Beautiful Mongolia Part II- The Countryside

Hey all,

I'm finally posting part two about my trip to Mongolia.  On the second half of my trip, I experienced a different side of Mongolia that showed off its natural beauty.  I went on a guided tour with two friends through the Mile With Smile tour company for two nights in the countryside. The owner of the company is a young man that actually shares the same hasha (yard) with the Tvrdiks and is the adopted son of the missionary that was in Mongolia before the Trvdiks moved there.  We were happy to support his business and had a great time.

Out in the countryside I marveled at the wide open spaces, grassy hillsides dotted with herds of sheep and goats, the various hues of blues in the sky, and being able to experience the crispness and colors of fall again.  The countryside felt vast and yet still and quiet, except for all the praise and folk songs that we sung along the way.  You just couldn't help but sing and be joyful just taking in the beauty of God's creation.

For $15US, a horse is yours for the day. You definitely feel wild and free galloping through the countryside!

Jumping for joy

We stayed with nomadic families camped near the river. Our host the first night was a hardworking woman with friendly, twinkling eyes. She served us homemade yak butter with bread and salty milk tea that warmed us up quickly when we arrived.

Early the next morning we watched her milk the cows and unsuccessfully attempted to catch some sheep and goats in her pens. 

The second night we stayed in this young family's ger. They had a son about Ava's age that wasn't so sure about us.

He was a cute little fella though. I loved the details on the traditional jacket his mother had stitched together for him. 

During our trip, my shoes began to fall apart.  I hoped no one would notice, but our guides did.  Our horse guide not only knew the countryside and her neighbors well, she was extremely resourceful. She insisted on fixing my boots and using the thread from a potato sack, she sewed my shoes back together so well that you couldn't tell where the hole ever was.  Her kindness and know how were humbling. 

If you're wondering why families would ever move from such a beautiful place to the capital, nomads have been moving to urban areas because they hope there is a better future for them there.  During the winter when the weather gets to negative forty degrees C, their livestock can be wiped out.  There are no stores, no refrigerators, and you live off of what you have. When we stayed in the families' gers, we discovered meat stored under the bed since it's the coldest spot to put it.  As beautiful as the countryside is, it's not any easy place to live.  In Ulaanbaatar, nomadic families imagine stability and success. So they sell all they have, move to the capital, and discover that life is difficult there as well.  If they are able to find a job, all their money goes into basic living expenses like food, water, and rent so that they can keep their ger in a small fenced yard they share with others.  I read an article in National Geographic that I think tells the story well here.

It makes me all the more thankful that Flourishing Futures is giving real hope and help to impoverished families in the ger district, where many nomadic families have no choice but to move to when they arrive.  If you are looking to support an organization that is making a God sized impact on its community, you can do so here.

Thanks for reading and sorry that took so long! Our post about our Shanghai Christmas is coming soon!