Making Mission Memories in Mongolia

We can hardly believe the time has come for us to leave behind the 5 degree temperatures in Mongolia for the 85 degree temperatures in Palau—at least for a little while! Tomorrow around noon we’ll board our flight, which takes us through Seoul, Korea, and then on to Guam. We’ll spend a few days there picking up some summer clothes, meeting our new mission president and other senior couples, and attending the temple before continuing on to Palau. Our hearts will always be in Mongolia with the wonderful people we’ve grown to love, but we’re also very excited for the adventures ahead! Even though our departure was approaching, we didn’t slow down one bit. On Tuesday, we visited a hospital to represent Deseret International Charities (DIC) at a donation ceremony where new equipment for the early detection of glaucoma was presented. Thursday marked our last day (for now) serving at the House of Mercy. We brought along some homemade “Can’t Leave Alone Bars” to share with our volunteer frie...

Another busy week in Mongolia has come and gone! Elder and Sister Kim from the Asia North Area Presidency were here for a mission tour, and on Monday we had the opportunity to gather with them for a zone conference. On Thursday we were able to spend the day traveling around Ulaanbaatar with them—visiting the temple site, enjoying lunch together, and serving side by side at the House of Mercy. It was such a special day! The week was made even busier with the arrival of  19 new missionaries ! Their enthusiasm and excitement were contagious as they began what truly is the adventure of a lifetime. We hosted a crepe breakfast to welcome them and ended up inviting the office staff to join in as well—over 30 people in all! That’s a lot of crepes, but worth every minute. Much of our time this week was also devoted to final preparations for the  first-ever Mongolia National Communication Training . This all-day event brought together stake and district presidents along with their commu...

One thing we’ve learned on our mission is to expect the unexpected. Hardly any day goes quite as we imagine when we wake up—and this week was a perfect example! On Monday, one of our missionaries had to come in from the countryside after experiencing severe chest pains. After a full round of tests—truly every test imaginable—no clear cause could be found. The decision was made for him to return to the States, where he could receive a higher level of medical care. That process filled nearly the entire week, and we found ourselves involved at nearly every step. From sending test results and images to the Area Medical Advisor in Tokyo, to J.D. serving as his companion while he stayed in the dorms in our building, and finally J.D. escorting him to Tokyo to meet up with the medical advisor who was taking him the remainder of the way home—it was an unexpected turn of events! Although we were sad to see him return home, we were grateful to help make the process smoother. We continue to pray t...

Surprises, Service, and Tender Moments For the past several weeks, our church and office building has been a bit of a construction zone as crews replaced the entire heating system. As you can see in the pictures, we haven’t been able to work in our office off and on for a few weeks now.  Somedays we were told not to come in and other days we found out when we got there!   After witnessing this noise and dust for several weeks, we thought it was funny that just this week, as the work is coming to an end, ATTENTION signs showed up on the front door and in the elevator! Naturally, our curiosity got the best of us, so we pulled out our trusty friend, Google Translate. What we got were two completely different translations —each hilarious and perfectly fitting in its own special way. We love Google Translate! This week also took us to a special contract signing where Deseret International Charities donated funds to a local organization supporting a drug prevention program. I...