I made friends with a Monk

I went recently to the Gandantegchinlen Tibetan Buddhist Monastery.  I'm told it's the largest in Mongolia; it's definitely quite impressive.  The Monastery is staffed by monks, properly referred to with the Tibetan title Lama, as you can see in the name Dalai Lama.  These monks are available to give children auspicious names, tell people auspicious days to do things, and read prayers in Tibetan.  Mongolian believers will either have prayers read for prosperity in their current life or to get Karma for a better reincarnation.   

 If you are anything you'll want to to get a closer look at the cool writing up there!
Or you could look at the exquisite carving and painting, I suppose.

 I went in and wandered about for a bit until I found a Lama who looked friendly and asked him if I could talk to him.
This is Myagmarsuren.  He is just 22 years old and has been a Lama for 5 years.

He told me that he decided to become a Lama because he was interested in Tibetan, the liturgical language here.  He sometimes goes with senior Lamas to bless houses and babies, but a lot of his time is spent memorizing tibetan scriptures such as the Chogchen sutra, the Six Blessings and the 10 protections.   The life of a Tibetan buddhist Lama involves many restrictions and vows, such as not marrying.  Unlike many Buddhist traditions, I was told that most Mongolian monks do eat meat, as Mongolian cuisine just about mandates it.  They ensure that animals are slaughtered humanely, and they even read prayers for these animals to ensure they are reincarnated in a better position, perhaps even as humans.  The Lamas are also required to wear robes as in the picture above, and Myagmarsuren says he wears normal clothes only on very rare occasions.

He offered to show me around some of the more interesting parts of the Monastery. He showed me this mural depicting many of Tibetan Buddhist deities.  He worked on some of the background work and the two outermost pavilions pictured.
He explained that the Gandantegchinlen monostary has a history spanning more than 150 years, though it was used to house soldiers in the era of World War II while Mongolia fought for independence.  The temple is full of exquisitely made Buddhas and other icons, which Myagmarsuren said people brought in droves after Communist rule ended.  They brought all religious items they had hidden for years and filled the monastery with them.  Even before that, he told me the story of a man named Talkh (which means 'bread,' if you're curious) who helped found the monastery.  Talkh was a rich herder who had his hand in the slaughter of countless animals.  One day an epiphany led him to realize how much sin he had accumulated in slaughtering his animals, and so he helped found Gandantegchinlen monastery to generate good Karma.
Myagmarsuren offered to give me pointers in reading Tibetan Sutras, which requires not only navigation of labyrinthine tibetan orthography, but also knowledge of liturgical tradition and proper chants.  My interest in this is primarily linguistic, but it has been fascinating to learn more about Tibetan Buddhist beliefs from a man who dedicated his life to them.

When things just work

Here are some Mongolian buses.

Some of them run on gas.

And some of them don't.

Some people are convinced the electric buses aren't as fast.  I don't know if that's true, but they're often less crowded as a result, which is nice.














The buses get their own lanes on main roads, so they are often much faster than taxis.

There are some salient differences between the buses in Ulaanbaatar and Provo, where I study.

1. Ulaanbaatar buses come far more frequently.  If you've been waiting for ten minutes, you're probably in the wrong place for the bus you want.
2. Ulaanbaatar buses are slightly more economic.  You can ride anywhere in the city, bus transfers included, for 0.25 USD (500 MNT).  That is just a bit better than the 2.50 UTA fair.  Just a bit.
3. Ulaanbaatar buses are faster and more exciting!  Hold on to something if you're not sitting, though.
4. There are far more bus stations here.  You can expect to find one within reasonable distance of just about anywhere in the city.
5. Mongolian bus stops have better names.  They are named after whatever area of interest is closest, whether it be the Wrestling Palace, the Dragon Center, or the 25th Pharmacy.

The pros of Mongolian buses far outweigh the cons:

1. Ulaanbaatar buses are crowded.
2. They are somewhat less clean.
3. They're not as good at keeping a schedule.  Sometimes you can see two of the same bus at a bus stop.  But that's ok, because the next one will come in five minutes anyway.  

Last but not least, Mongolian buses have a smart card system that actually works.  The cards are easy to buy, easy to use, and reliable--you can even keep it in your purse or wallet and just hold that up to the reader!  Really, a little work of art, and all with a nice Mongolian interface.

Sometimes it seems like Mongolian buses shouldn't work.  They keep routes but no particular schedule, zoom in and out of traffic, and their drivers always to be in some state of discontent.  And yet they work perfectly well, in that they satisfactorily serve their purpose.  It's really nice when things just work.

You leave town for a couple of years and they change everything

After my long day (about 48 hours) of travel yesterday, I made my first foray into Ulaanbaatar, which I haven't seen in almost two years.  

I got on the bus, all savvy and ready to hand the proper change to the conductor, as Mongolians do.  Or did.  Instead, I found there was no cash-collecting conductor at all.  Instead, these smart little boxes were posted beside every door.  No one cared to explain to me how to pay to these little robots, nor did they insist I get off if I didn't have a 'Smart Card', probably because they assumed I wouldn't understand a word of it all.  I did eventually get a smart card, though.  For 500 MNT (.25 USD) you can ride to any point in the city, transfers included!  Compare this to the lovely Provo buses, which charge exactly 10 times that amount.  Buses in Ulaanbaatar are also faster and more plentiful.

Throughout the day, I noticed little changes here and there.  This building near the mission office went out of business while I was in Mongolia.  I had never even gone in, but it seemed a little sad to see the place in such a state of disrepair.

Some of the changes were quite welcome.  Look at this amazing double KFC-Pizza Hut!  For the most part, I'd say the changes were ambivalent or good.  The bus card readers do make things easier, even though it threw me for a loop.
 

But so many things don't change.  I walked up to this nearby bus station and I was struck by how familiar it was.  It reminded me of people I had met there and the places I went so often.
Side note, for those of you who don't think this looks like a bus station, the actual stations are hidden from the picture, I'm referring to the area by the bus station name, as Mongolians sometimes do.  I admit I didn't consider that discrepancy when I took the picture.

A plate of tsuivan is still tsuivan, oily, savory and delicious as ever.








I randomly encountered a dozen people today that I knew from my mission.  They all asked, "When did you get here," and I always said, "Yesterday," we chatted and that was it.  I had thought I would be surprised to see the city again after so long, but aside for encountering the odd difference, I really wasn't.  The strangest thing about being back is how strange it isn't.

One linguist. One airport. Fourteen hours.

One linguist.  One airport.  Fourteen hours.

Our plane flew through the night--that is, we skipped Tuesday entirely.  For more than fourteen hours,  from when we left Las Vegas to when we touched down in South Korea, we didn't see any sunlight.  

I am in the Incheon airport before most of the tourist traps have opened, and I will leave after most close.

After a leisurly first tour of the entire international terminal, I found breakfast at MosBurger, which I believe I visited last time I was here.  I decided to get something tame--A shrimpburger.  Very normal.

Korea is a land of many wonders.  At the Dunkin' Donuts I found this: Grapefruit Donut!  It was truly divine.  I even managed the entire transaction in rudimentary Korean.

Last time I came to this airport, I only had an hour or two, paltry time compared to my half-day, and entirely spent worrying about my next flight.  After a brief walk or two, I assumed that the entire airport was filled with the same few stores: outrageously expensive "Fashion & Accessories", ski supplies, designer watches and all manner of posh booze.

 This time, I also discovered the chocolate stores where a bag of M&M's costs 30 dollars.  Don't worry, most of the food was actually quite reasonably priced.

 In my 14 hour stay this time, though, I've discovered some of the wonders of this airport, which I learned has been the world's best rated for about a decade now.
Just look at this quintet playing arrangements of disney songs!

 When I first came to Incheon almost four years ago, I had one goal: I wanted to find some variation on "I love Korea" to prove I was there.  Catching my connection was a nice bonus.  Alas, I never found the shirt, and after looking for one on two occasions two years apart, I concluded that no such store existed in this airport.  If it didn't cost at least 200 USD, they didn't sell it.
How wrong I was!  At last, after four years of very intermittent searching, I discovered a very Korean shirt to my liking!  Bonus points to whoever can figure out what historically significant document is encoded on it.

 I also got a tour from Jonathan, an airport tour guide, who showed me the historical and artistic exhibits the airport has to offer.  I told you it was a cool airport.

Ironically, this restaurant aptly named "Robot" was one of the few I did not eat at.  

I have never been so well and richly served by the idea of comfort food before today.  It turned a daylong airport wait into quite a rich experience--need I remind you of the grapefruit-flavored donuts?

I admit, I was too busy snapping pictures of funny Engrish and other strange things I saw, and I didn't bother to photograph all the places I ate.  But after a skip of the international dateline invalidated the idea of meals, I tried quite a few.  I mentioned Mosburger, with its amazing shrimp Hamburgers.  Joining the Dunkin' Donuts in American fare was Auntie Anne's, (which I've actually never seen outside of an airport), where I had the luxury of a proper glass of American lemonade.  Travelling in Asia will make you appreciate a good class of lemonade--don't miss the chance if ever you should come here.  Again, I'm sorry I didn't take a good picture, but in lieu of an illustration, just go buy yourself a lemonade.  Please.  You'll enjoy it more.

In general, if you find yourself travelling through the Incheon International Airport, look around for good food.  Whether you want something very American (Taco Bell) or very Korean, you will find it.

Also, as I hinted above, all the food cost what you'd expect to pay for it or less in America outside an airport.  The same cannot be said of the Las Vegas airport, mind you--flyer beware.

You might think this last picture is a lot like the first.  That's because it is.  But I took it, trying to show what an open space it was despite being not that open of a space.  But after walking around this place for half a day, I started to feel like I was outside while inside.  Wandering around a mile-wide airport terminal filled with every kind of store and restaurant imaginable, complete with people from every nation on earth, gave a whole new meaning to the Great Indoors.
I have survived the 14 hours, by which I mean it was actually really nice.  The airport has free wifi and relatively widespread outlet availability.  The food was good too, and the seats were comfy enough.  But now, a plane will come and bear me hence.  If you want to read about that, look at my post before this one. After travelling for three calendar days, I may well be too tired to write anything else about it.

Today I start the two-day trek that will take me to Mongolia. 

I wrote the following poem while looking out the window during takeoff from Salt Lake. 

We're born to walk, as human feet

Need solid ground to be complete. 

By rights the sky's beyond our reach

For Gravity, we can't impeach. 

And yet I sit upon a plane

Which soars beyond the clouds and rain

And takes us, dwellers of the earth

Far from the terra of our birth. 

This miracle of human flight

Which takes me miles through the night

Is like permission from on high

To take a brief seat in the sky. 

I think about that, as I rise—

This invitation from the skies—

To join the light and lofty things,

Despite that we are heavy beings. 

I think about this paradox

As on the wind the airplane rocks. 

This aircraft too, of metal wrought,

Belongs below, not high aloft. 

And yet, through genius work and skill,

Good engineering, fuel and will, 

This metal bird can bear us hence

To show us our earth's countenance. 

The ancient man would wonder how

The laws of nature could allow

A metal ship, a crate, no less,

To be man's key to weightlessness. 

Yet while I share the angel's height

And hold the earth within my sight

And though I know the ground's my right, 

I thank God for the gift of flight. 

Joshua Sims

Six miles over Utah, June 6, 2016. 

The Return of the Linguist

Mongolia and Back Again

The Return of the Linguist

In 2013, he went to Mongolia. Now he’s going back again.

Do you ever wonder what linguists do? Do you want to know more about the ancient nation of Mongolia? Do you miss Mongolia and Back Again, my award-winning blog? Back by popular demand, this blog will chronicle my adventures, this time time as a field linguist. Check here regularly for clever insights, amusing pictures and answers to all the above questions, only on Mongolia and Back Again: The Return of the Linguist!

Transitions

These times of transition are strange, but we can be grateful for both sides--the things we enjoyed before and the great things after. The grass is usually green on both sides. As long as we are diligent to remember and follow the Lord, we can trust that there will be good things on both sides of the various transitions and changes in our life.

I look forward to the many blessings the Lord has in store for me and all of us, foreshadowed by the many blessings given heretofore.

I am happy for the many blessings that await our newest members and future missionaries here in Mongolia, and I hope they will learn from the strippling warriors in the Book of Mormon who, though wounded in battle, nevertheless stood fast in the liberty wherewith God had made them free; and they were strict to remember the Lord from day to day, observing to keep his statutes and his judgments, and his commandments continually.  Their faith was strong, and I plan to keep my faith strong.  Attention to obedience is the key, because that unlocks those blessings we need to be happy.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.  I won't be consuming any turkey, as there isn't even a common word here for that.

Final exams for my English students are coming up soon--probably next week--so we will be reviewing this week.  Then I'll give the exams, issue the grades, and be finished with the semester.

We are looking forward to a baptism this coming Friday; that will be exciting.

At this point in my mission, this scripture comes to mind:

"I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work."  (John 9:4)

I'm trying to work as hard as I can.

A few thoughts from the Steppes

Alma 27:29 tells us of the Anti-Nephi-Lehites who would rather die than commit sin--they didn't want to take up arms again and kill as they had done in the past, having repented of this sin. This makes them a special case, of course, and their desire is more important than simply not wanting to sin.  There are many times when we justify sin, like when we get angry to get our way, yell at someone to stop something from happening that we don't like, or lie to protect ourselves or our pride. The reasons that justify our incorrect actions seem important to us, and perhaps the sin of our reaction seems small.  But if we remember the Anti-Nephi-Lehis, who were willing to die rather than repeat serious sin, we should remember that to suffer frustration is better than to get angry, to be humble is better than to justify our pride.  Just my thoughts today.

Stake Conference was this past week.  One sister is the Japanese wife of a ward's Mongolian Bishop. She gave her talk entirely in Japanese and had it interpreted.  It was pretty cool to listen to.  Our work here is going well and we are preparing the wife of one of our members for baptism; we hope to help prepare him to do the ordinance.  We are teaching a lot of people right now.

One note about being on a mission for nearly two years now:  I can say I know how to cook eggs tastily and correctly: omelette, poached, sunny-side up, and more!

Happy Halloween

I told six different English classes about Halloween and Trick-or-Treating this week.  It's always a fun topic for my English students.

I have some photos from the last baptism I mentioned.  Things are going well with my new companion.  I have set some goals for the end of my mission, and one of them is to be the best trainer I can be.  I've learned a lot on my mission, but I know there's plenty to learn after I come home, too.

I believe that those who serve most in the Church learn the most.  Certainly, the New Testament shows us that the Lord's Apostles learned the most during His ministry.

I was reading in Ephesians 4 this week, which includes the teaching that anger is sin. Actually, the Joseph Smith Translation clarifies part of v. 26: "can ye be angry and sin not?" Anger in times of frustration or annoyance, even a little, is natural to all of us, but through the Atonement of Christ we can put such things away and be more Christlike. We need to replace anger with Christlike attributes.

Also I was reading in Mosiah 2.  All the Lord asks of us is to keep the commandments, and if we do, he blesses us!  It reminds me of the Primary Song: "What doest he Father ask of us? What do the scriptures say? Have faith, have hope, live like His Son, help others on their way."

Have a great week!  I plan to.

My new companion, me, our newest 9-year-old member, his mom, and my other companion. 

Last Transfer

We had a baptism last week: the 9-year-old son of a new member.  He's a good kid, and he's read the Book of Mormon Stories picture book like 5 times.

I would have missed the baptism at transfers last week, but I was transferred within the same area, and so I was able to attend the baptism.  I am now training a new Elder; he's really great. So, now until the end I will just focus on being a good trainer.  I'm sure the time will fly and we will be so busy.

We are teaching the wife of a member, and she is doing well.  I think she will be baptized soon.  The weather is getting really cold, but there's no snow on the ground yet.  

General Conference

We got to watch General Conference this weekend, a week later than everyone else because of the time difference. We American missionaries were able to get together to watch in English. This will be my last time watching Conference in Mongolia.

I liked a lot of the talks, but here are a few that stood out to me:

Elder Linn Robbins, who asked which way we face.
Ted Callister, who reminded me of important habits and priorities.
Elder Klebingat, reminding us to have confidence before the Lord.
Elder Craig Christensen, who taught about knowing the truth for ourselves.  A lot of speakers seemed to focus on the need for and power of personal revelation.
President Uchtdorf, whose talk on "Is it I?" was very powerful.
Elder Godoy, who talked about reaching our potential with the Lord's help.

And I could go on. I liked hearing the non-English speakers, but I would prefer to only hear them and to read subtitles rather than hear a translator.

Hey, look on page 3 of the October 2014 Ensign magazine.  You'll see a photo of a young girl praying.  The Book of Mormon on the bed is Mongolian, as is the girl!  Just thought that was cool.

I had an interesting thought during Conference.  The word "mission" comes from the Latin root that means "to send."  We send missionaries out all over the world.  But every member is also a missionary. How are we "sent" when we don't leave home?  We are sent to live in this world, this Babylon. We don't keep to ourselves or live in an isolated community, but we are sent into the world by the Lord to share the Gospel with everyone.  So, every member is a missionary! I hope to remember that when I leave my formal mission and return home.

Winter Descends

It snowed!  Winter has begun. Some say it will melt and warm up one last time before winter, but it has been pretty cold lately.

We have had some great successes lately with less active members attending Church more regularly.  We are happy to see families coming together.

In 2 Nephi 33:4 Nephi has already seen in a vision that his people will eventually be destroyed, but he prays diligently for them--and he knows of a surety that the Lord will 'consecrate his prayers for their gain'. I think that is interesting wording. In our mission, sometimes we pray things for our investigators and such. A little while ago, we invited a man to come back to Church. We fasted that he would come to Sacrament meeting, and we both felt it was right.  But he didn't come. Still, I don't feel that our fast has gone unanswered.  I know the Lord will bless that member because of our faith and prayers. It doesn't matter if the Lord brings him back right when we ask. Sometimes He will bless the way was ask and sometimes another way, but He will always consecrate our prayers for the gain of those we pray for. That's my feeling, anyway.

My Unbirthday

My birthday box arrived a little late, but that just gave us a great excuse to celebrate my Unbirthday!

This was a great week.  We learned that Elder Gong and Elder Rasband are coming for our mission conference next week.  I didn't get transferred, so I get to stay here with my companion.  And we got to eat pizza!  We had budgeted so we could go to Pizza Hut on P-day, and on our way there we ran into a member who insisted on buying our dinner for us!  It was delicious.  The next day, I had a lot to do at my college and so we didn't have time to go home for lunch.  My boss took us to his Korean restaurant; that was also delicious!  Just fun stories.

You have Agency. Be happy.

2 Nephi 10:23: "Therefore cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves--to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life."

The simple message I find here is that we can trust in God's providence because whatever happens, we have Agency which gives us the power to choose eternal life. Our agency coupled with Christ's Atonement is powerful enough to overcome all other influences and opposition in the goal of gaining eternal life.  Even if times are hard, we have the agency to choose to serve God and please Him.

It has started to get chilly this week. I hope we will have one more course of warm before the onset of winter; for me, once it becomes true winter, it will just get colder and colder until the end.

But I'll still be happy :)

School and weather

We start school tomorrow--the college where I teach English.  We had a little opening ceremony today.  When I walked into the room, the students started cheering. I'm not sure how genuine it was, but it was funny.  This semester will go right up until I am going home.

Now that it's getting cooler in Mongolia, I joke with the students that I am going to escape to America in December because it will be so cold here. It's strange how the year is just long enough that every summer, no matter how short, is just long enough for you to forget what it's like to be cold....

We met a kid one day walking near our apartments who spoke perfect English. It turns out he learned English in three years when he lived in America at about the age of 8. It was fun to meet his family, all of whom speak English to some degree. We were happy to introduce them to the first lesson about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Not much else to report here.  I know the next few months will go fast, and I'm working hard to focus on using my time as a missionary well. 

Here's a little poem I wrote while flying from Choibalsan to Ulaanbaatar in August:

NO CLOUD CAN SHROUD THE STRATOSPHERE

The sun retreats, the sky grows dim as clouds grow thicker overhead.

The hope of sunshine growing thin, we wait for raindrops to be shed.

Though heaven's metamorphosis from light to dark spells no sure doom,

we know that as the clouds persist, they cast on earth a certain gloom.

The sun who bears the light of day casts cheer on every human soul.

To see this beacon fade away can dull this joy and take its toll.

The cheer we knew a day before can even fade from memory,

And in the rain we may implore to have the day brought back to be.

But don't forget, the sun's not gone; it lies untouched beyond the mist!

The land the sun smiles down upon will see the light clouds can't resist.

Of course, this comes as no surprise to us who've seen our every day

That when the sun sets, it will rise e'en though the clouds push it away.

Today the clouds bedeck the sky, but I'm aboard an aeroplane!

And at the altitude we fly, we see the sun without restrain.

Quite rightly are the heavens named; up here whenever it's not night,

E'en where the earth by storm is framed, the sun shows forth its mighty light!

I see the clouds which, dark below, are crowned on top a snowy white!

This landscape spans, for all I know, from coast to coast all glowing bright!

That's not to say the land's not dark; that's not to say the sky's not dim.

But I wish only to remark that we must all remember Him

Who sees each day from past the clouds and we cannot peer in return:

Despite the veil that thickly shrouds above, as ever His Glory burns.

Though clouds may come, and sure they will, the rain is not a cause for doubt.

When darkness looms, remember still That Light above has not gone out.

Random Posts from UB

My companion and I have been working hard, and we have been blessed to meet new people and find some inactive members we didn't know lived in the area. It often happens that we are working toward one goal, but we are given a different good result from the Lord. He knows who He wants us to teach.

1 Nephi 15:14 says that the Gospel will be restored so that people can "come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come until him and be saved." That's an important thing we teach, the very points of his doctrine, that all people may know HOW to be saved. Many good people do many good things, but only from Christ's revealed doctrine can we learn exactly HOW to be saved--which we can't determine or figure out ourselves because only Christ has the power to redeem us.  Many things about our lives come down to personal revelation, but the Gospel teaches us specifically those doctrines, covenants, ordinances and commandments that we need in order to be saved.

Also, I noted that in 1 Nephi 16:18, Nephi says "I broke my bow" which is an active sentence, but he says "My brothers bows lost their spring," which is a passive sentence. He accepts responsibility for the malfunction of his own bow but does not blame his brothers for what they  may or may not have done to their own bows. It is a good example.  We need to accept responsibility for our own mistakes and avoid blaming others.

I was reading in Matthew 12:13.  In this passage, the Savior commands a man with a withered hand to stretch his hand forth. When he does so, he is healed. I thought this was a good example of how the Lord gives us commandments to bless us. Oftentimes, the Lord would lay hands on someone or command them to be healed, but in this and other cases He commanded the person to do something in order to be healed.  While showing his power to bless, He also demonstrates the importance of obedience.

Well, I have my official release date now: December 18.  That's the same day I headed to the MTC two years ago.  I look forward to being home, but I still have four months to do my best to serve here.

Farewell Choibalsan

I am back in Ulaanbaatar, back to Enktaivan Ward, where I served for six months last year! It was a little strange being back in my old ward, but it's great to see how people are doing. We are now 4 Elders in one apartment here.  Since we are all  North Americans, we ate at Pizza Hut last week (it's not far from our apartment)!

I did enjoy my time in Choibalsan and all the people we worked with there.  I have a couple of photos from my birthday excursion.

Mongolian horses on the Steppes. It's so remote and beautiful here.

The home we visited on my birthday.
The solar panel gives them electricity, so they can get Chinese TV. 

Last week, I thought of the spirit of contention that sometimes comes into many lives.... Sometimes we try to cast out contention with contention, but from Christ's teaching we can see how that is impossible.  Contention will never cast out the spirit of contention; only humility, love, charity, and the Spirit of Christ can do that. 

A Birthday Adventure

I turned 21 on Monday, which was a P-day.  I had thought to go out for lunch, maybe buy a little something as a birthday present, write emails to my family, and so on.  But by coincidence, our mission doctor and his wife were visiting Choibalsan for the weekend to provide some training.  They asked to be taken Monday to some memorable or interesting site. So we arranged to go with a member to visit her relative (also a Church member) who lives about 120 km away from Choibalsan out in the countryside. We hired two taxis and assumed it would be a 2-hour drive each way.  We were thankful the doctor offered to pay for the taxis, since we poor missionaries could never afford to do so.

So, 120 km on a paved road would take a little over an hour and so we felt our allowance of two hours on the dirt roads of Mongolia would be more than enough.  But that's if the road is in good condition.  But it rained a lot on Sunday, and that meant the roads were not in good condition. Our trip was ... five hours each way.  We just didn't know that when we set out.

About two hours into the drive, our little taxi got stuck in the mud.  The other taxi avoided it but came back to help.  We Elders and the driver all took off our shoes and socks and got out into the mire surrounding the car and tried to get it out. We kept trying to lift the car out, push it out, pull it out.  The other taxi even went to a nearby (and since we were in the countryside, that means not nearby) home and got a "rope."  We tried to tow the car out and that didn't work either. Thankfully, a nice family stopped their car when they saw us and offered to help.  With their help and by picking up the stuck car's back end and manually turning it to line up with the non-stuck car, we finally towed it out of the mud.

Then we drove in this little no-longer-white car until we got to ... the river!

At the river, we stopped to wash the car.  We Elders, still with no shoes, got out and waded around in the shallow river (no deeper than two feet).  The other taxi was stopping for the driver to do some maintenance. Eventually, we let the cars go over the river with minimal passengers and we missionaries walked across the river. We then got back into the car with relatively clean feet and donned our shoes and socks again.

This brought us to Sergelen County Center, a teeny town with a single K-8 school.  Anyone who wants a higher education has to go to Choibalsan.  At this point, the mission doctor and his wife were worried they would miss their flight back to Ulaanbaatar, so they left us and went back in the smaller of the two taxis. We continued on, convinced that the countryside dwelling we were going to was about 30 minutes away. It was more like 2-3 hours away!  At least on the way, we were able to take some great photos of the Mongolian countryside, which is greener than green and void of humanity. It was pretty cool.  We also stopped by a rock that contained an impression in the shape of a boot that is said to be Chinggis Khaan's footprint.

Finally we got to the place we were going, a single ger with a singe shed in the middle of the Mongolian steppe, green as far as the eye can see.  The weather was perfect. We met a member that lives way out there (fairly isolated, eh?) and ate some goat liver.

At this point, it was getting to be 6:00 pm and we were realizing how far out we were. Still, we were convinced that we would be back by 8:00 or so.  We rode through the seemingly endless Mongolian countryside and finally got back to Sergelen.  Then we crossed the river again and made another endless ride back until we finally reached Choibalsan at about 10:00 p.m. The ride back had been uneventful--just frustrating because we realized how far away we had been.

But it was a 21st birthday never to be forgotten!

Naadam and Wrestling

Our newest member in Choibalsan, her husband, me, my companion

Visiting with friends and missionaries in Choibalsan

Although Naadam, the national holiday, meant a day off of work for most people, we were still able to get a lot of work done.  Next week, the second Naadam will bring things to a halt as everyone celebrates, but we should still be fine.

One thing funny did happen in relation to Naadam this week.  We were meeting with one of our newer investigator couples, and they were watching the national Naadam wrestling match on TV. They said we could start teaching when the match was over.  But Mongolian wrestling only ends when one man gets the other on the ground.  They stand there grappling each other, starting and stopping and so on, and it can go on forever.  I knew it probably wouldn't last too much longer, but it was getting late and I wanted to be able to show a video about the Restoration for our lesson. So I said a silent prayer that the match would end soon. No sooner had I done so than I looked up and saw one wrestler toss the other to the ground. I don't know whether the Lord ended a national competition to answer my prayer or whether He timed my prayer to work out to my benefit, but either way I'm sure He answered it; and we had a great lesson.  Our investigators are really learning well and coming to Church and trying to change.  The husband is even trying to get a new job so he won't have to work on Sunday!  The Lord knows all things, and He will help this man in the best way, no matter what that ends up being.

This is my last week as a 20-year-old.  In Mongolia, I've been 21 all year, but I'll stick with my American way of counting.  Next week, it'll be 21 for sure. Or 22 if you want to be accurate in Mongolia.