PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS

Mongolia is an amazingly diverse country. We have had a chance to see so many things over the past few months!!

On the way to Darkhan we happened upon a herd of camels - often see sheep, goats, horses and cattle but it is not too common to see camels!  There were over 100 in this herd!

At the entrance to Darkhan there is a huge statue made of various kinds of metal parts, a sewing machine, tire rims, kitchen sink, filing cabinets, etc., etc.

Ulaanbaatar has become the Hollywood North for a while so the props are appearing near the Square.

In our apartment we use filtered water.  There is a little pin on the end of the faucet and when it is pulled out the water that comes from the side spout is filtered.  We use it for brushing teeth and drinking.  I always think of Jane Wilde when we use the filtered water to wash our fruit and vegetables with a bit of bleach. When they served in Africa, they too washed their produce in bleach water and that was the first I had heard of such a thing!!

One of the Sisters in our branch has a big garden out by the river where there are many "community" gardens.  She asked us to go out one Saturday to help harvest some of her produce.  It was about a 30 minute walk from the end of the bus route.  She was working on her onions that day and we helped her dig 14 gunny sacks of onions.  She had been at it since 5 in the morning and we finished about 5:30 in the afternoon - a hard worker to say the least!!  I think she must sell them to some of the little markets.

At the end of August we were able to travel with the Young Single Adults to a Conference that was held at the same location as the Handcart Trek.  We got to experience another train ride overnight and enjoy the company of about 200 young adults.  They had a great time mingling and getting to know other members from all over Mongolia.  They had lots of activities including pyramid building and wrestling Mongolian style.

Almost looks like a Stewart Christmas pyramid!

Some of the girls did the Hula for the Talent Show

And the guys did the HAKA

The girls participated in a cross country race

In traditional Mongolian Wrestling there are not many rules,
first one to touch the ground with anything but feet or hands loses!

The winner always STRUTS around the flag!

There have been two different events with cars arriving at the Chinggis Hotel across from our apartment.  The first was the "Peking to Paris" vintage cars with Ulaanbaatar as one stop on the way.  Now we have the MONGOL RALLY finishing here. They started in London England and arrive in UB, 10,000 miles later.  These are just little cars, and the first one arrived on July 26 and the 207th one came in on September 15! They are a bit strung out!!

For our District Conference some of the men went out visiting people they had not seen for a while.  The terrain is often challenging, not necessarily car friendly!!  

They took a bit of basic food for the family

Not your average "Bridge"

The road was not really meant for cars! He found out the hard way!

A cute little kid soaking up the sun outside his home

We went to the "Horse Parade" there were more than 10,000 horses - a new "Guiness Record"!

On their way to the start of the parade

In the "thing" category, a very interesting Dog House and "shaggy" dog!.

SOME CUTE KIDS

One last picture - the tallest missionary in our mission and the shortest one - they were companions!!

Here with Parker and Matt and their new MONGOLIAN ties.

As you can tell there are lots of People, Places and Things!!

AND REMEMBER, THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM!
This week's IDIOM for English class!

Life is Good and All is Well . . .

GRANDKIDS in MONGOLIA - Part 3

Saturday each of the four kids were able to spend the whole day with missionaries out visiting and doing what Missionaries do.  It was a wonderful chance to actually see first hand and participate in the meetings.  They were inspired by the service of the young people here in Mongolia.  It was definitely one of their highlights!!

Sister Matthews,  Carolyn,  Sister Onon

Elder Clement,  Matt,  Elder Boyd

Elder Standley,  Parker,  Elder Stranski

Sister Dariimaa,  AnneE,  Sister Largin

On Sunday we attended our Bayanzurkh Branch where everyone was busy.  Parker and Matt passed the Sacrament, AnneE played a musical number on Ulziika's brother's violin and Carolyn helped tend the Benson kids! We had Elder Boyd translate via headphones so we all could understand what was being said.

Later in the day we went out visiting some of the members of our Branch.  First we visited a family whose father is a wood carver.  Their daughter is 15 years old so the girls shared some of the things they brought.

Some samples of his work

This is the man who carved the YAKS

Sometimes the path is a bit challenging

The Water Station may be several blocks away,
they each haul their own water in different containers.

The next stop was at the home of an 18 year old girl and her cute, chubby baby.  The baby was really friendly and loved all of us!!  The Grandkids brought stuff from Canada and Ohio for both mom and baby.  She came to Church the next week and had her baby blessed.

Baby's cousin, one of our Primary girls, Nandaa

Our last visit was quite a walk over some up and down paths.































 We met a little lady who might be the
oldest member of the Church in
 Mongolia,  she could be 96, 93, or 86.
 This time she said she was 96!!

When they found out that it was Carolyn's Birthday,
she was promptly given a Birthday present!

Carolyn's 15th Birthday was a memorable day -
complete with a Mongolian Birthday Cake and Candles.

Thanks for sharing it with us!!
















A day of shopping, Black Market (how many pairs of shoes did they buy??) (and some very expensive Rolex watches, Superman Belts, etc.)
Ulziika got her brother to drive us to Zaison Hill for a great view over Ulaanbaatar. (It was a little sports car and we put 8 people in it!)  The monument was bult by the Russians to commemorate "unknow soldiers and heros" - a visual representation of the interactions between Russia and Mongolia.  It is the place where Elder Neal A. Maxwell dedicated the land of Mongolia for the Church.

One morning we took President and Sister Benson's kids to a "Bear Park".  It was fun since each little kid had a big kid for a helper.

The trip would not be complete without a Traditional Culture Show - Tumen Ekh is almost like a theatre in the round where you can sit right up close to the performers.  They are very professional - with all the Mongolian instruments, singers, dancers and a contortionist.

We were so grateful to have Parker, Matt, AnneE, and Carolyn share some of our Mission.  We hope that they went home with new insights into life in a different part of the world and an appreciation for the blessings we all have.

As their parting gesture, they kissed the ground of Mongolia,
they loved the time spent here!!

Life is Good and All is Well  . . .