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

Pictures, Update to Come

At an amazing park outside of UB called Terlj

A special little girl who loves the Lord so much.  She is the bluest child I have ever seen due to her heart defect.

A special reunion for three CHP boys with their host father along with Anya and Gany, SP staff.

Uugna giving out Gospel bracelets

This camel did not appreciate me trying to pet it.

Our CHP boys and SP staff out for a ride

Ken's reunion with 5 of his kids.  This little girl called him grandpa.

The group I transported to Mayo.  Togi is recovering well after surgery.

How they type and cross blood in Mongolia!

I walked into the hospital room to see this precious little one just sitting on her bed with her shades on.

She was a champ getting out of bed the next day after open heart surgery.

The first two boys operated on recovered so fast.

I was so thankful he was able to receive surgery!

David and Johnny

Erik and Justin

So excited for Justin and Joanna

Wendy

So thankful to have another awesome sister in law Joanna

Mom and Dad

The wedding party

Sarah

Kelly and Rusty

The beautiful couple!

My bestest girls!

My cousin Meg! 

Noah, my newest nephew, enjoying the dance floor

Sam danced the night away!

Aunt Amy, Meg, and Mom

A reunion with my Theta sisters

The Marathon Begins

Yesterday this verse came alive to me.  Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."  I went out to the countryside, just outside of UB, to a national park called Terelj yesterday.  It was just beautiful.  I was amazed at how much the landscape could change so quickly.  It has these giant rocks, reminding me a lot of Red Rocks in Colorado, but the rocks are not red.  I hiked up a hill overlooking a valley and just sat on a rock and prayed.  There has been so much on my mind with the busy weeks coming up and seeing so many children and families in such great need.  The Holy Spirit really spoke to me about how He is at work in people's hearts who are facing difficult circumstances.  There is really only so much we can do as humans, but the Holy Spirit can truly change people's hearts and attitudes.  It also was a great time of praise as many awesome things are happening in our ministry, which the Lord deserves the praise alone.  And seeing amazing mountain and rock structures, along with the vast blue sky of Mongolia, I couldn't help but praise the Lord.  He spoke earth creation into existence.  How AWESOME is that!  And how unbelievable that the Lord wants to have a personal relationship with us, so much that He sent His son to die for our sins so that we, who trust him, can be justified and join Him in heaven one day.  Every day I am amazed by the depths of the love of our Lord!
As my title eludes to, the marathon begins tomorrow.  Well most of you know I am not a runner, but these next few weeks will be like a marathon which I am very excited for.  My friend arrives tomorrow.  She will be joining the team that arrives the end of this week, but she is coming a bit early to serve at an orphanage and hang out with me.  I am thankful to share about our work with a dear friend.  Then the team arrives the end of this week.  A pediatric cardiologist from Texas leads this team every year and they partner with Samaritan's Purse.  They will be doing a week of searching for children with heart defects down near the Gobi desert and then a week of operations and cardiac cathetarizations on children to repair congenital heart defects.  I am thankful I will get to join their team.  Myself and another CHP staff will be going to the Gobi and then we will be involved with the surgical aspect of things as well.  This is awesome as many children will get their heart defects repaired right here in Mongolia.  As you can imagine their are many prayer needs associated with this trip.  I will list some of the prayer requests below.
And as this team wraps up, I get to fly home with a special boy who is having surgery at Mayo.  I will be transporting him, his mother, and an interpreter.  This is very exciting as this child is able to receive surgery.  And then I will fly home for my brother's wedding.  I am so excited for Justin and his fiance Joanna.  It will be a fun week spent with family and friends in celebration of a very special marriage.  I feel very blessed I get to go home for it.  And then, I will fly to North Carolina to go to SP's headquarters.  I am pumped to spend some time with our team stateside who supports us so well in Mongolia.  So these next five weeks are exciting and BUSY!
I feel like I am settling into things well here.  I have been able to hang out with some friends who are great.  There is a Thursday night study and fellowship that I went to last week and was so thankful for the fellowship and encouragment.  I am really enjoying my international church.  Language study came to a hault with all the busyness of work with the team coming and sending off many medical records for children newly enrolled, but I think in October when I have more time, I will make that a priority.  I know enough to get around, but wish I knew more.
The weather is getting cooler.  Two days this week, it was just plain cold, even seeing snowflakes, but it warmed up nicely this weekend.  The heat has not come on yet in my apartment, so I have to bundle up a bit, but thankfully I brought a lot of warm clothes.
Well please join me in prayer for the following:

• That the Lord would open the hearts of the families we meet these next few weeks with searching for children with heart defects and repairing the defects through surgeries or cathetarizations
• That we can get our container out of customs.  Yes we are still working on this and we think we have all things in order to pull it tomorrow.  This container has all our supplies for the mending part of this trip. 
• For the families as they travel to UB for repair of their child's heart defect.  May they have safety in travel both ways, may the see the love of Christ in what we do, and may the children recover quickly. 
• That many successful surgeries and cathetarizations can be performed as planned with little complications
• Open communications with all members of team both Mongolian and Americans   
• For all the details and logistics to come together well and smoothly
• Safety in travel for the members of the team as they arrive this week, for our trip down to the Gobi, return travels, and my trip to the US. 

Well thank you for all your prayers.  I really value them and that keeps me going and will keep this team coming strong.  I will update when I can.
Blessings,
Em

Korea Pictures

A beautiful palace that dates back to the 14th century, right in the heart of Seoul.

Oh how I love market.  This was a food market where I tired a fried mung bean pancake and I loved it.

A south Korean soldier. 

A garden in the palace.

I got to see a cultural performance and loved it. 

  This was a week that challenged me, but am so thankful for the Lord's provision.  He gave me so much peace in challenging situations.  A highlight for me was seeing six families who we are entering into our project.  I was able to take some time to educate them on their child's heart defect and that was just awesome.  I had picture diagrams to show them the structure of their child's heart defect.  I pray this helps their understanding of why their child is sick.  Please pray that hospitals will accept them soon.  Also please lift up our container that arrived last week.  We are having some difficulties getting it cleared from customs, but I know Lord is working through this situation and I am learning about patience which is always a good lesson for me.  This weekend, I am just taking it easy.  With traveling last weekend and an incredibly busy week, it is nice to just hang out, watch some TV, and read.  I am blessed to be building some friendships here.  Oh and the days are getting much cooler.  It is not getting much above 60.  Fall is here!  Thanks for tuning in friends!
Blessings,
EM

I'm a Mongolian Resident

                Well I have some amazing news to report, it’s official, I can now be a Mongolian resident.  Hip Hip Hooray!  I arrived to Seoul and headed straight for the Mongolian Embassy.  They found my paperwork quickly, I spoke with the Consular, paid the fee, and the next morning when they opened my visa was ready.  This is a true blessing from the Lord!  I had allowed some extra time in my trip in case of some difficulties, but there was none.  Now I just have to get registered at immigration in Ulaanbaatar to get my residency card and I am set.  Praise the Lord!

                While I was in Korea, I figured I should make the most of the experience and I went on a tour of the DMZ.  This was a very eye opening experience to see the border of the most closed nation in the world.  The DMZ is the 4 km wide zone that runs the length of the Korean peninsula separating the north from the south.  A US Army soldier told the history of this area since the Korean War including many stories of what has happened on the border.  It is estimated that only 20,000 people have escaped the north in the last 60 years-that’s not very many.  My heart was so burdened for the people.  Many of the details of what I heard on this tour are extremely sad, so I encourage you to be praying that the Gospel can give people hope in the north.  It may seem impossible to reach people in such a closed area, but God is bigger than borders, dictators, etc.  We were able to step foot inside the north inside a building where they hold negotiations.  We also saw the Bridge of No Return, the Third Tunnel, and a train station the south built in hopes that it will someday be an international train station.  One night as I had dinner in Seoul, where it is so modernized and developed, I had left overs from my meal.  And I sat and thought about that food as people are starving to death just over the border and I have more than enough.  Please, please, please pray for the people of the north.

                I hit a few markets as I always love seeing open air markets.  I found some good deals on things I need for my apartment in UB.  And I even tried lots of traditional Korean Food.  It is very good and healthy, for the most part.  But I stuck to veggie dishes as I did not want to eat anything raw.  I was totally impressed with Seoul.  It is so easy to get around, public transportation is great, many good restaurants, and there seems to be an information desk in every major area with people who speak English to help.  I highly recommend a vacation here.  And if you like shopping, it is endless for very good prices.  I stayed in a traditional hanok, which is a square home that has a courtyard in the middle.  I loved it and it was so much cheaper than a hotel.     

                While I was away, there was so much going on back at the office.  So I was trying to balance working from another country.  Thank goodness for internet!  Our container arrived last week and we have found the paperwork to get it out rather difficult.  But I think we are almost done and should be able to get it out in the next few days.  We also have many new children to enter into the program, so we are trying to complete their medical files.  I am also making my first budget for next year.  This is stretching me in a new way, but I am cranking out the numbers as best I can.  I did always love math, so now I get to use it a little more.

                I will try to post some pictures soon from my trip.  Please be praying for our container, that we can quickly complete the medical records of our new children, and for the country on the northern end of the Korean Peninsula.