Making Mission Memories in Mongolia

Just as I sat down to write this week’s blog, an email arrived with news that stopped us in our tracks: our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, had passed away at the age of 101. As we tried to process this tender moment, instructions from our area communication team came quickly with details on how to post the announcement in the Mongolian newsroom. Translation is always one of our biggest challenges, as Mongolian isn’t a widely used language. Still, within minutes we had pictures uploaded, translation requests sent out, and soon the official news story will be available for the Mongolian Saints to read. I’m grateful we can play even a small role in helping important news reach the people here. Earlier this week, we had an unexpected adventure of a different sort. On Monday, as we opened our apartment door to head to the office, we walked right into a ladder. Thankfully, the workers weren’t on it! We tried to hurry downstairs to get out of their way, but they stopped us, try...

Temple Announcement Early Tuesday morning—4:00 a.m. to be exact—we joined Saints across Mongolia in witnessing a historic announcement: the site and rendering of the future temple in Ulaanbaatar. While it was released at 2:00 p.m. Monday in Salt Lake City, here it meant setting our alarm long before sunrise so that we could post the news release in the Mongolian Newsroom.  For a few weeks we had quietly held onto the rendering, waiting for the official release, and it was no easy secret to keep! The design is stunning, full of Mongolian symbolism woven into the architecture. Though it will still be a few years before the temple is completed, this step marked a powerful milestone, and we felt so grateful to play a small part in sharing the news. Apostolic Visit On Thursday, Elder Neil L. Andersen, an apostle of the Lord, visited Mongolia. What a sacred and joyful few days it was! We attended a special meeting where he, alongside local church leaders, welcomed government officials ...

The week started with a big surprise—a wheelchair delivery. When we were asked to help unload, we thought it might be a small batch. Little did we know it would be 600 wheelchairs ! J.D. helped with the heavy lifting, hauling and stacking of boxes, while I climbed on top, trying (unsuccessfully) to keep an accurate count. These chairs will soon be donated to hospitals across the country—a wonderful project to be part of. On Thursday, we joined in another handover ceremony, this time for kitchen equipment. More than 70 pieces of equipment were donated to 12 kindergartens (what we’d call day care centers) throughout Khan Uul District. It was such a joy to see the excitement and gratitude on the directors’ faces! Now, about those driver’s licenses… Our last update was that after several delays beyond our control, we finally took the test—only to fail. You have to wait a week before retaking it, and then, of course, you need someone available to take you. Friday was finally the day, so ...

Although we don’t have many pictures to share this week, it has certainly been a full and exciting one! After last week’s “routine” report, it seems someone wanted to make sure this week was anything but routine. Much of our time was spent in communication with Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City about upcoming news releases and articles—more on that in the weeks to come! One announcement we can share right now is especially thrilling: Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will be visiting Mongolia! A nationwide devotional will be held on Thursday, September 18, followed by a mission conference on Friday. These gatherings are rare and memorable—missionaries serving in Mongolia only come all together in person when an apostle of the Lord visits. The Saints here are filled with anticipation, and so are we. Along with preparing for those events, we stayed busy with interviews and writing projects. A few weeks ago we posted pictures of a service project where Deser...