The Sun Will Rise....

I have been in Mongolia exactly one month, the adventure has not been easy, and just about everything that could go wrong has.

 Looking back to the first week of training, we were asked what strengths we bring to the team here in Mongolia. I said “flexibility” and "intentionality". I'm sure God chuckled just a bit after He heard those words....

A week into our trip, my team (AKA the DIVAS) was placed in a small province called Khentii. We were there about a week, and as you know, one of my teammates had to leave to go back to the US because of family stuff. Because of this, and other things, our teaching schedule and living situation changed…and then changed again…and again. Three times in one week to be exact. Change always seems huge when you’re in the middle of it. I tried to roll with the punches, but I got caught up in the weight of it all, and started to feel totally overwhelmed.

 The first time we were promised a replacement team member from the capital city, UB, but couldn’t come at last minute, so we got someone else for the final week of classes.  I have had a very hard time adjusting to this new member, it has brought back a lot of different emotions, insecurities, and struggles from my past. What I am finding is that no matter how much therapy you recieve or how well you have worked through your "issues", there will always be triggers and tactics in this life that the enemy will try to use to get you off track, especially when you are living on mission and intentionally being the hands and feet of Jesus. It is in those moments that you need to keep your eyes focused on Jesus, because in a split second you will find yourself treading water and gasping for a breath, just like Peter did when he was walking on water and began to look at the storms around him. 

 What I am finding is that when I am intentionally focusing on Jesus, I am reminded,

"Fear not Carleigh, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you will not be burned, and the flame will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, Your Savior. (Isiah 43:1-3)."

Once I recognized my inability to pull myself up by the boot straps, I began to lean into Jesus, and reminded of another promise, " Behold, I am making all things new. I am starting with you (Carleigh). I want you to be evidence through out the universe because I have restored and redeemed you (Revelation 21:5)."


The Lord is using my brokenness, my insecurities, my struggles, and my roller coaster of emotions, to let his light shine through me because it is a constant reminder to the world that we don't have to have everything together, each one of us has different forms of brokeness, but when we allow Him in, He uses them for His glory!

I am choosing to not believe the lies. 
I will fight to believe the truth and the promises He has given me. 
I will cling to God even in the dark, believing and knowing...
                                                                                       the SUN WILL Rise!

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Naadam Festival

A few weeks ago, we got the privilege of not only watching the The Naadam Festival in Khentii, but we were invited to be a part of the opening ceremonies. We gathered in the center of stadium and joined the parade, the Mongolians went crazy! They do not see many foreigners, let alone 3 American ladies. 

Getting Ready for the Opening Ceremony

Needless to say, we were completely under dressed for this occasion, but we were honored. We were the only foreigners asked to be a part of this parade and celebration. We were later informed by our students that we were on T.V.

 It has been said that Mongolian archers are the best in the world. Both men and women wear traditional costumes and shoot arrows made of willow branches and vulture feathers. The one who hits the target the most times is the winner.

 Mongolian Delicacies...
Fermented Horse Milk & Horse Meat

 I liked the horse races best, we had VIP access. The jockeys are boys and girls (between 5 and 13 years old). The children ride bare back for about 10 to 15 mils depending on the age of the horse.  The children begin    practicing for these races at the age of 3.

Top Right: 12 time World Champion Wrestler and politician.

The last event is  wrestling, which is very different than American wresting. First, there are no weight divisions. A small wrestler can be pitted against someone two times his weight. This can lead to some very interesting matches. Second, there are no time limits. The loser of a match is the wrestler who falls first. A fall is when any part of a wrestlers body, except his hands or feet, touches the ground.

Teaching English in Chinggis City

As many of you know, I came to Mongolia to teach English. I was expecting to work with Mongolian teachers and professionals, however I was placed with the Intro English speaking students, (which has turned out to be kids and teens, my hearts desire!). It has been very challenging because most of them only know basic English phrases and I do not have a translator.

Some of My Students

 The first day, I had one student walk into my class and take a seat. I asked all the students to write their name on a piece of paper for a name plate. She just looked at me and stared. I recognized her stare, it's the same one my 1st graders give me when they don't understand, I felt right at home! I quickly found out not only did she not understand a word I was saying, she had no idea how to write her name in English. She had never seen the English alphabet before. I was in shock! 

Needless to say, she is slowly improving and now able to write her name in English.

As a whole,  Mongolia has a very high need for teachers because  students are willing to do whatever it takes to take an English class. For many Mongolians, it means they have a shot at a better paying job.

Bus Ride to Chinggis City

Sain UU...which means "Hi, How are you" in Mongolian. (It is pronounced San Beno.)

Things have been crazy here. We are just now settling in and will be leaving Khentii Province in exactly one week and heading to Tereldj, a ger  (yurt) camp with our English students for 5 days and then we will end our time in UB for a few days. I can't believe its almost over. It seems in many ways it has been the longest 6 weeks of my life.

Here are some pictures of our journey to Chinggis City here....

After leaving UB, we hopped onto a bus and headed 6hrs. east of UB to the country side, and ended up in the Province of Khentii, a small  town named Chinggis City, the birth place of Chinggis Khan (pronounced Gangis Khan, if your American). There are about 5,000 people here and they do not see foreigners often, let alone 3 American girls, we felt like movie stars and quite suprised there haven't been any car accidents.

I met 3 girls on the bus and none of them spoke English. It was pretty difficult to communicate, but thanks to iphones and technology, we were able to use different apps to translate!

This was our view on the way to Chinggis City.

The bottom left picture is our fancy restrooms...also known as squatty potties! Most restraunts and houses do not have western toilets, so it's pretty common to see people going off into the distance when nature calls...

My Uncle Steve told me that Mongolian children are some of the most beautiful and cutest kids. At first I laughed and thought are you serious, but I couldn't agree with him more! They have the most beautiful skin and biggest checks with permanent dimples!

After a very long bus ride, we made it! Our living conditions for the last 3 weeks have been pretty booshie, we are staying at the Khan Burged Khentii Hotel. It is about $30 a night.  Occasionally we have hot water and internet, both of which are a hot commodity around here...

Fighting the Battle

I am sorry it has taken me a while to post. We have been fighting some major spiritual warfare and at the end of the day, it leaves me exhausted....So for now, please pray....

Battle #1 
I am on a team with 2 other girls (Debra and Meredith) and we have been placed in the countryside, about 5 hours east of the Capital, UB. Meredith found out her father in in need of a heart surgery but they are unable to operate currently because there is a blood clot near his heart. He is at a high risk for a stroke and/or a heart attack, please pray for her family.

Debra (Left)  and Meredith (Right)

Needless to say the last 48 hours have been very difficult. We have been waiting for updates and hoping for a full healing and recovery for Meredith's dad. It has yet to happen, but we continue to pray, with urgency and expectancy. Last night, Meredith had a major panic attack and our director came out from UB. She is now heading home to be with her family. Please pray for her as the travel arrangements are made, her safety as she travels, that she will feel a peace that surpasses all of her understanding and she finds comfort only He can bring.

Lastly, please pray for Debra and myself. We are both very raw and doing our best to keep it together as we try and fill in her shoes. It looks like we will be splitting Meredith's students, which means we will each be teaching about 30 students who do not know any English. Please pray that we are effective and able to press on as we are both feeling broken.  

More to come....

We Have Arrived

After 15 hours of flight time, our group made it! Luckily I was able to sleep due to our  red eye flight that left LAX  around 2:00a.m. We arrived in Beijing, China, had a small layover......

Beijing Airport

and arrived in Mongolia this morning...
                                            around 11:00am.

The "pose" in-front of  the Beatles memorial, Chinggis Khan (as Mongolian's spell it) and his faithful military personal!

Let the adventure begin....

Hi Everyone...
My time in CA has been a blast. I have been able to see lots of friends and family, it has been very busy, but a joy!

My family supporting my t-shirt fundraiser! Love you guys!!

My friend Jamie and I at the OCEAN!! My home away from home!

One of my college girlfriends...It was so great to see you Mel!!

I am getting ready to head to LAX where I will be catching my flight to Mongolia. I can't believe the day is here! Please pray for safe travels as I adventure out to be the hands and feet of Jesus!

This CALIF girl made her luggage under 40lbs...can you believe it???

P.S. My goal is to update the blog every Wednesday or so as long as I have internet  :)

Made It!

Words can not express how thankful I am for all of the prayers and support as I start this adventure. There has been a lot of spiritual warfare and I am so thankful that I have friends and family standing in the gap on my behalf. Please continue to pray, as I get closer to leaving to Mongolia, I know the enemy will be working over time. 

Please pray for the following:
- Rest: The last few weeks have been extremely busy, and I am running on very little sleep. Please pray my time here in CA would be one of refreshing, both spiritually and physically.
- Unity: Our team would be united and working toward one goal, that we would be the hands and feet of Jesus.
- Peace: Pray that I am overwhelmed with His peace, and all sense of fear would be washed away because our God is not one of fear, but of power and authority!

Ephesians 6:10-13
"Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against, the  wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places! Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand!"

I think that's all for now! I hope to blog a little here and there before I head over seas!

 

Well, needless to say, I made it to California and the 1st stop was.... 
In-n-Out

Why Mongolia?

This summer I will be living in Mongolia where I will be teaching. The focus of my adventure will be threefold: to teach English to teens and adults who live in low income villages, to share contemporary teaching methodology and practices, and to prepare me as I embark on getting my TESOL certification (Teaching English to speakers of other languages).

Organization I am going with:

Since 1981 ELIC (English Language Institute of China) has been placing teachers all over Asia. ELIC primarily serves through the medium of English instruction to meet the ever-growing demand for quality English education in Asia. This organization offers continuing education credits for those who are maintaining a teacher certificate, seeking master’s Degrees, graduate certificate, or Ph.D. ELIC has many other programs for college students, graduates, singles, couples, families and second-career adults. ELIC currently serves in China, Mongolia, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. In most cases they maintain both year-long and summer programs. While they are focused primarily on university campuses and teacher training, they also teach in a variety of other settings designed to best serve their host countries and government entities. 

I would love for you to be a part of this adventure with me. The most important support I need is for you to be uplifting me throughout my adventure. 

If your interested in buying a t-shirt, please let me know what size and where you would like it to be sent.

About Me

3 years ago I started my adventure, I traded my flip-flops in for cowboy boots. I left everything I knew in California, my family and friends and moved east. I ended up in the flat lands of Oklahoma. I had a little bit of trouble adjusting at the beginning, but it has been an incredible learning opportunity and a great time to reflect and re-focus my priorities. It took some time to get settled, but I have found my place. Often I am asked why I left California, and here is my response: when a door opens you take it. Sometimes you don’t always know why opportunities arise but once you walk through the threshold, you realize, the opportunity was given to you for a specific reason, you simply have to respond in faith. Since being here, I landed a full time teaching job as the first grade teacher at a very incredible Christian School. It has brought me so much joy to be able to use not only my degree, but also my gifts and talents to teach children and prepare them for the journey each of them will embark on. My adventure isn’t ending here…I’m going to Asia!