Activities and People

Dad found a little puppy! Erdenebayer named him "Yellow." Dad feeds it whenever we go to the Church, it hangs out in the back of the building and greets all the Seminary kids in the mornings. The kids were telling us that a cow walked into the yard at the Church and the puppy went crazy, barking at it. Elder Gurragchaa is holding it. The picture shows that it is early spring, light jackets for them, for us still warm coats, hats and scarfs.

We were invited to FHE at Shinjibaatar's house. We are playing a game, I actually won this one, the Mongolians love games and I'm usually left in the dust, so this was quite a feat for me! Adeia is on the left, she just turned in her mission papers. The girl in the center is a full time missionary in Ulanbaatar, she was in Choibalsan for a couple of days, I can't remember her name. The man is Shingibaatar, we have been to his house before. This is Ariungerel and her boyfriend Munkhchudur. They (and others) come when they are bored, want a piece of candy, or need a drink of water. Here they are teaching us Mongolian paper folding of money, we are making heart, fish and a swan. We are folding one for the grand kids, we'll send them to you when we get them done. About 9:30 pm we start yawning, telling them they better be to Seminary at 6:00 am tomorrow! (We were but they were tired - teenagers!)

The members take a time each week to do service - clean the church. The one on the left is a Branch missionary, Reggimaa, she just received her mission call to Mongolia. The other one is a full time missionary, Elder Altansukh. They clean and mop the floor, vacuum the classrooms and chapel. The Mutual kids, Missionaries and Relief Society also have a time to clean. The missionaries who come here say it is one of the cleanest churches in Mongolia.

This is the front part of the chapel, the corner of the podium is far left. The guy in the suit is Ghanhulick, a Branch missionary, these are the pants I hemmed for him (in the last blog). Erdenebayer, is taking the missionary lessons. He is 17 years old going to college here, his family is from another city, I don't think he has any relatives here in Choibalsan, so he gets lonesome and hangs out at the Church, he has taken a liking to Dad and I, and comes to English classes, he speaks Russian and Mongolian, and picking up on English pretty fast.

We love you and appreciate your love and support!

Be good

Love You!!

We went to Crater Lake NP during "Spring Break".

We will always remember our Spring Break in the snow. I was hoping it

would be warmer than it was. We were told that the area around

Crater Lake did not get as much snow this year as usual.

We saw alot of snow! It was beautiful!

We stayed in Klamath Falls, OR with my parents. My sister Natasha and

her little man, Stetson came too. We stayed at a nice resort and

enjoyed being together. It did snow almost everyday. Luckily there

was a indoor pool and other activites to keep the kids busy.

PUPPIES born several hours after our return from Klamath Falls.

Lilly delivered SIX puppies, all about 3oz. One did not make it.

It has been a very emotional week. We have lost three others.

Two of these have died. The skinny on in front just did not put on the weight.

I tried feeding her by hand, she only lasted a few days. She was very sweet.

The one in the middle, that looks all white also died. She just stopped

nursing and would not let me feed her by hand. The two left are the

ones with the dark ears.

This was taken just hours after she had them all. It has been a very emotional

experence having these sweet puppies. Lilly has been a great mother

and done the best she could!

We will keep you posted as these little ones open their eyes

and become more active!

Oh, Jackson!!

He fractured his growth plate, but the good news is no surgery!!

The bad news, no baseball!!

Who knew they have glow-in-the-dark casts?!?

Spring in Mongolia

Choibalsan Mission District

left to right...

Elder Batbold - District Leader

Sister Mandkhi - Sign Language

Sister Lkhamjargal, Elders' Gurragchaa, Altansukh, Smith

Elder Smith is from American Fork, he is here until about the 20 of May and then will leave with the rest of the American Missionaries.

He and Elder Batbold have been a big help to us.

Elder Batbold can speak really good English.

We had finished dinner at our house, they are some good missionaries

The temperature was still below 0c, but the Mothers bundle their babies up and come out for some fresh air and sunshine. They bundle them up so tight, they an hardly move, and they all have the little scarfs around their neck and chins. Sometimes they bundle them up like a papoose, in a blanket and a scarf or belt tied around the outside, you can barely see their little mouths. The babies don't resist. I think if I had bundled my babies up like this there would have been some loud protesting!
I still think the playgrounds in Mongolia are so unique. They sometimes look like exercise equipment, treadmills, chin bars and stair stepper.
In this picture, the equipment looks like an elliptical.
I see people down on them early mornings, exercising. My thoughts are that they were put in by the Russians, so they are for that purpose.
But, the kids are on them all the time. You need to remember 0c, is Springtime!
The Mongolians don't like Spring...it is always windy, and the wind is very cold!
It is hard on their animals, the grass has not yet grown.
They claim that Spring makes them ache and hurt.

This young man's name is Ganhulick, he has been a member of the Church for a couple of years. He is always in a suit and tie, he wants to go on a mission.
He got this new suit but it was not hemmed, so I hemmed it for him, and he brought me this boat, to say thank you.
He made it is out of styrofoam, thread, sticks a bottle cap to set the sail in and plastic from a bread sack. That is what they call, using your resources!
It is so unique, I loved it, he claims it will float, too.
He lives in a little house with his family, he hauls wood and water everyday for them.
This is also a playground, a Nursery School near our home.
I guess they are chin up bars.

There is one event that I want to relate to you, it has to do with Spring...
We were walking home one night after meeting with a family. It was about 8:45 pm and dark, there were no street lights. We had to walk across town.
As we were coming around a corner to go through a gate behind our apartment. There were about 10 guys there, I felt nervous. Dad said just to keep walking, at the same pace and don't look up. Just as we were passing through the gate we heard a yell and they all moved through us to the other side and started beating up some guy! I can still hear the hits and the groans! It scared me to death!
We kept going, and soon was out of their sight. I feel they did not even see us.
I truly know that the Lord protected us!
We were obedient to what we should have been doing and He watched over us!
We have seen 3 fights this week, one with some women! We were in the same room with them, at the Internet cafe, emailing you kids.
That was a little scary, too! I cut things short, closed up and we left!
Maybe there is a lot of restlessness also in the Spring, also!

We truly feel the Lord's help with many things, giving talks, helping people and getting answers to prayers, as we need them.
We are so grateful to be here and hope we are able to give some help to them, the Gospel is the only answer to their problems and questions!

We love you and miss you!
Love Mom and Dad

PARTY IN SAINT GEORGE

We had quite the fun this last weekend. Garry's family, Jody's family, Tracy's family and Trish all came down for a visit. We made them pay for staying with us by helping with our drywall in the basement. I'm glad Garry knew what he was doing. I don't think the books that Kevin 'rented' from the library would have been enough. Jacks, Brad and Kale loved putting mud on the walls and ceiling; they were a huge help. Thanks to everyone for coming down and helping. We had a lot of fun with all of you.

EASTER EGG HUNT

Setting Up a Ger

Some organization is helping homeless families in Choibalsan. They set up five Gers in this City Park area. We walked by about noon, they were unloading the materials, at about 3:00 they were setting them up. It takes a whole crew of people and they work together holding poles in place.

We walked by again at about 6:00 and they were done with all five of them. They let us go inside and take a picture. The art work is amazing.

They are amazingly warm, not much space but the family manages. The doors are quite small, you have to bend down to get in.

We were actually visiting with a family that lives in a Ger, when we saw the ones in the Park. This little girl wanted her picture taken with Dad.

We want to wish all of you a Happy Easter!

We are so grateful for the opportunity of being on a Mission,

and being able to serve our Heavenly Father.

We know that God lives, We know that Jesus Christ lived and died for us!
We are so thankful for the opportunity to bear witness of that here in Mongolia!

We love each one of You!

Love Mom and Dad

Happy Easter!

They're now blue, red, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, neon, glittered, tie-dyed, painted, shrink-wrapped, striped, hidden messaged, stickered and even spritzed. Oh, the eggs got a little colored in the process, too :)