Easter Celebrations

Well, I realize it's been a while since Easter, but we thought you would still like to hear about how we celebrated Easter here in Mongolia this year. :) I started out the morning by making these mini muffins to bring to gathering. I made 72 and was going to make more but we ran out of time. I grabbed some cookies that I had just made as well and it was just enough for everyone to have one. :)

Here we are at gathering. The colored words up front say "Jesus Christ again just alive!" (hard translation) in Mongolian.

After the regular service portion was over we had a time of special music and presentations. These boys got up and did a choreographed dance to some music. (The girl in the gray stripes is my language tutor!) We also had a lady share a poem and the youth group did a skit that was very moving about heaven and hell.

Easter Praises!

They also had all the children go up front and they got Easter gifts. Ezra was sleeping through that part. :)

Oh, now he's awake! After the service we had a little snack together...cookies, apples, muffins, and candy.

These ladies had on their best dells. :) Such sweeties!

I love this picture of the boys looking at Ezra. It's an international baby picture! We have America, Mongolia (middle 2) and Korea (R)! The two in the middle are twins the same age as Ezra! He's a big boy!

Here is Ezra enjoying his Easter Gift!

Later that evening we enjoyed a picnic by the river with some friends! These photos are courtesy of our teammate Pam. :)

I made the rest of my muffins and brought them along. They were a bit hit!

Here's the gang at the river! This is one of our favorite places to go now. It's just south of our place and it's so quiet and peaceful. We've been there twice now, but wish we lived closer so we could go more often. We are actually thinking about moving closer since it's also closer to Matt's new job next year!

To The Countryside....

And a few days after Easter, we went to the countryside to celebrate Easter together with our teammates. This is a place called Terelj. It's beautiful! So fresh and just starting to turn green.

Here's our friend Corrie capturing the view with her camera.

And here is our sheep. I couldn't bear to name him.

He gave his life for our meal. It made Jesus' sacrifice for us very real as we celebrated Easter together. We partook in the traditional Mongolian meal of Hor Hok. They kill a sheep and put hot stones inside him to cook the meat and also put vegetables inside to cook together. Matt and others watched the process, but I couldn't watch.

This is the finished product...Mongolian Hor Hog! Mmm...

Here is the 2010-11 Team Mongolia!

There are a couple people missing, and a few that are not returning next year, which we are very bummed about! :( We love our team! 

We had a great Easter with our dear brothers and sisters, remembering the One who gave His life for us. 

We hope you had a blessed Easter as well!

He Is Risen Indeed!

Much love,

The Gens'

Random Fun Things

So, I have several fun photos and things to share and thought I would just do it all in one post. :)
So, hang on to your hats...

First of all, I wanted to share a few birthday celebration photos. The three of us went out at the end of April to celebrate since we had something else going on on my actual birthday. We went to one of my favorite restaurants called Thai Express. I love Thai food.

(I have the two sweetest guys around!!!)

After supper at the Thai Express, we went upstairs to a place called New York, New York for dessert. We got a waffle with chocolate ice cream on top.

Weather Report - May 11:  It snowed today. 

Apparently, it has snowed in all 12 months here. :)

But my plants are enjoying the warm window sill. :)

This one actually bloomed today (it's at the top of the blog!).

 I've already re-potted a couple of plants more than once. The tomatoes (on L) are doing great! I have them in 2 pots now and they are growing like crazy!

And my squash have several blooms on them. Just amazing to see His creation unfold!

And for Mother's Day...

I started a new tradition with Ezra. We made cookies together (choc chip oatmeal)!

And I got to take a nap with him on our bed. It was soooo sweet.

Mmmm....they were yummy. They are all gone already. :)

And Matt made supper for me. His newest creation, now one of our favorites, chicken curry pasta!

And while we're on the topic of food, here's another of our new favorites this year...

Guatemalan Green Beans!

Cook some green beans, separate 2 eggs and beat whites until fluffy, then mix together with yolks, 2 T flour, and 1/4 t. salt and coat the GB with it, then fry in pan until golden on both sides. Cover with 1 cup tomato sauce mixed with 2 cloves fresh garlic, 1/4 t. oregano, 1/4 t. basil, S & P to taste. And top with parmesan cheese. :)
It sounds strange, but is really good!

For Our Anniversary...

We went to Millie's Cafe and had a double cheeseburger with bacon and egg and chicken burritos!
This is one of our favorite restaurants...

With two of our favorite people, Joshua and Jennifer!

That burger is a mouthful! :)

Look at that form! These guys did the same thing last year at the donut shop! Thought I'd throw this pic in from last year for comparison! :)

And last, but not least, our new friend Orna has been helping us around the house three times a week. She's super sweet and loves to play with and sing to Ezra. He really likes Orna. We even got to go out on our double date to Millie's while Ezra stayed home with Orna, without Mommy for the first time. He did so good! She has been a huge blessing to us!

That's all for now! Much love to you all!

Matt's New Wheels!

Here's Matt's new mode of transportation around Ulaanbaatar! Cuts the walk time by more than half and is even faster than the bus sometimes! And it gets lots of looks from the locals. Made in the good ol' U S of A.

 Big thanks to our good friend Corrie for the box of stuff she brought for us from America last week!

Don't you just love spring?

Well, spring has sprung all over the world. I hear that the tulips and daffodils are blooming in MN. Here in Mongolia we're seeing green, too! Well, at least indoors, but soon outside, too! This week, it looks like every day will be in the 50s! So, I decided that my little plants needed their own signs. And they wanted me to introduce you to them individually....so, here they are! 

"Hi, my name is..."

 And we have some new little buds on our mystery plant! How cute!

That's all for now from Jess' Garden!

Parties, Plants and Percussion

Yesterday, I celebrated my 29th birthday. I'm officially in the last year of my twenties. It's been a great decade so far! I'm looking forward to what the next year will bring. This last year was pretty sweet with the arrival of our little Ezra. :) Each day is such a joy to see him learn new things and explore the world around him.

I started out my birthday with a team meeting at our house! This is our team: Sarah, Craig, Ezra, Matt, Josh and Jennifer (L to R). Right before they came over, though, our buddy Munhuu stopped over and gave me a beautiful birthday card, a book, ice cream and candy. It was super sweet of him!

For lunch, I made my mom's fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. But come to think of it now...I forgot the gravy! No one could ask if there was more (little family joke there)! I must have been a little preoccupied. Oh, well. Jennifer also made homemade buns (their family's secret recipe)! Mmmm...

 And Sarah made me a birthday cake! I actually got two birthday cakes! Jennifer made a chocolate cake for supper. Our team had supper together at our pastor's house. Two chocolate cakes in one day. Hard to beat that!

And in between chocolate cakes, I spent some time in my garden. Here is a picture from just 3 days after I planted my seeds!

  Now, the two little sprouts in front of the 3 day picture is in one of the big pots on the right at only 9 days old (it's squash!). I spent the afternoon of my birthday re-potting some of my new plants.

Just about all of them have sprouted now except the lavender and garlic chives! In my garden I have: chives, garlic chives, cilantro, rosemary, oregano, savory, Thai basil, sage, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes, squash, zinnia, lavender, aster, and Sweet William. Should be interesting!

And I found a bonus plant that was growing alongside a dead bush in our apartment. If anyone knows what this is, please let me know. :)

So, for my birthday I got a new ivy plant, a bunch of "dirt bags", and new plastic pots for my little seedlings.

I also got this beautiful blue pot. It caught my eye and looks great with the doily that Mama Betty made.

We ended the day with a birthday serenade from our pastor's daughter! Check it out!

Thanks for all the birthday greetings! It was a great day with my sweet little family and dear Mongolian friends.