Happy Birthday

It was Calvin's 68th Birthday last week and he celebrated in style.

Sister Wood made a delicious chocolate cake with chocolate pudding, cherries and whipped cream.

 We had lots of the staff here in the building come by for good wishes. Ulziikaa, our translator, decorated our office, door and got a big cake for the second party!!

Getting older isn't so bad after all!!

Life is Good and All is Well!!

The Country Side

Last week one of our assignments was to go with the office couple to Baganar.  It is about 2 hours east of UB.  Just like all Missions in the Church, we are starting to get more missionaries so they needed to open another apartment there for a new pair of Sister Missionaries.  We delivered beds, a little washing machine, dishes, rice cooker, shelves, pots and pans, rack for drying clothes, garbage cans, etc.  Crofts will understand all that since they are the ones finding new apartments in the Canada Calgary Mission!
When we got there, the people were still painting, cleaning, putting up some wall paper and working on all the wiring!!  These young Mongolian Missionaries are hard workers and so dedicated.  That group had two baptisms scheduled for this weekend.

We had been asked to see a young girl who has a growth on her eyelid while we were there.

Sis Wood with a "little" eagle 

We went on "Women's Day" since the offices were closed for the Holiday.  On the way we got to see some great sights.  The people whose heritage is from Kazakstan (most live in the far western province of Mongolia), hunt with eagles.  Along the road there is a man with his eagles and camels for people like us to see.  Of course, we stopped.  Two hump camels are a lot easier to ride than One hump ones.

The Chinggis Khann Statue is located along the road. We stopped again and watched as there was a Camel Polo Competition just getting started.  Cal was in his glory taking pictures!! 

The referee

The statue is about 131 feet high on a 33 foot base.  (The tallest and largest equestrian statue in the world - there are always records to be claimed!)  Inside there are two museums, a huge Mongolian boot and a big open area. For 2000 tugs ($1.50), they dressed us up and let us wander around and take our own pictures.

 All the women who visited that day got a red rose for Women's Day.

Just to give the perspective of the size
of the Boot we are standing in
front of for the picture!

The tiny black specs on the horse's mane are the people standing up there.  The detail is amazing and he holds a "golden" sword.  His other sword has the head of an eagle for the handle.

The view when standing on the mane.

There were lots of animals along the way.  We got all excited when we saw the real Mongolian Cowboy with his rope.  They catch the animal by draping the loop over it's head.  Sometimes I think they get pulled off their horse since they can't use the saddle horn for an anchor!!  

 Jack Hicken and Brian Dudley might appreciate this.

There are so many people with medical problems.  We are kept very busy helping them find the right care and places to go for treatment.  It is fun to work with the missionaries because they are all so enthusiastic and eager and sincere about their work.  

We really appreciate our English Students, they are amazing working in their second language!  

We are not so amazing!!

Life is good and All is Well 

Some Things We Have Learned

During the past few weeks we have had the opportunity to attend several meetings and have heard some great talks.  One of the Area Authorities, Elder Toronto, a 45ish lawyer from Beijing, came to visit.  His talk to the Young Single Adults really was clear and to the point.  He said he would share two messages from the scriptures.

The first was about Lot's wife.  They were commanded to leave the wickedness of Sodom and Gommorah and NOT LOOK BACK.  As they left, she looked back and was turned to a pillar of salt.

He told us that we all have things in our lives that we regret or could have done differently but if we truly repent and then move forward, our lives will be blessed.  Leave the past behind you and look to the future.   "Don't look back, MOVE FORWARD".

The second was the parable of the Talents.  Talents were money.  The Master gave his first servant five talents for safe keeping, the second, two talents and the third one talent.  When he returned, he found that the first servant had used his 5 talents and gained five more.  The second had worked with his two talents and gained two more.  The third servant had been afraid and to protect the talent, buried it in the ground.  The Master then gave each of the first two servants not only the original talents, but also those they had gained.  The Master was not happy with the last servant and took away the one talent.  Elder Toronto's message was "DO NOT BE AFRAID".  Take all the opportunities that are before you and make the very best of them.

What great messages for all of us, both young and old, "MOVE FORWARD and DON'T BE AFRAID". 

One of the speakers at the District Conference last week was a newly called Branch President .  He is about thirty.  He told a bit about his background.  He had been active in the Church but then had become less active.  He worked hard, made some good money, bought a fancy car, and had some friends that maybe were not the best.  He was working for a mining company in the desert.  Sometimes they would go at night and rob gold from the sights of other mining companies.  They were called "Ninjas" - that is the word that got translated for us. One night his group got caught by another group and had to flee for their lives.  He ran far and fast and paused on top of a high hill and prayed.  He promised Father in Heaven that if his life was saved, he would  turn his life around and serve faithfully. He managed to escape and did indeed make a very positive change.  A few months  ago he and his little family were able to go to Hong Kong to attend the temple and be sealed for eternity.  Now he is serving as Branch President.  He was a wonderful example of one who realized the error of his ways, repented and has now moved forward!

President Clark gave the example of the "Little Red Hen".  As we all know, she asked for help at many stages of her project but until the very last, when the bread was ready, no one was willing to help.  So it is in life, we need to put our efforts into the work as we go.  The Home Teaching assignments, cleaning the Church, visiting a shut-in, preparing a lesson, befriending someone who is lonely are all little steps on the way to Eternal Life.  We cannot expect to just drop into Heaven without some work along the way!


We want all of you to know that we are indeed here doing more than just being tourists!!  (although we sure have seen lots of interesting things!!)  We are English Teachers, Mission Medical workers and doing anything else that we are asked to do.  We serve in the Bayanzurkh Branch and love the people of Mongolia.  We keep good track of the Missionaries and get to attend lots of Baptisms.

The Senior Sisters did the Hula -
 one of them had 4 MuuMuu's to share!

Last Week we had a Hawaiian Party for several people who are leaving.  Our Translator Eeggii and another girl are going to BYUHawaii on IWork scholarships, one senior couple is going home and their translator is going to Idaho.














It was fun, I thought of Marilyn Peterson and Linda Gedlaman while we prepared.  It was like old times getting some cute decorations and food ready!!   

Note the interesting center pieces - a potato island with a carrot topped by green pepper palm tree!!



Life is good and all is well!!!

A long month

This has been the month to celebrate Tsagaan Sar (White or New Moon).  It could rival Christmas at home with cleaning, cooking, shopping and in all ways preparing for the celebration.  It follows the lunar calendar and signifies the end of a hard winter.  Bituun is the day before the New Moon and is spent cleaning the whole home (which is often a Ger) and then everyone eating until past full.  It is thought that if you are hungry when Tsagaan Sar starts, you will be hungry all year!

Cal in his deel and great fur hat,
with his new friend!!

The first day of Tsagaan Sar begins with the men climbing a nearby mountain in time to greet the sun and follow some of their other traditions.  Cal, along with some of the other missionaries, made the climb up Chingelti Mountain and had a fantastic time.  When they left, the computer said it was -35C, feeling like -43C.  He wore his new Deel (a long mongolian coat) and was not cold.  He commented that it certainly did cut down his stride length!!  They joined some others around a fire and got great shots of the sun coming up over the valley.  The smoke from the Gers made a surreal picture.

On their way down they saw a little girl outside her Ger and went to see if they could take a picture.  The rest of her family came out all dressed in their traditional clothes, were happy to have some photos taken and then invited them in for a real Tsagaan Sar meal.  It was a once in a lifetime chance for a camera happy Canadian!!

The man of the house cutting off some pieces of mutton from the whole sheep.
Their Ger was all decorated for the holiday.

That night we were able to go with some of the missionaries on the bus about 45 minutes from UB to visit one of the families in our Branch.  Visiting there, we discovered that it was the family of a girl suffering from Epilepsy who we had been trying to find.  There are no coincidences!!  We really are blessed as missionaries.  We left the Ger and headed to the highway to catch a bus back to UB.  Someone then told us that there were no more buses because they quit early on Tsagaan Sar.  It was about 8:15, dark and -35C.  There we were, 9 of us standing on the edge of the highway.  No taxis were coming until finally one, but the elders turned down his offer for a ride for some of us because he wanted 2000 tugs ($1.50 Cdn) each and they thought that was too much!    After about 25 minutes we noticed a few of the missionaries huddled in a group and praying.  Within 5 minutes here came a "meeker".  That is a 12 passenger little van with a few extra benches.  They have no hesitations to pile in as many people as are willing to try and just charge 1000 tugs.  In we went and had our first ride in a "meeker", 23 of us for a 45 minute ride!!  We felt blessed because it was cold!!

When we got back to our apartment, the whole day seemed to be unreal. It is hard to imagine we are really here in "Outer Mongolia", climbing a mountain at sunrise, visiting in two different Gers, eating "buuz" and other traditional food, finding someone we had been looking for, standing on the highway in the dark almost freezing to death and riding in a meeker!!

The missionaries put on a great talent show for the second day of Tsagaan Sar - it was amazing how much ability there is in this group of missionaries.  At least three of the American Elders are gifted pianists (keep practicing all you grandsons!!).  The Mongolians did several traditional songs and dances, they had a big fan dance and spelled out LDS, and even President Clark gave a rendition of "I tot I taw a Puddy Tat".  One of the funniest was Sister England's ballad of "Sly Sam".  It was funny in English but the funny part was watching  Elder Stranski try to translate it into Mongolian - I think it lost a bit in the translation!!

Some of the mountain climbers a bit better dressed

We had several invitations to go to different homes for the holiday.  One was to visit Sister Ichinkhand, one of the first members in Mongolia.  She is now ninety and each year invites all the Senior couples to her apartment for dinner.  She was one who helped translate the Book of Mormon into Mongolian.  She is the Matriarch of 4 generations of members of the Church.  Her Grandson is the Stake President.  Her friend Puji helped  us to communicate!  At each house we were served mutton, salads (always potato and sometimes others), rice pudding, and of course many "buuz".  They are steamed dumpling things - flour dough with meat inside - mutton or beef usually and some fat and a bit of spice.  Some of the missionaries claimed to have eaten over 150 during the week and several paid the price by being sick!!   Where ever you go there is always a bowl of candy ready to be eaten.

We have had more computer issues, thus the delay in reporting but things are looking up and we bought a new Sony one.  Apple is not very common in Mongolia!! (so not much servicing available!)

Life is good and All is Well

Murun

This weekend we flew to Murun for another Branch Conference.  Murun is about 600km to the northwest of UB.  Once again we were able to see the empty spaces, lots of mountains with a few valleys in between.  It appears that anywhere that there is a bit of flat land they have planted wheat or barley.  It is all pretty remote!





Next week is Tsagaan Sar, one of the biggest holidays of the year in Mongolia.  It means New or White Moon.  Everyone cleans their house, they buy many presents, and prepare much food.  It is a time to visit all their relatives, starting with the oldest on the first day and then others for the next two days.  The main food  that they make is "buuz", meat filled dumplings.  Most families make 1000, some in our English class said their families were making 3000! The "Butt of a Sheep" is placed on the table for the guests to eat when they visit.  It is steamed and considered a delicacy.  We have been invited to a home on one of the nights of Tsagaan Sar so it should be interesting to see the celebration.

We visited an older sister whose two children had come from UB to help her get ready for Tsagaan Sar.  Her grandkids were helping too.  They had a sheep thawing out in the kitchen, meat is cheaper in the "country side" so they were getting it ready to take back to UB.

They had a good start - on a lot of "Buuz"!

An Expert tutor -
she made them look like little sea-shells

On Saturday we visited a family who were in the midst of making their buuz.  I tried my hand but definitely did not have quite the right touch to get it sealed just right!

Even the kids help

The mother in the home was a seamstress - she works at home because she has a disabled daughter.

She uses a hand cranked sewing machine (I have seen treadle machines but never one that was turned by hand.)  She turns the crank with her right hand while guiding the fabric with her left hand.  She was making several deels, (the long Mongolian coat).  Her work was beautiful!

Last week we had a pleasant surprise when we were teaching our English Class.  Several times a student came to the door and said something about teachers but we couldn't understand their English!!

A fireworks kind of candle!

The kids made their own shirts!

Finally one came in the class and then one of our students explained that it was teacher appreciation day and there was a get-together happening that they wanted us to attend!!  The kids from the "English Training Club" had made lunch and were having a party for the teachers, complete with a cute program.  

We arrived in time for the cake and a couple of 

Musical numbers - one a song that was done in 

perfect English.

The group of teachers and ETC students

Life goes on and is Good, All is Well!!

Khovd

This past weekend we flew to Khovd, about 1300 km. to the west of UB.  From the plane the land looked much like the mountainous regions around Helena, flat places between mountains.  It is pretty sparsely populated with just a few Ger camps close to some of the rivers.

It seems that Khovd has almost as much air pollution as UB.  In the evening the smoke was thick as the people must get their fires going to heat their Ger for the night and cook an evening meal. 

The people are just so kind and friendly and cute!!

These looked just like our elk
and mountain sheep

Copies of stone drawings taken
 from caves in the mountains close by

On our way to the airport we stopped at a little museum.  It had lots of relics from the past, 

old costumes, 

and some areas showing the native animals.  One of the Sister Missionaries really liked to get her picture taken.

Cal spent a while last night with one of the Pre-Missionaries (he does all medicals for their mission applications).  He is 18 years old, finished 2 years of university and is studying to be a computer "Hacker" - he assured us it is a good kind of hacker.  When Cal found that out, he asked him if he knew how to download videos.  They proceeded and maybe it is downloaded but when I looked it was David Artchulata singing Silent night and a bunch of other stuff.  We have a steep learning curve!  If the fireworks are there, good, if not or it is something that shouldn't be, don't look!!

Life is good and all is well (except that I have another cold!)  

Fireworks follow up

The fireworks video was 44 seconds but as you see, all I can get loaded is 2 seconds!  It isn't quite the same!  Someday maybe we will figure it out.


We have been really busy with sick seniors coming and going to the hospital.  We are  blessed to have been able to make so many good contacts in the Medical Community.  It sure makes figuring out these situations easier. Our first contact, Dr. Lodoysamba, was the man Cal met on the plane when we were flying here.  He was obviously Mongolian but asked for an English paper so they struck up a conversation.  He referred us to his son-in-law, Dr. Enkhzorig, a traditional Doctor and former director of External Affairs at Hospital 1.  We have been able to make many more contacts following their advice.

This week we were able to take both of them and their wives out for dinner.  They chose the place and then helped us order so we had some really good Mongolian food and drinks.  They recommended anis juice (a red berry that sounds like it grows like huckleberries -(now I just asked one of our translators
 and when she looked it up in the dictionary it is cranberry!!  the drink was more pulpy than we would expect from cranberry juice)) and seabuck thorn berry juice (orange and sour but great with lots of sugar). They apparently grow on bigger trees with lots of thorns so they harvest them in the winter when it freezes and "rake" them like some of those people pick huckleberries down by Kalispell.)



This is a sample of the N95 masks (are made to filter out the smaller particles from the air) we have been giving to the missionaries to wear, especially at night in the Ger Districts when it is so smoky.  They are supposed to get new ones every two weeks and this is one that a missionary brought in today to trade for the new one beside it.

One of the Districts with their new masks 

These are just four of the great ladies at the Choibalsan Branch last Sunday after Church.

Life is still Good and All is Well.