a feast of thanks with some rice thown in there too

morning came with snow falling in thick flakes outside of our windows.

the sound of brooms swooshing back and forth across the sidewalks below.

cleaning, tidying, moving furniture to make room.

peeling potatoes, baking biscuits, lighting candles, watching Thanksgiving-themed TV episodes.

mashing potatoes, stirring stuffing, baking chicken, creating green bean casserole.

friends arriving, little ones bundled in coats, a hallway filled with shoes, scarfs and hats, marks of a crowd gathering in our home.

laughter, sharing, talking, translating.

giving thanks.

thanksgiving.

the first "you know you live in mongolia when...."

Holli and I often discuss all of the things that are quickly becoming our "normal" here in Mongolia. Most of the time they make us laugh, sometimes they bring us joy and sometimes we can't help but be confused by them.

I like to refer to them as our "Only in Mongolia" moments, although I'm sure they occur in other places as well :-)

I thought a weekly blog post called "you know you live in mongolia when" (ykylimw for short) might be a fun and silly way to share these moments with all of you.

So this inaugural ykylimw moment is brought to you by Erin and Holli, two missionaries who decided it would be a great adventure to cook Thanksgiving dinner for 15 + people :- )

You know you live in Mongolia when......

....You watch a DVD and your first thought about the main character’s cute short-sleeved dress is not, “How cute!” but “Isn’t she cold?”

emptying

"Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

-Ruth 1:20-21

These words of Naomi's have struck me as I have re-read and reflected on the story of Naomi and Ruth with a dear friend. What does it mean to experience emptying in our own lives?

Sometimes it feels like the Lord scoops everything inside of us out. We feel as if we have been emptied against our will.

And like Naomi, we begin to feel that we have lost our very selves.

"Why call me Naomi?"

In her loss, Naomi feels that she has lost her name, her self. She no longer recognizes herself as who she once was, as who the townspeople once knew her to be.

In our emptiness, we too sometimes feel that we have lost all that we are.

Yet it is not our identity that has been lost, but all of the things that we think we are.

In emptying us, in removing those things that we think we are, the Lord allows us to move towards an understanding of who he has created us to be.

In the emptying, we are invited to let go of our notions of what is and find the truth of what we are being called to.

And so the struggle that Naomi speaks of becomes understanding. The difficult, painful moments and days become the emptying that allows us to truly see.

Living life here, in the midst of a swine flu quarantine, has meant being emptied of expectations and preconceived ideas.

It has meant creating a life here in the reality of the unbelievable cold and the city and the people and the day to day things.

Naomi's questioning of how the journey can lead from fullness to emptiness resonates with me. So often I only remember to pray for fullness when I am empty and forgo praying for emptiness when I am full.

Living life here has meant being emptied of what I think should be, that I might find the reality of God's desires for this time.

Living life here has meant coming to a place where I might pray for that emptying to continue and give thanks for its process upon my heart.

It has meant praying that ministry would flow out of this creation of life here, from the reality of life together and not notions of what is needed or wanted.

For then, in the emptying of my concepts of what mission is, I can be free to serve out of a shared life with my brothers and sisters here.

I am being emptied.

I am learning that blindly doing is not nearly as vital and life-giving as first being present.

"If we can die to the part of us that separates us from others- our individual desires, our self-interests, the attitudes and emotions that build walls around us- and come alive to the part of us that we share in common with others- our human emotions, our capacity for service, our caring for the earth and the things upon it- we can use the self as a way to embrace the world and become one with the hearts of those we meet."

- Pg. 128, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace: Living in the Spirit of the Prayer of St. Francis, by Kent Nerburn

хooл xийx (to cook)

Holli and I have instituted weekly baking and cooking challenges for ourselves. We both find joy in spending time creating food, so each week we research recipes and select things that we think we can make.

Our criteria is pretty simple:

1.) We have to be able to find the ingredients here and they can't cost exorbitant amounts of money. That rules out a lot of things- such as anything including spices, shortening, cocoa, etc.

2.) We have to actually want to eat the food.

3.) We have to have the necessary kitchen supplies. No mixers, bread machines or fancy pots and pans required, because we don't have them. Think two pans, two mixing bowls and one wooden spoon.

This week's challenges....

Pretzels:

This dough didn't turn out exactly the way it should have, mainly because the packet of Mongolian labeled stuff we hoped was yeast...wasn't. But they still tasted good, just a little dense.



Pre-baking:


Post-baking:


We brought them with us to share with the hospice staff this morning and had them with our morning tea:-)


Quiche:

I found this pie crust recipe online, as I needed one that didn't require shortening. It was incredibly easy to make and tasted good too.



Add in some sausage, bell pepper, onion, tomato, eggs and milk.



On my to bake list? Cinnamon rolls, apple pie and oatmeal cookies :-)

before the mountains were born

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

-Psalm 90:1-2

We are not the beginning or the end.

We are simply a part of the story, of your movement in this world.

That we might seek to move in response to you, the Lord of Lords and maker of Heaven and Earth.

May I rejoice in your creativity and give thanks for the work of your hands.

May you scrub me clean, forming me into your vessel, that I might seek grace and forgiveness with each day and each breath.

Out of your abundance may I be filled- that in being filled I might pour out- not what is mine, but what is yours.

May I be as nothing but your dwelling place within one piece of your Creation.

giving and sharing

I’m not really a job title-type of girl, as they usually aren’t nearly as helpful as actual discussions about what a job is/looks like/requires/includes.

But, at times it is a helpful part of the explanation process. Or it at least helps facilitate an understanding of how everything works together for things like sending a 22-year-old to Mongolia for a year and a half.

That said….I am a Mission Intern with the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Global Ministries.

Phew, that’s a lot of capitalized entities.

The GBGM oversees the sending and support of all of the UMC’s missionaries around the world.

Financial support for missionaries and mission projects is handled in two ways:
1.) The Advance
2.) Covenant Relationships

One of the great gifts and blessings of the UMC’s connectional system is that the UMC missionary community shares its financial resources. None of us are required to raise support before we begin our ministry. Instead, the financial gifts given on behalf of us are used to support the costs of all of the missionaries around the world.

In turn, missionaries never have to fear being forced to leave their place of assignment because of a lack of financial support. We are free to form relationships with people, small groups and churches; sharing our stories and experiences and inviting you to support us with both prayers and financial gifts.

I love that this expresses the truth that I am not in mission alone. My journey as a missionary is intimately intertwined with the other missionaries who are serving.

Holli is here serving with me in Mongolia, as are three other GBGM missionaries. Those who I went through training with are serving with me as well, even from continents apart. Their stories are bound up in mine- and they are stories of life and ministry in Cambodia, South Africa, Ukraine, Thailand, Malaysia, Oklahoma, New Orleans, New Mexico, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and so on…

Each of us is one part of the story of God’s movement in the world. Just as you are one part of that same story in whatever place you call home. Together we are the story of what it means to be in mission.

The Advance is the giving arm of the United Methodist Church and it ensures that 100% of your financial gifts go to the ministry you designate. Each missionary and mission project has an Advance number, which you use when specifying where you want the money to go.

You can donate online by going to The Advance online donation page.

My advance number is 13105Z, which corresponds with the Mission Intern Program.

You can also give to the mission projects that I am involved with here in Mongolia:
Mongolia Mission Initiative- 00209A
Grace Hospice- 14928A

Once at this page, all you have to do is type in the Advance number in the Find Projects box and click Search.

The program or ministry will come up and you can click on that. The instructions for designating how much you want to give, etc will then appear and you can follow that process as it takes you through the steps.

If you would prefer not to give online, there are two options.

If you’re a United Methodist, simply write a check to your local church and place the ministry name and Advance number on the check. Drop it in the offering plate and it will be sent to GBGM.

Or you can write a check payable to Advance GCFA, with the ministry name and Advance number on the check and mail it to: Advance GCFA, P.O. Box 9068, GPO, New York, NY 10087-9068


While I was not required to raise a certain amount of money prior to leaving for Mongolia, I am asked to form covenant relationships.

Covenant relationships are a means for partnership between churches, youth groups, small groups , individuals and missionaries. It allows for financial support, regular communication and exchange, as well as prayer support.

The financial goal for a covenant relationship is $2,500 a year or $5 per church or group member per year.

If you, your church, your small group or other entity are interested in being in covenant relationship with me over these next three years, please send me an email (erin.eidenshink(at)gmail.com). I would love to discuss with you further what that would mean and what it might look like.

As a young adult missionary, I’m also particularly excited about the possibilities of sharing my stories and experiences with other youth and young adults, so please let me know if that’s a possibility you’re excited about too : -)

For more information about covenant relationships, go here.
For more information on The Advance, go here.

Support comes in many ways. It is through your prayers, your gifts and your encouragement that this journey is possible.

Thank you for letting me share the stories of this adventure with each of you.

not the end

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth- he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

-Psalm 33:4-11, 13-15, 20-22

I always imagine God breathing the stars into life when I read verse 6, a beautiful sprinkling of light spreading across the sky like a blanket of diamonds. Of the joy that must be found in creating such beauty, of providing such a lovely and dazzling breath- to breathe the stars into being, stretching them across the heavens.

It is in the midst of the life of creation that we are pointed towards the eternal nature of our Creator.

It is in the midst of death at the cross that we are pointed to our own eternity- to the promise that Christ brings, that we do not end in death.

Holli and I spent this past Tuesday with Grace Hospice, an outreach ministry of the GBGM Mongolia Mission Initiative. My day was spent with one of the doctor and nurse teams, making visits to patients in their homes.

Grace Hospice provides end of life care for cancer patients who have chosen to no longer undergo treatment; visiting with them in their homes, providing medical consultations and praying with them.

All I had to offer on Tuesday was my presence. I could not share in conversation, my Mongolian does not reach far beyond the limits of introductions. I could not provide medical care, as I am not trained for such tasks.

And so I sat in their homes and I prayed.

I was struck by the joy of a woman who cannot leave her bed.

I was broken as we came to our second home only to discover the 27 year-old man had died the night before.

And I reflected on what it means to be in the midst of death as we spent time with a family where a 13-year-old daily takes care of both of her bed-ridden parents.

Long walks through the sprawl of ger camps, bus rides through a city where half of a country's population lives, little ones pulling carts full of containers of water from the wells as dust flies around them.

These moments carried my thoughts and my prayers as we moved from one space to the next.

What does it mean to contemplate death as Christians?

What does it mean to meet God in the presence of those who are dying?

What does it mean to care for those whose lives are ending? To serve them? To love them?

I don't have answers to those questions.

But I do believe it has a lot to do with simply showing up to these brothers and sisters.

For in being physically present to them we are saying "You are not forgotten."

We are saying that we do not believe that death is the end.

a meeting place

There is no word for church in Mongolian, or so we've been told by one of the other missionaries here. Instead they use three different words, each meaning some variation of a place of meeting or gathering.

In the three Sundays we've been here we've been to three different UM churches.

Yesterday we went to the newest church of the three, one that is on the outskirts of UB.


(on the drive out to the church)

The church doesn't have a pastor, but a lay leader named Naraa (English phonetic spelling of her name). Not only does Naraa lead the church and all of its ministries, she is also a wife, a mom of two boys and a student at the university.

It was a gift to begin to share with her and hear her stories. She learned English in order to read the Bible, because when she became a Christian there were not yet any Bibles translated into Mongolian. Her English is quite good, so Holli and I both enjoyed being able to talk with her, hear about the church, her life and a little bit more about Mongolia.

Her church was started four years ago and it meets in a Mongolian ger, set up next to her house in one of the ger districts.

Large, sprawling ger districts surround UB on all sides and are made up of a combination of gers and small houses (Although the word ger in Mongolian literally means home, so it's inclusive of all structures, not just the circular tent that we think of). Most of these ger districts have no running water and use coal furnaces for heating.


(the ger used for church)


(inside, with the ceiling structure)


(center of the ger, everyone is standing around the furnace to get warm)

After the service we shared in salty milk tea (a Mongolian favorite) and bread, warmed up by the furnace and practiced our limited Mongolian with some introductions. Then it was time to drive back into UB, dodging potholes and marveling at the mountains.