Who is Like Unto Thee

The clouds here are unlike anything I have ever seen before.  They are not puffy and billowy wisps of featherlike clouds bringing the gentle breezes like that in the South.  This is the North and these are the mighty powerful clouds which bring the harshness and fierceness of weather.  There is strength to them and they rule the sky.  The layers of thick darkness which bring the power of the North wind – its biting breath piercing to soul and body.  Yet even here the light is the glory which outshines and tames the mighty clouds who bow and dissipate under its beauty.  It’s as if all creation sings out, “Who is like unto Thee, Oh, Lord, among the gods, who is like unto Thee, perfect in Holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders, who is like unto Thee.”

I reflect upon this land, this climate with its steely cold harshness and wonder….  Is the spiritual climate alike to that of the harshness of the wind or the dark penetrating cloud?  Does the light prevail?  Will all bow down to the righteous glory of the Son, whose kingdom shall know no end?  What shall be the outcome of this place - its dark hovels of sin and grime and shame?  The land cries out layered in blood, shed through the years of ruthless greed and horror.  For the people are not a righteous people, but steeped in untruthfulness, covered in lies, meshed through and through in ungodliness by a religion whose core is false and full of snares.

It is lovely to hear the words come once again to remembrance giving voice to His Great Heart, “Awake to righteousness, and live!”  The kingdom of God is a kingdom of righteousness.  A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of His kingdom.  Oh, that righteousness would rule here, that the voice of this people would reflect a clean and pure heart giving glory to the One True God.

The Beauty of the Lord

Why does the heart find beauty in strange places – places which are not in their own beautiful?  Because beauty is of the Spirit and the Spirit is the inspiration which stirs the heart.  It is the Holy Spirit which reveals the things of God to us.  His Heart is revealed to us through the Holy Spirit and that is why I say strange…..there is a strangeness in the beauty of the Lord.  How can I explain it?  There is something of the stirrings of God within, that mystery of Godliness, in creative power which exemplifies His person.  And so we are strangely moved at times and in places which we do not expect our innermost hearts to be moved by them.  These are the stirrings of God.  I love these stirrings, for out of it also comes understanding.  God imparts to our innermost hearts understanding….perhaps not something tangible but something which inwardly settles within the spirit and acknowledges God.  It is hard to really explain but I know this… I love to be moved by God!

There is the scripture in John which says, “However, when He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you the things to come.”  John 16:13- This impartation of His will, His thoughts, His understanding will come to us via His Spirit.  Those glorious words in the Psalms come shouting back to me, “Wait on the Lord, Wait patiently for the Lord!”  

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying….” Rev. 1:10.  The key, “in the Spirit”, this is where we hear the Lord.  As we wait upon Him via the Spirit He will speak to us the words of life and power and wisdom and understanding, and glory and honor. These life giving words will nourish our souls and transform our earthly minds into the expansion of the glorious Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, which will undoubtedly stir our hearts and minds!  This is glorious!  

“Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us, Yes, establish the work of our hands!”  Psalm 90:17

Amen! and Amen!

Graduation

MIS Graduation took place on June 7th, 2011 at 10:30 am.  It was our first commencement and I felt it ran fairly smoothly considering all the huff and puffing we did to get it all together.  In Mongolia High School only goes till 11th grade.  So our "3" graduates finished 11th grade here at MIS while their other grades were completed in other schools.  All of the kids at MIS are Korean missionary kids whose parents are serving somewhere here in Ulaanbaatar.  They've had quite a time at this school facing many obstacles and frustrations but as this year progressed things got better and better. 


Here are some pictures of our graduates.

From the left:  Sung Kyoung Yeon, Tae Yeob Yeo; and Chang Lim

Introduction to our Ceremony by Jay Lee, our Vice Principal

Welcoming Speech by our President, Dr. Kwon

Congratulatory Speech by the Director of Educational Ministries in Ulaanbaatar

All of MIS Students sang The BENEDICTION song

The Music Appreciation Class taught by Tiffany Sumpter, one of our teachers did an excellent job teaching this song to the kids.

Receiving of Diplomas

Receiving of Diplomas

Praise, Chang Lim did a wonderful job on her speech

Tae Yeob was our comic relief and had the audience laughing

Sung Kyoung gave a touching speech thanking all her teachers personally

Now for the talent - These two played a guitar duet from Twlight

Josh then played a guitar piece called The Red Shoes which was a classical piece done very nicely

More speeches about the graduates from the other MIS students

These kids did an excellent job

Tommy gave a speech for Tae Yeob

MIS Students and Teachers with the President and Vice Principal

Throwing the Hats!

Good Friends

Praise's Parents

It's over!

My colleagues - Michelle (Assistant to Vice Principal) and Psychology teacher; and Tiffany our History, English, and Music Appreciation teacher

Tommy's Dad (one of the boys who gave a speech) , and Ricardo Richard's boss

My other colleagues, Gaana( MIS Secretary) and Nahee (our Graphic Designer)

Sunny, our Chinese and Computer Skills teacher.  She and I share an office

The Ride of Your Life

I am dedicating this post to all the bus drivers of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  Yes, I did say bus drivers!  Did you know that bus drivers are people too?  They don't like traffic like we don't like traffic.  They want to get somewhere fast like we do.  However, having 50 people aboard their buses they should be a bit more careful.  Especially as most of their passengers are hanging on for dear life as they careen down the treacherous roadsides. Today was no exception.  The bus comes screeching down the road to the bus stop sending all their passengers flying to the front of the bus.  Then the door thrusts open with a thud and people pile out as fast as their little legs will carry them.  The door slams shut once again and pedal to the medal the bus begins its descent to yet another bus stop where innocent people are waiting for the ride of their life!  Did you know you could get hurt by riding the bus?  Yes, this is possible.  One man entered the bus unknowing what was about to happen.  The bus was crowded and so he entered warily stepping up the uneven steps.  Just as he cleared the doors they slammed shut and the bus lurched forward propelling him hard against the railing.  We heard groans and cries and realized that he hit his head against the railing, in particular, his ear which was bleeding profusely.  No one said a word of sympathy or gave him a tissue to wipe the blood off.  They just stared.  The poor fellow moaned and groaned till the next stop and beat it out of there.  Unfortunately, we were not able to reach the man being in the middle of the bus packed in like sardines.

Just wanted to give you a little insight into our morning commute to work.  We're glad to get off with our body still intact even though our brains are jogged and jiggled.  Yes, we thank God for safe travel while in Mongolia!

MIS Picnic Day

The school I work for is a High School called Mongolia International School.  The students are all Korean whose parents are here in Mongolia as Missionaries.  They either work for MIU (Mongolian International University) which is where Richard works or are working in churches in Ulaanbataar.  These children are facing what we are facing being foreigners in a strange country, a strange language, and a strange culture.  Many of these students have had varying educational training in different countries every year.  It is hard for them especially if they want to go to University in the US or even Korea as the curriculum in each country is so different.  There are many challenges for them to face as in their teen years when they are just beginning to come into their own persons.

Yesterday, we went to the countryside on a picnic as our end of the year celebration.  We hired a bus and rented a few gers in a camp and spent the day riding horses, eating, and playing by the river.  Riding horse is a major attraction here and costs little, however, the horses which we got were mostly stubborn old nags with a mind of their own.  What a good analogy to human spirits not submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ.  My horse and a few others wouldn't move with all the encouragement, kicking, and hitting on the rump!  The Mongolian guides had to ride behind and yell, "Choo, Choo" which can only mean "giddyap" in our language!

Here are some pictures of our day.

This is Jay Lee, the Vice Principal of our school

The gal in the hat is Praise (her English name) one of our graduates this year.  She wants to be a missionary. A lovely girl.  The girl on the left is the President's daughter, a lovely girl!

This is Andrew, Jay's son.  You can see his horse didn't want to do anything!  He had to be pulled by the guide.

We had a large group about 20-25

Most of these young people couldn't ride very well, however, there were a few who knew exactly what to do and went galloping off with joy!

This is Jay's other son

We were trying to decide if we wanted to ride for another hour.  I wanted to but my horse did not and would not take no for an answer so he just moved in the direction of home!  I finally gave up and went along.

The little guy in front is a guide and he was pulling the horse behind him because that horse was also stubborn and wouldn't do anything!

There aren't many cars in the countryside mostly people move around by horses. 

This land reminds me of Montana - the vast land with the big sky!

You've heard of standing around the coffee pot and talking, where here in Mongolia they loiter on a horse anywhere and everywhere just talking! 

More conversation!  This only happens in the countryside, of course.

The river - water is so important here!

It was ice cold

Richard wasn't here to take my pictures, so I had to take my own!

Beautiful, is it not?

The only way across is through the river

Playing by the river

Good friends

This is Gaana's son, Amarah which means peace.  He is almost 3 years old and all boy!

This is Gaana (our Secretary at MIS) she also has been coming to our Bible studies - a very lovely gal!

These kids never get bored.  They have a game for every occasion.  They stood in the river and played some kind of clapping singsong game for about an hour!

River Rock

River Rock

For those who rode for the 2nd hour they got to ride through the river on the way back!

Snowy River all over again!

This is Suk June, the fearless leader

This was definitely the Highlight

Here come the troops!

The water just came below the stirrups

The kids look so bored!  I would have been thrilled!

Jay, the Vice Principal

This is another graduate named Sung Kryoung Yeon a lovely girl

 As you can see it was a fun time and the weather was great.  Next post will be graduation!