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 the birthday celebrations.
Thursday brought the opportunity to participate in a donation ceremony at a maternity hospital. It is always a pleasure to see the joy on the doctors’ faces as they receive much-needed equipment. They are working hard to improve the level of medical care available in the country and are sincerely grateful for anything that helps them accomplish that goal. It is inspiring to witness the difference these donations make.
Friday was a wellness activity for all the employees at the service center, and we were invited to participate. The plan was to hike a mountain while stopping for games and wellness activities, including meditation, along the way. Just two days earlier, we had enjoyed a beautiful 77-degree day—perfect hiking weather. But on Friday morning, we woke up to a forecast high of only 38 degrees and snow! This dramatic weather change and summertime snowfall immediately reminded me of Laramie, Wyoming. Although some of the planned activities were shortened because of the weather, the hike continued. Despite the cold and wet conditions, it was incredibly beautiful to see the mountains covered in fresh snow. It felt great to be outside, exercising and enjoying the beauty of nature.
This week also brings transfers, which occur every six weeks and, this time, include a mission split, meaning some significant changes are coming for Mongolia. Somehow, throughout our entire mission, we had never discovered that the "chair picture" is a transfer tradition! At the end of each transfer cycle, each volunteer sits on a stack of chairs equal to the number of transfers they have remaining. When we started we would have been on a stack like the first two and now we have only two transfers left! It is hard to believe how quickly the time has gone.
Yesterday, we were also asked to participate in a promotional video for Royal University. We do not have any pictures from the filming process, but hopefully they will send us the finished product. It was a fun and unexpected opportunity.
Happy Father's Day to all the dads! I am especially grateful for the wonderful men in my life who have served as fathers to me, my husband, my children, and my grandchildren. Their love, service, and example have made a lasting difference, and today we celebrate them.
Tonight, we will be speaking at a fireside focused on encouraging senior couples to serve missions. That should be an easy assignment because we have experienced so many blessings and positive experiences as a result of choosing to serve. We are deeply grateful for this opportunity and for all that we have learned during our time here.
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