Sunday Dec 20
th. We had the Stake President,
Ogderal (center on left, with vest), he is the Stake Pres in
Ulaanbaatar,
Choibalsan is under the Mission direction, but he is also over all the Seminaries and
Instutitutes in Mongolia, so he was visiting under that capacity, he is truly an amazing man,
a wonderful speaker, our Branch President
Erkhembaatar, 3rd one from the bottom on left, leaning way in), the 8 young missionaries, a family whose son just returned from a mission in Mongolia. 15 of us in all, over for dinner. I cooked veg soup, they do have beef here, I'll spare you the details of how they get their meat here, Jody would probably get sick! Cooked
a lot of rice and they mixed it all. I think it tasted good and they cleaned up the whole pan! It was fun to have them into our little home, notice the
coffee table was the table and they all just sit around it, either on chairs, stools or on the floor, they don't care. They are an amazing people and don't expect a whole lot! It is fun getting to know them, they have been so kind to us! I do have a
translator who helps me at Church, she is young and is just learning, but she sits next to me during sacrament meeting. The missionaries help Dad. I think we will need to hire a translator do some of our church assignments.
It is a flat and cold place, and when the wind blow, it is extremely cold! They tell us the
Gobe Desert is the coldest place on earth, and we are just north of it! The days are short, sunrise about 8:30 and sets about 4:00, it is almost dark by 4:45. We have been trying to find a thermometer,
unsuccessful as yet, so we are going on what the missionaries are telling us, about the cold, 17c (1 degree) to about -25c or -30c! But, it sure doesn't stop the people from being out in it, or the kids from playing on the playgrounds - they just bundle up! We are learning, "the Mongolian wrap", how to tie the scarfs to keep our noses and chins warm. The air is so dry, things don't go moldy, they just dry up, go crunchy and eventually blow away! That is what the snow does, absolutely no moisture in the air or in the snow, it packs down and gets hard and crunchy, but with all the sand it
surprisingly is not slick, thank goodness. The Mongolian children are so cute! They are chubby and such cute faces! And with all their layers, look pretty stiff! We love you and think of you often.
Sunday Dec 20th. We had the Stake President, Ogderal (center on left, with vest), he is the Stake Pres in Ulaanbaatar, Choibalsan is under the Mission direction, but he is also over all the Seminaries and Instutitutes in Mongolia, so he was visiting under that capacity, he is truly an amazing man, a wonderful speaker, our Branch President Erkhembaatar, 3rd one from the bottom on left, leaning way in), the 8 young missionaries, a family whose son just returned from a mission in Mongolia. 15 of us in all, over for dinner. I cooked veg soup, they do have beef here, I'll spare you the details of how they get their meat here, Jody would probably get sick! Cooked a lot of rice and they mixed it all. I think it tasted good and they cleaned up the whole pan! It was fun to have them into our little home, notice the coffee table was the table and they all just sit around it, either on chairs, stools or on the floor, they don't care. They are an amazing people and don't expect a whole lot! It is fun getting to know them, they have been so kind to us! I do have a translator who helps me at Church, she is young and is just learning, but she sits next to me during sacrament meeting. The missionaries help Dad. I think we will need to hire a translator do some of our church assignments.
It is a flat and cold place, and when the wind blow, it is extremely cold! They tell us the Gobe Desert is the coldest place on earth, and we are just north of it! The days are short, sunrise about 8:30 and sets about 4:00, it is almost dark by 4:45. We have been trying to find a thermometer, unsuccessful as yet, so we are going on what the missionaries are telling us, about the cold, 17c (1 degree) to about -25c or -30c! But, it sure doesn't stop the people from being out in it, or the kids from playing on the playgrounds - they just bundle up! We are learning, "the Mongolian wrap", how to tie the scarfs to keep our noses and chins warm. The air is so dry, things don't go moldy, they just dry up, go crunchy and eventually blow away! That is what the snow does, absolutely no moisture in the air or in the snow, it packs down and gets hard and crunchy, but with all the sand it surprisingly is not slick, thank goodness. The Mongolian children are so cute! They are chubby and such cute faces! And with all their layers, look pretty stiff! We love you and think of you often. 
Don't worry Dad, the payments are the same. 
