RETREAT!!!

I get into Ulaanbaatar about 1130 Pm Thurs night after 28 mostly sleepless hours.  Friday afternoon, I am headed for a camp out in the cold Mongolian Fall.

The idea is Excellent.  Each academic unit takes a beginning of the academic year retreat with all the students (freshman-seniors).  It’s an overnight, and ours is located near the outskirts of town, less than a quarter-mile from the river that waters Ulaanbaatar.

We sleep in gers.  This is the ubiquitous round tents that have been used by Mongol nomads for hundreds of years.  We’ll save more on gers for another post.

Friday night we have a meal together.  Afterwards I give a very short talk on “What is Success?”.  As soon as I am done, I drag my weary sleep-deprived body to the hard bed of the ger.  I slip into the borrowed sleeping bag and am out cold, until… yes, I have to go to the bathroom.

As I peer into the dim light of the ger I notice a lady sitting there rocking a 1-2 year old.  Oops, I am in my underwear in the bed.  After a few minutes, to my delight she leaves.  Tragedy averted.

Our ger is located a bit too close to the meeting hall where energetic students are playing music very loudly.  Promptly at midnight it is silenced.  Alas another bathroom call is necessary.

Back to sleep until 4:50 when I make my last long cold trip to the outhouse, yeah I hadn’t mentioned that.  As I wander back to bed I notice that some of the student gers are still filled with conversation and laughter. Oh to be young again- NOT.  I think sleeping is a fine activity.

Saturday afternoon, the bus comes to take us back to the Uni.  I have had some good conversations, some good food, some good sleep (emphasis on “some”), and a real appreciation for how much this university cares for its students and that they become more than just names to the faculty.

The students’ energy is impressive.  Mostly however, I am impressed at how these students value relationships more than sleep.  It seems to me that the universities, and indeed the world is full of people who are desperately wanting relationship.  Relationship with other people is great, but if we are smart, our real goal is to have a deeper relationship with The Christ, than with any other.  I think that human relationships are simply practice for the real deal.