Elections were yesterday (Sunday), and the results are in. For the first time in history Mongolia has elected a president from the Democratic Party. Elbegdorj is officially the president-elect. Today Erik and I went down to the square to witness the historic occasion and hear Elbegdorj's acceptance speech - and to take some pictures. Thousands of Mongolians gathered at Suhkbaatar Square and we were right there in the middle of it all. We ran into the old guy who works as a guard in our building, and he acted as a guide to take us right toward the front of the party.
The Mongolian people who gathered at the square today were happy and hopeful. There were cries of "Freedom" and "Change has come", as well as "Hoorah's" for the new president-elect.
This old man is a bottle collector. He collects empty bottles for a living. He doesn't have much of a living. He wandered silently into the crowd. No one paid him a lot of attention, folks were looking to catch a glimpse of their new president. I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. Was he for the new guy or was he sad that the former president was gone? Does he see this as a day of hope, or is one president as good as another to him? After all, he collects plastic bottles for a living. I'd like to know what was going through his head. He's seen change. What were his dreams as a young man? I'm not thinking collecting bottles was part of it.
Shortly after that, another fellow who had already been celebrating with a bottle of vodka came up to us and asked if we were Russian. After explaining that we were Americans he informed us that "Communism is finished" and went on to explain how nice it will be to have change. He kept smiling, shaking his head and saying "saihan uurchulson" (The Change is Nice) I am glad the people are generally hopeful. However, hope is ultimately in the Gospel. I pray that Jesus uses this change in leadership for the sake of His Kingdom and the Gospel.