In the Interest of Time Conservation

To all doctors located in the Philippines:

For your convenience I will place here my half of that weird conversation we keep having at the beginning of my appointments. Please read it, and fill in your side of the conversation.

"No, I'm not Mongolian, I'm American. I just live in Mongolia."

"For about 2 years."

"I'm just visiting the Philippines. My husband taught a module course here for 2 weeks and now we are having our vacation."

"Yes, well I knew the Philippines had good medical care because I lived here for 2 years."

"That was three years ago."
"No, I didn't go straight from the Philippines to Mongolia. I was in the US for about a year-and-a-half in between."

"Yes, we'll only be here until the end of this week, so I'll need to have my follow-up appointment as soon as possible."

"We won't be going to the US yet. We have one more year in Mongolia."

"No, we won't be coming back to the Philippines. After one year in Mongolia we'll be back in the US for one year, then back to Mongolia. A year after that we might return to visit the Philippines."

"That's right, I may or may not be returning to the Philippines in 2013 or 2014."

Now we can begin my appointment with that weird look you give me after this conversation.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Baby got buuz

Sunday begins a three-day holiday called Tsagaan Sar (white month). This is the beginning of the lunar new year and it marks the “end” of winter, at least the so-cold-you-want-to-beat-your-head-against-a-wall part of winter. During the first day Mongolians will be visiting their families and the other two days will be spent visiting friends. During these each of these visits buuz, meat dumplings, will be served. In preparation for Tsagaan Sar people all over Mongolia have been spending the last few weeks making buuz. Our helper has been telling me a little about her buuz-making activities. Last Saturday she slept until noon because she was up half the night making it. She informed me her family now had 1,370 buuz. She spent Saturday taking care of our children while we were at a 6½ hour meeting at church. She then stayed up until 4am making more buuz. So much buuz is made during this time that each family will be eating it not only at Tsagaan Sar, but will continue eating it until April. Fortunately the temperature doesn’t really get above freezing between now and then, so everyone’s buuz stockpile is safely preserved.

I had asked our helper to help me learn to make some Mongolian food and she pointed out that we need a steamer. I had not yet gotten around to finding one when she walked in a few days ago with a steamer tray that would fit in our rice cooker and asked when we could start making buuz. Today we finally had time, so I got to watch and learn.

I didn’t write much down because she wasn’t measuring at all. She said the recipe was in her head. I got to help wrap the dumplings in their flour-dough blankets. We steamed a few so I could see how to cook them, and froze the rest. So now, my family has 27 buuz. Somehow I don’t think we’ll be able to make them last until April. Joel already ate three today.

When civilians attack

Recently the police here have really cracked down on microbuses. Microbuses are vans that run routes throughout the city for the purpose of public transportation. We also have a city bus system, but the microbuses fill in some gaps left by the bus system and are a cheaper way to travel short distances. Usually at a bus stop you will see one or two buses at a time, along with 5 or 6 microbuses. Now that the police are cracking down, you see microbuses at the bus stop only when there are no policemen around.

Yesterday as I was approaching our bus stop to board a microbus for a ride to school, I saw the microbuses scattering like roaches after a light has been turned on. Sure enough, a police car pulled up to the bus stop and parked there. The policemen were sitting in the car, yelling at the microbus drivers through a bullhorn. Every time a micro would pull up to the stop and stop to let someone out, the policemen would begin yelling at them and they would quickly drive away. I watched this for a few minutes, expecting the policemen to move on to another stop, but they just stayed there. I was seriously considering knocking on their window and asking them to give me a ride to school since they were scaring away all the micros. It pains me to say this, but FORTUNATELY there was a car accident just down the road and the yelling policeman had to go help out with that while the other one stayed with the police car. The micros began stopping again and I finally was able to get my ride to school without getting arrested for harassing police officers.

Peace on earth

Blog #4 in a four-part series. If you're new to this series, go check out #1, #2, and #3 before reading this one.

A few years ago I read A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren. A section of that book is called “The seven Jesuses I have known” (Anyone know a better way to make “Jesus” plural? Never had to do it before). In this section McLaren discusses the ins and outs of various segments of Christendom he has been involved with and their views of how God interacts with the world. I think my favorite at the time was Greek Orthodox Jesus. According to McLaren, Greek Orthodox Jesus came not only to bring salvation so that people can spend eternity in heaven with God, but also to redeem all of creation, here, starting immediately. This appealed to me at the time I read it, and still does. The segment of Christendom I grew up in puts a strong emphasis on salvation. Sometimes the emphasis on salvation was so strong that it seemed like it was the only thing Jesus came to do, and by extension, the only thing that was important to a person who considered themself religious. The Christian life was like an elevator. Once someone made the decision to enter they could stand and stare at the door, twiddling their thumbs and not looking at anyone else until the door opened at the top and they stepped out into glory. But Greek Orthodox Jesus was different. Of course He came to save us from our sins, but He also came to bring His kingdom here to earth, to set right all that was marred in Eden. I have always loved Christmas carols because many of them capture this concept well.

God gives us our first hint of Messiah just as we are beginning to understand the gravity of our situation (Genesis 3:15). After a few failed attempts at self-redemption and a good long look at the consequences of our mistake, we know how vital this Messiah will be. We now see that everything we were created to appreciate hangs on God keeping this promise.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

But high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall; The promise of the ages it then did recall.

Word of the Father now in flesh appearing.

Long desired, behold Him come

This, of all things, was the resolution we had been waiting for. Of course many did not understand. How could we? How is it possible that a baby could make the kind of difference we needed? But it was true.

Born a child and yet a king
Born to reign in us forever
Born to set thy people free

Glorious now behold Him arise – King and God and Sacrifice.
Alleluia, alleluia! Earth to heav’n replies.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th’incarnate Deity, pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel!

It is difficult to grasp how far-reaching this redemption is: it is both personal –

Now ye hear of endless bliss; Joy! Joy! Jesus Christ was born for this. He hath opened heaven’s door and man is blessed forever more. Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this!

Now ye need not fear the grave: Peace! Peace! Jesus Christ was born to save.

In all our trials born to be our Friend. He knows our need- to our weakness no stranger. Behold your King; before him lowly bend!

Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled

Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

And reaches throughout all of fallen creation.

He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav’n

Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

After looking for redemption in all the wrong places, this was the solution. A God who lived with us, worked in us to set wrongs right, and now works through us to set the world’s wrongs right.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease.

In this we can now rest, and let everyone know their struggle can be over.

The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

Still Waiting

Waiting with Switchfoot

They tell you where you need to go
They tell you when you need to leave.
They tell you what you need to know
They tell you who you need to be.

But everything inside you
Knows there's more than what you've heard
There's so much more than empty conversations
Filled with empty words.

And you're on fire
When He's near you
You're on fire
When He speaks
You're on fire
Burning at these mysteries.

Give me one more time around
Give me one more chance to see
Give me everything You are
Give me one more chance to be near You

'Cause everything inside me
Looks like everything I hate
You are the hope I have for change
You are the only chance I'll take

And I'm on fire
When You're near me
I'm on fire
When You speak
I'm on fire
Burning at these mysteries.

Still Waiting

And waiting with John Mayer

I'm not alone
I wish I was
Cause then I'd know I was down because
I couldn't find a friend around
To love me like they do right now
They do right now

I'm dizzy from the shopping mall
I searched for joy, but I bought it all.
It doesn't help the hunger pains
The thirst I'd have to drown first to ever satiate

Something's missing
And I don't know how to fix it
Something's missing
And I don't know what it is at all

When autumn comes it doesn't ask
It just walks in where it left you last
You never know when it starts
Until there's fog inside the glass around
Your summer heart.

Something's missing
And I don't know how to fix it
Something's missing
And I don't know what it is at all

I can't be sure that this state of mind
Is not of my own design
There must be an over-the-counter test
For loneliness like this.

Something's missing
And I don't know how to fix it
Something's missing
And I don't know what it is at all

Friends - check
Money - check
Well-slept - check
Opposite sex - check
Guitar - check
Microphone - check
Messages waiting on me when I come home - check

How come everything I think I need always comes with batteries?

Time to wait

So, I've shared three ways of fixing the world: Utopia, Clean Slate, and Godly nation. All three make sense to me and seem like they should work, but as the Old Testament shows us they have been done before and were not effective. Our problems are too big for our own ideas. So it's time to wait for help. Let's begin waiting with Sarah McLachlan.

Heaven bend to take my hand
And lead me through the fire
Be the long awaited answer
To a long and painful fight
Truth be told I tried my best
But somewhere long the way
I got caught up in all there was to offer
But the cost was so much more than I could bear

Though I've tried I've fallen
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't you come round here and
Tell me I told you so

We all begin with good intent
When love is raw and young
We believe that we can change ourselves
The past can be undone
But we carry on our back the burdens time always reveals
In the lonely light of morning
In the wound that would not heal
It's the bitter taste of losing everything
I've held so dear

Though I've tried I've fallen
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't you come round here and
Tell me I told you so

Heaven bend to take my hand
I've nowhere left to turn
I'm lost to those I thought were friends
To everyone I know
Oh they turn their heads embarrassed
Pretend that they don't see
That it's one missed step one slip before you know it
And there doesn't seem a way to be redeemed.

Though I've tried I've fallen
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't you come round here and
Tell me I told you so