Welcome to Mongolia!

Good morning from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia! (It's actually almost 11 p.m. here, but it's Saturday morning for you all:-))

I am safe and sound in UB and have officially survived more than a whole week here. It has been an intense week of transition and adjustment, both physically and emotionally. The jet lag was a strange beast, with several days of falling dead asleep at 8:30 p.m. and being wide awake at 4 a.m. We've also been adjusting to the cold, bundling up with lots of scarves, coats and gloves. Right now it is hovering around freezing most days, so it feels like a pretty normal Pennsylvania-like winter. I just keep telling myself my body will adjust as the temperatures continue to drop!

This first week has been full of adventures- shopping for bedding, buying food, beginning to find our way around the city and starting language school. We are taking a two week "survival" course in Mongolian, so Holli and I spend roughly 3 1/2 hours a day in class, studying with an instructor and trying to learn enough basics that we can build on our skills as we function on an every day basis. It's an incredibly difficult language, so I can't say that fluency is a goal, but perhaps with time I will be able to carry on a conversation. Holli and I have been praying that our minds would be like magic sponges, soaking in all of the words and grammar. We would covet your prayers for language learning as well.

We have our afternoons free for the most part these first two weeks, so we have been familiarizing ourselves with the city, spending time at one of the mission centers and beginning to form relationships with church members and others in the community. I have also been reminded of the importance of balance and rest in this time of transition, so we have been working to be intentional about setting aside time for rest and reflection.

Several of you have asked about a mailing address which I should be able to provide in a few days. I will certainly include it in my next update once I know what it is for sure. I'll also be sharing further details on financial support and how covenant relationships work with churches and groups. If that is something you or your church might be interested in, let me know.

Thank you for your prayers, your emails and your messages. I am so grateful for them. After a week of limited Internet access, we have Internet at our apartment. I am beginning to get caught up on responding and will hopefully be able to be more prompt from here on out. I am learning and discovering a lot in these days and I'm looking forward to sharing those stories with you. You can find more frequent updates at my blog (www.ouatinreallife.blogspot.com).

If you'd like to see video or pictures from the commissioning service, check out www.ummissionaries.org.

Welcome to Mongolia!

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