Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego?

As witty as the title may seem, You could be asking yourself, "What has Blake done with this fantastic idea of a blog?!" Well folks, as business would have it, recording my escapade through Mongolia over a year ago has fallen through the cracks of time. If you would like more info about our trip watch our video!!! Mongolia Video

Onto life as it is now for those who care (cause I'm sure most of you have much better things to read about than some college super-senior barely squeezing by in a house of 8 guys). I never clearly stated why I chose the name for this blog that I did so I want to briefly take you down my path of thought as to why I would call this blog "Living 4 one Man." This surely does make a spiritual reference to Christ,  but some of you might wonder why I refer to him as a "man" and not as "God." When we look at the Christ of the Bible, we can distinguish that he was indeed man (Read John 1:1) and that he dwelt among us, yet at the same time, he was also God (the virgin birth, anointing, and the authority he spoke with). We see Jesus as both wholly man and wholly God, in the flesh and of the Spirit. But here's the power in this understanding. Since Jesus was God, he could have ultimately crushed Satan at the temptations, taken himself off the cross, and completely avoided the brutality and rejection man by embracing his deity. By Jesus withstanding the temptations while in the desert, it says a lot about his humaness. We all face temptation and we all fail and give in at some point, yet Jesus did not, Jesus rejected temptation as a man. Jesus ultimately stands in the gap that Adam created through giving into the temptation of eating the fruit in the garden. Jesus walked the earth and faced the very same temptations that you and I face, yet he overcame. So in saying that I am "living 4 one man" I don't say that in disregard to his Sonship and deity, but I say that in a sense of seeing he is the pure and spotless lamb who was slain, that though he was man, he faced the world and conquered it IN THE FLESH! So we now have this power because of the blood of Christ. That is the inspiration to the name. I may not have articulated this as clearly as I would hope, but I would encourage you to read the book "Following Jesus the Servant King" by Dr. Lunde (like $13 on Amazon and worth every penny!)

With that awesome knowledge I move into where I am in life as we know it. I am living in a house with seven other guys and beginning to understand what it is like to live in a house of seven guys with all sorts of different ideas and mannerisms. (I know I bring my plethora of imperfections into this equation as well.) I do realize some of my tendencies in that I like cleanliness and organization and most of my house all function on various levels of those principles, so I am slowly learning to put away "OCD" Blake, and bring out "Joe Cool" Blake and not try to clean and organize everything to my standards. But so far this has been a valuable experience. I am getting to know the guys at a great level and

Exploring Ulaanbatar
June 19, 2011
   

Group pic outside a Mongolian
Bible shop, which we put out of
business for the day by purchasing
their cache of Mongolian Bibles 

   "Today was nice and relaxed. We went to Mongolian church and explored the town. Church was fascinating, it wasn't the first Mongolian Church I had been to, but as one would figure, with my lack of language skills I quickly became bored and distracted, but I realized that I couldn't rely on familiarity only, to worship God, but I was going to have to stretch myself and learn to praise God in unfamiliar situations. That was lesson #1. Afterwards we went out to lunch and went shopping. We had tese deep fried cakes with meat in them called hosher (Hoe-sure; it was similar to an empanada). It was really good but super greasy. A lot of us are having problems creating bowl movements and I kno what definitely didn't' help, lesson #2, eat more fruits and veggies and less greasy delicious crap. We then explored the nicer part of the city and I was surprised at all the new buildings and remodeling, but even then everything seemed to be very disorganized. It definitely broadened my perspective on Mongolian culture. It just makes me laugh to see a project that looks good and is being worked on, yet all the bricks and supplies littered across the streets and sidewalks. I am curious why they seem to be content with this way of life, but tonight Stefan made an interesting point regarding their culture. They went from being a world power with Chenggis Kaahn to servants under Manchurian and Soviet Rule and now since 1990 they are on their own. They've gone generations without any sense of identity besides that of a servant. They are so lost and confused right now, and its obvious. 

Sükhbaatar Square

   We met a man named Sasha today who is a Bible teacher from Germany and he said there are more Mongolians living outside their country than in; Mongolians are seeking, trying to find who they are because they can't find the answer in their own country. It's sad, but I see the light that is coming. We visited the one of the biggest Mongolian churches in the world and it was awesome to see how Christ has already begun to move and reform the identities of some Mongols. It may be a while before they inner warrior of Mongolia comes back out, but new growth and optimism is a rising sun in this country. 
   It was a long day of shopping... I bought a sweet hat, Mongolian Phrase book, and a pair of "Raybans." We visited the capital and the statue of Chinggis Khaan in 
Sükhbaatar Square. It was a fun day, but we found out we have to check into immigration tomorrow and we don't know what that entails. Constipation seems to be our teams biggest issue so far..."

-Blake

Chill'n in Baska's car as he runs a random errand as we wait to do our shopping!

First Day in Ulaanbatar,

June 19, 2011

   "Wow... That’s all I am able to muster right now. Our flight was delayed three hours which diminished our layover in Beijing to a 5 minute sprint through one of the world’s largest airport terminals. Two hours after boarding our flight we officially landed in Ulaanbatar. We were picked up by Baska and Oyu who took us to an apartment to drop off our things. It wasn’t long after leaving the terminal that I realized what kind of shape Mongolia was in. After dropping off our things we went to the “Gher Villages” that surround the capital city. I was shocked by the poverty and shape these people in these people in these villages were. I didn’t expect Mongolia to be this “third-World” so-to-speak, and that blew me away. Piles ofrefuse and trash lay right where their owners decided to forget about them. We went with Baska to a children’s program that he started as a ministry for these impoverished kids. We had a great time hanging out with these kids even though the language barrier seemed to try and stop us from having fun. I met a kid named Khul (Kyul) and the moment I saw him the Holy Spirit began to stir in my heart. He seemed to be the oldest kid in the group and making him a male made him stand out all the more (since its mostly women that participate which was evident when trying to find a guide since we had a lot of girls volunteer to go with us, and never a guy.) Khul’s fiery eyes gave more to his look than any other kid, it showed the tough life and lessons he’s sadly had to learn by the age of 16. I battled if I should approach him and at the end I broke in and told him what the Spirit had laid on my heart. I have know idea if he took me seriously or if it was something that wasn’t even teh Spirit at all, I am just trusting the Lord that it is what He wanted me to do and I Hope that Khul will remember that and it will encrouage and strengthen him into the leader and man o fGod he is called to be. 

Praying over a woman who was fighting a lung disease that is caused by the pollution in Mongolia. Her husband had died three months earlier. She was Baska's assistant to the orphan ministry

   It was an exhausting day but one I will never forget. From the crazy Mongolian driving to the bull penis and horse meat we at, I can already sense God beginning to move my life and I know He will be glorified in this trip as long as my eyes are set upon Him."

-Blake

The Orphan Ministry outside Ulaanbatar in the Gher Villages. These kids are not all orphans but they all have uninvolved parents in their lives. This ministry is intended to give kids fresh water, food, and the Word of God.