| Many of you may not know this, but I have extended my time in Mongolia by one week. We had a complicated surgical case here (an 18 month-old boy, Tsend) that required more care that we anticipated post-op. Unfortunately, the Mongolian nurses and doctors are not really experienced in taking care of these children after their surgeries. A few of us decided to change our plans and try to get Tsend healthier before we left him. By God giving us little miracles along the way, we were able to extubate (take him off the ventilator) on Sunday evening. I say it was a miracle because he miraculously peed off about 1 liter of fluid from his body in 24 hours and was still hemodynamically stable. If you're not a medical person, that won't mean anything to you, but trust me, it is miraculous when you're talking about a child weighing under 15 pounds. Because God provided and he got so much better, I was able to spend the week in the South Gobi Desert with the Searching Team of For Hearts and Souls. We spent the week traveling through the Gobi screening children for congenital heart disease and neurologically disorders. It was a great week! I was on sticker duty all week. I put stickers all over the children while they were waiting to be seen by the doctors. I got to make them giggle, smile, and help them enjoy life. It was such a change from the previous week. I am so glad that I was able to stay and experience both weeks. What a blessing it has been! I'll have more to post later, but now I must go to bed since I have access to an actual bed now. We spent the last four nights sleeping in "gers." They are Mongolian tents that may or may not be heated. It has been around 30 degrees Celsius here in the Gobi the last few nights. Freezing nights may be long, but Gobi days are gorgeous! |
Friday, September 28, 2007
Gobi Adventures. . .
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The Accidental Tourist
It was a tearful good-bye from the ship and Liberia a week and a half ago. I had such an amazing time there and just crave to return to Africa. . . soon. (yes, that's right, momma-cita, I'm going back). I wish I could sum it up and understand what exactly God did in my life and heart while I was there and is continuing to do now that I am in Mongolia; however, I need approximately 36 hours, 8 triple non-fat lattes, a journal, and Bible before I'll be ready for that. So instead, I'll just carry on with this post.
After spending twelve hours in Belgium, one hour in Frankfurt, and four days in Beijing, I am in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. My week of travel was quite an adventure. I arrived in Brussels at 5:45 AM and hopped a train into the city (more like dragged myself onto the train) where I promptly feel asleep after the first two stops. An hour later I woke up in rural Belgium, completely clueless as to where I was or how to get back. Not really a big deal except that in the rural parts of Belgium, Finnish is spoken. The languages I dabble in include English (somewhat proficient), Spanish, and now Liberian-English. Note that Finnish is not listed here. Fortunately, the train station guy took special pity on me and made sure I got back to Brussels, even going as far as to physically stop me from getting on the wrong train. He also informed me that I should have disembarked at the second stop from the airport. One of the two stops I was actually awake for! After arriving in Brussels, first stop: coffee shop, second stop: city tour bus. It is more than a little comical that Brussels is known as being the seat of the European Union and is home of Mannequin Pis (the little peeing boy)! How did those two diametrically opposite things end up in the same city?!
In Beijing, I meet up with the half of the Mongolia group. We went to the Great Wall where I unsuccessfully warded off Chinese selling their wares on the Wall. I was a little surprised that is allowed. Oh well. For those of you going to the Olympics next summer, I suggest bringing a blindfold so you won't know how many cars/bikers/people your cab driver is about to run down.
I am always fascinated when I travel outside of the US. So many places have such a rich history. I suppose that is what happens when your country is older than 200 years. Boston is about as old as it gets in terms of US history. I was stopped in my tracks at The Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) just imagining daily life there 600 years ago (Ming Dynasty). Our last night in Beijing, seven of us went to Tianamen Square just to wander around. We ended up being there for the flag ceremony (when they take down the flag). Apparently, a group of seven American women standing around Tianamen Square on a Friday night is something to wonder at. We got so many stares and picture requests; it was really quite entertaining. These two young women (around my age) came up to all of us and started a conversation. We ended up having tea ceremony and dinner with them. They allowed us to pray for the dinner. I think they thought it was a cute thing to do with Americans, because they both giggled when I said "Amen." It was cool to be able to spend hours with them just talking, comparing culture, background, jokes, and songs. We told them what we were planning to do in Mongolia and they were genuinely interested. They were wonderfully sweet women. It was just one of the many divine appointments we had in Beijing. Political views aside, Communism leaves people spiritually famished.
It's Thursday evening in Mongolia (13 hours ahead of CST). Today was day four of surgeries and caths. It has been a tough week to say the least, but God is faithful in all things even when it is impossible to understand His plan and justice. We have not done all the surgeries we had originally planned due to many reasons, paramount being that God has changed our plan. Please continue to keep the Mongolia team, children, and families in your prayers. Pray specifically for us specifically that we would be a light in a dark place; pray for the safety and protection of the children; pray for every one's energy level and state of mind. As the director of the program said, "Pediatric cardiac surgery is difficult in the US when you have almost limitless amounts of what you need." Please pray for limitless faith and encouragement. God bless you all and see you soon. Love, me!
After spending twelve hours in Belgium, one hour in Frankfurt, and four days in Beijing, I am in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. My week of travel was quite an adventure. I arrived in Brussels at 5:45 AM and hopped a train into the city (more like dragged myself onto the train) where I promptly feel asleep after the first two stops. An hour later I woke up in rural Belgium, completely clueless as to where I was or how to get back. Not really a big deal except that in the rural parts of Belgium, Finnish is spoken. The languages I dabble in include English (somewhat proficient), Spanish, and now Liberian-English. Note that Finnish is not listed here. Fortunately, the train station guy took special pity on me and made sure I got back to Brussels, even going as far as to physically stop me from getting on the wrong train. He also informed me that I should have disembarked at the second stop from the airport. One of the two stops I was actually awake for! After arriving in Brussels, first stop: coffee shop, second stop: city tour bus. It is more than a little comical that Brussels is known as being the seat of the European Union and is home of Mannequin Pis (the little peeing boy)! How did those two diametrically opposite things end up in the same city?!
In Beijing, I meet up with the half of the Mongolia group. We went to the Great Wall where I unsuccessfully warded off Chinese selling their wares on the Wall. I was a little surprised that is allowed. Oh well. For those of you going to the Olympics next summer, I suggest bringing a blindfold so you won't know how many cars/bikers/people your cab driver is about to run down.
I am always fascinated when I travel outside of the US. So many places have such a rich history. I suppose that is what happens when your country is older than 200 years. Boston is about as old as it gets in terms of US history. I was stopped in my tracks at The Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) just imagining daily life there 600 years ago (Ming Dynasty). Our last night in Beijing, seven of us went to Tianamen Square just to wander around. We ended up being there for the flag ceremony (when they take down the flag). Apparently, a group of seven American women standing around Tianamen Square on a Friday night is something to wonder at. We got so many stares and picture requests; it was really quite entertaining. These two young women (around my age) came up to all of us and started a conversation. We ended up having tea ceremony and dinner with them. They allowed us to pray for the dinner. I think they thought it was a cute thing to do with Americans, because they both giggled when I said "Amen." It was cool to be able to spend hours with them just talking, comparing culture, background, jokes, and songs. We told them what we were planning to do in Mongolia and they were genuinely interested. They were wonderfully sweet women. It was just one of the many divine appointments we had in Beijing. Political views aside, Communism leaves people spiritually famished.
It's Thursday evening in Mongolia (13 hours ahead of CST). Today was day four of surgeries and caths. It has been a tough week to say the least, but God is faithful in all things even when it is impossible to understand His plan and justice. We have not done all the surgeries we had originally planned due to many reasons, paramount being that God has changed our plan. Please continue to keep the Mongolia team, children, and families in your prayers. Pray specifically for us specifically that we would be a light in a dark place; pray for the safety and protection of the children; pray for every one's energy level and state of mind. As the director of the program said, "Pediatric cardiac surgery is difficult in the US when you have almost limitless amounts of what you need." Please pray for limitless faith and encouragement. God bless you all and see you soon. Love, me!
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