Crepes, Coats, and Communication Councils

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 communication directors to discuss ways to “bring the Church out of obscurity,” especially as Mongolia prepares for a temple in the near future. We’ve been planning this training for quite some time, so it was wonderful to see it finally take place and to witness such meaningful discussions and inspired ideas.




As you may have noticed in the temple site picture, winter has officially arrived! We were hoping to make it to our October 27th departure without unpacking our winter coats and boots, but no such luck. Brrrrr! I was secretly hoping for a little snow before we left, so I was happy to see it fall… though I could have done without the -3°F temperatures!


A little insight into Mongolian life: our dear friend Khongorzul mentioned she might not make it to work because her daughter’s school could close due to a teacher strike. When we asked about it, she explained that teachers are asking for higher pay—currently around 1.5 million tugriks per month, which equals roughly $400 USD. Even in Mongolia, where the cost of living is lower, that’s not much for such an important profession!

On a lighter note, we recently met an entrepreneur at Sükhbaatar Square selling various handmade goods. One item that caught our eye was a hand-carved nativity set made by his brother. Since I love collecting nativities from the places we visit, we decided to learn more. When we met again, the brother showed us several beautiful paintings on leather—a popular art form here—but we told him we were just interested in the nativity. To make a long story short, he explained he needed to sell one of the paintings so he could buy the wood to carve our set! So, we are now proud owners of both a lovely piece of Mongolian leather art and a uniquely Mongolian-style nativity. It features the country’s five main animals—camels, sheep, goats, horses, and cows—as well as traditional deel clothing and an authentic headdress on Mary. I absolutely love the cultural details!


And finally, some news from home—Miss Kara turned six! She celebrated with a pajama party, and although we hate missing these special milestones (thanks to the great grandmas for covering for me!), we’re so grateful for the chance to be here serving our Savior, Jesus Christ, by serving His children in Mongolia.




Comments

  1. timjquinnOctober 19, 2025 at 8:12 AM

    Great to see you both doing so well! Loved the picture of snow! Looking forward to read warmer updates! Take care!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. J.D. and MelanieOctober 20, 2025 at 3:55 AM

      Looks like you guys are enjoying life in Colorado! Life is good!

      Delete
  2. Bill and Shauna CookeOctober 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM

    -3 degrees is BURR Bear BURR Fox and BURR COLD. We have NEVER been in that kind of cold weather. I have been in 10 degrees not in the - area. That Nativity scene and the leather craft were beautiful and worth getting. New Missionaries, I wonder is Cadence Potter at the Provo MTC taught any of them. As a take calls missionary I happened to get a call from her and at the end of that call she told me she taught you guys at the MTC. Now she wants me to teach her some new FS stuff. Now to get hold of her with her very tight schedule.

    ReplyDelete
  3. J.D. and MelanieOctober 20, 2025 at 3:56 AM

    I don't know for sure but there aren't many Mongolian teachers so I would guess yes. It's a small world!

    ReplyDelete

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