Making Mission Memories in Mongolia

Well, another week in the office and — you guessed it — not a lot of blog material! However, those who know me well know that if I decide to write a weekly blog, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do… whether there’s exciting material or not! We do have one bit of exciting news: we’re back in Palau for the week to wrap up a few projects we’ve been working on here. It feels good to return and see some things through to completion. Another senior couple, the Greenhalghs — Family History missionaries serving in Pohnpei — arrived this week and are staying with us. We’re looking forward to spending time together, and I’m sure we’ll have some fun and more eventful things to report next week! Yesterday was our Island Conference, and President and Sister Williams were on island. We had a wonderful conference, followed by lunch with all the missionaries, which is always a highlight. That evening we went to The Taj, a delicious Indian restaurant, with the Williams and the Greenhalghs. The ...

I have to say, working in the office is rewarding and we truly feel like we’re helping—but it doesn’t always provide much blog material! As I mentioned last week, a big portion of J.D.’s responsibilities involves collecting and reconciling receipts. With the huge number of gas receipts from 7 different islands being turned in, he has been working hard to streamline the process and track down the missing ones. We joked that everyone would remember him as the “Gas Receipt Enforcer.” Apparently, Sister Moessing (the mother of Sister Williams, our mission leader), who is in her 80s and faithfully works in the office with us, had been listening in on all the receipt conversations. One day we stepped out to run an errand and left her alone in the office. When we returned, this sign was hanging on the door—and a couple of sister missionaries standing there, trying to decide if they were allowed to enter! It gave us all a good laugh. She keeps us smiling. This week was transfers, which meant...

We are feeling more comfortable in the office with each passing week, and for the first time, this week felt like we were actually caught up on the big deadline items. There is still plenty to do, but thankfully without the pressure of a time crunch! This weekend J.D. needed to help with an audit back at the branch in Palau, so he flew out Friday night and will return early Monday morning. I asked him to take a few pictures during his trip. Let’s just say… this is exactly why I’m in charge of taking the pictures! 😊 It feels a little strange to be apart after being together 24/7 for the last ten months. The senior couples here on Guam went snorkeling yesterday, so I tagged along. The highlight of the day was spotting a large sea turtle gliding along the reef, surrounded by so many colorful schools of fish. I wish I could capture the beauty under the water and not just above it, but you’ll have to take my word for how incredible it was. It was very cool! That evening we all went out to...

As I sat down to download pictures in anticipation of writing this week’s blog post, I realized I only had two photos — both taken for the new missionary orientation slideshow. Since they pretty much represent our entire week, that’s all you get! We’ve settled into a steady routine of getting to the office around 8:00 or 8:30 each morning and staying until 5:30 or 6:00 in the evening. There has been no shortage of work to do. Because we arrived near the end of the month, J.D.’s first major task was reconciling all the credit cards — and when I say all, I mean hundreds of submitted receipts matched to card charges. This includes about 25 fuel cards, 7 island cards, 2 mission office cards, and 2 mission leadership cards. It was a daunting project, but after him working on it alone all week, we tackled it together on Friday and are nearly finished! Next on the agenda is improving the process to make next month’s reconciliation a little smoother. Meanwhile, I’ve been diving into the comp...