Mark The Mongolian
I stepped outside today into the bright sunny 30-degree weather day to go get the mail and to put out my trash for collection. It was a big day for me and I’m glad to say that I pulled it off like a champ. Probably not as good as my performance last week, but practice makes perfect. I will keep you updated!
While doing this errand it reminded me of a time, I spent in Mongolia almost twenty years ago in 2006. What triggered my memory was that I can remember how sunny it was when we went outside but how cold it was (every day was double digits below zero). I grew up in Ohio and we got both: cold AND gray skies, so naturally I thought if it was sunny out it should not be THAT cold. I was also thinking about what to write about today and BOOM, problem solved. Apparently, my blood was a bit thicker back then because it never got above zero the whole time we were there, and I was running back inside today after only being out for a few minutes in 30-degree weather.
Some friends from church that I traveled with approached me and asked if I wanted to join them on another business as mission trip halfway around the world. I asked, “what exotic destination are we headed to this time?” They said “Mongolia.” I thought for a tick and asked, “isn’t it cold there this time of year?”. “Yes, VERY” was the reply. So, let me see if I understand this: we go to India in the height of summer and now we are headed to Mongolia in the dead of winter, is that about, right? “Yep”, was the answer. My next point was something on the topic of we must be getting a huge discount from a travel agent for “off-season” trips. We had spent the previous few years helping our brothers and sisters in India getting started and now we were starting another ministry in Mongolia. What the heck, let’s go to Mongolia!
Our 16-hour flight from Atlanta to Seoul was pretty cool too. I had never flown on a 747 until this trip. The flight attendants looked like they were stamped out of a mold. They all looked like sisters and were dressed impeccably. The service was top shelf (even for us in coach). I watched about four movies since it is hard for me to sleep on a plane. I think they fed us about every three hours and I’m not sure what some of it was but that didn’t stop me from eating it. Pretty good seaweed, I guess.
The Incheon International airport in Seoul was amazing for this tire builder’s kid from Akron. I was expecting some outdated facility, but this place was great! Very modern. It looked like the biggest shopping mall you have ever seen with gates big enough for the 747’s we were flying. We had a layover of about 10 hours so we rented this room you could stay at within the airport for blocks of time to shower and rest. You could get any type of food at any time of the day or night. So, it was sushi, Dunkin’ Donuts and a few Cokes for your truly.
The next leg was from Korea to Mongolia on Mongolian Air. Let’s just say that the two experiences were vastly different, and I may have kissed the ground when we landed in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The total trip lasted 22 hours and went over 8,000 miles. Our team of five crossed 14 time zones and the International Date Line before finally landing in a very cold Mongolia.
Mongolia is about the size of Alaska and is located in Northern Asia between China and Russia. Ulaanbaatar is the capital city with approximately 1.2 million people (total population of Mongolia was about 2.7 million in 2006). The Great Wall of China was built to keep the Mongolians out of China. We were about a three-hour car drive from Siberia, (Yes, THAT Siberia).
We stayed in a small apartment that had 24-hour security including guard dogs at night (a huge mutant St. Bernard that I named Satan and a German Sheppard that loved the smell of fear). The apartment building was also home to two missionary families that went out of their way to serve us. They invited us into their homes for dinner and allowed us to be a part of their families while we were away from ours. The entire city is highly influenced by Russian design and culture. The apartment was heated with hot water through a radiator that was impossible to monitor. It usually was very hot inside and we had to open the windows to let the sub-zero weather cool it back down. You could see these two humongous smokestacks billowing dark smoke into the air from the power plant down the street. Across the street was a small market and a bar that apparently the entire community hung out at. I made friends with the ladies at the market when I asked for Diet Coke. My Mongolian was much worse than their English so we were grunting and pointing which wasn’t helping either. They had never heard of Diet Coke but then they said “Coke Light?” I said “YES!” So, they started stocking Coke Light just for me and I bought all that they had. More on the bar later.
Our mission was to work with Jholdas (an international business as missions organization) and serve as coaches, by teaching a three-day seminar on basic business methodology, to Mongolian Christians who hoped to start micro-businesses in the first phase of a four-phase program scheduled in Ulaanbaatar for that year.
These businesses enabled their owners to expand God’s kingdom through outreach and local church growth while supporting their families. Potential businesses consisted of a wide variety of service and manufacturing ventures including web page design, sewing and fashion stores, window and door manufacturers, retail goods, industrial goods suppliers, and mobile caterers among others. Thirteen local churches were represented in the 21 students that attended the seminar. Students ranged in age from early 20s to mid 50s.
The people we went to serve could not get over the fact that anyone would come all that way from the States, especially in that time of year, to help them and teach them. We were honored and blessed to do it and the week we spent there will never leave my memory.
Today’s blog will cover some of the unique experiences we had on a once in a lifetime trip.
But First…A Joke:
Although I was only a “few” pounds overweight, my wife was harping on me to diet. One evening we took a brisk walk downtown, and I surprised her by jumping over a parking meter, leapfrog style. Pleased with myself, I said, “How many fat guys do you know who can do that?” Without breaking pace, she looked at me and said “One.”
A Verse to Contemplate:
I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me - John 10:14 (NASB)
Have I Told You This One?
What would you call a trip that left on Friday the 13th to a city you could not pronounce or even knew existed, where the average daily temperature is negative 25, and whose government was overthrown by Communists while you were on the way? In a word, Awesome!
As we were going through customs, we noticed people were looking at us very oddly (I get that a lot). When we got through, we all talked about that. We found out later that the government officials that run the country decided to walk out. Apparently, it was a mix of a democracy and communism (what could go wrong with that?!). Our people in the U.S. were trying to track us down and were wondering if we were okay. We were okay but started to have major concerns if we would be able to get out (Spoiler Alert: we made it out).
During our first day in Mongolia, we met with the in-country directors, missionaries, and translators. We were briefed on local customs and traditions so that we would not do anything that might disrespect our Mongolian hosts. We were informed about the corrupt culture our students must battle in starting a business, including bribes and payoffs. It is clearly a culture of “every man for himself.” We then went into the city and toured the marketplace to gain an idea of the type of businesses currently in place, pricing, competition, hours of operation, etc. It was amazing to see people standing outside all day in the subzero temperatures selling their wares. We saw an interesting difference between the young and old. The older folks were very traditional in dress and behavior while the younger ones seemed highly “Westernized”. We enjoyed a typical Mongolian lunch, which was very good. We paid $10 for 6 guys and waddled out of the place stuffed! A typical monthly wage for a Mongolian is about $70 U.S.
The traffic was an absolute nightmare (on ICE!). I never thought I would be grateful for Atlanta traffic, but WHOA! Imagine the worst traffic you have ever been in then add to that the fact that it is completely covered in ice, there are no signs; no cops, no rules and people will just walk right in front of the car. On top of that, a car is within a foot of you on each side. I thought I had seen everything, but I was wrong!
Since our body clocks never did fully get accustomed to Mongolian time (13 hours ahead of Eastern time) we would awake at about 3:30 am and head into our small kitchen where we would prepare our lessons, eat breakfast and have our private devotion time (mixed in with a lot of joking and goofing around). We would have a team prayer at about 8:00 am and then walk three blocks to the community center to teach. The walk over was usually the coldest part of the day and you had to pay attention because the manhole covers and drain covers were all missing and you could end up armpits deep in the sewer (they were stolen and recycled for the metal). The streets and sidewalks were covered in thick ice, which added some excitement. Our leader Tom was given the name Frazier (as in “Down Goes Frazier!” since he left his feet quite frequently).
Over the next three days we taught the seminar from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm with a break for lunch at 1:00 to 2:00. Each day started with a time of devotion and prayer with the director, translators, and our team. We then had a time of fellowship and prayer with the students before hitting the lessons. We split the students into two groups of 10 or 11 and taught in a small group setting. This allowed us to get to know them on a more personal level and develop some community in the group. We had an excellent translator, which allowed things to progress smoothly.
We shared fundamental business principles that focused on the importance of developing a marketing plan and a kingdom impact statement. A kingdom impact statement is like a mission statement that indicates how the proposed business will further God’s kingdom. Students with the best marketing plans were invited back for Phase II to be held in later in the year and if their plans were doable, we would finance their new businesses.
We even tried to learn some words in the local language and use them in our classes. Apparently, what we were saying and what we thought we were saying left them in stitches! They were thankful we tried but we relied mostly on the translators.
We may have taught some business fundamentals, but they impressed each of us with their hearts for service, worship, and love for Jesus in a country where Christians make up about 3% of the population. The country is about 50% Buddhist, 40% atheist, 5% Muslim and the remaining 5% is a combination of several religions including Christianity. It was humbling and motivating to observe the sincere worship of Christians who live in an environment that is much different than mine. To hear others worship and pray to God in their language was a special experience. It certainly made me realize that He is multi-lingual!
On Friday, we experienced something quite special. We were invited for lunch at the home of Tegeshea, our in-country director. He and family of 5 live in a Yurt or Ger, which is a cross between a tepee and igloo made primarily of felt. The Mongolian people are nomadic, and these homes are portable. We felt very honored to be invited and enjoyed the experience. We gave his sons baseball caps and laughed as his oldest immediately turned it around like so many kids here in the States. God Bless America, our impact is everywhere.
On our last day, we left our neighbors with something to remember us by. We had a team picture taken outside in Hawaiian shirts, shorts and some real cool hats. It was about –15 and people were laughing their heads off over the “Crazy Americans.”
We also had an opportunity to meet a local artist. He brought his entire inventory over to the apartment and the fellas and I bought him out. He couldn’t believe it. I have two of his original paintings in my office and they are some of my most prized possessions.
We also got to go on a tour of the city which was very interesting. First, we went up to a shrine built up on a small hill. Back then we were still taking pictures with film cameras. The tour guide told us the cameras may not work since it was so cold. How’s that Machine? I’ll tell ya. It was so cold that the mechanisms in the camera may freeze instantly when you push the button to advance the film. We hiked up and were able to take some shots. One of which is my infamous picture of me putting my tongue on a post. Believe me, I might be dumb, but not THAT dumb. It was a staged photo but came out pretty good. I use it on my Facebook page every winter.
Secondly, we went into downtown to a “Zucher” to shop. It is essentially an outdoor flea market in subzero weather. We definitely looked like we were not from there, so all the hustlers were chasing us around the whole day. Frazier took a few more spills and we tried not to laugh (right!). We bought all of this knock off stuff that was brought in from China. For example, I bought a “North Face” coat for each of the girls. On Christmas, they got all excited in getting such a cool gift but asked “why does it say “Face North”?
On a somber note, if you remember that I noted we lived across from a bar. One night we heard this horrible scream from a lady about 2:00 am. We looked out the windows and noticed that a woman apparently had found her spouse dead and frozen on the sidewalk outside of the bar. This is an unfortunate reality in a city where 80% of the men are thought to be alcoholics. They stumble and pass out on the sidewalk and never wake up.
It was hard to believe how fast the week went. Before we knew it, we were back on a Korean Air 747 headed back to Seoul and then on to Atlanta. I was ready to go but I had a serious tug at my heart for the people I met and served with. I may never get back there again but I leave with wonderful memories. I know I left with more than I gave. How humbling and comforting to allow Him to direct my path. If He can use me, He can use anybody!
The trip provided opportunities for me to share my faith with family, friends and co-workers who are interested in hearing about a trip to such an exotic destination in the dead of winter (i.e., Why in the world are you going to Mongolia in Winter? Have you been placed in the witness relocation program?). I would always get asked, was it Fahrenheit or Celsius? I’d would look at them and say “Dude, it’s below zero, what does it matter?” IT WAS COLD!!
Through international missions travel, God allowed me to see different perspectives in His work and in leadership and service. I do not regret anything about the trip except that I did not do it earlier in my life. I have never felt so humble and successful at the same time.
A Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I bow down to You in my weakness and ask You to life me up in Your strength. Enable me to persevere in Your power and give You all the glory.
Book Recommendation:
Leading With A Limp - Take Full Advantage of Your Most Powerful Weakness by Dan B. Allender, PhD (2006)
Music Recommendation:
Car Wheels On A Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams (1998)