10th Anniversary

Today marks the 10th anniversary of our arrival in Mongolia as a family. Kristie and I visited in July 1997. I made a trip in the spring of 2001 to arrange for housing and visas. But it was not until September 24, 2011 that we arrived in Mongolia as a family.

At that time, we only had three children. Emily was not yet three and probably does not remember our arrival.

It was less than two weeks after the tragic events of September 11, and there was still significant uncertainty about more attacks or the United States’s response to the attacks. Some American friends of ours had placed a U.S. flag in a prominent position in their home. The U.S. Embassy in Mongolia had extra security.

Two pictures give you an idea how much our family has changed. In the first picture, Kristie and three kids (Elsie was not yet born) are sitting with our Mongolian friends and Kristie’s mother. One of the young ladies in the picture has her own child now. And we’ve added Elsie as you can see in the picture at the bottom.

A lot has changed in the world, in the U.S., in Mongolia, and in our family since that day that we arrived.

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