One whole week!

We have now been in Mongolia for one week! We love the climate and the culture. It is very cold, but beautiful. Remember, "there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing". It's really true! It has been below freezing every day last week, and snowed one day. The snow here looks like little pieces of flat ice and sparkles like glitter. The Mongolians are a very kind and friendly people, especially in the Church. We went to a baptism at our branch on Friday evening. There were over 150 in attendance for two baptisms. The church building we are assigned to is a 3 story brick building similar to the ones that are built in Idaho & Utah. It is built in the center of a Ger District (Gers are the round white portable huts that Mongolian's live in). Most of the members are young, however, we have met several who are around 50 and even one who was 67 and joined the church last year. The people are very friendly. They all greet each other, old and young, going around and shaking all hands, even children. No one is missed, saying "San ban oh". We attended Fast and Testimony Meeting today at our Branch. Bill and I both bore our testimonies (with a translator). We look forward to the time that we can speak without one. Sometimes something gets lost in the translation! One phrase that Bill used couldn't be interpreted. It was..."I pray that the windows of heaven will shake for your good". The translator looked very puzzled and skipped that one! Many of the people wear European style clothing, but many still wear the traditional Mongolian deels. They are gorgeous, men and women alike. To travel back and forth to Church, we go out front of our apartment and flag down a car, tell them where we want to go and pay them. The price to go out to the Ger District is only about $2 American or 2,000 Tugrigs. We are not used to hitch hiking and were a bit nervous about it, but since we've done it with the Mission President's wife and two other couple missionaries, we are getting used to it. Another thing, is riding in this traffic. You need to focus on the scenery and not on the driving, especially when you have always done all your own driving. There are few road rules. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way, and if you want to make a U Turn in the middle of traffic, you just do it. Also, merging is a way of life. The driver points the car in the direction he wants to go and goes, and everybody else deals with it. The food is very interesting. It's so cold, that the markets have carcasses laying out on tables waiting for customers to pick the cut of meat they want. I haven't been brave enough to buy any yet. The other senior couples have been so kind and hospitable, we have had dinner at a different apartment five out of the last seven nights. We went to dinner at a Chinese Restaurant with the Mission President and all the Seniors who were in town for new Branch Presidency Training. We love Mongolia. We love this Mission. Half of the young missionaries are Mongolians. Our office is in the Church Sevice Center which serves as the Mission Office, Mission Home, Ward Building for 2 or 3 Branches, Distribution Center, CES Office, ERC Office and PEF Office. It's five stories high and made of granite, very modern. We have an apartment in a 5 story concrete building which was constructed in the 40's by the Russians, which is quite comfortable. The government regulates the heat, but I still find it a little warm, and take my suit jacket off inside. Only thing, the power goes off regularly and we have hot water only between 7 and 9 AM most mornings. We live across the hallway from the Mission Dr and his wife. The Assistants to the President live above us. There are three other couples living in this apartment complex. We have had many people coming into our office this last week. We have several projects in the works. One is with a school for disabled children, a health fair at several schools in the area, wheelchairs to distribute, and we have been approved for 2 clean water wells for 2008. We also met with a member of parliament this week in regards to a project to obtain gers for the homeless. We have a full time Translator, Ariunbolor (we call her Arika) who is a native Mongolian. She served a mission in Idaho. We have been very busy and hope to stay busy. We love this country, this people and the fact that missionary work is going forth with great power. Even though this is not considered a proselyting mission, the missionaries are able to talk to anyone about the church who brings up the subject, and I have already been able to invite 2 people to come to church and to our English classes. (Oh, did we tell you that we are teaching English too?) That is southern English. We have a class at one of the government buildings who are property consultants and lawyers, about 5 people. We will also be teaching lawyers from the Children's Advocacy Department after next week. Well, we trust that everyone is doing well at home. We love you all and miss you. But, we are so grateful to be here.