Eight Months

Time here is going quickly.  Each week we see new things  There are always new people to meet and new experiences!

Our Mission President and wife are finished their assignment next week so there have been extra activities as everyone wants to wish them farewell.  As senior couples, we get invited to share!

Patriarch Batbayar,  Sister Buted, President and Sister Clark
at the 20th Anniversary Celebration  

One night we were invited to the "Summer Home" of the Mongolian Patriarch and his wife, a very famous opera singer in Mongolia.  It seems that many people go to the countryside for summer.  In many cases, it is a home just on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, but away from the apartments of the middle of the city.  They have a nice home and yard (as she explained, "Our gardens are not like those in North America".)

They added a new green house this year and inside are many squash,
eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and flowers.  It is an
ambitious project!!

 They get their water from a well and then into a barrel up on a platform and then by gravity through a hose and then by bucket to the individual plants.



















She has many bushes of berries but to get an English translation for the names was tricky.  There were green gooseberries and what seemed like variety of raspberries but we will just have to go back later in the season to see what they really are!!





 Her sister and two of her grandchildren were visiting there too.

They fed us a lovely Mongolian meal and then we were favored with songs by three of her graduating music students from the Dance and Music College where she has been a teacher.  They also helped with the serving and cleanup of the meal.  It was a very special evening and we loved the Mongolian music and company.

Sister Buted and her students

They sure liked the food!!

She wrote a song for her husband

 a few years ago about

 "Snow in Autumn"

 and performed it for us.

No Mongolian home would be complete without a dog.  This one is the "Mongolian Dog" breed, BANKHAR??  He was not vicious!

For the past few months we have been assigned to organize Family Home Evening for the Young Single Adults.  Apparently some of the wards have their own, but they still hold one at the main building for those who are interested.  It is always a bit stressful to think up the food and activity but has  turned out to be a fun evening every time.  One week we talked about the early pioneers of the Church.  They are all pioneers here because most are the only members in their families and the Church has only been in Mongolia for 20 years.  For our activity that night we did some pioneer games.

Bubble blowing contest thanks to Barb's
sister-in-law Melissa, who sent us Bubble Gum!!

BONES - a Mongolian pioneer game (and still popular)
using the ankle bones of Sheep - there are lots of variations to the game

It has been raining all night and continues today.  We walked to the Hospital for a meeting with the Director this morning regarding the possibility of getting a lithotripsy machine (for blasting Kidney Stones).  It is a project we have been working on for a few months.  It was so wet with big puddles of water everywhere that we came home just soaked.  There are lots of cute and colorful umbrellas here!
But too rainy to take a picture!! 

Life is Good and All is Well - looking forward to TREK next week.

Some Roads Less Travelled

We had the opportunity to go out into the "Countryside" last weekend.  In a remote spot we visited with one of the potential members of the "Virtual Branch".  Because Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country in the world, there are members of the Church in many far away places.  They are trying to get a "Virtual Branch" started.  It works by having the people call into a central location and then conduct Sacrament Meeting over the phone.














  On one occasion a herder called in and when they took the roll, he reported at his location, (out on a hillside somewhere),

 there was one person and 300 sheep!

We had an excellent driver with an old Russian Van.  It was "OFF ROADING" to the maximum!  He managed to pull a group of German Tourists out of the mud in a very far away place.  Then just a few kilometers later they pushed out a big family in a stuck van and  got them on their way.

Now this is one way to make a road "less travelled"!
It is just about ready for a coat of asphalt and they
didn't want anyone to drive on it!!

The traffic in Ulaanbaatar is unbelievable but they are working on many roads so things should improve!

















We went on some really interesting roads (paved, trails, tracks, rivers, gullies!!).  When driving they just choose which one looks the best and then go for it!!  It sure is a good idea to have a driver from the area so they have an idea which trail to take at the junctions!

The roads are not just used by cars and vans, but
the drivers must be constantly watching for others
crossing as well.  They just lay on their horns and
never seem to hit an animal!!

Needless to say, we have a lot of pictures!!


 Mongolia is a
 "National Geographic" paradise!!




The people, the scenery, the animals and the history - - -

Typical Mongolian cowboys - they have a different way of "roping"

Did not know that camels shed in the late spring

Some of the many Stupas

The "Ger Girl" getting our fire ready -
using several kinds of Dung
It burned well and didn't smell too much!!

Ger doors seem to always be Orange and face South.










We got to visit another hospital, this time in Bulgan.  It was very clean and the Head of Internal Medicine was a pleasant and knowledgeable lady.  We felt the missionaries would be well treated there.  Cal even made a house call to the missionaries in Darkhan, and visited 6 others in Erdenet.  Another Senior Couple travelled with us, the Farmer's.  They are responsible for Family History so had teaching sessions and helped members in both Bulgan and Erdenet.  The Mongolian people are very excited about working on their family history.  All in all, it was a very productive weekend.

Life here is good and All is Well

YOUNG and OLD

One of the big celebrations in Mongolia is Children's Day.  It is sometimes called MOTHER'S and CHILDREN'S Day.  It is always on June 1.  Children get new clothes and gifts and go out with their families to have fun.  It was amazing to see all the families, fathers, mothers and kids,  and grandparents, enjoying the beautiful day by going to the children's park, gathering on Sukhbaatar Square, taking pictures or having a picnic.  Fathers were very visible and appear to really play a role in their children's lives.  It seems that the family emphasis in the Church is a big drawing point for investigators here.

  The crowds were unbelievable, spilling out of the big square and filling the roads on both sides which were blocked off to traffic.

Yes, there is a man under there!

An unexpected surprise happened when the "Peking to Paris" Road Rally rolled into the Chinggis Khaan Hotel, right across the street from us!  It was exciting (even if we know nothing about old cars!) to see all the different vehicles.  This is the fifth running, the first being in 1907!!  We talked to people from New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Austria, Miami, Japan, etc.  We read that there are 97 cars from 26 different countries.  Each has a navigator and a driver. The total distance is 12247 km. over 33 days.

When they arrived they were all just covered in dust from the stretch across the Gobi Desert - hard to imagine that they could even keep them running through those bumpy, dusty areas.  Saturday was a rest day for them so they were all tuning up their motors, cleaning brakes (and everything else), and generally restocking.  Lots of people were around to show off their cars and visit.  These pictures are the morning they headed out on the next leg.

It was hard to choose just a few - I saw a blog about the preparation for the VW #55 - quite an undertaking!!

We get new missionaries today - back from their MTC stay in the Philippines - it is always exciting to see their enthusiasm and commitment to do what is right!!  We really try to keep them healthy and safe!

Life is Good and All is well.