Mongolia Mission Week 59 - Christmas in Mongolia

 Mongolia Mission Week 59

Our hope with this blog is to share highlights with our family and friends about our exciting opportunities and awesome responsibilities in Mongolia. It's an impossible task, though, because it's hard to condense everything into a few words and pictures. So ask us individually if you'd like to know more about anything! You can contact us by email (jrose219@gmail.com or krose213@gmail.com), Facebook messenger, or you can text Kathy's phone (515-537-3273). 

And what did our actual Christmas day look like? This was a quieter but more special week. 

Quieter because we had fewer classes to teach since the public schools are on winter break. We still taught online Mongolian missionaries and also at the medical school, but it was the last time at the medical school until the end of February, as they have exams and then go on break. 

More special because it was Christmas. 

On Christmas Eve we invited the other English volunteers over after class at the church. We made pizza and watched the Mission Christmas Devotional, which was a Zoom event for companionships all over Mongolia. We watched Christmas musical numbers previously recorded by English teachers and volunteers. We watched (and participated with other senior couples) readings of Christmas scriptures from the Bible. We ate cinnamon rolls and drank hot chocolate. It was a special evening.

The next afternoon we observed P-day (weekly preparation day) on Christmas day by celebrating with our young friends. We ate beef roast, potato casserole, green beans, rolls, whipped cream fruit salad, baked apples, with bread pudding for dessert. It made a decent feast reminiscent of a Christmas dinner in America (although maybe you don't all feast on bread pudding made of twisty sweet pastries).

Then we participated in a construction project that had been suggested; we assembled and decorated gingerbread houses. We can't find molasses here, so we had found a recipe using honey and corn syrup. Not bad. We had created templates and made five batches of dough over a couple of days.

We also can't find ingredients for the suggested "glue," royal icing. So for the walls and roofs we made a glue of sugar and water cooked until it turned a caramel color. It made a great glue, but we had very little time to use it before it hardened. Pretty tricky, but we were successful. We used buttercream frosting to glue the candies.

A ski resort with spaghetti ski lift cables.

Inside was a manger scene.

We had fun with a white elephant gift exchange.

The highlight of our game playing was Monikers, which is like Charades on steroids. It consists of three rounds where we present the same phrases differently each time. At the end of the standard three rounds the boys and the girls were tied, so we did a fourth round tie-breaker - finger puppet charades. What a hoot!

Elder Anand is very athletic.

Finger puppets

A special Christmas experience for us was talking to each of our children and several grandchildren over the course of several days and several time zones. And on the 26th, we got up for a 5:30 am Zoom call to participate in the supremely important annual white elephant party with Kathy's family. Nearly 20 of us participated from various locations in America - and Mongolia. We made our gift selections via camera and will pick them up when we get home in May. It was a hoot! Families are wonderful!

Isn't Zoom wonderful?

Some of our youth asked us why we were celebrating Christmas on December 25. Christmas decorations and festivities here are all focused on December 31 as Mongolians celebrate the new year. Father Christmas comes to schools and gives special gifts like prizes for kids who have achieved something special. In some homes he brings gifts to kids on New Year's Eve. Christmas trees are adorned with baubles and also money (often for the kids), which parents set up and visitors might add more money to. Some decorations look like U.S. Santas and reindeer and even the Grinch. Home Alone is s popular movie and Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" is a popular song. It's a season of celebration with a lot of U.S. influence, but it's not necessarily a season of religious celebration.

Saturday was another youth activity at the church. The elders helped the young men take charge and organize several fun games. It was a nice turnout and a lot of fun.

A jeopardy game of Mongolian, Church, 
and Sainshand Group trivia 

The Church has been here in Sainshand for 2 years. We feel the weight of helping these new members (mostly youth) come to know Christ. They know the basics about His atonement when they are baptized, but there is so much more to know and experience, especially if they were not Christian before. It's difficult when our conversations with them have to happen through a missionary translator or with Google Translate on our phones. It's difficult when they don't have family support to attend meetings regularly. And teenagers have to deal with teen emotions and experiences! 

We love them, see their potential, and do what we can, but our hearts ache for them to be able to experience the joy of the fulness of His Gospel, both personally and as a church community. There's a whole feast available to them. Someday there will be a fully functioning ward here with lots of adult support. Until then, they're doing an amazing job on their own because they've experienced spiritual experiences that motivate and sustain them.

We enjoy working with these youth in various teaching moments with and without translators. We are grateful for our knowledge of the Savior and for the season that allows us to pause and remember Him and His mission in a special way. We celebrate His birth, His atonement, and the gifts He gives us every day of the year. We are so blessed to know Him and work to receive the blessings He offers. We especially work towards being worthy of our family being together forever. And with Him. 

Joy to the World! 

Mongolia Mission Week 58 - A week full of Blessings

Mongolia Mission Week 58

Our hope with this blog is to share highlights with our family and friends about our exciting opportunities and awesome responsibilities in Mongolia. It's an impossible task, though, because it's hard to condense everything into a few words and pictures. So ask us individually if you'd like to know more about anything! You can contact us by email (jrose219@gmail.com or krose213@gmail.com), Facebook messenger, or you can text Kathy's phone (515-537-3273). 

We had a hot time in a cold town this week! 

We met our new American senior couples in person for the first time this week. Several beloved Mongolian senior couples fill important needs in different areas of this country. But we've been the only American couple here for a while until Harts came to help out in the mission office and take care of volunteer and missionary medical needs. Now we also have the Horitos, who will concentrate on Young Single Adults in our church congregations. 

The 6 of us went exploring Ulaanbaatar together in frigid temperatures. Picture 6 senior English speakers running amok looking for Mongolian souvenirs, stuff that might be practical, and/or US foods in a country of severe traffic jams and little English. Interesting mental picture, isn't it?

This is not a parking lot. This is us turning a corner at a
typical Ulaanbaatar intersection. 

This is how you dress when you go to the Naratuul Market.

First we went to the Narantuul Market, a huge outdoor market. It's connected rows of vendors set up like a giant tent community over a full city block . You can find any article of clothing in any color, size, and material.  (Including an amazing selection of boots built to withstand debilitatingly cold temperatures.) You can find furnishings, flooring, and solar panels for your ger. You can find Mongolian saddles, ropes, knives, bracelets, and wolf tooth keychains. You have to dress extremely warmly and beware of pickpockets, but we each found treasures that suited us. (No, we're not bringing a ger home, but John was very tempted!)

This is what Mongolian horse saddles
look like. There isn't a lot of cushioning.

We found a new import store with American snacks and some foods that tempted us far too much (Not to mention Nyquil). Next was our favorite butcher shop, BB Butcher, which caters to American tastes. And finally we went to dinner together. It was a nice day.

Harts, Horitos, and Roses.

The Christmas tree on Sukbaatar Square.

Ice sculptures on the square just beginning to grow.
They were still working on them in the dark after we
finished dinner. 

Zone Conference was amazing, as usual. Such an uplift of information and spirit. We love the opportunity to gather with friends from various parts of Mongolia.

Our Sainshand district plus Sisters Naranchimeg
and Tumenjargal (We tearfully said goodbye 
to her since it's time for her to return home!)

The drive home included blowing snow and wild animals.

Not an active snowstorm - just shifting snow on the
steppe. And the herders are out in it!

Antelope-type animals!

One of the miracles of the week was getting a birthday card from Kathy's dad. From LAST YEAR. Our birthdays are both in February; he mailed this in January of 2025. From the various ink stamps, it looks like it just recently made it to Mongolia, so it may not have been a Mongolian delay...

On Saturday, we held our Group Christmas party. It began with some games and a dance performance by some of our youth, followed by a pizza and fried rice dinner, and then the nativity with most parts filled by our youth.

The nativity took some creativity. 

We hoped a (new, clean) mop head made Ulzii look like a sheep.

Our littlest sheep had an actual fur-lined, reversible
coat. Her sister is celebrating her first Christmas
as a member of Christ's family and played an angel.

Pillowcases and rope (a treasure from the Narantuul
market) made acceptable shepherd headdresses. And
the deacons even enjoyed wearing them!

The baby was happier on the ground than in Mary's arms.

On Sunday we had our special Christmas Sacrament meeting with music and scriptures focused on the birth of Jesus Christ, like other congregations across the world. While we focus on Christ every week in our meetings, Christmas is always special because we specifically celebrate His birth, which led to His atonement on our behalf. He is the reason we have hope. And peace. And joy. It was a special day as 20 of us celebrated Him as a small church family in our remote but not forgotten part of His world.

Following our services, there was a baptism of a wonderful teenager who celebrated her birthday by joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. John performed the baptism at her request and  was able to memorize the ordinance in Mongolian. 

Enkhrii with her family, who came to support her.

Afterward, more food. The Young Women made over 100 buuz (dumplings), Enkhrii's family brought pizza, and we had a couple of pans of Jell-O, topped with whipped cream.

Odluna, our youngest buuz eater.

The Jell-O was a hit!

Emptying the last of the water from
our portable baptism font.

All in all, it was wonderful week. We testify that miracles have not ceased. We see God's hand in His work here and feel His presence guiding us and guiding the growth of the Church in this country. And the biggest miracle of all is the fact that we can be resurrected and live with Him again. God loves His children and continues to bless each of us as we rely on Him and His Son.

Mongolia Mission Weeks 56 & 57 - Dating in Mongolia!

Mongolia Mission Weeks 56 & 57

Our hope with this blog is to share highlights with our family and friends about our exciting opportunities and awesome responsibilities in Mongolia. It's an impossible task, though, because it's hard to condense everything into a few words and pictures. So ask us individually if you'd like to know more about anything! You can contact us by email (jrose219@gmail.com or krose213@gmail.com), Facebook messenger, or you can text Kathy's phone (515-537-3273). 

In a recent online meeting with the senior couples serving in Mongolia, President Kunz admonished us all to go on dates with our spouses. He suggested we go to dinner, see a movie, etc. As many of you know, consistent date nights have been extremely important to us throughout our marriage, but we find that we've had to be fairly creative in Mongolia - or at least in Sainshand. There aren't that many restaurants, and we have only one movie theater. And so far, the selections there have been horror, anime, or Mongolian language only movies. 

But we grabbed the chance when "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" appeared in English with Mongolian subtitles. It only showed at 3:00 pm, so it was "date daytime" instead of "date night," but it worked on our P-day. We got to the theater and worked through the ticket purchase process. Turns out there is a 5 ticket minimum, so we bought 5 tickets and attended with 3 invisible friends (for the same amount we would pay for 2 tickets in the US). We had the place to ourselves. A private screening. And it was rather fun. 

It's December! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched our annual "Light the World" campaign where the goal is to spread the light of Jesus Christ during the month of His birth. In Mongolia, there is an advent poster with 25 stickers that you place on the poster for each day from December 1 until December 25.

Each day we are to do a different loving task,
like smiling or holding the door for someone
or taking out the trash.

We pulled out the little tree we saved from last year and found a star for the top. It looks good next to our nativity and even has gifts around it that we have received from children who creatively got a package to us.

Our Family Home Evening the first week of the month was a project of making Christmas ornaments out of cardboard, yarn, and stickers. Members and nonmembers of our church got very involved, had a good time, and the ornaments turned out great!

Then, on Saturday, our youth activity was to make a wreath - again out of cardboard and yarn, this time turning the yarn into little pompoms that were glued onto the cardboard. Both these and the trees were ideas found and shared by our youth. 

There was some Christmas music in the background. One of the songs had a beat that we just couldn't ignore dancing to....

For our next activity day, the youth decorated the tree, finished lanterns and snowflakes to hang from the ceiling in the hallway, and created treat bags to deliver to a few families. So much energy, excitement, and creativity! And the tree looks pretty good.

We had two fun reactions from some of our teens that day. The first was a young woman biting into a chocolate crinkle cookie for the first time. Dusted with powdered sugar, it looked suspicious to her. But when she took a bite, her face lit up! She loved it. 

The second reaction was when another girl was eating a brownie. John came by and added a dollop of the whipped cream he was experimenting with (it's 69 percent cream and 30 percent vegetable oil - about half the price of cream and much easier to find.) Another suspicious look, then a lick of the cream. And, again, a precious response of delight. We may be corrupting the youth here with our sugary food substances! No picture of either of these girls - the reactions were too spontaneous.

Meanwhile, at school, a few weeks ago we assigned our 12th grade class to take a simple scenario and develop a story and script from it. We had teams of 4-5 students of varying English abilities. Each member of the team needed a speaking part - everything in English, of course. They presented creative stories, each about 4-5 minutes long. And their feedback at the end was that we should use this again in a future class, so we think they felt good about what they accomplished. Or they enjoyed laughing at each other's skits.

Our two elders have been teaching a self-reliance course on the importance of education at our local Polytechnic College. It's been a good experience for both the teachers and their students. Their first class just completed the course and received certificates and gift bags. This course is another example of the work Deseret International Charities is doing to improve lives and will soon be offered in other areas.

Us with the teachers and one of the students who
completed the class.

We also had some friends come to dinner. Alice, a good friend, is an English teacher at the school where we teach. Her 6 year-old daughter (named Michelle, after Michelle Obama) speaks fluent English and put our other guests, the English volunteer teachers, to work with a drawing competition. 

We had a lasagna (pretty American, right?) 
dinner followed by what turned out to be
a deep dish cheesecake.

Every month, we hold a planning meeting for activities that will be held at the church. These have become a valuable resource as we work to model the value and results of revelatory councils.

John and Elder Paul captured using both a white
board and computer/TV display for planning.

Finally, we'll share a picture of some drawings from home. It's great to receive hand decorated pictures from grandchildren! These pictures were given from the heart. 

We suspect Michelle and Darren gave blood recently,
due to all the American Red Cross stickers used by 
their boys.

We're hoping that, because of our activities and encouragement, the people here find December to be a special time of thoughtfulness. We also hope we've spread the news that Christmas is about Christ's birth and not just a celebration of lights and parties welcoming a new year. He condescended to come to earth to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He strengthens us to bear our burdens, if we draw close to Him. We should all sing "Joy to the World!"