Making Mission Memories in Mongolia

It feels a bit strange to be in another country while our friends and family back home are celebrating the Fourth of July. At the same time, living outside the United States has given us an even greater appreciation for the freedoms and blessings we enjoy as Americans.  Ironically, we spent the day celebrating Mongolia at a "Mini Naadam" celebration hosted by Selenge, the Prime Minister's wife. The official Naadam holiday begins Friday, but it was fun to attend this pre-celebration complete with boortsog (fried bread), traditional entertainment, wrestling, and airag (fermented mare's milk). We each took our customary sip just to confirm that, yes, we still don't care for it!  After we returned home, we finished the day with the most American meal we could think of—hamburgers, French fries, and, of course, Coke. (I couldn't resist including these two cuties!) On our way to the Naadam celebration, we stopped by a BYU–Hawaii alumni gathering where they were prepa...

Although there wasn't one big event to write about this week, we were soooo busy! This week was transfer week, which always makes for a busy schedule. Once again, we worked with the Assistants to the President to coordinate travel logistics for missionaries all across the country. This transfer was especially interesting because of the long-anticipated mission split. For the past few months, we have been preparing for the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission to become two separate missions: the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar East Mission and the new Mongolia Ulaanbaatar West Mission. Additional missionaries have gradually been arriving so that both missions would be fully staffed when the split became official—including 15 new missionaries who arrived this week! A few weeks ago, each missionary learned which mission they had been assigned to, and this transfer was all about getting everyone to the correct mission area. The transfers took place on Thursday, and yesterday the new mission president and...

 This week was birthday week! One of the fun things about living in Mongolia is that I get to celebrate two birthdays—one on the Mongolian date and one on the American date.  My Mongolian birthday was on Tuesday, which happened to be the day we serve at the House of Mercy Homeless Shelter. What a wonderful way to celebrate a birthday—by serving others. We made treats to share with the other workers, and when they found out it was my birthday, they quickly found a few small gifts and even a candle to add to the celebration. We truly enjoy serving with this amazing group of people. That evening, we took the young volunteers in our district out to dinner. It is always fun to spend time with these incredible young people and hear about their experiences. On Wednesday—my American birthday—the office staff took me out to lunch. Yet another wonderful group of people we love spending time with. This along with all of the birthday calls and wishes from home was a perfect way to wrap up...