Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The air is crisp and cool here with sunshine - heaps of sunshine. We are in downtown Ulaanbaatar at an internet cafe using the day to adjust to the city, to the culture, to just being in Ulaanbaatar.

I would like to post more on the previous country in which we spent a chunk of time, however, I will not yet do that as we still have to pass back through the country on the way to our next destination...

For those of you familiar with Alaska, namely Fairbanks, the climate here and the hills around remind me of Fairbanks. The temperature at night dips to ten degrees (F) or so above freezing and in the day will warm up to at least 50 degrees F or more - but it's the sun that makes all the difference - it feels so much warmer with the sun raining down from above. Oh, and clear blue sky - don't ask me when the the last time we saw more than a glimpse of clear, blue sky... Maybe a month ago - ah?!!!

Spring is still in the making here. June, July and part of August are the summer months - very similar to Fairbanks. This isn't quite Alaska though - something about the different language and the different people...

Ulaanbaatar reportedly has around 1 million people - I don't know if that is right, but it sounds ok. The point is this is a city unlike many others that I have been to previously, not that I would expect otherwise. It's unique in itself and as Christina and I walked into the city from our accommodation (nearly an hour to where we were headed) I couldn't help but think that maybe this is a city similar to what a person would find in Russia. It seems that the Mongolian language is itself not exactly related to Russian, however it appears the written script is at least. Ok, instead of further rambling it is just safe to say that Ulaanbaatar is a city unlike any other and Mongolia a place like not other. Visit if you should every have the chance - oh, and take the train from the country to the south.

We will be in country for maybe two weeks - the back end of the schedule is a bit rough at this point in time... Our ministry will begin either today or tomorrow and should be grand. We are excited to be here and are looking forward to the experiences for that God has in His plan for our team. We'll let you know how it goes...