No news is no news

We've been back in Australia for over a month now, and are enjoying our time here, with plenty of opportunities for time with friends and family.

There has been not much news from Mongolia. The college has not been successful in re-registering at this time, and from our perspective not much can go forward for us until things go forward for them.

Visa News...

So this morning I spoke with the principal of our school here. The school itself is having a number of problems with its registration with the government and has been unable to have itself re-registered at the moment. This is causing a number of problems for the school itself. It seems like they will be getting a lawyer involved and wrangling with these issues.

For us this means that the end of the month is approaching and it will not be possible for our permissions to be extended. Technically we overstayed our last visa and paid a fine for this, and so today it was decided that we'll leave the country for a minimum of 3 months, after which time we will need to reapply afresh to return on work visas. We've been told that, in part because of the overstay issue, that during this time we won't be able to reapply to come back on other visas.

So as of the 30th we'll be saying goodbye to Mongolia for a little while. We are obviously disappointed to be leaving in this manner at this time. Particularly it will be difficult for the students at the college - I'm leaving three classes mid-semester and it's very unclear exactly how those courses will continue. For us there is the frustration of leaving on very short notice, the disruption to building relationships and strong connections here, interruptions to language-learning, and a sense of uncertainty about the future plans.

However it is not truly that great a hardship for us - we go back to a beautiful, rich country where we have many friends and family, and are well-supported, and look forward to the opportunity to return here shortly. So don't feel too sorry for us! Instead please be especially in prayer for the college and for our brothers and sisters in this country. The college in particular needs to find ways to go forward and overcome these bureaucratic hurdles.

College Picnic - Autumn edition

Today we had the college picnic for semester. We headed out to the same location that our church held our summer camp. Checking the weather forecast, it was 2 above, -2 with wind, when I left home, with a promised top of 11 and a 40% chance of rain. Not a great forecast for a picnic.

The way these things go is that I turn up at college and wait for people to tell me what's going on. So I turned up early, and ended up in a microbus heading out to Gachort, and we were there before 10am. It was indeed chilly. Others arrived over the next two hours, and proceedings began at midday. 

We started with some singing, including songs with actions lead by students wearing onesies. So bizarre. Anyway, then we had a short sermon from 2 Tim 4, it was intelligible to me and quite on target. Then we had a time, well, I need to go back to explain the next part. Students have been assigned other students to secretly encourage and leave gifts for, over the last few weeks. So today what happened (as I can figure), is that students lined up at the front with gifts, facing towards the stage, and then students who had been their encourager came up and stood behind them, then the first line of students would turn around and see who it was and give them a gift in return. Alas, some students were not at the picnic, and just the nature of running such a line up as well, meant that some would turn around to no one.

After this we had lunch. Mongolian food is not my favourite. Nonetheless, we divided up by year group and I joined in some lunch with my students. They always worry that I do not eat enough. Partly it is because I eat so little in general, and because I have breakfast unlike many mongolians. Still, we got through lunch and enjoyed our fellowship.

In the afternoon there was some playing of basketball and football. Also some organised games. One of these involved bible charades. And then there was a race by year group, with each person's leg tied to the next person's. Also there was what I would call a bush dance. Very similar to the heel-and-toe.

There were some falls

Bush Dance time!

After this there was more free time for the playing of basketball and football again. As you can tell these are critical sports here. Finally we wrapped up around 4:30 with a group photo and the drive home (which was surprisingly quick).

I always find these types of events interesting, because I am literally the only foreigner present. It serves both to remind me of how foreign I am, but also that part of me is localised. I am accepted and brought into local ways. And our unity is not in my mongolian language skills, but in Christ.

A short visa update

Well I have today had a little more insight about exactly the situation with our visas and so I thought I would write and especially give you a clearer picture of the goings-on.

When last I wrote the information was that we could stay for the month. The question is about what happens after then. At the moment the issues seem to revolve around the registration of the college with the city council, and then permissions for foreign workers, etc.. Lately we have been hearing from many of our colleagues about increasing difficulties for foreign workers in Mongolia, and registration periods being shortened as well.

If at the end of this month we aren't given the right permissions, then we will need to leave Mongolia, and will not be ably to reapply for at least 3 months. For us that would mean coming back to Australia for that time. Obviously that would be very disruptive for us, and it would also be disruptive for classes at UBTC, as I would be leaving just short of mid-semester and it's unclear what arrangements could be made for those subjects.

So our main prayer at this stage is that the right permissions will be granted to the college and for us, so that we don't need to go anywhere and can continue on with our work here.

No one knows what tomorrow will bring

On friday the news seemed to be that we would pay a fine and then be able to stay. This didn't make the most sense to us but we go by what we are told and just keep asking what's going on.

Today I arrived at school again with the plan to ask what was going on. The principal of the school told me that actually we now had to leave Mongolia within a few days, because of the visa issue. So we immediately began thinking through the many issues and options that needed to be considered.

In the afternoon I was inquiring about getting our passports back, because obviously they are necessary to travel. Then the news came that actually we are allowed to stay for one month. Within this month it may be possible to get permissions to stay longer. If not, then we will need to leave at the end of the month and possibly stay outside the country for a longer time.

As you can see, it is not always 100% clear to us what is going on, where we are going, what we are meant to be doing, or what will happen tomorrow. God is teaching us many things about trusting him, relying on him in prayer, so that whatever happens we are praying that God will put us where he wants us, with the good works he ha prepared in advance for us to do, and that he will be with us in all this.

A Litany of minor disasters...

Oh Mongolia!

We have been back just on a week now and things have not been going well for us.

1. Rachel had her iPhone pick-pocketed from her last week. That led to changing permissions on online accounts, digging out an old phone, a fruitless and frustrating trip to the police station, a bounced email from our insurance company, and finally a helpful encounter with our phone company who just switched her phone number to a new SIM.

2. On Sunday Seumas preached at our English language church, and his Bible subsequently went missing after the service. Not a huge deal, and we hope whoever took it reads it, but just one more thing; and it's not that easy to replace English language Bibles here.

3. Then on Monday a chance encounter with one of the workers at UBTC revealed that our visas and permissions are set to expire on the first of September. That is less than a week away. He asked for our alien-cards and passports, but then didn't wasn't at work today so we couldn't give them to him. So, at the extreme, we may not be allowed to stay in the country beyond this coming Sunday. This will be neither cheap nor convenient.

4. Seumas's computer stopped working this morning. Well, it was fine this morning at home, but then he got to work and it won't boot up properly. So much for preparing lessons or studying or doing just about anything. A trip in search of a particular computer repair place turned into a wild good chase. He's hoping to get to a suitable place tomorrow with a student and see what can be done. (He does have 2.5 backups of all his data though.)

So, prayer:
1. For our visas to be sorted quickly and so that we can stay and carry on our ministry without expensive and time-costly trips to nowhere.
2. For peace and trust when things go 'wrong'.
3. For computer issues to be fixable and quickly fixed.
4. For God's will to be done on earth as in heaven.

On the first day of Naadam

Last year we were teaching English over Naadam, so I kind of feel like this is our first real Naadam. Seumas is choosing to spend the holiday period working on his thesis, and I have masters work of my own to do, but today I got to go to the opening ceremony for the Ulaanbaatar Naadam.

Getting tickets for this event is an event in itself. Friends of mine lined up from before 5am to 1pm in a huge shoving crowd, only to be told by the time the time they got to the ticket window that the ticket quota had been reached and that they should come back the next morning. I'm told that this is what buying food used to be like back in the day. Anyway, a friend of a friend managed to get hold of tickets the next day, through means that have not yet been revealed, so we were going after all!

It took about an hour to walk to the stadium this morning. I bumped into a parade on the way, so I trailed behind them, figuring they knew the way! Once inside the stadium, I got a bit lost looking for a toilet and ended up in the shiny VIP building. There were lots of guys in military uniforms covered in medals, TV crews, and women in beautiful clothes running around, and everyone else had special ID passes hanging around their necks. No-one tried to get rid of me though. Later the president of Mongolia entered from that building and sat in a special pavilion on top. Yeah, it's kind of embarassing what having white skin will get you sometimes...

Anyway, our seats were track-level, on the very front row, which we were excited about until it turns out that during the entire performance there is an army of people wearing deels entirely encircling the field, so we pretty much just watched their backs the whole time. Oh well! We got to see the costumes as people walked in, and I get the vibe that there was lots of dancing in unison. We did see a guy doing a handstand while riding a horse!

Once the opening ceremony was complete they began the wrestling, but it was in the middle of the field, and the field is huge, so it was a bit far away to enjoy. I stayed long enough to see one huge guy take out a skinny guy, and then went looking for khuurshuur, which is pretty much compulsory to eat during Naadam. And it was much better than normal khuurshuur, I think because they cook it to order rather than having it sit around lukewarm for hours. I even managed to find vegan khuurshuur. Best khuurshuur I've ever eaten! (I actually generally avoid khuurshuur, but come on, tradition...)

And then I decided I'd had enough of the crowds, and I didn't know where the archery field was, so I walked home. Now I'm looking forward to the deel festival on Saturday! Сайхаи наадаарай!

The finished parade. You may notice that discipline is a bit lax amongst the blue-jacketed group...

Some child dancers waiting for their turn.

These two girls were much more interested in playing a clapping game then watching the field!

These special banners made using yak or horse hair usually live in the government palace, but for the next two days they will stay under constant guard in the centre of the field.

There were several horse riders, but only one with a giant Mongolian flag!

Children wearing very cute camel costumes. Note the dreaded 'fence' of people in orange deels...