Update 15 Dec.

On Monday we were able to go visit a children's prison in town, with some of the kids in my youth group and it went very well.  We sang some songs and played some games and then Steve and Raphael, the basketball player, shared a little bit about themselves and a little bit about Christmas.  The kids had a good time and seemed very responsive.  Pray that God will use the materials we handed out there to work in their hearts.

I was also able to wrestle in a tournament outside of town last weekend.  I got third place, and after watching the video I wasn't very happy with how I wrestled.  But it was good to get back on the mat for the first time since March, and it gave me a little perspective, so I need to get to work.  The tournament was unlike anything I've ever been at before.   I was literally the only white person there and I was like a celebrity.   Everyone there watched my matches and little kids lined the sides of the mat to give me high fives after my matches.  The entire tournament everyone kept coming up to me to shake my hand.  I definitely had a lot of attention on me and pray that I was a good testimony for the Lord.

I would like to thank everyone who has been supporting me and praying for me this far!  I feel really blessed to be where I am and I'm very happy I was able to come out here.   I'm also very excited to be heading home for Christmas tomorrow!  Please pray for my travels, as I could run into some obstacles in Beijing!

My hotel room in Darxan, they forgot to put a mattress on my bed

I didn't lose to either of those guys

Update 4 Dec.

Most of the population of Mongolia lives in a гэр (gher), which literally means home, but is a circular tent like in the picture below.  When it gets really cold they burn coal to keep their гэр warm.  So every night the nearly the entire population is burning coal.  The result of this is the worst air I have ever had the opportunity to breath.  I have to cough every time I step outside.  That being said its only December so I'm expecting this to get much worse before there is any improvement.  Hopefully I don't develop asthma!

While the air quality is looking pretty bleak, things have still been going well out here in Mongolia.  Steve and Suhkee have returned from America so we're getting back on track with the AIA ministry, and have already started our wrestling bible study again.  I'm also hoping to get the youth group together to go do some singing and games at a few local orphanages in the next couple weeks.  

The month of November was pretty slow as far as the wrestling practices went.  But, because I was one of only a few guys there every day I started to get a little bit connected with one of the coaches.  He started to notice that there were somethings the mongolians could do better than me, but theres also a few things that I'm pretty good at.  Now that the practices are back on and full, this coach has been pairing me up with all of the top guys and the national team (completely regardless of size too, I keep wrestling these 96 and 120 kg guys), so I can give them a different look, and teach them some stuff.  This is good because I'm getting better partners and being pushed harder, but also because I'm getting a lot more connected with the wrestlers and starting develop better relationships.  This is really important for getting the guys to come the bible studies we have.  So please pray for this ministry!

Also my wrist is getting a lot better and I've been able to do a lit of live wrestling lately.  I'm starting to get my intensity back, although I'm still a little behind.  The plan is for me to wrestle at a tournament next weekend 84 kg (185 lbs; I only weigh like 178 lbs) so hopefully that will come together and I can get back on the mat!  

I also had a very nice Thanksgiving with some of the other Americans living in town, and even made my own apple pie.  It was a little burnt but overall successful.  Mongolian ovens, right?  Anyways, I hope everyone at home had a great Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you all over Christmas.  Thank you so much for your support and prayers, keep it up!

Update 19 Nov.

Ulaan Baatar is now covered with snow.  As the temperature slowly, but surely, works its way down so does the pace of life here.  I'm sorry that its been so long since my last update, but the last couple weeks have been pretty routine as I've mostly been on my own.

The youth group I'm leading has been going very well and thank you for your prayers.  A couple of the kids and I have been practicing and have started to put some worship music together so that is a nice addition.  The kids are great and a pleasure to be around.  They are also mostly all missionary kids so it has been my goal to get them talking as much as possible in the bible studies, because I'm pretty sure they have more to teach me than I can teach them.  This has been successful so far and they said that its the most discussion they've had at youth group since they can remember.  

The PE class I've been teaching is also going very well.  I was able to help arrange for a gym we can use so that they can continue to have PE through the cold months.  Although they had a little bit of an advantage on me playing soccer, I ball them up on a daily basis in basketball so thats a breath of fresh air. 

I don't know why but for the last few weeks there have been very few people wrestling and practicing, so I've been a little limited there but I'm hoping that will pick up again soon.  Thank you so much for your support and your prayers and have a happy Thanksgiving! (I found some American people to celebrate with here) 

Open pot holes like this are far too common of an occurrence around here.  On a side note, they do provide housing for most of the homeless population.

Update 4 Nov.

Sorry for the delay- I was waiting to get some pictures up, but I'll just have to add them later.  Our trip to the prison on Monday went very well.  We played their team in basketball and fortunately we had two 7' American guys with us (who are playing in the professional league here) because we hardly pulled out a win.  My shots weren't really falling to be honest.  The prisoners were tough players but nice guys when we talked and we took pictures and gave them shirts.  We didn't get to do our program in front of the whole prison which was a bummer, but a lot of guys kept wandering in until it was really packed by the end.  Overall it was good and it also had a pretty big affect on some of the Mongolian wrestlers who came with us.

This week we also started a bible study with some of the wrestlers here.  I'm interested to watch it transform because a lot of the guys seem pretty skeptical but also pretty interested in coming.  So pray for the study, and these guys!  At practice I wrestled the woman who got 2nd in the world in 2009.  She was pretty fierce and pretty intent on trying to hurt me, but I came out unscathed and I don't think I gave up a point either.

Thanks for your support and keep me in your prayers!  It's starting to get cold as we enter the winter and I'm on my own for the rest of November-  as Steve and Suhkee will be in America.  I'll still be doing some bible studies, running a youth group and trying to do some community outreach with them, as well as teaching PE.  Hope all is well!

Oh and I should get some pictures up in the next couple days!

Update 26 Oct.

Our AIA conference went very well this week.  We had about 50 people come the first day and about 30 people the next two days.  Although we hoped for a little more in attendance it was pretty good for the first year of doing a conference.  The conference was mostly in Mongolian and mainly about how to use sports as a platform for ministry.  I think most people got a lot out of it and also connected to other motivated people in the area.

Two Americans, Dave and Larry, who work with AIA came out for the conference, so on the weekend we got to entertain them and take them out of the city a little.  I had some horse issues so i didn't really go riding but they did.  Next week Steve, Suhkee, some wrestlers, hopefully an American basketball player and I are going to a prison to play some sports, and talk to the guys there so please pray for this opportunity.

Thank you so much for your support and let me know if you have any questions, jesse.stafford@yahoo.com!

Update 18 Oct.

In Mongolia the concept of personal space doesn't seem to exist.  This missing piece of etiquette creates a very interesting cultural experience for me everyday as try to ride the bus home from wrestling practice during rush hour.  Daily, as the correct bus pulls up (I've boarded the wrong bus on multiple occasions, but I've pretty much got it down to a science) I have to decide in my mind whether or not I honestly think I'll fit on the bus.  Every time I go for it.  Every time I'm surprised to feel at least 20 more people follow me and also manage to fit on the bus.  No where in America have a ever been in such a tight space, and let me add that no one pushes and elbows more than the little old ladies.  Somedays I just walk, because riding the bus takes a lot of energy.

Thank you for your prayers this far, I've actually survived a full month!  On Friday I started leading a youth group with many of the local missionary kids.  This was certainly a step outside my comfort zone but it went fairly well.  Please continue to pray for this ministry and that I would connect with these kids.  This week we have our Athletes In Action conference here in Ulaan Baatar.  Many local athletes will hopefully come and learn how they can use their sports passion and connections for ministry.  Please pray for this conference.

This week during one of my language lessons I found out my teacher, Doko, is a christian and had a very interesting conversation with her.  She has been struggling with some of her family who have been drawn to the shamanistic worship lately after the recent death of a family member.  I recently read The Spirit of the Rainforest by Mark Andrew Ritchie (which I highly recommend) and learned a lot about shamanistic practices and it is a very scary thing so please pray for her and her family.

Thank you for your support and sorry for my inconsistency, I'll try and be better about that!  Keep me in your prayers please!

Update

Over the last few weeks this puppy, who has been living in the courtyard of my apartment complex, has become one of my friends here in Mongolia.  It is with a heavy heart, however, that I inform you I found him frozen and dead on the side of the road (not the first dog I've seen like this) just the other day.  It was a little hard to take, but I'm doing alright now.  I'm sure he will at least be preserved throughout the winter.  On a more positive note, I'm beginning to get much busier and connected here in Mongolia. 

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go hiking up in the mountains, south of the city, with Steve.  We hiked up a couple of miles to where we had a pretty good view of the city, and also saw some buddhist and pagan shrines (or monuments I don't really know what to call them).  I learned that when you're walking through a gear, where the yurts are, you need to always carry a rock for protection from dogs.  That was a valuable lesson.  

On Tuesday I went with Steve and Sukhee, as the AIA team, to the Mongolian Campus Crusade Day of Prayer.  Although it was mostly in Mongolian, it was good to see and meet other Christians working in the area.  I also traveled to a new wrestling club with Steve and Sukhee, where it was mostly younger wrestlers.  We showed some technique there and then I wrestled their three best guys for five takedowns.  I was forced to be very passive because of my wrist, but still managed to win all the takedowns.  Steve then shared his testimony and we gave out shirts and the AIA Book of John to all the kids.  I also gave singlets to the kids I wrestled.  

This week I started my first day as a PE teacher at a local international school.  I should continue to do that on tuesdays and thursdays throughout the year.  I also met with one of the local moms about helping out with the a youth group in the area.  I will start helping out and eventually leading that next friday.

Please pray for these ministry opportunities.  Also there is a wrestler my age from North Dakota who may be coming out here to help AIA and all I'm doing.  It would be great to have him as a room mate and partner in my endeavors, so please pray that will work out as well.  

Thank you for your support! Please ask me questions or call me on Skype because I miss you all and would love to chat!

Update

I've been here about two weeks now and I'm starting to get the hang of things.  Steve and Sukhee were gone at an AIA conference this week so I didn't really have a choice but to figure things out on my own.

I got to go watch the "Guinness World Record" Wrestling tournament with 6,002 Mongolian wrestlers with a journalist I met Tim, and a wrestler, Minga, who wrestled at St. Johns University in Minnesota.  It was interesting to watch and very clear that there is much bigger appreciation for wrestling here, than in the US.  It was also interesting to see how every one competed together.  Because there are no weight classes usually the big guys win, but there a lot of small guys who compete, and also really old guys (like in their 60's and 70's).

I also got to see the city a little bit with Cindy and her sister Jill, who was in town.  I've been getting down to the gym and wrestling pretty much everyday and I'm starting to get much more connected with guys there.  It helps having Minga there because he speaks English and can communicate why I can't go live (my wrist).  This doesn't always help because still the other day I was "drilling" with a guy and he decided to go a little harder and threw me on my head, he got me pretty good to put it lightly.  But I'm good to go now!

I've been sitting around a little more than I like these last few days, but I'm excited for some opportunities ahead.  I'm going to try and start a wrestling club at one of the local international schools and I'm praying that it will work at.  Also I'm trying to get a youth group going at another local school so please pray for these opportunities!  And my wrist because I really want to get going on the mat!

Thanks for your support!

Settling In

I arrived safely in Ulan Bator (or Ulaanbataar, theres like 6 different spellings) on Saturday night.  On Sunday I got to live the Mongolian dream with the Barrett's and another missionary-type family working for Samaritan's Purse.  We left town driving for about an hour (driving in Mongolia is an adventure all in itself) to a National Park.  First we came across a kazakh bird keeper and I had the opportunity to hold a six foot vulture which towered over the two fully grown golden eagles he had.  Then we had lunch at a nice lodge and of course went horse back riding on mongolian horses.

Since then its been all about getting settled in, getting sim cards, unlocking my iPhone, learning to get around, learning to shop, getting a visa, etc.  I've quickly learned that if you get anything accomplished here its a good day because even the simplest tasks can end up being impossible, or just taking the entire day.

I also have been able to get into local wrestling gyms the last three days.  The first gym I went to had no one my size or age (it was mostly little kids) but I got to drill some Steve Barrett which posed plenty of a challenge.  The last two days I went to the Sport Palace where the national team wrestlers train for the most part.  I jumped in and drilled with the guys there but they sometimes have trouble understanding that I can't wrestle live because of my wrist.  Needless to say I'm anxious to be ready to go and so are they, plus there are a lot of tough looking guys I'm excited to go after.  I also met a journalist Tim who was a college wrestler at Virginia State and is writing about the national style of wrestling here.  I'll get to work out with him some over the next week or so.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to start taking Mongolian language classes, but I usually gotta see it, to believe it with plans out here so we'll see.  Other than that, I'm excited to keep getting more connected, I should start helping with a couple youth groups, and start teaching english classes at a university in the next month.  Please keep me in your prayers and let me know if you have any questions! 

Leaving for Mongolia!

Hi! I’m Jesse Stafford and if you didn’t already know I am about to fly out to Mongolia where I’ll be based until next July.  I had a great year at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs but when I learned about an awesome opportunity to travel to Mongolia as an intern for Athletes in Action for a year I decided to hang it up (just kidding I am actually planning to return the USAF Academy next July as a sophomore). 

On Friday, September 16, 2011 I will fly out of San Francisco and travel to Ulan Bator, the capitol of Mongolia (also the coldest capitol in the world evidently).   I will be living in an apartment there, and working as an intern under Stephen Barrett.  At this point I expect to be doing things like teaching English classes, helping out with AIA camps, and connecting with the local kids through wrestling, sports and bible studies.  I will also have the opportunity to do a lot of wrestling and training.

While I’m out there my parent’s and I will be continuing to update this blog with info about  what’s going on.  I would love to have your prayer support and if you would like to pray for me on a regular basis feel free to email me at jesse.stafford@yahoo.com for specific things to pray about!  Thank you for your support and I’m excited to head out!

Right now I’d appreciate your prayers for:

AIA’s Mongolian Ministry!

Continued recovery from my June wrist surgery.

That God would prepare me for the adventure that lies ahead!

Also if you have questions feel free to email me or even post them on this blog