This week we are on a big gardening trip. We will be on this trip for
another 9 days. The unemployment is very high in Mongolia so gardening
is one thing that tremendously helps those willing to garden. A small
green house helps because the growing season is so short and they
usually get a cold day or two in the summer which can freeze their
crop. Right now we are in Murun which is up by the Russian/Siberian
border. There is a large lake, Khuvsgul, that is frozen over which they
use as a 260 mile long road in the winter to save miles. Trucks, cars,
and motorcycles all making their own road across the lake. Yes, we
have seen people on motorcycles in -10 below weather racing along all
bundled up. Three on a bike bundled up with hats, coats, boots, and
scarves, makes for a very interesting sight. This is not something we
are interested in trying. As you travel along in the countryside there
seems to be nothing but miles and miles of snow covered plains and
rolling hills, and then you will see some sheep, goats, horses, cattle,
and maybe a yack or a camel and then you will see a herder out in the
cold walking or riding a horse and then you spot a Ger out in the middle
of no where, no electricity, no store or town for miles. The harsh
condition these people live in and survive in is amazing to us. We
stayed by the lake in a cabin. They fed us well. The water they needed
to cook was obtained by chopping a hole through 3 feet of ice and
carrying it back to the kitchen in buckets. No running water and an
outhouse were our experiences. We found a Mongolian dish we really like,
it is called golash: Meat, potatoes, carrots, onions all mixed and
cooked together kind of like our stew. Also, they have a small wild
blueberry they make jam and a fruit drink out of which we find very
delicious. The active members have such great faith, they are very
friendly. We went to an early morning seminary class that was supposed
to start at 6:30, it started at 6:29 with 10 of 11 students present, the eleventh showed up a few minutes
late. After seminary they have to make their own way to their various
schools; walk, take a bus, or a taxi (at -10 degrees to -40 degrees), we
call this faithfulness!
No comments:
Post a Comment