Making Mission Memories in Mongolia

I’m not going to lie— this past week was HARD . Being so far from family during the holidays stirred up a lot of feelings. Thinking about all the traditions, the laughter, and the time together we were missing back home sometimes felt overwhelming. There were moments when I just wanted to stay in bed and cry. Missing family doesn’t magically disappear just because you’re serving somewhere meaningful—it still hurts. But in the middle of those heavy moments, I learned something important. When I shifted my focus from what I was missing to what we could do for others, life didn’t feel quite so hard. One small moment made a big difference. While playing pickleball one evening, we noticed our friend Lik wasn’t wearing shoes. After asking around, we learned he had blown out his shoes earlier and hadn’t replaced them. So we picked him up and took him to look for new ones. When he found the perfect pair—and we were able to buy them for him—the joy on his face was priceless. Something as sim...

Now that we’re back in Palau with no travel plans on the horizon, we decided it was time to settle into a routine—starting with daily walks. Finding places to walk, however, has turned into a bit of an adventure! Although the roads here are nicely paved, most don’t have shoulders, so walking along them doesn’t feel very safe. On our first day, we explored a small road near our apartment that winds uphill through the trees toward Caroline’s Resort. When we reached the resort, we noticed another gated road and decided to see where it led. After some steady uphill climbing, we came to a large home under construction at the top of the hill. The construction workers kindly invited us in to see the view—and wow! The picture truly doesn’t do it justice. That walk was lovely, but we wanted to explore other options. Next, we tried walking along the causeway we drive across every day. It has a nice sidewalk, and the ocean breeze is a big plus, keeping things much cooler than other areas. Unfort...

Our most exciting news this week was our flight on a C-130 for Operation Christmas Drop ! The day started early—6:00 a.m.—as we left our hotel, picked up another senior missionary who was joining us, and headed to Andersen Air Force Base. We reported to the 44th Aerial Port Squadron a full three hours before our 10:15 flight time. When we arrived, we learned that our flight— “Santa 52” —was headed to Palau ! How fun that we would be dropping supplies on our very own islands. As flight time approached, an announcement came over the loudspeaker that Santa’s sleigh was about ready for takeoff . We climbed aboard the massive cargo plane, and just being inside was exciting enough. Seeing the Christmas boxes loaded and ready to go made it even better. We flew for about two hours at normal altitude, but as we neared Palau, the plane dropped low and the back ramp opened. The views were absolutely stunning. It was fascinating to watch the careful preparation as the crew made sure everything w...