Mongolia Mission Week 11 - Train ride to "the city"

 Mongolia Mission Week 11

Our hope with this blog is to share highlights with our family and friends about our exciting opportunities and awesome responsibilities as missionaries. 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).

Teaching English is very fulfilling. But we've learned from our experiences that teaching lessons and giving talks in church can be a truly amazing (and humbling) experience. When you do your best to prepare, and realize that you cannot really do it very well on your own, the Spirit fills in your weaknesses and you can feel that what you do is acceptable to the Lord (if you push past second-guessing yourself). You end up doing what you need to do in the way you need to do it. These are His children, and He takes an active role in their learning, if they let Him. Thoughts come into your head about what people should hear. You can even feel like you are filling some of their needs. 

We've had some small miracles in working out what to teach on Sundays and for Mutual. In an area like this where the group is so small, you never know who is going to show up. So you prepare as best you can for what you might say for whoever shows up each time (realizing that the whole thing will need to be translated, and realizing that much of the participation comments will be indistinguishable to you), and then you just jump in and do your best. 

It's such an awesome partnership! The Sunday School lesson where you are teaching parents as well as teens with different desires and difficulties as well as different levels of knowledge. The outdated calendar you bring back from Zone Conference that ends up being exactly what you need to cut up and give to the teens in Mutual because the calendar has 12 different pictures of the Savior and each one speaks to a different person, even one who is a non-member and has been immersed in nasty, untrue materials being posted about the Church.

This calendar page quotes Psalms 147:2-3
and shows the miracle of Christ healing the blind man.

Ahh, Zone Conference. Our experience going to Zone Conference in Ulaanbaatar (also known as "the city" or UB) was great in many ways. We acquired a boost of the Spirit, took care of some business, and accumulated miscellaneous material things, including the leftover calendar from an activity. When we arrived in Mongolia seven weeks ago, we spent two days in the capital city before coming southeast to Sainshand. Half of the country's 3 million people live in the capital. We didn't have time to see or do much when we first arrived, but we had 3 days this time.

Of course getting there was an adventure - a 12 hour overnight train ride. (The drive takes 5-6 hours by car.) We approached our train ride with trepidation because of the stories we'd heard from other missionaries. We'd been warned not to drink anything all afternoon or on the train, due to the condition of restrooms. We actually brought camp sleeping pads from America to make our train ride sleeping softer. But since our expectations were pretty low, we were surprised. To be fair, we were in a car with only 4 bunks and had requested it for just the two of us (perks of being a senior missionary). The bathrooms for these "private" cars were pretty decent. The linens were clean, unlike on the overnight train we took in rural China. The biggest issue was waking up at all the stops. (There were less stops on the way home, and that trip only took 10.5 hours.)

The Sainshand station. Interesting that there is no ramp.
All luggage must be carried up the stairs.

Our train

Our cozy little cabin.

We had a little visitor who kept coming 
by to check on us. She was so cute!

Mongolia is all one mission within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one of 450 in the world. Pretty big area - about 2.5 times as large as Texas. It's divided into 4 "zones." Each zone meets together periodically for a conference. Ours was last Thursday, with missionaries getting together from the eastern parts of the country for training and updates. And a spiritual feast. It was great. 

Our zone has 37 missionaries. Pictured are those 37
plus Pres. and Sister Namgur and the Leavitts, a 
senior couple who help with all zone conferences.

Each zone is divided into districts. Our district has 10 missionaries from 2 remote areas. We meet online each week, but this was our first time meeting the missionaries from the other city.

Our district. The six on the right of this picture
are those of  us in Sainshand.

Being in the city was like being in a whole new world. No buildings in Sainshand are taller than about 6 floors. Markets are small. Restaurants are few. You can walk across town in an hour. That's very different from a metropolitan city of 1.5 million. UB has some very cosmopolitan sections with malls and electronic signs and things you would expect in a big city. It also has nightmarish traffic jams and delays and one of the highest pollution indexes in the world, especially in January and February. The mission provides us with N-95 masks for the pollution.

But we were awed by some of our grocery store options - things we had given up on. We resupplied on things we can't find in our local stores: packable brown sugar, powdered sugar, whipping cream, Parmesan cheese, and hamburger. We even got what we think are tortilla chips. We haven't dared open them to see. 

We also checked out some of the stores. 

This store was full of cute and fancy
children's clothes - and some Spiderman stuff.

John really didn't have warm shoes to 
tramp around in, so he found some in
the city. Notice the fur lining - necessary!

We checked out a few restaurants, got an okay sushi fix, and tried out the MexiKhan restaurant the elders talked us into.

We took a large empty suitcase to bring back our food finds, a new water filter for our apartment, and almost got a laser printer for the church to fit in there. Luckily the elders went back on the same train we did or we would not have been able to get that printer home. Another tender mercy.

There was a piano in the UB train station, so Elder Abbott and Elder Higginbotham entertained the waiting passengers before we left the city. It was so fun! Of course, they always attract crowds of young admirers.

Headed home! Hoping for a nap-

When we got home Saturday morning,
there was almost an inch of snow on the ground.
This is our 3rd snow in 8 weeks -
the most we've received in a single storm.

And all of the sidewalks are cleared by hand
because even one inch of snow won't ever melt.

Thanks for following our adventure!

Mongolia Mission Week 10 - Dancing the night away

 Mongolia Mission Week 10

Our hope with this blog is to share highlights with our family and friends about our exciting opportunities and awesome responsibilities as missionaries. 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 know what you are thinking! You are thinking, "I wonder what lime-flavored fermented camel's milk would taste like." Yeah, that's what John thought when he saw this in the market. Actually, nearly every market. So, we bought some. It tastes just like you would expect. Kind of a soured milk with lime flavor. And a hint of camel. Actually, yogurt is fermented milk, too. So, kind of an unsweetened lime yogurt.

There are a lot of probiotic drinks like this
in this country.

But it's not just John. Kathy kept wondering what these things that look like sushi rolls would taste like. 

Gimbap is a Korean dish. 

Seaweed, rice, maybe carrot? some pickle? Yep. And something similar to a hotdog. It needed wasabi!

A better discovery is a hotpot restaurant in our little city. It's rather new and modern. When you enter the restaurant you select a broth and a meat. Then you sit around a conveyer belt that carries a variety of foods; you pay for what you select. The offerings include various types of noodles and vegetables, plus miniature hot dogs, fishy tasting lumps of rice type dumplings, and boiled eggs. There are a variety of sauces and seasonings on the side. It's a fun adventure, and you only have yourself to blame if you don't end up liking your soup.

Each seat has a hot plate so you 
can cook your selections in your broth.

Speaking of adventure, Saturday night after we cleaned the church, we met a Mongolian English teacher friend at a nearby Christian church because she had invited us to a dance . It seemed very popular and had lots of excellent dancers. Kathy was asked to dance nearly every dance! But she didn't know most of the steps people were dancing, because most music had specific steps people were using. And sometimes clapping. What a hoot! We didn't last long before we wore out and went home early.

So, how do you solve wanting to go dancing in Mongolia if you don't know any of the dances? Sign up for dance classes, of course. Our English speaking friend takes lessons at the same church where the dance was held and invited us to take lessons, too. We've been a few times now. We still don't know the language but can follow movements - sometimes. The teacher will slap his right leg when we are supposed to start with that leg. Or his assistants will partner with us so they can show us what to do. It mostly works. 

We're now signed up to go to dance class for 2 hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights! They're a fair workout - longer and more intense than most American dance lessons we've attended. (You may be wondering about mission rules. There are major differences between the rules for young missionaries and the guidelines for senior couples. 

After dance class Wednesday night, we walked to the main street and hailed a taxi. John's getting pretty good at telling drivers where to take us, and sometimes they actually understand him. (He used to just show them the address written on his phone.) The driver acted like he knew where to go but then stopped the car and said something back. John pulled out his phone to show the driver our apartment address, assuming he didn't really understand where to go. The driver showed us something on his phone: a video of us dancing from the class we had just left! We know we stick out as foreigners. No one in this town looks like we do, although once in awhile we're mistaken for Russians. But now we are famous! He recognized us even in our stocking caps!

So, you can see we're doing more exploring in our community. We certainly have perused lots of little shops. There are many small grocery stores full of snacks and drinks and some basic groceries. If we go in a storefront, sometimes a magical world of treasures may open up: a maze of shops called a zaah. Some shops are in different rooms of the maze; some are sections of a bigger room, with owners sitting on stools behind their counters. Many have an eclectic variety of wares (probably dependent on what can be imported). One store we find fun offers both bras and household implements. It's where we bought green cord for hanging our Christmas tree ornaments.

Hair supplies, irons, rice cookers,
clothing, etc.

The shops are usually small and tightly
packed.

This one is packed particularly high and has a big
selection of types of curd. It can be very hard and 
meant for gnawing, to strengthen your teeth and gums. 
It comes in various shapes and sizes.

Some smaller shopping carts roll.

Just before New Year celebrations, stores
had piles of pre-packaged gifts for people
to give, consisting of a variety of snacks.

More pre-packaged gifts for giving.

This is a row of different shops; each
seems to be individually owned. 

Reindeer boots are popular and 
usually have very decorative tops. 
They are supposed to be very warm.

We find the Mongolian people here very friendly. We try to let them know we are friendly, too. We know we stand out, and hopefully it's in a good way. Yes, we are crazy foreigners who don't know how things work, but we are also crazy foreigners who are doing their best to understand and love a people and their ways. We appreciate this opportunity and are searching for those special moments where we can have an impact for good in our small way. 

We have been blessed so abundantly in our life. "Because we have been given much, we too must give." We are honored to be here listening for our purpose and trying to draw closer to the Lord each day. It's a lifelong pursuit, but, especially now, we are being intentional about living in a more consecrated way. And it has paid off in special moments in our personal studies where we have received personal inspiration and deepened our knowledge. It's paid off in help we've received in making decisions about how to run our classes and our church group. It's refined our relationship with each other. It's a grand adventure.

Mongolian Mission Week 9 - the miracle

 

Mongolia Mission Week 9 

Our hope with this blog is to share highlights with our family and friends about our exciting opportunities and awesome responsibilities as missionaries. 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 believe in miracles. We know that they happen all the time - more often than we all realize. We've been trying to be more mindful of seeming coincidences and of learning to recognize the tender mercies that the Lord blesses us with. This week's is really a small miracle, but still is an example of how miracles take place in our lives.

On December 27, we stopped at the grocery store on our way home from English class at the church. We bought some groceries, paid with a credit card, then went outside and got a ride in a "taxi." (We described this unique ride share arrangement in Week 4.) When we got home, John didn't have his wallet. Only three options - left it at the cash register, left it in the taxi, or dropped it getting out of the taxi. Went back to the unloading spot. No wallet. Got ahold of a bi-lingual former missionary who is visiting this area where he used to serve. He met us at the store and they went though security video. Saw the payment. Saw the wallet put in a pocket. Saw us get in a car. Couldn't see the license plate. John doesn't keep Mongolian money in the wallet. And only a couple of cards and a little US currency (for no good reason). So only a small loss and inconvenience. We don't keep our valuables all in one place. But it had cards advertising our English classes with phone numbers of the Mongolian speaking young missionaries we serve with. We prayed about it and both felt that it would be returned.

9 days later, a lady called the missionaries and said she found a wallet at the store. They gave her directions to their place and collected John's wallet. Everything was in it except the USD currency he had in it, left over from our travels from the USA to Mongolia. Just a few bucks. Everything else was still in place. Coincidence? We think not.

We have these informational cards to pass out.

Last week we told you that the missionaries did a video advertising these classes and explained that we had 34 students turn up the next day, Friday night, when we usually have 3-5. That was a very encouraging increase. Monday night (when the the power was out for some kind of maintenance!) we had 98 students show up. They filled all three of our teaching spaces. They filled every chair we have. So we all taught English to packed classrooms by the light of cell phone flashlights. It worked. We all had fun and the students were all very attentive. Near the end of our hour, the lights came back on, but what a challenge! These students have a strong desire to learn English, and their parents also really want them to learn. We'd like more adults in class, but we did get some.

Room #1 - the "cultural hall"

Room #2 - filled to the brim

Room #3 - filled beyond the brim. 

This week was Kathy's turn to venture out for a haircut. Being much smarter (or more vain) than John, she took a friend, who is a bilingual English teacher at the school where we teach. So she was able to end with a much better outcome. But without nearly as much adventure!!

Our friend was getting an "oil treatment' 
for dry hair, so Kathy decided to get one,
too. It came with an extremely vigorous
massage and warming treatment.

You may have been wondering about yurts. Every city in Mongolia has an area called the "ger district." A ger is what other areas of the world call  a "yurt." In the countryside, these homes are a good, mobile choice for nomadic herders. They are lined with a thick felt and must be quite warm. In the cities, these districts are not strictly filled with the dome-shaped gers, but often with other small buildings. In many cases, people who can't afford a house just set up a ger in the same area where their family lives. Here's the view of one such district we see as we walk along the main street of town, walking from our apartment into the heart of the city. It's unusual because it has a partially wooden fence. The fences around the lots are usually made of metal because there are not many trees around here.

And here's a brief language lesson:

Several Mongolian letters look and sound like English ones, such as M, T, K, A, E

Several Mongolian letters look like English letters but have different sounds:

• H sounds like N
• P sounds like a rolled R
• C sounds like S
• N sounds like a short I
• Y sounds like OO

Other Mongolian letters are new symbols to us:

• П sounds like P
• Ш sounds like SH
• Д sounds like D

There is also a troublesome symbol that looks rather like a pi sign and makes a sound that our tongues don't seem to want to make. 

Some words we see are clearly Mongolian words, like CYM means "church." But several are adopted words and then spelled using the Mongolian alphabet. These are really helpful for those of us who kind of know the alphabet, but not Mongolian words.  For instance,

ATM KNOCK: using the substitutions provided
 above, is pronounced kiosk.

MNMN MAPKET: mini market

CYПEP MAPKET: super market

More than you maybe wanted to know, but we are getting by - mostly. And it's miraculous that we get around as well as we do. It really is. 

Speaking of miracles, some require some sacrifice. There's a native Mongolian man in our group who went on a mission to Nebraska as a young man. He returned to Mongolia, married, and had a family. They've been living in a town in the northern part of the country, where he was a branch president for the church and worked in construction. He said our mission president approached him and asked if he and his family would be willing to move to Sainshand, a small town in the southern part of the country. They said yes, sold their house and car, loaded everything they could into a few suitcases, said goodbye to extended family, and moved here. All so that we could begin a unit of the Church here with a strong family. Incidentally, there was a major flood in his town 4 days after they left, and their prior home was damaged. That was just over a year ago; they are settled here, and he is working in construction. What pioneers! What an investment in the future of the Church in this city! What a commitment to the Savior.

But the biggest miracle is the atonement of Jesus Christ. Nothing else compares. What He did for each of us is beyond comprehension. And we are all blessed by what He did, whether we appreciate it or not. Because of Him, we will all be resurrected and live again. Because of Him, we can all be forgiven of our sins. Because of His grace, we can all be enough. Enough to return to our Father in Heaven and live with Him again. That is the miracle. And it's one we often take for granted, just as we do all the little miracles in our lives. It doesn't have to be that way. Let's start noticing the miracles. And thanking God each day for them. Even if it "just" a sunrise. Or a returned wallet.

Mongolia Mission Week 8 - It's a New Year!

 Mongolia Mission Week 8

Our hope with this blog is to share highlights with our family and friends about our exciting opportunities and awesome responsibilities as missionaries. 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).

What an exciting week for us! 

First, we just never know what we'll find as we leave our apartment. The goat head was along the sidewalk across the street from our apartment complex. Another day we saw a small herd of cows being moved via motorcycle.

We got invited to a warm and cozy home for dinner on Sunday night by some gracious members. We ate some delicious traditional foods: huushuur, similar to a meat filled empanada; potato chunks; horse meat; pickled carrot salad; and a warm milk drink. It was all delicious. Don't judge. Turns out horse is pretty good. Since it was during the new year celebratory time, traditional Mongolian folk wrestling was on the TV in the background. It's a style of wrestling where the wrestlers must not touch the ground with anything but their feet. 

New Year's eve was a little quieter than we're used to. We made treats - our Mongolian versions of Chex mix, English toffee,  and a lemon meringue pie. Some ingredients are rather limited (like cereal, which is imported and usually some form of Muesli), but we got creative and it all worked pretty well. We had the other missionaries over to snack and play games for a bit in the afternoon, then had an evening with just the two of us. And hours of fireworks going off around the apartment complex. There was a big party downtown, and apparently people out singing karaoke in sub-zero temperatures, but we stayed in our nice, warm apartment and tried to sleep. We thought being on a mission was a great reason to skip staying up late this year, but it didn't work very well.

It's hard to see the bursts of fireworks.
Random people were just shooting them
off periodically, just when you thought
the show was over.

The town center area was decorated right after Christmas, like the next day.  All of the decorations seem to be Christmasy, but the celebration is for the New Year. The president of the country gives a speech at midnight, and it's a big deal. 

We stopped for a picture at the town square early one evening.

One of the couples in the church here owns a small market. They sent each set of missionaries a New Year's treat - a cake and a large box of various fruits. Fruit is very precious here, as it is all imported. This was wonderful surprise and delicious treat!

We also had our new friend Alice, an English teacher from our secondary school, invite us to lunch at her place and serve us a wonderful cake. She is a thoughtful person with a cute 5 year old daughter who has native-sounding English, due to her mother's careful tutoring. 

The box these cakes come in is intriguing. It's a self contained party kit. The box flaps are perforated to become plates and spoons when separated. How ingenious! 

Then, on January 2nd, a couple of guys from the mission facilities department came to our church with many surprises. They installed several pieces of beautiful new artwork featuring the Savior, installed Wi-Fi, fixed a few things, and arranged for signage to be placed on the outside of our building, which was completed the next day. It's amazing to feel the impact of the artwork in this sacred space. And when people pass our floor to go upstairs to the next level, they look straight down the hallway and see the Savior washing His apostles' feet.

This one was specifically for the 
Relief Society room. Someday we'll
be big enough for a Relief Society!

We have a sweet 15 year old who was baptized just before we got here. She was entranced when she saw this painting and held her finger up as though she wished she could touch the Savior's face. Kathy pointed out the girl at His feet and said the 15 year old's name, so she could put herself into the scene. We don't speak Mongolian, but we can communicate spirit to spirit. She got the message.

In our church space, we also teach an English class for the community on 3 nights of the week. Since we've been here, we've only had 1-6 people show up most nights, so on Thursday the young missionaries posted a video on the city Facebook page to advertise for more students. The video was a parody of a current Mongolian social media trend, changed to have a theme of "Nobody teaches like we teach." It was an instant hit, with over 11,000 views within 24 hours. We had 34 students in class the next night. They all showed up eager to learn - a few adults and some kids of various ages. 

Our medical school students are on a two month break from school for the New Year holiday. So we've been asked to use that time to teach the faculty members' children. Once a week, starting this week, we have a room full (max capacity is 16) of students, probably between 8 and 14 years old, mostly 'tweens.'  Likely to be fun and challenging. We're still assessing their levels, but generally children in Mongolia get some English instruction in school beginning in the 5th grade and before that, most don't know much. The medical school faculty we are teaching in a different class are very basic beginners but are certainly a fun class!

We also participated in the last class of our online group of Mongolian missionaries who are working diligently to learn English, with a goal of getting into the Pathways program. They all have amazing spirits and have been great to get to know, even for the few sessions we've had with them. They're ready to move forward with their goals! The online classes are different than the ones we teach in the community. They are Gospel oriented and all about setting, achieving, and reflecting about goals and working to overcome various emotional learning obstacles. Students in this class focus on developing confidence and faith in themselves and in their Savior for support. It's an inspired program that opens many doors for many people around the world. 

At the end of the week we got invited to a member family's New Year celebration and birthday party for their 2 year old, combined into one event.  So much food and such variety! Besides horse, another popular dish is Tsuivan, which is a noodle dish with meat and vegetables. It also is delicious and very common. We had dumplings, roast beef and rice, and sliced sausage sorts of meats with pickled vegetables arranged artfully on platters. There were candies and fruit and candied fruit. We also got served a kefir drink, which is a probiotic drink made from milk and kefir that produces a yogurt-like sour drink. John is wondering if he ever will acquire the taste for that. 

People keep wondering about the weather. We've been told it's warmer than usual. (!!!!!) Lately we have highs around 20 degrees and lows near zero. With windchill, it can be 20 below at night. The biggest factor is the wind. It doesn't take much breeze to make zero feel really cold on our faces. We find that 12 degrees without wind is downright pleasant for walking, since we brought plenty of warm clothing with us. And when it's that nice, a 30-40 minutes walk home isn't too bad.

So we're staying warm on the outside and also on the inside as we work to serve the people of Mongolia the best we can. We may not know much about a lot of things, but we do know, from the bottom of our hearts and souls, that our Heavenly Father loves His children. All of them, all over the world. It's very evident to us. He knows our struggles, no matter what kinds of lives we are living. We're so grateful that He is willing to bless us all with more light and knowledge and peace when we turn to Him. Have a great year!