Final Thoughts

 

This week's blog is to answer two questions we receive a lot: what will you miss when you leave Mongolia and what are you looking forward to about going back to America?

What we will miss:

The People!

• Friends. We have made so many friends who have touched our lives in Mongolia. Especially in a small town like Sainshand, people are welcoming, friendly, kind, and helpful. Theirs is a tradition of hospitality and gift-giving. It’s really been amazing to see such acceptance when we sometimes do or say the wrong things.  
• Young volunteer teachers from America and missionaries from Mongolia. We love them so much! And the other senior couples and our mission leaders. We are inspired by their sacrifice, charity-filled endurance, and whole-hearted dedication. We have learned from all of you and have appreciated your support and love. 
• Our church congregation. They are truly pioneers. Our little group in Sainshand is so new. Most people who joined were the first members in their family and usually joined alone without family support. But they know the Gospel is true, and they are brave enough to choose to follow Christ, no matter the opposition. They come on Sundays alone and find friendship, fellowship, and unity as they worship, play, and serve together.  
• Our English students. Some have become so close.
• The teachers in the schools who we shared classes with. They are kind, helpful, and appreciative. 

The culture

• We admire the respect we see, especially for the elderly. We also delight in the widespread enjoyment and love for children. 
• In every home we visit, we are welcomed, given refreshment, and treated like royalty, even by the most humble. 
• We love the ethnic dress that is worn so proudly. 
• We have enjoyed music, dance, and ceremonial greetings. Traditional art forms are very much a part of contemporary Mongolian identity, and it's a beautiful identity. 
• The celebrations: Tsagaan Sar and Naadam. So much symbolism, focus on family, and maintaining cultural traditions. 
• The food. We like to experience new foods and feel like it's a good way to really understand a culture. Traditional Mongolian dishes are hearty and filling. We've experienced quite a lot of Korean food, also, like kimbap. And then there were all the unusual, but delicious snack foods: lobster flavored potato chips, raisin water drinks, milk curds, Russian Kontik snack cakes, Crazy Bee candies, etc. Every trip to the store was a day of discovery!
• The gers (yurts). Such a part of Mongolia. We worry that they will disappear. So many people are moving to the city and to apartments. We understand. Moving from a one room home to a multi-room apartment with indoor plumbing has got to feel great. But those gers are so unique, have such history, and represent a free, peaceful life and resourceful lifestyle!

The animals

• Bactrian (two humped) camels. They are so regal and majestic - well, in the winter!
• The Bankhar dogs, especially the puffball puppies! 
• The wide open spaces and free-roaming herds. We only saw fences to keep animals off the railroad tracks and from the yards of homes in the towns. We loved driving and having to slow for goats, sheep, cows, or horses crossing the highway. Or camels. It’s their land – we were just passing through. 

All sorts of other stuff

• The lack of stop signs. We only saw them at railroad crossings. Busy intersections have stop lights, and courtesy and civility rule the others. You don’t go if there is a car coming. You take turns. When you need to get into traffic on a crowded street, you insert your fender into a line of cars with bravery and assertiveness, and people let you in. It works; it’s amazing. Horns are used mostly as a gentle warning – don’t back up, I’m behind you. (And every time a light turns green. It’s always assumed that whoever is first in line at the light is asleep.)
• The sunsets of the Gobi!
• Being local celebrities. Every day we got greetings and smiles as we walked across playgrounds or down our stairs. Among the 4-15 year-old crowd, we were a great opportunity for them to practice their English “Hello” on. It’s been so fun. We will become regular nobodies when we are back in America. 
• Being able to devote full-time service without a myriad of other distractions. 

 What we are looking forward to:

• Seeing our family in person! Hugs, dinners together, celebrations, events, etc. We've been very grateful for telephones, email, video calls, packages, and cards, but there's no substitute for a good hug. 
• Our home. Our Mongolian apartment was home. But we missed our home. Particularly its clothes dryer, sink disposal, and dishwasher. 
• Our yard with its lawn and roses and garden. Growing our own tomatoes. Picking asparagus. Our fruit trees. Doesn’t matter if we are in American or Mongolia, store produce isn’t the same as that from the garden.
• Our dog. It’s the longest period John has ever been without a dog. It was hard.
• Our church congregation. We have great friends in New Harmony, too, and we’ve missed them. 
• Hearing the sacrament prayers in English. Not being the only ones to sing the hymns in English.
• Our neighbors and friends. We have a lot of catching up to do!
• The temple. We have so missed enjoying the peace and spirit of the House of the Lord. It is a wonderful blessing that a temple is coming to Mongolia. It can’t happen fast enough. We wish we could have planned temple trips for the Sainshand saints who want them so badly.
• Mountains, especially the red rock cliffs of Southern Utah and seeing the Kolob cliffs every day. 
• Snow skiing.
• Kayaking. 
• Sushi.

We stopped on the way home from the airport for sushi.

It was wonderful to worship in the temple again.

Mongolia and our friends there will always hold a special place in our hearts.