Transporting to Michigan

Hey Friends,
  Well the days are getting colder here.  Last weekend it got down to -22 degrees Fahrenheit one night.  Now that is cold!  When walking home from work today it was snowing and did not feel that bad outside.  I checked the temp and it was 16 degrees.  I know I am adjusting to things when I think 16 degrees is not that cold.  The key to frigid cold temps is layers.  There is long underwear, high socks, pants, a full length coat over your sweater and long underwear top.  Then you need a scarf, hat and must put your hood up.  Your eyes feel the cold and just water.  But I would not have it any other way.  I see people who live on the streets and have to sort trash for food and to find bottles to sell to make money.  I count my blessings.  I have a nice warm apartment, food on the table, warm clothes on my back, and a job I love.  Many people in Mongolia have very few of these things.  I was talking with our housekeeper today about the price of heating a ger.  It costs around $5 a day to keep a ger warm, so that is $150 a month.  Many Mongolians make around $100-$150 a month or less, so if you do the math, that does not work out.
  Last week I had the pleasure of transporting two precious three year olds to Michigan for surgery.  The group consisted of the two boys, their mothers, an interpreter, and myself.  It was a very smooth trip.  In Beijing we ran around and wore them out before the long flight to America.  They managed to sleep most of the 13 hour flight thankfully.  And their mothers sure were troopers, never complaining and always ready for the next adventure.  These two children have been given a gift of free surgery to repair holes in their hearts.  But you know what, we have a hole in our heart caused by sin.  And that hole can only be mended by Christ.  Many people try to medicate or fix that hole on their own, but the only way to fix it is to have faith in Jesus and His death and resurrection.  By His blood, the price has been paid in full for our sins and we have been reconciled in our relationship with God.  What a beautiful thing.  I hope you realize this precious gift this Christmas season.  The group will be in the States for around 6 weeks.
  After dropping the group off, I had a night in Michigan before heading to St. Louis for an early Thanksgiving with my family.  My parents knew I was coming, but my brothers and their families had no idea.  It sure was a fun surprise!  The look on Justin's face was priceless.  I have had lots of good surprises this year between this, my mom's 60th birthday party, and flying home for Kelly's birthday.  I enjoyed all the traditional Thanksgiving food, including my dad's fried turkey (those are the best).  But most of all I enjoyed just hanging out with my family.  And then I had two more days before I came back to Mongolia.  I was thankful for how this trip worked out to see my family and celebrate so many things we are thankful for.
  Coming back, I had an entire row to myself on my long flight and was able to sleep about 10 of the 13 hours.  That made for an easier transition back.  Tomorrow at work we celebrate what has been accomplished with Samaritan's Purse in Mongolia this past year.  It will be a special day.  Tom, our country director, and his family are moving to Honduras, so we will miss them.  There are lots of changes occurring in our office, so please pray for this transitional time. 
  Thanks for tuning in.  I will try to do better with updates.  There are some pics below. 
Happy Thanksgiving,
Emily

Recent Transport

A precious grandmother who loved the Lord

One of the two three year old boys I transported back.  He has surgery tomorrow November 21st.

The two boys with their mothers feeding the fish at the Beijing airport.

We wore them out playing in the airport before our long 12+ hour flight.

We made it to Michigan.

The other precious little boy who had surgery last week. 

 

Here's what's been happening in Mongolia

                Well it is no secret that I really enjoy Cardinal’s baseball.  I cannot believe where they came from in August to be World Series champions.  I listened to most playoff games on ESPN radio and even got to see game 7 through Skype.  I am sure my neighbors in my apartment building wondered what I was yelling about.  I am one happy St. Louis Cardinals fan!  Now I have a few months off daily checking baseball statistics. 

                When you think of a miracle, does one come to mind?  Have you experienced something you know could only be accomplished through the hands of the Lord?  I sure feel like I have been experiencing many miracles lately.  God has been at work through impossible circumstances for His glory.  For me, seeing God’s miracles are one of the greatest joys about serving Him overseas.  In America we plan, plan, and plan some more, but that is not always possible here which I feel allows for seeing God’s hand in working out many situations.  I leave more situations to prayer instead of trying to work it out myself.  As I think about miracles, I think about people whose lives have taken a drastic change.  I think about the life of Paul and how Christ took hold and dramatically changed his life.  He went from living in the darkness persecuting Christians, to being a great witness of the light in Christ throughout his many missionary journeys and his writings of many books of the New Testament.  In true reality, each faith proclamation in Jesus is a transformation brought about by the Holy Spirit working within us to come to a realization of our sins and our need for a relationship with Jesus, who bore our sins on the cross.  We can now be free from the consequences of our sins by trusting our lives to and believing in Jesus.  What a great gift!

                What an amazing couple of months it has been!  August began with a visiting pediatric cardiologist who screened children for heart defects and we entered 14 new children into the project, a few of which urgently need surgery.  After a trip to the Mongolian Embassy in South Korea, I was granted a visa to live and work in Mongolia.  This was a huge answer to prayer!  Early September brought preparations for a team which partnered with Samaritan’s Purse to screen children for heart defects (2100 children screened in the Gobi Desert) and then a week of mending hearts through open heart surgeries and heart catheterizations.  Samaritan’s Purse arranged shipping a container to come to Mongolia full of supplies for this week and for donations to local hospitals.  It was a giant undertaking to get it cleared through customs, but thanks to your many prayers it arrived and was cleared in time.  With those supplies and the donation of time and skills of nearly 30 doctors, nurses, and helpers, nine children and one adult received open heart surgery and ten children received interventional cardiac catheterizations.  Our Children’s Heart Project staff was able to pray with the families of these children, give them Bibles, and share about the source of why so many Americans would come all this way to Mongolia to give free medical care.  That is because our relationship with the Lord guides us to serve others and meet the needs of the underserved.  For the week of surgeries and catheterizations to come together, it is a true miracle, along with the fact that so many children were given a second chance at life by having their physical hearts repaired. 

As I think back to the past few months, a highlight for me has been seeing several young men who underwent heart surgery in America as teenagers now blossom into being Disciples of Christ.  They led our ministry team while we were in the Gobi Desert screening children.  They opened up about what they have been through having a heart defect, many being told there was no hope, to receiving surgery, and coming to know the Lord.  We look forward to these young men being camp leaders next year.  Pray for these special young men.  Next week we will be getting them together for pizza and fellowship.  We pray this is an encouraging and uplifting time.    

                After this amazing week of surgeries and catheterizations, I brought a precious boy, his mother, and an interpreter back to the States with me.  I dropped the group off in Rochester, MN for his surgery a few days later.  He is recovering well and I look forward to seeing him back in Mongolia in December.  Then I headed off to St. Louis to celebrate my brother’s wedding.  What a special time it was for Justin and Joanna.  I am thankful to have a new sister-in-law and a new nephew, Noah, her son.  The wedding celebration was a blast and I was so thankful I was able to be there!    

                We are wrapping up our travels for the winter.  I am so proud of the staff for how hard they worked on post visit trips.  These trips are long with terrible roads, but they serve with great joy.  It is such an encouraging time for these countryside families.  Buynaa, our CHP Office Coordinator, shared when she arrived to a very remote area everybody from came to see the visitor from the city.  These visits to the countryside are amazing opportunities to share the Gospel and we are so thankful a family who was recently accepted for surgery in Toronto this January is very eager to start a church.  As we plan for the next year in our ministry, we look forward to developing a curriculum for heart camps and to have a strong emphasis on kingdom building.

                Please join me in praying for the following:

·         For the strength of our ministry-may we encourage our CHP families, implement new partnerships with local churches, and give hope to those families still waiting on their child’s surgery

·         We praise God several groups have recently been accepted for open heart surgery.  Pray for these children and their families as they undergo a life saving operation and a life changing experience in North America.  Also pray as we interview many new interpreters.  May we find women passionate for the Lord who have a heart for this ministry.  Also pray for more hospitals in the US to accept our cases.  

·         With winter arriving, we cannot travel to the countryside as much.  Please pray we can use this time to connect well with families in Ulaanbaatar and begin to implement new ideas to advance our ministry.  We are making prayer cards for each child on our waiting list to consistently be praying for the 100+ children on our list.   

·         Pray that I stay encouraged and strengthened with a long winter coming up.  I have made some great friends and have a good community base here.  I am thankful I have been able to take some Mongolians to church with me and then come over for Sunday dinners.  I pray more are interested in coming. 

Thank you for your prayers for this ministry.  Also do not forget about packing your shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  National Collection week is November 14^th-21^st.  You can go to Samaritan’s Purse’s website for more information.  The gift of a packed shoe box can dramatically change a child’s life who may never have received a gift before.  And you are packing a special gift with the love of Christ. 

Blessings,

Emily