This week has been a big change from the week before. A lot slower paced with much less going on. In all likelihood it is because almost all of the staff were gone to UB doing stuff at the national office. It didn’t help that the English teacher I work with was also gone as that takes a lot of my time. I had been offered to go to UB as well but told that because everyone was going to be in meetings I wouldn’t have much to do. I thought it better to stay as I could take teach the English classes still. Well, that didn’t work out.
I’ll start with last Friday.
After work I met up with Ethan (Peace corps volunteer/PCV) at 4th school where he teaches to go to Darlene’s (PCV) ger for some dinner. It was a bit of a long walk as it shifted from twilight to dark. Their friend Matt (PCV) was visiting from another soum as he was on his way to UB. Matt is the only foreigner in his small town of less than a thousand so I guess it was nice for him to have people to speak English with. There is also only 1 phone in his town at the post office, with no cellular service. He was a Spanish major, lived in Argentina and Chile for 2 years and yet they sent him to Mongolia.
We made rolls with Vietnamese rice paper which is a thin, stiff, round, translucent sheet that you drop in water for a second and it is soft and ready to roll. Darlene is a vegetarian so we cooked up carrots, potatoes, noodles, and tofu to put in them to be dipped in some tasty peanut butter sauce. They were a little messy as the ingredients are a little heavy compared to the usual lettuce and meat that you normally put in.
Darlene also made some cookies, most of which were in some form burned. We of course gave her a lot of flak for that but all the same enjoyed them.
The rest of the night we chitchatted and played some games. We played Euchre first because I guess that’s what a lot of PCV’s do to which Darlene was highly resistant to learning. We also played Taboo where I was told that I speak too slowly which they credited to being around people that aren’t native English speakers. Scattergories also made it into the mix.
Matt and I stayed in Darlene’s ger while she and Ethan crashed in his ger. We slept in sleeping bags, sharing an almost double bed. Here I was sleeping in a ger for the first time, next to someone I had only met a few hours earlier.
The next day got Matt and I up early. We walked into town so that he could buy a phonecard. The wind was strong, sweeping along dirt and dust, fortunately it was going the same way as us. We ran out of conversation topics kind of quickly. Later we met up with Darlene and Ethan at Ider Onon for lunch.
Darlene had to tutor some students for the upcoming English Olympics so the three guys went back to her ger to watch a college basketball game that Matt had on dvd. At one point on the way back I noticed Ethan suddenly turned around and started walking backwards. I looked up from the uneven ground I had been watching and saw a big gust of dust coming our way, as if a stampede were rushing us. (when I washed my hair the next day I was surprised to see how much dust it had collected)
The basketball game allowed for a lot of sports talk and the NBA trades that have happened recently, but after that I pretty much fell out of conversation. After watching a whole disc of Arrested Development I found it hard to enter into what they were talking about. First it was the hip-hop music that they listened to growing up. Then it went to PCV stories and tales of their friends’ drunken stupidity.
Sunday I went with Jagaa and Bathuyag to Berkh again. WV was sponsoring a chess competition out there and we were going to film and give out the awards. Unfortunately I found myself on the first day of a cold which meant a runny nose without Kleenex and a million sneezes. My second time in Berkh was a lot different. Last time we went we arrived at sunset, this time we got there midmorning. Last time I went there I was in wonder at the vastness of the white blanket that covered the land. Now the blanket had been removed, revealing endless brown earth. We saw several herders along the way, guiding along their horses, sheep, goats, or camels. Unlike most other towns, a lot of the residences are old Russian apartment buildings, abandoned after they left in 1990.
The award ceremony for the chess tournament was a big deal. 3 young girls dressed up in shiny garb and poofy hair thingies opened it up with some singing. Then medal after medal was awarded to the winners, many winning a small cash prize along with a little certificate.
Monday was a day for the young men of the community. The child participation council and WV decided it needed to get the boys involved. This is a problem that spans most of the country—women are much more active in helping out the community. It was an all day conference that I attended about half of, taking pictures and filming when needed. I think this is so important and I hope that guys are inspired to take initiative. Later in the day we did trash pick up along the main road on the occasion that it was “Development Day.” There was so much garbage. No public trashcans are anywhere to be seen in the city so it gets dumped anywhere and everywhere.
Wednesday I was in the office the whole day helping out the staff that had returned from UB. They brought with them more than a hundred gifts and letters for sponsored children. They then had to translate the letters from English into Mongolian. The problem is that the letters come from either Switzerland or France so you have non-native English speakers writing in English and non-native speakers reading them. I helped them understand the general gist of things when they didn’t understand and explained things that the English to Mongolian dictionary didn’t have. Sometimes it was also a matter of not being able to read the handwriting. At one point I found myself struggling to describe a chinchilla. A nocturnal poofy rat that rolls around in some weird dust, how do you explain that?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
March 8th
I was just sitting outside, enjoying the beauty of the day. That’s right, gone is the cold bitter winter and now spring has finally come. I munched away at an ‘Alibi’ candy bar made in Poland and tried to figure out if it meant something else in Polish and considered all the slogan and ad possibilities with a name like that. Two white lines divided the sky as they went somewhere across the Mongolian blue. If I was savvy enough I could have figured their general place of departure and arrival but I can never remember if the sun sets in the east or the west. I don’t know why I can’t remember that but I can still recite the first 20 elements of the periodic table, thank you very much Mr. Allan.
Today has been a relatively lazy day, which is okay I guess since its Saturday. This is also what is celebrated as “Women’s Day”, which the WV staff had the day off for yesterday. Seems like a good idea to me, I wonder if they celebrate mother’s and father’s day as well. Anyway, I got up late and got myself some breakfast of bread and jam alongside instant coffee before Bathuyag came a knocking at my door. He wanted to take me to the small FM radio station so I could pick whatever songs I wanted played and also to copy them for me. A nice offer but I kind of wanted the day to myself so I told him I would just stay here. I think he was alright with it, he comes by almost everyday and we do stuff together.
I did some cleaning up around here and washed a small batch of clothes. I don’t know why but I like cleaning my clothes by hand, somehow it gets you in a thinking mood or something.
I went for a walk around town and for the first time since coming here it was too hot. As weird as that sounds, I wasn’t prepared for the warmth of the day. I went with my usual 4 or so layers and was getting sweaty by the time I got home.
Anyway, now some catching up. Let’s start with yesterday.
I got up at the usual time for work and while I was eating my breakfast my supervisor, Ganaa, called me from UB(Ulaanbaatar) to let me know that today was “vacation” because of women’s day on the 8th.
A few hours later Bathuyag stopped by my room and offered to take me around town and see some sights. First we went to the “local” museum. It cost me 1000 tugrik to get in because of my foreigner status. As much as I expect it I always hate that even though it’s a lot less money for me than for a local person. The funny thing is that they had to give me 3 tickets (300 t each)for an adult and 2 (50 each) for a child so that it would work out to 1000 total. I guess they don’t try to hide it from you like they do in Thailand.
Anyway after busting out my camera I was told I couldn’t take pictures. Since we are in the capital of the province it was history and famous people from Khentii. There were paintings, old books in the traditional Mongolian script, stuffed animals to represent the variety of wildlife, and more. Bathuyag did his best to explain to me whatever I asked him and also decided to try and snag some pictures with my camera.
After that we went to the library for a little while before we were informed that it was lunch time for the staff. So we decided to take our own lunch nearby. Soup with flour noodles, meat and lots of fat was the meal of choice. At first he wasn’t going to eat but then ran into his high-school buddy that is a cook at the place and wound up getting a free meal.
We then went to the historical museum which I had seen the outside of once before as it was closed the last time I tried to go to. It consists of about 5 old buildings that bore resemblance to Chinese architecture and a ceremonial ger. The buildings are 300 years old and each one was themed differently, one had Buddhist paraphernalia, another sports and games, another traditional household life. I should mention that part of it was a courtyard for a Buddhist temple, while another housed the governor at one time.
Again, here I paid twice as much as Bathuyag and was told that it was going to cost me 500 tugrik for every photo I wanted to take. That just seemed ridiculous to me so I initially avoided that. When we got to the ceremonial ger which was decked out with beautiful wood carvings and furniture we decided to take some pictures and we weren’t charged.
It was good to get out and learn a little history for the day. Bathuyag was nice enough to spend an entire day with me so that I can get some more insight to this country and its people. We spend a lot of time together talking, hanging out, eating meals together. Despite his limited vocabulary and grammar he has an understanding for ideas that goes beyond just words. This is rather unique as others I know that have better knowledge of the English language are not able to communicate as much as he. He isn’t shy and has a good sense of humor, making it all the easier. He says that we have the same mind, even though we are from different cultures, that’s why we are able to understand each other so well. Perhaps.
Today has been a relatively lazy day, which is okay I guess since its Saturday. This is also what is celebrated as “Women’s Day”, which the WV staff had the day off for yesterday. Seems like a good idea to me, I wonder if they celebrate mother’s and father’s day as well. Anyway, I got up late and got myself some breakfast of bread and jam alongside instant coffee before Bathuyag came a knocking at my door. He wanted to take me to the small FM radio station so I could pick whatever songs I wanted played and also to copy them for me. A nice offer but I kind of wanted the day to myself so I told him I would just stay here. I think he was alright with it, he comes by almost everyday and we do stuff together.
I did some cleaning up around here and washed a small batch of clothes. I don’t know why but I like cleaning my clothes by hand, somehow it gets you in a thinking mood or something.
I went for a walk around town and for the first time since coming here it was too hot. As weird as that sounds, I wasn’t prepared for the warmth of the day. I went with my usual 4 or so layers and was getting sweaty by the time I got home.
Anyway, now some catching up. Let’s start with yesterday.
I got up at the usual time for work and while I was eating my breakfast my supervisor, Ganaa, called me from UB(Ulaanbaatar) to let me know that today was “vacation” because of women’s day on the 8th.
A few hours later Bathuyag stopped by my room and offered to take me around town and see some sights. First we went to the “local” museum. It cost me 1000 tugrik to get in because of my foreigner status. As much as I expect it I always hate that even though it’s a lot less money for me than for a local person. The funny thing is that they had to give me 3 tickets (300 t each)for an adult and 2 (50 each) for a child so that it would work out to 1000 total. I guess they don’t try to hide it from you like they do in Thailand.
Anyway after busting out my camera I was told I couldn’t take pictures. Since we are in the capital of the province it was history and famous people from Khentii. There were paintings, old books in the traditional Mongolian script, stuffed animals to represent the variety of wildlife, and more. Bathuyag did his best to explain to me whatever I asked him and also decided to try and snag some pictures with my camera.
After that we went to the library for a little while before we were informed that it was lunch time for the staff. So we decided to take our own lunch nearby. Soup with flour noodles, meat and lots of fat was the meal of choice. At first he wasn’t going to eat but then ran into his high-school buddy that is a cook at the place and wound up getting a free meal.
We then went to the historical museum which I had seen the outside of once before as it was closed the last time I tried to go to. It consists of about 5 old buildings that bore resemblance to Chinese architecture and a ceremonial ger. The buildings are 300 years old and each one was themed differently, one had Buddhist paraphernalia, another sports and games, another traditional household life. I should mention that part of it was a courtyard for a Buddhist temple, while another housed the governor at one time.
Again, here I paid twice as much as Bathuyag and was told that it was going to cost me 500 tugrik for every photo I wanted to take. That just seemed ridiculous to me so I initially avoided that. When we got to the ceremonial ger which was decked out with beautiful wood carvings and furniture we decided to take some pictures and we weren’t charged.
It was good to get out and learn a little history for the day. Bathuyag was nice enough to spend an entire day with me so that I can get some more insight to this country and its people. We spend a lot of time together talking, hanging out, eating meals together. Despite his limited vocabulary and grammar he has an understanding for ideas that goes beyond just words. This is rather unique as others I know that have better knowledge of the English language are not able to communicate as much as he. He isn’t shy and has a good sense of humor, making it all the easier. He says that we have the same mind, even though we are from different cultures, that’s why we are able to understand each other so well. Perhaps.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Kids concert (March 4)
I hung out with a class of disabled children today. I had met them about two weeks earlier when I dropped by to be introduced to the class and see what the work is like for the teachers. Ten kids in all and two teachers to watch over them. Neither of these teachers have training in this specific area, just lots and lots of love for children. It is clear, it exudes from their hearts as they interact and talk with the kids. Many of the kids have been making a lot of progress. Last time I visited, they told me the stories of progress. A lot of them had no way of communicating other than crying or screaming and some of them would soil themselves whenever they had to go. Yet, these kids were all so composed, most of them were able to talk, to the point that I didn’t think that they were disabled. Yet it was clear in the way that they struggled with simple puzzles, which according to the teacher, could be solved by her 3 year old child. One boy can’t talk and is constantly drooling, but he is happy, he keeps handing me pictures and flash cards. He barely has control over his limbs. When asked what his father does for work he puts his hand next to his head, signaling a salute because he is a policeman.
Today we went to a concert. I sat in the front of our vehicle with a kid on my lap while the other 8 and the teacher piled in the back. What struck me was how the older kids, despite their problems, were so very caring. They were really watching out for the younger ones, helping them along, holding their hands.
We ended up in the front row which was a little uncomfortable being so close to the speakers, but convenient for taking pictures. It was an interesting sight. Kids lined up all along the 3 foot high stage, peering over the top in anticipation. Others sat on the stairs, pushing each other off and picking fights. Still others sat on the edge of the stage next to the large black speakers. There were always kids running up and down the aisle. It was like this the entire duration of the concert.
The show was national music, starting with a group of male teens playing the horse-headed fiddle. There were two sort of interpretive or traditional dances. A bunch of solos and duets in the soaring, epic, ballad type songs that are so distinctly Mongolian. Our kids seemed quite into it and I think it was a fun activity for them. One boy had a huge grin on his face as he attempted to clap and express his happiness.
Today we went to a concert. I sat in the front of our vehicle with a kid on my lap while the other 8 and the teacher piled in the back. What struck me was how the older kids, despite their problems, were so very caring. They were really watching out for the younger ones, helping them along, holding their hands.
We ended up in the front row which was a little uncomfortable being so close to the speakers, but convenient for taking pictures. It was an interesting sight. Kids lined up all along the 3 foot high stage, peering over the top in anticipation. Others sat on the stairs, pushing each other off and picking fights. Still others sat on the edge of the stage next to the large black speakers. There were always kids running up and down the aisle. It was like this the entire duration of the concert.
The show was national music, starting with a group of male teens playing the horse-headed fiddle. There were two sort of interpretive or traditional dances. A bunch of solos and duets in the soaring, epic, ballad type songs that are so distinctly Mongolian. Our kids seemed quite into it and I think it was a fun activity for them. One boy had a huge grin on his face as he attempted to clap and express his happiness.
From week 1, getting food
On Friday my supervisor looked at me, concerned, and said, “you have been eating every meal at café, I think not good, not healthy.” I laughed and explained that I didn’t even know where the market was and all the other little details that go along with that. She promptly left the room and next thing I know one of the other staff members came in and said, “Are you free right now? Yes? Ok, let’s go.” I grabbed my duffle bag to put the goods in and off we went.
When I went into the “fresh” area of the “black market” (holds a different meaning here, I promise) all I could think about was how a great deal of people that I know would be put off by the difference in hygiene standards. There were a dozen different vendors selling meat which was cut into huge chunks and sitting out in the open. If you wanted a slab you just picked it up and they weighed it, giving you the price. My piece of meat was put into a plastic bag meant for something much smaller. I really didn’t want to put it in my duffle bag since I often carry my clothes in it. My guide didn’t understand my reticence at putting it in my bag and I tried to explain. She proceeded to take it from me and put it in her purse. Horror and guilt gripped me at the same time. I felt so bad that she did that but wouldn’t let me take it back from her. I gulped and tried to move on as we filled my bag with potatoes, apples, onions and other goods.
We went to at least 3 different stores to pick up the variety of stuff. I discovered that the stuff from Russia is considered better quality than the imports from China. We finally went to one store that I made a note of because they actually listed the price on each object. Important to remember for later so I can shop on my own without someone taking me around, holding my hand and patting me on the head.
With my duffle bag full of food I felt as if I was smuggling something illegal, its contents concealed.
When I went into the “fresh” area of the “black market” (holds a different meaning here, I promise) all I could think about was how a great deal of people that I know would be put off by the difference in hygiene standards. There were a dozen different vendors selling meat which was cut into huge chunks and sitting out in the open. If you wanted a slab you just picked it up and they weighed it, giving you the price. My piece of meat was put into a plastic bag meant for something much smaller. I really didn’t want to put it in my duffle bag since I often carry my clothes in it. My guide didn’t understand my reticence at putting it in my bag and I tried to explain. She proceeded to take it from me and put it in her purse. Horror and guilt gripped me at the same time. I felt so bad that she did that but wouldn’t let me take it back from her. I gulped and tried to move on as we filled my bag with potatoes, apples, onions and other goods.
We went to at least 3 different stores to pick up the variety of stuff. I discovered that the stuff from Russia is considered better quality than the imports from China. We finally went to one store that I made a note of because they actually listed the price on each object. Important to remember for later so I can shop on my own without someone taking me around, holding my hand and patting me on the head.
With my duffle bag full of food I felt as if I was smuggling something illegal, its contents concealed.
STEP (Feb 12-13)
(this was written a little while ago, so this is a little…outdated?)Last week Tuesday through Thursday we were traveling doing STEP (Sponsorship Tracking and Enhancement Program) surveys among families that have registered children. This is done once a year to check up on the sponsored children, updating the documented information so that they can consider how to better serve the community. A total of 25 of us went on the trip, comprised of a community based organization’s staff and World Vision staff.
Tuesday morning we were scheduled to leave at 7am but we left at quarter till 8 as everyone scurried to get last minute things ready for the trip. Since it was supposed to be colder in these other “soums” (the country is broken down into aimags [provinces], soums, then baghs) I was equipped with much thicker, warmer clothing. It turned out that it actually warmer than in Undurkhaan. Oh well.
At one point in our journey we went through a place called “Moron.”
Sometime around 11 we arrived in Umnudelger, after a quick lunch we began surveying people, going from ger to ger. I went with Saikhna and a local “volunteer mother” who guided us through the 40 something interviews. Each home we went to without fail gave us a cup of milk-tea and candy. I think by the end of the day I had gone through something like 20 cups of tea.
I felt useless and helpless because really there wasn’t a whole lot I could do as we went from house to house. I could only observe and try to learn more about the people and the culture from the interactions and hospitality. Other than that I would ask questions and they would give me insights into each family along the way. On the second day one of the staff joked that it was my job to just eat for those two days.
We were able to complete our surveys ahead of schedule, filling out around 1000 in a matter of hours. We moved on to Binder and arrived there in the evening. As it turned out the hotel wasn’t big enough to hold all the staff so the 7 guys went to another “hotel” which was actually a 1 room cabin with a lot of beds. We had dinner and watched some movie on the tiny tv and joked that the Coca Cola we had was beer and the Orange Fanta was Whiskey. Dinner was noodles, meat, and pickled veggies.
In the morning we ate what we had the night before for breakfast. I had wondered why no one was finishing off their plate or bowl. I had finished off mine, deciding not to go with the cues I had observed. The interesting thing was that we were brought green tea and that was used as soup for the noodles. Wasn’t too bad actually. The guys found a small tractor outside and were goofing around on it which made for some fun photo-taking.
This day was very similar to the previous except that I tagged along with Solongo, “Soko”, as we conducted our interviews. We also had a lot less surveys to do. The volunteer mother that guided us through the maze of gers had us over for lunch which consisted of buuz of course. She showed me her son’s artwork that had won him some awards and was put on display at school. I also had the privilege of eating some of her vegetables that she had pickled herself. She had received training on how to grow vegetables and was developing ideas of her own based on what she had learned.
Right before we left we had a ceremony for the deep water well that WV had built. Most of the people in the community had to walk long distances to get freshwater before, but this one cut the distance in half. Since there wasn’t a long piece of ribbon I guess we improvised and tied a series of them together to make the ceremony official.
I also have a confession. One of our interviewees was at school, so we had to drop by there. We stopped in during chess class and they asked me if I wanted to play. So I was pitted against a cute little 7 year old girl who was so serious and quiet the whole match. Yeah, she beat me. I could say I let her win, but no, I was destroyed by her. There, it’s out, happy now?
Tuesday morning we were scheduled to leave at 7am but we left at quarter till 8 as everyone scurried to get last minute things ready for the trip. Since it was supposed to be colder in these other “soums” (the country is broken down into aimags [provinces], soums, then baghs) I was equipped with much thicker, warmer clothing. It turned out that it actually warmer than in Undurkhaan. Oh well.
At one point in our journey we went through a place called “Moron.”
Sometime around 11 we arrived in Umnudelger, after a quick lunch we began surveying people, going from ger to ger. I went with Saikhna and a local “volunteer mother” who guided us through the 40 something interviews. Each home we went to without fail gave us a cup of milk-tea and candy. I think by the end of the day I had gone through something like 20 cups of tea.
I felt useless and helpless because really there wasn’t a whole lot I could do as we went from house to house. I could only observe and try to learn more about the people and the culture from the interactions and hospitality. Other than that I would ask questions and they would give me insights into each family along the way. On the second day one of the staff joked that it was my job to just eat for those two days.
We were able to complete our surveys ahead of schedule, filling out around 1000 in a matter of hours. We moved on to Binder and arrived there in the evening. As it turned out the hotel wasn’t big enough to hold all the staff so the 7 guys went to another “hotel” which was actually a 1 room cabin with a lot of beds. We had dinner and watched some movie on the tiny tv and joked that the Coca Cola we had was beer and the Orange Fanta was Whiskey. Dinner was noodles, meat, and pickled veggies.
In the morning we ate what we had the night before for breakfast. I had wondered why no one was finishing off their plate or bowl. I had finished off mine, deciding not to go with the cues I had observed. The interesting thing was that we were brought green tea and that was used as soup for the noodles. Wasn’t too bad actually. The guys found a small tractor outside and were goofing around on it which made for some fun photo-taking.
This day was very similar to the previous except that I tagged along with Solongo, “Soko”, as we conducted our interviews. We also had a lot less surveys to do. The volunteer mother that guided us through the maze of gers had us over for lunch which consisted of buuz of course. She showed me her son’s artwork that had won him some awards and was put on display at school. I also had the privilege of eating some of her vegetables that she had pickled herself. She had received training on how to grow vegetables and was developing ideas of her own based on what she had learned.
Right before we left we had a ceremony for the deep water well that WV had built. Most of the people in the community had to walk long distances to get freshwater before, but this one cut the distance in half. Since there wasn’t a long piece of ribbon I guess we improvised and tied a series of them together to make the ceremony official.
I also have a confession. One of our interviewees was at school, so we had to drop by there. We stopped in during chess class and they asked me if I wanted to play. So I was pitted against a cute little 7 year old girl who was so serious and quiet the whole match. Yeah, she beat me. I could say I let her win, but no, I was destroyed by her. There, it’s out, happy now?
Monday, March 3, 2008
Priesthood
Prayer isn’t meant to be on our own behalf. We are “like living stones…being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” it says in 1 Peter 2:5. This is again repeated four verses later, saying that we are a chosen people.
What is this whole priesthood thing about anyway? I had always read this in reference to what the author of Hebrews talks about. He says that Christ’s death on our behalf, his expiating blood, is the ultimate sacrifice—perfect, so that no more blood need be shed for our sin (ch.8-10). Thus, Christ is the mediator between us and God, allowing us to enter the “Most Holy Place” (10:19). What a privilege, for only the high priest was allowed to under the old covenant, and at that once a year. This means that we are able to draw near to God in ways that were off limits before. I had always thought that this emphasized the individuality of our faith, that we can truly be in close relationship to the Father because of what Christ, the Highest Priest, has done for us.
Then I read “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers that changed my thinking. The entry for June 21 suggests something completely opposite about being a part of the priesthood. He said it is not about looking inward and working out our salvation. That is self-centered with the wrong perspective. Instead, we are to look outward.
I was pretty surprised when I read this, but then I started thinking about the priestly duties. They were a select group, chosen to serve the people by making sacrifices and atonement for them. Said differently, their life was dedicated not to themselves but to others. Their life was no small sacrifice, it is quite a duty to be responsible for so many people.
When Peter wrote about us being a priesthood, I think it was with this mindset (he was after all, living in the time of the temple). I think it is difficult to grasp as we don’t have that context or familiarity with all that a priest does. Chambers says that our focus needs to be on praying for the saints. This is the ministry of the priesthood, that we intercede on behalf of others, not ourselves.
Are we, as royal priests, working on behalf of others? Or are we ministering to ourselves, concerned about our own issues, thus denying our priestly duties? We are to be praying for one another. Christ has got your back, so quit focusing on yourself. Pray for the saints.
Let’s face it, we all need prayer. But if we spend too much time praying for ourselves, that is one man’s gain. If we pray for others then how much greater is the covering of our prayer? If we are all praying for our brothers and sisters then that means instead of you only praying for yourself you got your whole family lifting you up.
Pray for the saints.
What is this whole priesthood thing about anyway? I had always read this in reference to what the author of Hebrews talks about. He says that Christ’s death on our behalf, his expiating blood, is the ultimate sacrifice—perfect, so that no more blood need be shed for our sin (ch.8-10). Thus, Christ is the mediator between us and God, allowing us to enter the “Most Holy Place” (10:19). What a privilege, for only the high priest was allowed to under the old covenant, and at that once a year. This means that we are able to draw near to God in ways that were off limits before. I had always thought that this emphasized the individuality of our faith, that we can truly be in close relationship to the Father because of what Christ, the Highest Priest, has done for us.
Then I read “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers that changed my thinking. The entry for June 21 suggests something completely opposite about being a part of the priesthood. He said it is not about looking inward and working out our salvation. That is self-centered with the wrong perspective. Instead, we are to look outward.
I was pretty surprised when I read this, but then I started thinking about the priestly duties. They were a select group, chosen to serve the people by making sacrifices and atonement for them. Said differently, their life was dedicated not to themselves but to others. Their life was no small sacrifice, it is quite a duty to be responsible for so many people.
When Peter wrote about us being a priesthood, I think it was with this mindset (he was after all, living in the time of the temple). I think it is difficult to grasp as we don’t have that context or familiarity with all that a priest does. Chambers says that our focus needs to be on praying for the saints. This is the ministry of the priesthood, that we intercede on behalf of others, not ourselves.
Are we, as royal priests, working on behalf of others? Or are we ministering to ourselves, concerned about our own issues, thus denying our priestly duties? We are to be praying for one another. Christ has got your back, so quit focusing on yourself. Pray for the saints.
Let’s face it, we all need prayer. But if we spend too much time praying for ourselves, that is one man’s gain. If we pray for others then how much greater is the covering of our prayer? If we are all praying for our brothers and sisters then that means instead of you only praying for yourself you got your whole family lifting you up.
Pray for the saints.
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