Reverence

In a book Diane and I are reading, there is a chapter about taking the time to look twice, to see what is around you, and to show reverence to what you see. The author describes reverence as "the proper attitude of a small and curious human being in a vast and fascinating world of experience." (Barbara Taylor). After reading this quote and loving it, I wondered how I could adopt this attitude in Mongolia and to this trip and I'm glad to say that if anything the first day made this easy.

One of our first stops in Ulaan Bataar was at a Buddhist monastery. After walking through a small gate, we found ourselves in a small complex of beautiful buildings each dedicated to a different role for the monastery. The auspicious signs of the Buddha decorated the walls as we gazed up listening to every word Leo told us about this sacred place. There was something incredible about the place and not in a still quiet holy way, but in a full of life, color, and vibrancy holy way. We made our way to the main plaza where men and women along with their children fed swarms of pidgens and enjoyed family time. Overlooking the plaza was a large building holding one of the world's largest Buddhas. It was incredible. The room was full of color and the towering Buddha looking down upon us. The Buddha itself must have been at least 30 feet tall and was surrounded by smaller Buddhas, burning butter, and prayer wheels. People entered with such respect clasping their hands in prayer and touching their forehead, their lips, and their heart. As I watched each person enter and tried to take in the scene around me, I couldn't help but be struck with reverence to this building of faith so different and yet so similar to my own. I admired the way of spinning the prayer wheel three times or repeating the same sandcript mantra over and over again just as Catholics pray the rosary. I saw the butter burning like incense or candles and saw the beautiful dedication of a people called by faith to share their respect of something or someone other than themselves. Did I understand it all? No, but I'm okay with that and I'm okay with it being different.

We spent the rest of the day visiting different museums and monumental squares and then found ourselves in an Indian Latin restaurant. Yes, you read right--it had both. We had the most delicious Indian meal (Evan you would be proud) and fantastic conversation. The topic of corruption came along and Leo explained to us that every teacher in his soum (town) normally pays a $1200 fee to ensure tenure before they begin their first year of teaching. I was in disbelief that a child's education then is dependent solely on who has the money to guarantee a job for life. Leo, after over a year in the country, approached it somewhat differently questioning whether it was possible for him to change a system in just two years of being in Mongolia. A fascinating conversation about corruption, systemic change, and more followed leaving me with more questions and a deeper reverence for the questions that we must act to discover how we are each called to act to different injustices we see.

My last and most deeply felt moment of reverence is encapsulated in Leo. I stand in awe of what he has been able to do in the past year in this country. And by that I don't mean how many people he has been able to teach or lives changed (but I'm sure we'll see that later). I just stop every other hour or so and see him speaking Mongolian, a language that is not in Roman letters and has no similarities to Roman languages. I see him switch between Mongolian and Kazak and smile and interact with the locals here. He has used his brilliant mind to beginning mastering two complex languages and its incredible. He is also just so at ease with himself and where he is. He knows the streets, where he's going, where to buy snacks from (very important :))and has found a level of comfort and capability here. He has learned so much about the country, about his personal struggles and areas of growth and to be able to see it all in him is just incredible.

And that was all in one day in UlanBataar. We landed today in Olgi where snow capped mountains surround the valley of the town and miles of untouched, unmastered, and perfectly pure land await us. We're staying in a ger, a traditional Mongolian nomadic tent of sorts and its incredible. Tomorrow, I'll try to post with some pictures about our time so far. But to keep you all going, here's a random lady in front of a ger in our camp that I found on the internet....

Until then, much love to everyone. Missing you all a lot and wishing you were here with us!