 1 a.m. he will be our interpreter again this year, but has a meeting tonight, so he will follow later. we haven't seen ruslan and sveta yet, because we wanted to check email, but their apartment is our next stop.

budda talked our taxi driver and other passengers into not smoking in the taxi to protect me from getting sick. i really appreciated that. they did stop a couple of times to get out of the car to smoke. the taxi driver had a cd player, and sang along. he has a very nice voice, so that was an extra. i didn't see camels this time, and only one yak along the way, because i was sleeping too hard. i had taken benedryl before we started out as a precautionary measure for my allergies, and that medication really knocks me out. we will write more later. love, ruth

Part 2 Settling In
We ran into a construction project at Ruslan's. So last nite we spent at the hotel because the Ruslan family is in our apartment (the one you stayed in last year) while the project is proceeding. Looks like we will be in another apartment for a while too while the project is being finished. People like us who have had projects in their house can understand. Their apartment was a mess- looks like they need Ron on the job!

Budaa arrived last night at 2am. The sermon this morning was pretty subdued... We took a nap afterward and then toured the site of the new church construction which has not begun yet.

Part 3 Prayer Requested
Dear Team-
Ruth and I arrived safely in Mongolia. The Outfitters school starts tomorrow night. We would appreciate your prayers for annointing and for signs and wonders to accompany the message.

Please pray for Neil and Paul, who'll be heading to Mongolia on July 6th and others (Jody Remer and Catherine McDade, both UMM Alumns) that will follow from Outfitters for Adventure

From : Franey Family
Sent : Thursday, August 19, 2004 11:10 AM
Subject : Back in the USA

Dear Friends and family -
We made it back safe and sound from Mongolia this past Tuesday and we're now in the throws of jetlag recovery. We were very pleased with the outcome of the trip. We will now be using our "old" email accounts pat-ang@runestone.net for Pat, and pat-ang2@runestone.net for the family email. The email account at yahoo is going to be retired soon!

John and Eileen got to spend the day with their new friends at the Erdenet church before we left, they went hiking in the hills around the city and brought a picnic lunch. The kids couldn't stop talking of the fun time they had with them! On the trip home we got to explore Beijing, and Jody's friend Song-Wei accompanied us out to the Great Wall for a day of hiking - a very VERTICAL hike, wow. Eileen concluded that she liked Mongolia better than China.

After the 5 week ministry school was concluded it was clear that this had been a real encouragement to the people of the church, and that is the most satisfying part of the trip, for us and for the others who came, is to know that!

We will email out some pictures when we got a chance. Thanks again to everyone for their support, correspondence and prayer! Love, From : Neil T.
Sent : Monday, August 9, 2004 11:46 AM

FERMENTED MARE'S MILK and GERR VISIT
LANGUAGE
GETTING TO KNOW RUSLAN AND SVIETA
GROWTH
PARTY AT THE FLAT
PRAYER REQUESTS

FERMENTED MARE'S MILK AND THE GERR
OK OK - we finally tried it. The Aireg (fermented mare's milk) isn't very tasty. Ang thought it smelled like dairy barn sileage. It's what I imagine sour, rotten, forgotten milk should taste like (disgusting). Butta had me try 3 ounces at the stand by the fountain where we walk. I guess I'm a man now. I had the whole family try it just to they could say they had the Mongolian national drink! We thought that was the end of it, but Ruslan took us to visit a Gerr on Saturday and we were served traditional (salty) milk-tea by the woman of the house - and that was good. We were ALSO served big tall glasses of - Aireg. We took turns looking at each other across the Gerr. Finally Ruslan chugged his down in just a few gulps, then I followed suit to bless my hostess and see if I would survive. Ang drank half of hers!

The Gerr has lighter felt on it and the flaps were up so a breeze was blowing through, it was very comfortable. The family had a log home also for staying in the colder winter months. The Gerr was round -- about 14 feet across, with an opening above for air flow (it looks like a round cake with the center raised up). It has 12 sides, with posts around the edges covered with lattice and felt, those posts hold up an outer wooden ring, from this ring multiple (red) posts run overhead to a smaller wooden ring at the top. This ring is supported by two vertical support beams, and inside the ring there are windows or flaps for air flow and the vent pipe from the wood stove to go through.

Privacy for a husband and wife? None! The Gerr is divided into four corners (the door is always facing south). SE is the "woman's corner" with the stove, fridge (if they have electricity) and domestic things, NE is the "man's corner" with a Lazy Boy (or facsimilie thereof!), NW corner is for guests, family photos, shrines and the like. It's amazing how the 2 Gerrs I saw were exactly as the book described them to be - these are a traditional kind of people! Ruslan said a couple of families (up to 10 people) will live in one Gerr. We visited one on the outskirts of town where Gerrs and Loghomes (tin-homes) were intermingled, all separated by fences. Out there the land is "free" (out of town there is no cost or ownership of land, people move about freely).

LANGUAGE
Language is an interesting thing here. During our stay here we have had Butta (he is a from UB and plans to study law in the Fall) to translate from English to Mongolian (and visa versa). When Ruslan preaches he has Buulcha translate from Russian to Mongolian (Ruslan can speak Mongolian, but not well enough to speak rapidly). So no one here can translate very well from English to Russian! Now Buulcha is an intersting man, he is large and imposing, he became a Christian while in a Russian prison, he met Rulan back in his hometown of Erdenet, and he has since gone to bible school in Khazakstan (there is a large church and bible school in Kazahkstan which Ruslan relates with). Buulcha is as much a preacher in his own right, and when Ruslan speaks with vigor and zeal, Buucha echoes that and even more so -- and since they both have microphones it gets to be quite the spectacle! During a church service I (Pat) had a question for Ru slan (the pastor) which I gave to Butta to translate to Buulcha in Mongolian who then gave it to Ruslan in Russian. Ruslan gave an answer in Russian to Buulcha, Buulcha gave it to Butta in Mongolian, I got it in English, then I gave it back to Butta to speak to the congregation! Very interesting.

GETTING TO KNOW RUSLAN AND SVIETA -
Svieta is a mother of four beautiful children, she is a blonde, petite Russian woman who studied english in school but never thought she would need it. Now, she is challenged every Summer as missionaries visit and she becomes the translator for Ruslan. Larry Winnes, the teacher before us here, heard Svieta preach on the "Holiness of God" in a church in Siberia (one where Pat had been to visit with Phil 2 years ago in BelaKurika) and he was very impressed wtih her annointing!

Our time with Svieta and Rulan had been very rewarding. The other day they had us over for fresh rolls, and later we walked over to see the land where they are going to be building a church (hopefully this Fall), then we ended up at a Russian cafe for lunch. Angie started to cry a couple of times and they shared some of their hardships over the past ten years with us. Ruslan worked a 70 hour a week construction job the first several years they were here (all the while pastoring a church as a missionary). Then they got support from a Russian church for 6 months but that ended when the Russian economy went under (1996?). Finally a Finnish couple came to visit out of nowhere and asked what the needs were in the church. They brought in support that is still coming in now (through a Swedish church, although that is scheduled to end in May of '05).

The church they have now is their third, the first was Russian but most Russians have gone back to Russia (per Mongolian request, they are being replaced at the mine) and the second church experienced problems when Ruslan's assistant turned on him when he was back in Russia to renew his visa. The church he has now is growing, but I think trusting people has become difficult with all that they've been through. We really got the sense that they have felt isolated, especially in the early years of their ministry here. In the past two Summers the Nehemiah school and the encouragement Neil and Catherine have brought is has been a real lifeline for them.

The first night we were in Erdenet the power went out in our flat (the whole building was dark, someone did a no no in another flat) and there were several plumbing problems as well. Ruslan came over to fix the plumbing with Svieta. Ruslan and I worked in the bathroom on plumbing by flashlight (good thing we packed 4 of them, thanks Neil for the packing list!) while Ang stood in the dark entry hall and shared some of our past experiences with Svieta (including the rise and fall of the Starbuck church). After the plumbing was fixed we were all visiting in the front hall under the glow of flashlights shining on the ceiling. We were tired and probably talked until 11 o'clock, but I thought - when will we get a chance to visit with these guy during our stay?

GROWTH
Every Sunday new people come (usually Summer is a dead time!). When the "regulars" return from the countryside holiday they won't have encough room to meet (they just move 1 month ago!) Ruslan is an evangelist from the word GO! When he first became a Christian he was at a place where he had no money, so he took his guitar on into the city square (in a city in Russia) and began to play with the guitar case open so people could throw in money. In a very short time a large crowd gathered. He could only sing the 3 songs he had just learned in church. Some people asked for prayer for sickness and they were healed, soon he had a revival meeting on his hands. He's always thinking up new creative ideas. These past few weeks he make up money invitations, with Euros, Dollars and Trobrooks (Mongolian money) printed on one side, and an invitation to church on the other. Hope they don't get arrested for counterfeit making - some people tried to use the leaflets to buy things in the market already we heard!

It must be working though, this past Sunday morning at least 15 people responded to the invitation Pat put forth, and most of them stayed for an informational meeting following the service. The service was very enjoyable, with the Franey family at front and center. Ruslan had Pat do the sermon, the offering and communion (woof) but it wasn't tiring. I got to speak on my favorite topic - Shepherding, and people seemed to really be tuned in, I think it was a word for a growing church! Ang and John started the service off with mandolin, drum and singing the song "My God is a good God, My God is a great great King". Later, during communion, they did a special song and Ruslan wanted them to keep playing he liked it so much.

PARTY AT THE FLAT
Last year Pat and John and Kris got to know the worship team in Rubtsovsk (Siberia) quite well, they were the energy and zeal of the church. The same has been true here in Erdenet, and we've befriended the young people on the worship team here. We had them all over on Friday night (with some friends) 12 people in all - boy, was our living room FULL! We served them junk food and played games, John and Eileen really emjoyed it. The average age of the worship team members is 19, but most of them look 16 or younger. We played the animal sound/motion game, and they taught us a praise song with actions etc.in Mongolian where we spun around and stuck out our tongues while trying to pronounce un-pronounceable Mongolian words!

PRAYER REQUESTS
Here are a couple of things to pray for - Butta (translator) and Orna's baby (12 months) Orgil has been very sick, he's better now but he could use prayer Ruslan and Svieta have a large amount of money that should have arrived from the Swedish church in a bank wire transfer, but the bank says it's not there, and they've been very very unhelpful (customer service? what's that!) Ruslan is headed to UB to the main bank to figure it all out, please pray for them. We visited a woman in a Gerr to pray for her healing. Her knee has been operated on several times. She needs healing from infection. She will probably receive more medical care, but the facilities here aren't the best. Please pray for her healing. Finally - this is the fifth week of ministry school, please pray for strength for us and endurance for the people. It's a lot!

We appreciate all of the emails from people, so good to hear from you. Hard to believe we'll be headed to Beijing already on Saturday!

Lord Bless -
Pat, Ang, John and Eileen

From : Neil T
Sent : Friday, August 6, 2004 3:30 PM

2) From Pat-
Things in Mongolia are good.

Kids are enjoing themselves these days. John helped Ang put on a worship seminar the other night and John looked like he was in heaven -- especially when he got to give lessons on the handdrum to the worship team toward the end. They were enjoing it immensely, laughter could be heard coming down the hallway outside the meeting room. Eileen read another story last night for everyone.

We've had some quality time with Svieta and Rulan, which has been good. I'm really enjoying having Ang along to relate to Sveta, I think they're becoming friends. Sveta mentioned how much she appreciated Ruth coming last year, I think it was a great encouragement for her.

I'm enjoying the time here. After Ruth told me some of the horror stories last Summer when she returned (the assistant pastor who turned on them, the homeless lady with 4 kids, etc.) I was kind of cold on the whole idea of even coming here, but it's clear God is doing some new things with Rulan's church these days.

Today I am going to the market to buy a $15 wool fedora (can't beat the prices) to keep some sun off - it's intense here with the thinner air!

From : Neil
Sent : Monday, August 2, 2004 10:36 PM

Dear Friends and Family -
Pat here, giving an update Tuesday morning from the Franey Family. I'm emailing at the internet cafe for 25 cents an hour while Ang and the kids take baths and then wash clothes in the tub. The weather is spectacular, I'm not sure to a more arid climate at 4000 feet above sea level! When the sun is on you in the afternoon, it's HOT, but when you're in shade or in the evening it's instantly cool (don't miss the humidity from MN at all!). Today I did my usual run up the foothill near our flat (either I'm out of shape, or the thin air makes me pant, it's a workout) to have my quiet time while looking over the city in the early morning sun. The town is a sea of apartment buildings ("flats") and beyond the main part of the city (only 2 miles long and 1 mile wide by my calculations, yet 80,000 people and growing by 5000 a year) one can see settlements of Grrr's up on the hill.

TIDBITS FROM MONGOLIA
1. PEOPLE AND THE LAND
2. CHURCH IN ERDENET
3. MINISTRY
4, FAMILY DYNAMICS

1. THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND
I'm enjoying the people and the land here more and more. The countryside is vast, unspoiled and beautiful - we are surrounded by foothill/mountains. The lonely planet book we have tells me the people are nomadic, whether they are the 50% of the population who live in a Grrr ( a felt covered octagonal stucture, 300 sq ft?) out in the countryside herding animals, and the rest of the people who live in apartments in the city and dream about when they can go to the countryside during the Summertime and stay with family in a Grrr. Some hope to retire out to the countryside in a Grrrr when they are old, although Saina, our contact in Ulan Baatar, said her parents got tired of roughing it and moved back to the city.

The communists Russia dominated the country for 70 years) were unable to eradicate the nomadic life style (they tried!) but it looks like capitalism may just do that, as the herders can't keep up with the cost of living raising livestock and selling milk in the market in town. The history of Shamanism can be seen on many hilltops (including the one I climb each day) where people have made rock piles which are covered with "offerings" to the gods, they're called "Ovoos". Buhddism is making a come back after the communists worked so diligently to eradicate that (Stalin killed 17,000 monks in a purge and exiled many more to work camps).

2. THE CHURCH
Christianity, (the reason we are here!) has been growing at a rapid rate in Mongolia. Many evangelists from Korea have come and make quite an impact. In the church where we have been ministering the congregation has been growing - even in the Summertime, which is unusual because so many people so to the countryside during July and August. If the newcomers and the regulars who are on vacation were all present right now, Ruslan said they wouldn't have room for everyone.

A week ago Sunday 30 new people joined the church after being invited in the market place the day before. Ruslan and Svieta work tirelessly in leading the church and loving the people. Ruslan is an amazing man - he makes music CD's (an accomplished musician), leads the worship with a programmed keyboard (along with several vocalists), he fixed our faucett and some wiring in our flat, he makes a TV show at the local station. I called him "Rulan the handy man". He and Svieta speak English fairly well, Svieta better than Ruslan, but he gets by. They have been here 10 years and have endured many hardships. I'm sure they'd love to go back to Russia, but they feel God has called them here and they will stay until the "work" is done.

3. MINISTRY
Thank you to Catherine McDade for all of her leg work on setting up the ministry school here this Summer, she has a lot of logistics to work out (including a flat for Pat, Ang and the kids! Last night we began our official teaching which will go on for two weeks. After Rulan and the worship team led worship, Pat taught on "the church" (big topic!) for the first session. He used word-picutres as much as possible, and even object lessons (like Eileen coming "down the aisle" with a veil over her head to give them a picture of the church as the Bride of Christ. John and Ang then did special music, John on his new travel-drum and Ang with mandolin (they liked that). Then (this was fun) Eileen read a story for everyone to break things up. It's a kids book called "Read aloud bible stories". John did sound effects for the wind into the microphone, and the waves "splish-splash". People were really getting into it. Then Angie taught for the last session.

Her topic (relationships and family) is very pertinent, given the social ills we find here. Larry Winnes, the teacher before us, told Ang "people are watching you guys very closely, you are a model for them!". That was encouraging to hear. I'm using word pictures, animated gestures, silliness and humor where ever possible in the teaching to keep people connected. Yesterday I talked about being a light for Christ - smiling. In Russia - a solemn land, people only smile for two reasons (the saying goes) 1. they are crazy or 2. they are drunk. I said - now there is a 3rd reason, they are Christians and they have joy!

I tried to explain ethnic differences last night as well, and told them about St. Patricks Day -- amazing, they had never heard of that here! I told them that if I were living in Mongolia I would celebrate by drinking green fermented mare's milk (the national drink, delicacy to the locals and disgusting to many foreigners) and they really enjoyed that picture. My translator - Butta, is determined that I try some of the stuff now!

4. FAMILY DYNAMICS
I have been delighted to have Angela and the kids along for this trip. It was a huge expense, but I think the rewards will be great. John and Eileen are giants in the land (no surprise there) and people think them much older than they really are. They are both writing in their journals each night their impressions, and they joke around with our humorous translator "Butta". They each have a bedroom at night, which I think helps it feel a little more homey since we'll be here for 2 weeks. Ang is excited to finally join me (Pat) on the mission field for an adventure (it's great to see her connect with Svieta and with Butta's wife Orna). We have time as a family for ministry, but also for family time and quiet time together, all of which makes them something like a working vacation.

We want to thank everyone for their suport, emails and prayer. Our health has been quite good, which we are very thankful for!

Please feel free to email us at patrick_franey@yahoo.com. The kids love to hear from their friends as well!

"Outfitters for Adventure" headed by Neil will be taking a team to Mongolia for the first time as they have been linked by a school from Siberia to start a school (similar to SIMT)there.

{Photo Gallery}
{1} (2) *Note: We are still in the process of putting 3 more CD's of Kodak Pictures taken from this trip. We are trying to somehow transfer the pictures from CD to disk format. Please contact me if you know of how to do this. Thank You!

Thu, 7 Aug 03 05:24:26 -0600 Subject : from neil- I'm home

Dear Friends-
Sorry for the mass emailing but I wanted to get this out as quick as possible.

It is now 0500. I have had 4 hours of sleep and I can't sleep anymore- even after being on the road 36 hours yesterday (my flight left Novosibersk at 0100). Funny, huh? There is a 12 hour time difference.

From the reports I have received, Jody and Catherine did a great job in Mongolia as they stayed for two weeks after we left to teach in the school there. I really appreciate the fatihfulness everyone has shown in holding down things here at home as well as extending our aid overseas.

All the objectives that I went to Siberia for were achieved. There were perks like banyas (Russian sauna) almost every day. We are on for a school next year in Biysk as well as some ministry in various churches. I saw Lake Biakal on the train ride and on the way to Beijing I saw the Great Wall from the plane.

My trip home was uneventful. Got to witness to a back slidden Christian on the overseas flight as well as to a lost teenager (aren't they all?) on the Beijing to Tokyo flight.

I arrived in MSP at 12 on Wed and Pat pulled up to the curb to pick me up 20 seconds after I stepped out of the door. I went to the Sportsman's Guide to pick up some new pants (old ones are too big now) and we got home at 6:30. Ruth and I went for a walk with Naala and got all caught up on events. That was the only booger of my trip- being away from Ruth.

I will be catching up with some things around here for the next few days. We will be in the cities this weekend in Brooklyn Center for a wedding as well as another wedding on sunday night in eden Prairie. We may even go to Mark Spencer's church Sunday- final approach has not been determined yet.

funny American joke (not meant for Mongolians):
How to say thank you in Spanish- "Gracias"
How to say thank you in American- "thank you."
How to say thanks in Russian- "Spice see bah"
How to say thank you in Mongolian- "Kss kss Hsccck kss" (an so on)

Actually the gal that I talked to on the way home knew how to say thank you in Mongolian (her only Mongolia word) and it SEEMED like a common word. She was amused.

Looking forward to connecting with you.
love- neil

Subject: Forward to Outfitters
Date: Monday, July 21st 2003-Ruth Back at U.S.A.

(Below is part of the e-mail sent by Ruth-relating to Mongolia)

Neil left for Siberia on Friday afternoon, and I did his final teaching for him that night. Friday night's teaching on healing went well, but I could tell people were losing attention when the benches began getting too hard for them. I covered the main points very well to begin with, and then went over the first half of his teaching more thoroughly. I had to run through some of the examples from the second half of his teaching in summary mode to cover the material. The students still enjoyed the teaching and seemed encouraged. Then the missionary Ruslan sent us over to talk to the women he rents the church building from. It is in a fairly new strip mall. He said we should preach gospel. I got right to the point, because we were all tired. The lady who owns the building where the church is agreed to pray with me to give her life to Jesus. She had been prayed for by Buddists, but she wasn't feeling that was answering her need for God, and the monks always asked for money from the people when they pray for them. This woman has been reading her Bible that Ruslan had given her, but she wasn't understanding it very well, so we encouraged her that the Bible will be easier to read after she would give her life to Jesus. The Holy Spirit then comes to be with us when we read, and he teaches us about what we are reading. She said she felt very hot and was happy when we had prayed.

My trip on the train to UlaanBaatar to catch my airplane with Baggi our interpreter went very well. I enjoyed the train ride and we saw a herd of camels, but they were too far from the train for a picture. All of my plane connections went very well. I didn't get a wink of sleep coming across the Pacific, however. So I am going get a little rest now. I just sent an e-mail to Neil in Siberia. He had written that he had arrived safely in Novosibersk after his 3 day train ride on the Trans Siberian Railway.

Tue, 5 Aug 2003 22:00:19 -0500 Subject: Jody (former UMM student) from Mongolia

And now, for the final report...

Our last night in Mongolia:

I told you we were going to have a sleepover with all the girls under 25. Well we had quite the time. There were 21 of us in our little apartment and we had plenty of fun. We played Mafia (that game really gets around!), ate junk food, sang songs, prayed a little, and were basically just silly. I thought that when we finally went to sleep that I would have my bed to myself, but when I got to it there was already a small girl in it! I didn't have the heart to kick her out so I just laid down next to her. She threw her arms around me and smiled a huge smile. I still can't understand the Mongolian language, but I had no probem understanding that the girls had a great time and appreciate Catherine and me.

Our last day in Mongolia:

This day did not go as planned. Catherine, Bagi, and I made breakfast for he girls and got them out of the house by 11am. Then we went into a cleaning/packing frenzy. I took a break to take one last walk into the foot hills and when I returned we had guests. Everyone wanted to say good-bye. We visited a little, said good-bye again, finished packing, and then went to Ruslan's for lunch. There were 6 Russians, 2 Kazakhstanies, 2 Americans, and one Mongolian. We ate and talked. I loved hearing the storied of how God has been working in all our lives. We are so different- language, culture, histories, but the stories I heard all pointed to the same God.

Then it was off to the train station. We said more good-byes and waved as the train pulled away from the platform and then we settled in for the overnight ride. In the cabin next to ours was a man from New Zealand who is a baptist pastor. He was excited to hear about our time in Erdenet. There were also about 15 Peace Corps people on the train and it was fascinating to hear someone other than Catherine and myself speaking American english. One of the guys was from St. Paul. I will never stop being amazed over the people I meet in other countries. I was in Mongolia on a train and I talked to a stranger who lives 20 minutes from my apartment. Crazy!

Our only day in Beijing:

We got off the train early Sunday morning. Spent some time in Ulaan Baatar and then got on a plane to Beijing. My new friend Wei met us there. She and her husband drove us to our hotel and then showed us around the city. Tianamen Square, a random stop in to an amazing art gallery, shopping, and eating. It was wonderful! I cannot believe how amazingly good our dinner was. Vegetables, soup, roast duck, a frog dish (they brought the live frogs to our table before preparing them), and more. Catherine and I slept very well that night and morning came too soon.

Getting home:

We left the hotel at 6am on a shuttle to the airport. I can't believe how quickly we got through check-in and customs. Then we flew to Japan, had a little lay-over and finally boarded the plane that would land in Minneapolis.

It is good to be home. I am very tired. I only want to sleep and tonight when I should sleep I will only want to stay up. I start work for Sesame Street Live on Thursday and that will be fun. Hopefully I'll be a little more on schedule by then.

Thank you again for all of your encouraging emails, prayers, and warm wishes. I can't wait to get my pictures back so I can prove to myself that everything actually happened. This was an amazing experience. I hope to see you all soon. <> Jody

Subject: Forward to Outfitters
Date: Friday, July 18th 2003

Dear Team-
Greetings from Mongolia-land of horses and sheep and a few people. Ruth and I have just completed 2 weeks of instruction in a DTS school.Ruth will give a teaching on healing tonight to finish. Catherine McDade is doing Old Testament Survey- about one hour to 45 minutes each night (she is doing a wonderful job!). The class is mainly women (guys are a little slow- all over the world :) but there are some men with promise. The class began to have more teens in it as we progressed. Jody Remer arrived two days ago and will begin to teach on inner healing next week.

Tonight I will travel to Darnham where I will travel on the siberian railroad today to Novosibersk- 3 days train ride! There our friend Timur will meet me Sunday nite. Then on Monday I will go to Biysk to spend time with Sergai- our former "keeper" and body guard while we did a DTS there 2 years ago. The church has since split into a ultra word of faith and moderate word of faith of which Sergai is pastor in the former.

>From there I will go to Barnaul/Novoaltask on the Ob river to spend time with Victor and Tonya. They started a church after the first DTS that I was involved in. Their son in law was the outlaw pastor at that time. My visits to these men hopefully will encourage them and I hope you will pray accordingly.

While I have been here in Mongolia I have been impressed to write a book on foundations and get it translated into Mongolian and Russian- something that will counter balance the off balanced American and Korean teachings that have preceeded us. Preaching annointing is prized much more than charactor here as well as in Siberia. I believe that Brother Andrew was also addressing this problem in his book, The Calling, which is available in Barnes and Nobel in paperback.

Two days ago we sent a young man back to his wife and child in Ulan Baater.He had left them to pursue a pulpit ministry in Erdenet after his wife had ceased coming to church in UB because of being hurt in church politics (Korean dictator church). Praise God that he was responsive to our counsel! If there was no other reason than this to come to Mongolia it was all worth it.

I do not know where this will all lead but each step seems to unfold into another. Pray that I do not get off into unproductive rabbit trails but that I can impact the region for Jesus by solid foundational teachings.

Yesterday we visited a ger (yurt) and had chocolate with the lady that lived there. She lives in a ger in the winter and burns cow chips to stay warm. (Cow chips are very important here!) I was impressed by her faith- she is 73 and reads the Bible every day. The ger was very clean (spotless!) and I would not mind trying living in one except no bathroom and running water. Catherine has a picture of herself in the outhouse that you can all look at when she returns. ha ha

Mongolia is a strange mixture of old and new. During the traditional wrestling matches of Naadam (similar to our 4th of July) it was not unusual to see the coaches pull out a cell phone and begin to talk out on the field. Boggi's (our interpeter) mom lives in a ger but has a cell phone and many of the herder families in the countryside have them too. It is like seeing John Wayne pull out a cell phone in a western movie!

I have been thinking of you and look forward to re-connecting when I return.

For Jesus-neil

Subject: Announcements Tues July 8th
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 08:54:10 -0500

2. Message to church from Neil: We have been here now since Wednesday, and have experienced some problems. Car broke down on road, in country registration which look like they may be resolved today. The church here is reminiscent of ours back in the early days. Many people needing help. Class starts tonight. Catherine and Ruth are doing well. Ruth got over her sickness while on the plane. It is beautiful here like Montana. Blessings. Neil Later from Ruth: "Class began last night and went very well. Love,Ruth

Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2003 1:10 AM
Subject: Message from Mongolia

Dear Friends,

Wanted to let you know that I have made it to Mongolia. Here is some of the details of what has happened thus far.

There wasn't much to tell about the plane ride to Japan except that we left 1 1/2 hour late due to trouble with the machines they use to start the engine. That meant we were late to Japan making it a run to catch the next plane, plus a stop at security where they searched Neils bags because of a scissors in his sewing kit. On the plane they showed 'Maid in Manhatten', Just Married, and Shanghi Knights (I think that is what it was called at least). I slept most of the way from Japan to Beijing. Once in Beijing we left the airport to find a sign saying Mr. Thielke (our hotel arranged to have the shuttle pick us up). We then went to the hotel and slept.

Next we were off to the airport for our flight to Mongolia. That was interesting as we didn't know Chinese and with the health checks, the unexpected airport tax, only then to find our flight had been canceled. But Praise God we got on a different flight.

Next thing I knew I was in Mongolia and was meeting the pastor (Russilan) of the church we will teach in. Then we were off to get me registered-that is a whole nother story I can tell you about when I get home (But please be in prayer that Ruth, Neil, and I will get our passports back soon, as we had to leave them with someone in Ulaanbaatar to have them register us). We exchanged money and headed for Erdenet.

On the way to Erdenet the car broke down. The engine wasn't getting enough oil and Russilan wasn't understanding Neil trying to tell him this. Finally we heard somethings dropping on the ground and the car stopped making the loud noise. The car lost power and we were on the side of the road (Neil explained to Ruth and I that the rod had gone through the engine wall). This continued Ruth, Neil, and my prayer that God would provide. Russilan was trying to fix the car despite our attempts to tell him there was no fixing the car on the side of the road and that we needed to catch aride. You see it was getting close to sunset and towns are few and very far between (my guess would be at least 50 miles between towns). God provided by having a Mongolian Mormon who spoke english stop to clean his windshield and offered to drive us when we asked. Actually this man was very generous to us. I believe he is the reason God had the car break down, pray that this man receives Jesus.

In Erdenet I am staying with Ruth, Neil, and our translator in a flat. It reminds me alot of what you would find in our ghettos but without the violence. I can take showers everyday, but it isn't as necessary as I thought it would be with the heat not being an issue. We are at a high altitude so it is actually knid of cool outside. The food is different, but so far I have not gotten sick. I miss eating fruit but saw some bananas today and hopefully they will be good.

I better go, hope all is well in America.

In Christ, Catherine

Please pray for them as the itenerary in preperation is still in the process as of this is being written (4/11/03). Thank you-prayers answered

Neil and Ruth will be leaving 6/29/03 to China and then to Mongolia

Team:

-Neil & Pat
-Jody & Catherine (SIMT grads 02' & 99' respectively)

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Mongolia travel

'Dreams of a Far Flung Land -- MongoliaThis is a ticket to a land of dreams where you will take time out from the rat race to wander where time does not dominate, to an unchanged and incredible country.
Twenty years ago I read a book about the adventures of Genghis Khan. The image of a million warriors galloping across the vast Mongolian plains, reaching as far as Europe and conquering half the world has never left me. As the years passed it became clear to me that until I too explore this wilderness I shall never find peace of mind I decided to make the trip and found nine partners who were willing to join me in my Mongolian madness. We set out on a voyage to discover and photograph a wonderful cultural heritage against the background of the Altai mountains crossed by Marco Polo on his way to meet with Kublai Khan, Genghis Kahn's grandson. The rest is on my site: www.far-dream.info