Top 10 things I LOVE about Mongolia!

10.  The kids here are so. stinkin'. cute!!!!

9.  Every store and restaurant is a mom and pop shop. No big, bad, Walmarts here!  We like to pretend that we found the newest, hippest dive restaurant in town.  And there is something that feels good inside about buying directly from the owner of the store.

8.  The billboard advertisements.  I saw a larger than life-sized picture of Jean Claude Van Damme circa 1990's as the business sign for a gym.  Probably the best part about this is that I am one of the very few people that thinks this is odd.

7.  Funny English translations on products in the store. Such as "soap for a happy life." Golly, I sure better get my hands on some of that soap! :)

6.  Everyone loves Caroline and we get VIP treatment wherever we go because of her!  Really, Mongolian people just love kids!  It's neat to see a culture that isn't annoyed by children.

5.  Life is simple.  I get to spend more time thinking about what really matters.  I don't have to decide on what shoes I should wear because I decided that back in Dallas when I packed my bags.  I don't have a hundred choices of granola to pick from, I'll just buy it if and when I can find it.  This is such a freeing thing!!!

4.  My church family!  I admire, love and respect my pastors, Josh and Sagana Crosslin so much for the way they love and serve the Mongolian people.  They have given their lives to this ministry and they are such a great example to us!  I also love my teammates from Texas!  They are hilarious and it's so cool to see how God has brought us together.

3.  The time we get to spend together as a family.  I am a quality time love-language person, and I get to spend time with John and Caroline way more here than I ever have on a day to day basis back in Dallas.  It's such a blessing to be able to work alongside your best friend in ministry every single day.

2.  People here are truly hungry for Jesus!  Many people I have met have specifically expressed that they want to know more about God.  There is a new generation of Mongolians who have never had to live under the oppression of Communism.  This generation is hungry to know the Most High God that created them.

1.  My time spent alone talking with God.  His presence has met me here in ways I haven't experienced before.  "He meets me with victory at every step."  Scripture has come alive and His Word makes perfect sense in places I have never understood it before.