Naadam in Choibalsan

The Naadam holiday was actually July 14,15,16.

Some of the outlying Aimags (counties) do their own Naadam's.

This year there was an outbreak of some kind of sicknesses with the horses,

so Choiblasan's Naadam was postponed until July 28,29.

On the 28th, President Mecham and his wife flew to Choiblasan.

We were with them on the opening day of Naadam, which was wonderful and much better!

Another interesting fact, the people tell us that fall comes after Naadam,

and we have definately felt a change in the weather.

Sisters Onon (l) and Uynga (r) wearing a Mongolian vest,

Mongolian national clothes.

They are good missionaries, Sister Ounga is a new missionary, about 2 months.

Sister Onon finishes in January.

Statue in Choibalsan, at Naadam Stadium
Sukhbaatar's Square

Naadam Stadium

Getting ready for the 2nd day of wrestling, archery and horse racing.

Traditional Deel, the hat symbolizes the clan or tribe they belong to.

There are 25 different tribes/clans of people, Mongolian is only one of them.

They are directly descended from Chinggis Khaan, from what I understand.

The youth are mostly who participate in the horse racing.

He is just finishing his race.

Another sport they participate in is "Ankle-bone Shooting".
Shagai, is the traditional Mongolian toy.
They have a little finger-shooter and flip the bone with their fingers, just like marbles.
They aim at the target, the white bone in the box.
Boditsog, is a member and runs this event. He is sitting at the far end in the gold Deel.
He is actually motioning for Dad to come and sit and watch, which we did for a few minutes.
It was interesting.

Brother Boditsog

Wrestling, called Buh, one of the traditional sports.
The judges and helpers are in the red and blue Deels.
I would think they can get hot!

Traditional introduction calling the wrestlers.
Some of these guys are pretty big!

Women participate in the archery.

Again her hat signifies the clan she belongs to.

The culture is amazing and the differences are so fun to be part of!

We are learning to understand and appreciate the differences.

The Lord is so patient with all of us!

We are so different from what they know.

We are so grateful to be able to be part of the Lord's Missionary efforts here in Mongolia!
We do love what we are doing and we are learning so much!

We know that the Gospel can and does bless the lives of all of us!

We love you all very much!

Mom and Dad

Brady Reunion

Kye and Josh with Great Opa and Oma Brady at Willow Creek.

Grandma and grandpa looked really good.

Kye trying to hula hoop.

Josh playing in the rocks. It was a fun reunion, Grandma was glad that the Anderson family had some representatives go. Aunt Leann said there were 75 people that showed up at one point.

Growing Up Too Fast

There’s nothing like watching your first child reach developmental milestones like crawling and pulling himself up to a standing position, etc. However, our faces have slowly shifted from grinning pride to flat-faced concern to wide-eyed panic. Joshua’s growing up so fast that we’re afraid we’re not going to be able to keep up. We can no longer barricade him in the living room. He’s been able to find a way to sneak through every time. He’s discovered the fundamentals of kitchen cupboard doors and seems to think that the kitchen floor is a better place to store all our cans and containers. Lastly, we were so proud when he started saying “Mama” whenever Tracy walked into the room until 5:30 this morning when we both woke to the sound of “Mamamamamama!” I guess we can be grateful that we still have a few years until he’s driving.

A Face Only a Mother Could Love

And no, I Don't Mean The One In Red.

Snake-charmers

Not to be outdone, Jonah and little Bronwyn Susan joined in the reptile lovefest.  Absent from photo, Mommy.

Choibalsan Countryside - July

The pictures all made it! It has taken so long to download them, finally! This was our Preparation Day, not a day of rest, but a day of fun! The Missionaries were invited out to a members Ger in the Countryside, and to eat, they always like eating. We were to be at the Church at 7:50 am. They had a meeker to take us. So, at 9:00 the meeker shows up, then we had to get gas and they changed a couple of tires. So by 9:30 we were on our way! (Typical Mongolial time!) The missionaries and members love their basketball. They played while we waited at the Church. Dad actually made this shot!

The ride was an hour and once we got out of the city, about 15 minutes, this is what we saw, for the most part. A meeker ride is kind of hard on the back, and a few times we bounced kind of hard, I'm still feeling it! I'm in the front seat, and when he found a straight road, as above, he would go kind of fast - I closed my eyes a couple of times!

This is the Kherlen River, the same one that runs through Choibalsan. The missionaries are teenagers - mud and water fights! The Sisters got the worst of it, but they are the ones who started it! The meeker driver got into it too.

We shared the river with the locals! Even the cowboys went in for a swim/bath!

They play volleyball when they get a chance. It was a beautiful day!

I took off my shoes and waded into the water, it was't over a foot deep. Of the Sisters, guess whose feet are the whitest and the biggest? Notice the beautiful sand!

This is the family, and the missionaries. There are actually 3 families that are living here for the summer. They have sheep, goats, cows and horses, no camels.

Dad and I got to ride on a Mongolian horse. The saddle is so different, not like an American saddle. They actually turned the reins over to us, for a minute. The flies were bad, and the horses were a little jumpy.

They are cooking dinner - "Horhog" is what it is called. Another word for "Dutch oven". The white liquid is hot milk, I think they are making yogart. The covered one is the meat, today's menu - goat that the 2 men went out and killed. So, now I can add to the list of meats I have eated - goat! I have a question for Tama, have you eaten goat? I'm 2 up on her, I've had sheep's head and horse meat! We're learning to try new things.

They brought us hot stones, they used to cook the meat. If you turn them over in your hands, they are supposed to bring good health, helping your head and stomach. I'll try anything if it helps my stomach, especially with goat meat and Mongolian cheese!

These are the other foods we ate. Milk curds, on the left, with Mongolian butter, I think they said it was from a cow. Mongolian cheese is in front and fried breads in the back. They gave us "medical water" which is supposed to be really good, it is from their well, hot milk, and juice, which the missionaries brought.

One of the men is dishing up the meat from the horhog pan. The Mongolian people are so giving and so kind, they share what they have! The towel on his head is to keep him cool. They get it wet and put them around their neck or on top of their head, sounds like a good idea, but I'm too worried about my looks, I guess, I haven't done that...yet. But, if we keep having 100 degree temperatures I just might.

This is the picture of the missionaries and Marthla, whose family it is. Starting from the front left - Sister Mandkhi, Elder Batsaikhan, Marthla. Back row, Sister Onon, Sister Yunga, Sister Bassanjav and Elder Sukhbold, he is the DL. They seem to be a good group of missionaries. They are good to take us visiting and to include us in some of their outings.

This is the real Mongolia!

We are doing good and surviving the heat, mostly! We are so grateful to be able to have experiences such as these and grateful for the Lord's guidence and protection! We are also grateful to be able to serve Him and to be on a mission in Mongolia!

We love all of you!

The Replacement Mommy?

When Ethan and Jo chose a new pet to replace Speedy, Mommy put her foot down and gave them an ultimatum.  Mommy said it was either her or Snakester, but one of them had to go.  Welcome to the Anderson Family Snakester!  We all miss Mommy.