Be Still and Know (Zawgksarey!)

A Stop Sign

You may be wondering why I included a photo of a stop sign.  There just aren't that many around town, so I thought I should add this to my collection of shots!  Truly...there's either lights or crazy intersections.  Well, even the light intersections are crazy!  Pedestrians have no right of way.  To cross a street, we often weave between cars and walk out in moving traffic in large bunches of people.  It's the way it's done.  And, we never trust a light or stop sign.  We still look both ways. 

Oh, and you may be wondering how this word is pronounced.  The first letter sounds like Z; the second letter sounds like "awe"; the third letter sounds like "g" as in gas with a little "k" sound; the fourth letter sounds like "s" as in snake.  Zawgks.  If you are asking someone to "Please Stop", you would say, "Zawgksarey" (and be sure to roll the "r").  End of Mongolian language lesson for today.





Eating a tortilla meal together

Remember our dear friend, Saraa, who died in August?  Her parents are in the middle of the couch.  Her older relative to the far right is our "Tortilla making lady", Bor.  The two children to the left are Bor's grandchildren (2nd or 3rd cousins of Saraa's family).  So, last week, we ordered some tortillas from Sister Bor, had the family over, and enjoyed a couple hours of mainly Mongolian conversation with our friend/interpreter who is Sister Bor's daughter (not in this photo). Tortilas seem to be a good meal to serve; everyone can choose what to put into their own tortilla, whether it be meat, rice, peppers, tomatoes, cheese and/or yogurt. It was a good friendship-building time.




My Minnesota friend and Mongolian teammate, Jessica, and her son.

Jessica was making a trip out to the sock factory on the edge of town.  I went along with her to keep her company and see this place I'd never been to before.  This is the now-enclosed area which used to be the outside of the factory walls (the brick wall used to be an outside wall); however, they're adding on to the building to make a bigger factory.  It's very interesting how anyone is allowed to walk in the midst of construction in Mongolia.  Occupational and construction hazards abound!



Shopping for socks

Here's the warehouse of socks--large boxes of well-made socks.  I was actually wishing I needed socks, as there were many beautiful colors.  I actually have two pairs of socks made by this company which I bought at the nearby fancy Department Store for three times the cost.  Here, we could get socks for around a dollar a pair, and they are easily the kind that would cost $4-5/pair in the U.S.  I bought a pair for Kevin, me, and some baby gifts for babies who will soon be born to our Mongolian friends.




The equipment used to make the socks; it was lunch break time so all was quiet.




Jessica and Ezra strike a pose in the sock warehouse.  Ezra is such a good little shopper!




Dusty clothes washed clean!

Here's a sampling of what three loads of laundry looks like in our apartment.  You may recall from an earlier post, that our washing machine holds about 1/3 less than our American machine.  And, you might say that the picture above is a photo of our "dryer"...actually, our drying rack.  After walking through some pretty dusty, grungy back roads to get to the schools we go to, it's always refreshing to get the laundry done!  I love the feeling of getting all the dust off the clothing.
 
I think, too, of how when we come to our Father, He can wash us totally clean because of what His Son has done for us.  His work was not in vain.  It was very useful in our lives, just as my washing machine is very useful.  So, today, Zawgksarey, and think on this truth for a moment!  Be blessed!