A Week of Naadam and Unexpected Fame

 Happy Naadam!

We’ve now been in Mongolia long enough to experience some things for the second time, and Naadam is one of them! As you may remember from our post last year, Naadam is Mongolia’s biggest national holiday and cultural festival. It features the traditional “Three Manly Games”—wrestling, horse racing, and archery—along with cultural performances, food, and celebrations throughout the country. You could think of it as a combination of Independence Day, a state fair, and the Olympics, all centered on Mongolia’s rich nomadic heritage.

Naadam begins with an elaborate opening ceremony, which we attended last year and absolutely loved. This year, however, we decided to enjoy the festivities outside the stadium with the Ellersicks, another senior couple serving here in the city.

It was fun to watch the animals preparing to enter the stadium and see all the activity taking place around us. A giant screen broadcast the opening ceremony for everyone outside, and of course, “Naadam Khuushuur” was available everywhere! Khuushuur is a deep-fried meat pie. Normally, it is larger and shaped more like a dumpling, but during Naadam they flatten them so they can be cooked more quickly and sold more affordably—just over $1 each. They remind us of fair food back home—something that tastes even better because of the atmosphere and tradition surrounding it.

As was the case last year, J.D. was again like a celebrity as we walked around the stadium.  Many people wanted to take a picture with him, and he was interviewed by a local tv station.  

In other happenings this week, we were reminded of the importance of listening to small promptings.

We stopped by Good Price, the store that carries many American products. Earlier in the week, we had been talking with some missionaries in our district, and one of them mentioned how much he missed root beer because he hadn’t been able to find any in Mongolia. While shopping, we remembered that conversation and decided to check. Sure enough, there on the shelf were cans of A&W Root Beer. We picked up a few cans, planning to give them to the missionaries the next time we saw them. When we got home, however, J.D. felt impressed to invite them to stop by that very evening before heading home. They came over and shared that they had been having an especially difficult day. The simple treat felt like an answer to their prayers.  Of course, they would have been fine without the root beer, but it was a neat reminder that the Lord knows each of us individually and often answers prayers through small acts of kindness.

Good Price also came through with a huge supply of Kirkland bacon! Not only was there plenty of it, but it was on sale for 17,000 tugriks (about $5) instead of the usual 34,000. Naturally, we stocked up and then treated the 11 missionaries in our district to breakfast, complete with crepes and bacon!

At our House of Mercy service project this week, we had a fun surprise. Our favorite Korean nun is always teasing J.D. about his volunteer vest because it doesn’t fit very well. For months she has been promising to find him a “really big” one that would fit better.  This week, the new vest was ready.

Apparently, when you are as petite as she is, this qualifies as “really big!” Let’s just say it still wasn’t quite large enough. But who needs to zip it up anyway?

After our work was finished, they showed us a newly completed volunteer break room. We now have our own locker to store our belongings, along with a table where volunteers can gather and visit. We continue to be impressed by how hard they work to improve their facility and the services they provide. We truly love serving alongside them.

I included this picture just to give a glimpse into the language adventures we have.  The lady in the middle speaks only Mongolian.  The nun speaks a little Mongolian and Korean.  The other lady speaks Korean and a little English.  So to explain about the new break room, the head lady spoke Mongolian, then the nun translated it to Korean so the other lady could tell us in English!  Despite that, we got the message and felt their gratitude for our service...Isn't it great!!?!

The week had one more fun surprise.  One of the sister missionaries sent us this picture she took while visiting a member’s home. She happened to look up and see our Royal University commercial playing on the television. Needless to say, she was shocked to see us pop up on the screen! So, as you can imagine, we are basically famous in Mongolia now. 😊

All in all, it was a week filled with Naadam festivities, root beer miracles, discounted bacon, oversized (or maybe undersized) work vests, and our latest claim to fame—a television commercial sighting. Life in Mongolia continues to be full of surprises, and we are grateful for every opportunity to learn, serve, laugh, and make memories along the way.