The Long-Awaited Move

 

We were assigned to a van with about 8 other people and the driver separated from us by a barrier of clear wrap. The drive from the airport went smoothly due to the lack of traffic at that hour, but it still took 30-45 minutes for us to pull in to the gated back lot of our hotel, where we were led to a back entrance to register and take a service elevator up to our 15th floor. Judging from the appearance of the elevator and corridors I thought we might be in for a sparse isolation, but when we rounded the corner to the regular part of the guest floor I could see that it was a very nice hotel, and our room was pleasant. 

Week-long isolation hotel view

We had learned beforehand that we would only be allowed to bring our carry-on luggage to the hotel for the duration of our 10-day isolation, and had accordingly packed books, games, coffee, snacks, and as much as we could fit in the smaller bags. Our luggage was to remain at the airport until Yaejin's parents were called to take it to the house for us. The hotel treated us very well, bringing three quality meals, two snacks, and a water bottle for each of us once per day (We had our filter bottle, so this last point was not essential for us, but in the Mongolian dryness we welcomed the extra, colder supply. Had we been without our filter bottle we would have been forced to boil tap water with the provided teapot.) These were set on a nightstand-style table outside of our room, followed by a knock on the door to let us know it was there. Other times the knock would be to give us a covid test, which we undertook 3 times during the week we were there, despite never testing positive. All staff who ventured to our quarantine floor for meal delivery or otherwise were covered from head to toe in hooded jumpsuits, with latex gloves, masks, and face shields. 

I didn't get a picture at the airport

but this is how they all were.

Just a few days in to our isolation the government decided to change the quarantine policy to one week in the hotel, and a second week in isolation at home. So we were suddenly able to check out three days earlier than we expected and brought to our apartment at long last! We weren't sure how closely we would be monitored for this second week of at-home quarantine, but in the end there wasn't any follow-up or enforcement at all, and we probably could have gotten away with acting just as normal. After one week staying in our new apartment we were free -- within the bounds of the nationwide lockdown underway which closed most businesses other than regular grocery stores and limited other industries to 30% attendance, and prevented the use of automobiles except for those with certification as an essential employee for their company.  In practice this meant that we started venturing outside once in a while, walking to the grocery store, and visiting Yaejin's family's home.

My favorite morning spot

The requisite seven days of isolation in our own apartment produced a weird dynamic after our liberation in that we had been used to living there without visiting our church member neighbors, and were suddenly free but still unsure how much socializing was accepted within the building. Gradually we started to meet the different church members who are living in our building, and they felt comfortable to knock on our door or invite us over, but for a while we would randomly cross paths with people and then have our "welcome back!" "Oh yeah, we haven't seen you yet!" exchange. All in all I'm a bit concerned that we might have given off an impression of being "happily seclusive newlyweds" that aren't as friendly to other families as we intend to be! Hopefully that isn't the case, but if it is then we must try to can repeal that impression. We'll have to invite more guests for dinner.

At this time of writing the lockdown restrictions are supposedly easing up, so I hope to start having Mongolian lessons with the teacher in the mornings. In the afternoons I have started helping the three high schoolers as they work to complete an American correspondence course. I'm also trying to learn from Youtube how to use video editing software, as the ministry here has several ideas about shifting to more media-based efforts in response to the change in society. I'm excited to learn things, but it feels like I've got a long way to go in many arenas.

As for Yaejin, she jumped right in to organizing and arranging the apartment during our isolation period (i helped), and afterwards has gradually gotten back in to the swing of small groups with the other women of our team. They had been experiencing a lot of growth in the months leading up to our wedding, having gone through Harvest Discipleship Phase I together and doing prayer and worship meetings.  She feared that would all dry up once she left (and indeed, without anyone to translate Phase II it was not possible for them to continue discipleship yet), which was a source of much concern for her during her long time away from Mongolia. However, she found that the women took on the responsibility of continuing to grow and share together in her absence, and she has been greatly encouraged by the changes evident in their lives.  Since the usual ministry of door-to-door evangelism has not been possible during these socially restricted times, the Mongolian church members have started meeting online with various pastors and missionaries in the country for teaching and discussion. They meet every day for about 2.5 hours, and have been excited to share with Yaejin what they've been getting out of it and how it makes them feel connected to the larger body of Christ in Mongolia. Yaejin has also started translating Harvest Discipleship Phase II into Mongolian.

First day to play outside, introducing our American outdoor activities.

Snow in May!
Spring kind of started but Winter is reluctant to hand over the reins.

A tasty gift of hand-picked roasted [pine? I'm told its a sort of pine] seeds