Week 13

Hey!

So after I emailed you on Friday, I went shopping.  Now we live in the ritziest part of the city, so the grocery store was pretty fancy.  It sold a bunch of American stuff, but it was all expensive.  Sister Wilkins told me to close my eyes because we weren't going to buy any of it! haha She knows all of the other brands that are cheaper and imported from Russia or Germany!  I also tried huushuur (said hoe-sure).  It's like a pancake wonton with meat instead of cream cheese.  It's delicious! 

Saturday was a great adventure!  We taught our friend again, but this time I was with Sister Wilkins!  And I miraculously remembered how to get to her house!  Nobody in the ger districts have addresses or know their neighbors, so there's really no way to find anyone unless you have really clear directions.  We taught a lesson about Joseph Smith and God.  Her mom ended up feeding us at the end.  We ate this soup with potatoes and noodles and meat and some chunks of stuff...could have been woodchips or something....I prayed before and didn't get sick!  Miracles happen!  Then, we had a district meeting and reviewed the components of meaningful prayers.  It is always good to review that!  I had to say the closing prayer in Mongolian, and I got pretty nervous after they said what makes a meaningful, heartfelt prayer, but I did the best I could.  That's all God wants! 

Yesterday was Sunday, and I love Sundays!  We went to church in a taxi, and Sister Wilkins told me to talk to the taxi driver.  I talked to him about his family, school, hobbies, and then we ran out of things to say haha.  Then, Sister Wilkins and I looked at each other and were at a loss of what to say.  Then, I asked him what he was doing that night, and we ended up talking until we got out of the car!  Sister Wilkins invited him to English, so we may see him again! 

Church was awesome!  We didn't celebrate Easter because I guess Mongolians think Easter is next week.  So we'll celebrate next week.  We walked into the chapel and talked to a bunch of people.  Sister Wilkins and I had never met any of the people in the ward previously, so we got as many phone numbers as possible to start building friendships.  The people are wonderful!  Then, I turned around, and my MTC teacher was running toward me!  She gave me a huge hug, and I felt so blessed to see her!  I love her, and it was so much fun seeing her in Mongolia!  She's visiting family, and I happen to be in her ward serving!!  I bore my testimony in Mongolian, and it went like this, "I'm Sister Bottorff.  I came to Mongolia a week ago.  I know God loves us.  I know Jesus Christ lives.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.  I know the Church is true."  It was simple, but people were so nice!  They complimented my Mongolian accent! :) 

In Relief Society, all the women got together and for the opening song, they sang Silent Night.  Sister Wilkins and I laughed and then tried to pull ourselves together.  They know how to make Christmas last all year! :)  After church, we had a meeting with the ward missionaries that I couldn't understand.  But I'm sure it was good!  We took the bus home and planned for the rest of the day.  We planned for our upcoming week.  We will be making lots of visits and teaching a lot!  I'm really excited!!!

I have been focusing on gratitude and my relationship with God.  Gratitude really helps me to not complain.  It helps me see the good and handle stress much better!  I'm focusing on being excited to pick out words I know instead of being upset with all the words I don't know.  I'm also working on my relationship with God because if I have a good relationship with Him, I don't have to worry about anything else.  I'll do what He wants me to do and then be secure and happy knowing that I'm doing what's right. 

Thank you all for your support!  I love Mongolia so much!  I feel right at home here! I feel safe and happy, and I know it's where I'm supposed to be!

Love you all!

Sister Bottorff

 

"My first huusuur."

 

"I'm rocking the mask hahaha."

 

"These shoes were black.  Like BLACK at the beginning of the day.  Then Ulaanbaatar happened."

"My MTC teacher!  and Elder Cowles from the MTC!"

Week 12.5

Hey!  

I got some extra time to email, so I'll tell you about the last few days!  Other than car sickness and the pollution, which is apparently not bad, I've been adjusting GREAT!  We work hard during the day and I sleep ALL night.  Other than being exhausted at 6pm, I haven't really suffered from jet lag.  

On Tuesday, I went to the top of a mountain with the new missionaries and President Benson.  We read the dedicatory prayer that dedicated Mongolia for missionary work.  It was a spiritual experience, and I loved looking over Ulaanbaatar and feeling such a sense of purpose here. I love being in Mongolia!  The rest of the day we had training at the church.  Then, we taught English Class at the church, and Sister Hansen and I taught about 40 people.  It went well!  

On Wednesday, Sister Wilkins had to teach English at the Medical University, where I'll be, and I went on splits with a different sister while she taught English.  The cafeteria at the university has these eclairs that I'm probably going to get fat on, but what can you do?  I went out with the most adorable Mongolian sister who is waiting to go to her official mission in Fort Collins!  I love her!  We visited some people together.  I met the childhood friend of my Mongolian teacher in the MTC.  I also bore my testimony in Mongolian and taught an investigator about missionary work.  The Mongolian sister, who was my companion for the time, taught me the colors while we were on the bus.  

Thursday was great because I went out with the Mongolian sister again while Sister Wilkins taught English.  We got some ice cream and went back to her apartment to study.  There, she taught me lots of words and phrases including, "Please help me" and "piano" and "volleyball" and other things like that.  Super random, but I loved it!  Then, I went to the church to do more English training before we taught a class that night.  Sister Hansen and I taught a different class of about 12 people, which we will be teaching for 2 more weeks while we train.  I love these people.  They want to learn English so badly, and I love being able to help them!  We worked on complimenting food, and then I had them get up and compliment each other.  They complimented me, too, and I felt so happy!  

I love Mongolia!  I feel really safe here.  I feel like this is exactly where I'm supposed to be.  Even though my language isn't great, I am trying!  I talked to a taxi driver yesterday, and it was super fun! I told him my favorite color is pink and that I like volleyball.  He laughed.  I said, "Do you have a family?"  And he said, "yes..."  hahah and then it was silent.  So then I said, "What KIND of family do you have?"  And then he told me he has a wife and a son on the way!  hahah I loved talking to him!  I love practicing my Mongolian, and when I tell people I've been here for 5 days, they say my Mongolian is great! hahahaha

My apartment was super ghetto, but we moved, so that's fun!  Our ghetto apartment was super small, and we slept on foam pads on the living room floor. hahahaha  Good times.  I did laundry, and in order to do laundry, you put your clothes in the washing machine and fill it up with water from the shower, using the shower head.  Then, you put the soap in and it washes kinda.  Then you drain the water, which is BLACK, and then you rinse and put it in a spinner.  Hahaha

Well, I'm out of time.  I love you all and will write more on Monday!

Sister Bottorff

Week 12: I'm in Mongolia!!

Hey Everyone!

So I'm in Mongolia, and it's been great!  

I'll begin back in Provo.  Wednesday was great!  It was so normal going to classes and teaching and eating as usual.  

On Thursday the 17th, we began our big journey.  We started the day with class and then packed and ate one last meal at the MTC.  Then, we got our luggage all together and got on a shuttle that took us to the train station in Provo.  It was quite a production to get the luggage on and off the train.  3 heavy pieces per person.  Luckily our Elders are great and helped out a ton!  Once we made it to Salt Lake, we got off the train and onto the TRAX, which is like a subway ish.  It took us to the airport.  We got everything settled at the airport and I called my family!  It was so good to hear from them!  The flight from Salt Lake to LA went really well!  I sat by Sister Guild and we partied!  Once we arrived in LA, we had to get our luggage, walk all the way to the international terminal, check our luggage again, go through security, and try to grab one last meal in about 1 hour or so.  Luckily we made it!  And I ate Panda Express.  It was a great choice! :)

We boarded the plane and after taking some Benadryl, I fell right asleep.  I'm pretty sure I slept most of the time because I woke up and they were feeding us a second meal.  I slept through the first despite attempts to wake me up.  I got up and walked around and just sat and enjoyed thinking about nothing for the rest of the flight.  It was 13.5 hours total.  We landed in Korea and it was Saturday the 19th!  

On Saturday, we sat around in Korea for about 7 hours.  They had free showers, so I gladly took one, ate Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell, and some other snacks I brought from home.  Then, we took the last hour in Korea to run over to our gate.  It was in another terminal, and it was at the very end of the terminal.  So we took all of our stuff over there only to find out we had to go back to the middle of the terminal, down about 10 gates, to get our boarding pass.  We ended up cutting it pretty close, but then we got on in time.  It was pretty stressful when I started hearing Mongolian over the speaker in the plane.  I had a mini panic attack and felt really overwhelmed.  I cried for a split second as I considered how little Mongolian I knew.  But I sang a song and colored and felt a lot better.  Three hours later, we landed in Mongolia!  Customs went great, and I was the first in our group to get out of the airport.  I was approached by a man who wanted to drive me in a taxi, and then, right out of nowhere, a man from the mission home came up and said, "Welcome to Mongolia, Sister!"  We found the other missionaries in our group, and headed off to the mission home.  It was a 30ish minute drive, so I got to see a lot of things!  The city is crazy!  No traffic laws, some awesome statues, and some buildings and lots of gers (yurts) cover the hillsides.  Once we got to the mission home, we met President and Sister Benson, the Mission President and his wife, and their 5 kids.  They are amazing!  They let us wash up, and then we had dinner as a group.  They catered Indian food, and it was super good!  I forced myself to stay up until 9:30 even though it was a struggle.  I stayed the night in the mission home.

When I woke up the next morning, I had breakfast, and Sister Hansen and I were picked up by two sisters, Sister Nelson and Sister Wilkins.  We went to our first lesson!  We traveled by meeker, a 10ish passenger van, to a ger district.  Then, we walked around the neighborhood to find the ger of a really nice woman and her 3 boys.  Besides a spider landing on Sister Hansen's shoulder, the visit was great!  We talked about God, and I bore my testimony.  We left and went back to the Sisters' apartment to eat grilled cheese sandwiches before church.  I only went to Sacrament meeting because after that, I needed to get in line to have an interview with President Benson.  Sacrament Meeting was great!  I understood approximately nothing, but I felt good about it.  Sister Nelson did some translating, and I just enjoyed picking out the few words I could catch.  They speak really fast....But I love them!  My meeting with President Benson went great!  He got to know me, and he got me really excited to be a missionary!  Afterward, we ate a quick dinner of leftover Indian food and headed off to our last lesson of the night.  We met a family of 6 who is interested in learning more about Christ.  They gave us this milk drink in cereal bowls.  It was made of milk, water, butter, and salt and then boiled.  Sister Wilkins kept looking over and saying, "Are you drinking it?"  And Sister Hansen and I kept nodding and smiling, hoping to get out of it.  But then about the 3rd time, Sister Wilkins told us that we couldn't start the lesson until we finished.  Oops.  We finished as quickly as possible and I understood most of the lesson!  We taught about God and prophets and invited them to pray.  The Spirit was strong!  It was a great first day!  We got dropped off to the mission home where we slept for the night.  I was exhausted, but I loved my first full day!

Today, Monday, was also pretty crazy.  Sister Hansen and I had pancakes with the Mission President and his wife.  They are the best!  Then, we got picked up and went to the hospital, which is an old Russian hospital, to get some tests done before we went to the Immigration office to get our visa paperwork finished.  When we got home, I felt so car-sick!  The driving was crazy and bumpy!  I got to lay down for a little while, which was so nice!  Then, some other sisters took us out to lunch at a local Mongolian restaurant.  It tasted ok....haha  After lunch, I went back to the mission office to finish packing.  My new trainer picked me up.  It's Sister Wilkins!  She's super awesome!  I look forward to working with her and learning all she knows!  She and I met up with 4 other sisters and got Pizza Hut!  And now I'm here!  I'm not sure what's going to happen this next week.  But I'm looking forward to it!

I am doing the best I can to get over jet lag.  It's a struggle, but I'll do it.  Everyone here is so nice!  I don't ever wear my name tag because of some weird policies right now.  Also, we are not supposed to speak Mongolian on the streets for now.  So I haven't really spoken much Mongolian.  I think it's making the transition easier! :)  I'm loving it here, though.  I know it's where I'm supposed to be.  I'm looking forward to serving these people with all my heart!  

Thank you, again, for everything!  Love you all!

Sister Bottorff

Panda Express!

During the layover in Korea.

The ride from the airport in Mongolia.

The view from the Mission President's home.

"My first legit meal. That is noodles and lamb and fat. Lots of fat.

They do that here in Mongolia."

Week 11: My Last Letter in America!

Hello!

I can't believe my time at the MTC is coming to a close!  It feels like I got to the MTC just yesterday!  I can't possibly be ready to go to Mongolia already!  I'm really excited, though!  I have started packing and organizing and cleaning everything.  I think either my brain is in denial or God is really blessing me.  I feel peaceful, and if I start feeling nervous, I feel this peace come over me like God is telling me not to worry because He wants me right here.  I'm so grateful for those tender mercies.  

Since Saturday, not too much has happened, but I'll catch you up on the last couple of days.  

On Saturday, we ate lunch at the temple, which is as close to a home cooked meal I have gotten in 10 weeks!  It tasted so good!  I had roast beef and mashed potatoes!  These were my first potatoes made from actual potatoes in weeks!  Afterward, we napped and then went to class and taught a lesson in Mongolian.  We also had a lesson to help us with our listening skills.  Our teacher showed us a conference talk in Mongolian.  Between all 9 of us, students, we could understand about 20 words in the 2 minutes we listened.  So basically my Mongolian is lacking.  I guess I can't really expect any different after only learning "hello" 10 weeks ago.  It's going to get much better starting in about 2 days! :)

Sunday was an amazing day!  Despite daylight savings, I didn't really feel tired.  Sacrament meeting was about enduring to the end.  I found it so profound because I am doing the best I can to not get trunky and mentally check-out early from the MTC.  Our Mongolian district sang the special musical number, and we performed Nearer My God to Thee in Mongolian.  It sounded really pretty.  On the very last chorus, we sang in English the words, "I need Thee, oh I need Thee.  Every hour I need Thee.  Oh bless me now, my Savior.  I come to Thee."  It really hit me that by me leaving this week, I'm coming to Christ.  I am relying totally on Him to help me.  I can't do it without Him.  I need Him every hour.  After sacrament meeting, Sister Hansen and I taught Relief Society.  It was a great lesson because everyone participated and shared amazing insights.  I'm truly surrounded by amazing people!  The temple walk was absolutely gorgeous.  The sky was blue, the weather was warm, and I got to be with my friends on the temple grounds!  We attended the departure devotional afterward, where we were given motherly advice from the MTC president's wife.  She told me everything my own mom would tell me!  For example, she said, "Be the missionary your mom thinks you are!"  I'm trying!!!  We missed choir because of the departure devotional, but I'll go tonight and sing This is the Christ.  A perfect last song, if you ask me!  We got prime seating in the big devotional, though, because we got there before all of the choir members chose their seats.  Elder Allen spoke again, and it was his best talk yet!  I loved hearing his words about how God has infinite love for each of us.  He knows exactly where we are and what we are doing.  He is entrusting His beloved Mongolian children to me with a charge to serve them with all of my heart.  I am so grateful for this opportunity, and I want to do my very best.  

Yesterday was the first "normal" day I've had in a while!  We had normal study time, gym time, and class time.  The biggest difference from a "normal" day and yesterday was that Sister Hansen and I performed our vocal duet for the arriving senior missionaries.  It was such a treat to perform again and feel the Spirit so strongly.  We also had Chick-fil-A for dinner!  SO many blessings! :)  We taught one of our investigators for the last time.  It was really sad to tell him that we are moving.  Even though he is our teacher, it felt like he was a real investigator that is coming closer to Christ.  The cool thing is I could possibly meet the real person (who my teacher was pretending to be) when I get to Mongolia!  I am excited to see where the Lord takes me and who He brings into my life.

I have learned so much at the MTC.  I have learned more about faith and how the Savior suffered for me.  He truly knows exactly what each of us need, and He is more merciful than we can ever comprehend.  He is never mad at us.  Instead, He welcomes us, with open arms, to come closer to Him.  I can do nothing without my Savior.  But with Him, I can do all things.

I will talk to you from Mongolia!  I love you all!!!

Sister Bottorff

Mongolia Sisters

The Zone

Week 10

Hey!

On the one hand, I'm not sure where time has gone!  But then I think about all that I've done, and it makes sense to be leaving soon!  But it's still so crazy!

So my last P day was on Saturday.  We only had half the day to do laundry, and by 3 we were back to work.  We did study time and taught that night.  

On Sunday, I hit my 2 month mark!  I can't believe I've been on a mission for 2 months!  It amazes me that time is flying!  I have learned so much, but I know I have so much more to learn and do!  I have to make every second count!  Sunday was great, though.  I loved church, the temple walk, and taking a break from my everyday life.  I love that about Sundays.  The Provo Temple President gave the Sunday night devotional, and I got to sit in the front row!  

Monday was the beginning of a pretty big week!  I found out who is going to sponsor me in Mongolia!  I will be teaching at the National Medical University of Mongolia!  I am really excited!  I'll be there the whole time I'm there!  I'm really excited to get started.  I hear great things about the school.  The students I'll teach will be medical students around my age.  I think we will have a lot of fun together!  I'm going to pretend I don't speak a single word of Mongolian so that they don't try to get me to speak Mongolian.  The ELC (English Language Center) is an amazing place!  We observed teachers, taught lessons of our own, met some of the people behind the scenes, and truly had a wonderful experience.  I also met the mission president and his wife who will take over in July.  They will be spending the majority of my mission with me, and I don't think I could have met a nicer couple!  At the end of our ELC experience on Thursday, we received certificates that will tell the Mongolians that we have been trained adequately!  It's pretty exciting!  

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we spent the day at the ELC again.  Sister Hansen and I taught a real English class.  They recorded us, and we watched the whole thing.  Then, they sat us down with the director of the ELC, and he gave us pointers and ways to improve.  It was such a blessing to have this resource, even though it was awkward to watch myself.  

On Tuesday night, the devotional was so interesting!   As a choir we sang, Where Can I Turn for Peace.  The speaker, Elder Pino, of the 70, spoke to us in Spanish.  I thought it was such an interesting experience to have an interpreter for the talk, especially after learning how to teach English.  It gave me more of a glimpse of what they're going through.  

After the ELC on Wednesday, our teacher, Brother Boyd, came into the classroom and told us we would be eating dinner a little early because we needed to skype our mission president, President Benson.  So we ate and headed to a room where we skyped him as a class.  He gave us the information we needed in order to travel to Mongolia without problems!  It was fun to "meet" him!  I look forward to serving with him!  

Yesterday was just as busy as the others because even though we didn't go to the ELC, we had In-Field Orientation at the MTC!  We attended an all-day seminar to get us ready to go out to the mission field.  It is an orientation for anyone leaving the MTC in the coming week, so we went to the seminar with people going to Canada, Italy, Romania, and Temple Square in Salt Lake.  The interesting thing was that we all learned languages.  The people going to Temple Square were from different countries like Haiti and there was even one from Mongolia!  It is so much fun to see that we are all going all over the world (literally) and sharing the same message of hope!  

I feel so blessed!  Blessed for the experiences I'm having. Blessed for the people I'm meeting.  Blessed for the Spirit I'm feeling.  Blessed for the many people who are supporting me in various ways.  I love you all!  

Sister Bottorff

 

Some of the Zone at the Temple.

 

Sister Bottorff and Sister Hansen watching videos at the ELC.

 

Teaching Certificates!

 

At the ELC.

Week 9

Hey everyone!

There's so much to update you on!  I can't believe it! 

Tuesday night, we sang Hark All Ye Nations in choir and it was amazing.  The speaker that night was Elder Nielson of the 70, and he spoke about lessons he has learned from our beloved Prophet and the 12 Apostles.  It was probably one of my favorite devotionals.  He emphasized that Elder Holland has taught him to "remember Lot's wife" and never look back.  We should always be progressing.  Moving forward.  Instead of dwelling on should haves or could haves, we should be seeing what bright things are coming our way!  He shared many more, and they were all applicable and inspiring.

On Wednesday, it was a pretty normal day.  Lots of flashcards.  We taught a lesson, and the Spirit was so strong.  I felt so blessed to be a part of that moment.  I keep thinking about how God is allowing me to have these experiences because of His infinite love.  And He wants me to be a part of sharing His infinite love with others.  

Thursday was service, and we cleaned toilets.  We finished so early that we ended up cleaning all of the mirrors in the hallways, too.  Later in class, Sister Hansen and I were invited by Sister Burgess and Sister Bertasso to sing again, but the time they need us will be next week when we are getting certified to teach English.  I was bummed that we had to say no, but I'm honored they asked!  That afternoon, we studied outside again.  It is seriously the best to get outside for more than 10 minutes to breathe in the fresh air and see the blue sky and feel the sun.  

Yesterday was Friday, and it was the best day because we all received our TRAVEL PLANS!!!  We leave the MTC on Thursday, March 17.  We are super lucky because we don't have to leave the MTC campus at 2:30 am like most missionaries.  Instead, we get to leave at 3:30 in the afternoon!  In a total of 36 hours, we will fly to LA and then to Beijing and then on to Mongolia!  It's feeling so real!  I just don't want to get too ahead of myself because I still have a little under 2 weeks left.  I have to finish strong and use all the time I have to study and prepare.  

This week we will be going to the English Learning Center and completing our certifications.  I finished the online portion of the class, which we have been doing every night, last night.  I learned a lot about teaching a language.  I find out on Monday where I'll be teaching for the next 16 months!  I'm really excited!  It could be anywhere from a school to a post office or a hospital!  The anticipation is building, but I know it will be just the right place, even if I don't expect it.  

I love you all and hope that everyone is healthy and happy.  I pray for you often and appreciate all of your prayers on my behalf!!  Prayers really are answered!

Love,

Sister Bottorff

 

Studying outside in the sunshine!

 

With Sister Hansen

 

The Elders and Sisters with their Mongolian teacher.

Travel plans!!!

Week 8

One quick note: Sister Bottorff will have two more email days while she is at the MTC. They will be this coming Saturday, March 5th and Saturday, March 12th. After that, she will be in Mongolia! We will keep you posted regarding new email dates! :)

Hey!

I can't believe it's March already!  I go to Mongolia this month!  Weird!

Let's see...

On Tuesday evening, we went to a devotional and sang the beautiful primary song, A Child's Prayer.  About 15 children came as special guests to sing with the choir.  I love it when children sing.  The devotional to follow was an amazing talk by the General Primary President, Rosemary Wixom.  She was amazing, and I hope to be like her someday!  The downside of Tuesday was saying goodbye to 2 more elders.  They have become great friends, and I know they'll be great in California!  They will be missed.

Wednesday was a little sad without all of our friends.  Without the Cambodians and Viets and Hmongs, our hallway was pretty empty.  But we got to our classroom in the morning to find some nice pictures from the Viets.  So nice! :)  We did our online English class, which is really insightful to learning any new language.  

On Thursday, we had service in the morning.  And it started out terribly because we knew the showers were SO bad that we volunteered to clean them.  The girl in charge of service told us that because we took on that terrible job, we would be fluent the next day.  And....she lied.  Still not fluent.  I'll talk to her on Thursday when I go back and do service.  After service, we took a language test on the computer where it gave prompts and we had to use our Mongolian to give our answers.  And it was stressful.  And terrible.  And I learned how much I don't know.  But then I thought about how short I've been here and how well I did in those terms.  Luckily nobody but my teachers will ever hear it.  I practiced volleyball drills during gym, and I got better at my overhand serves.  Still not great, but much better!  We had study time outside again!  

Friday was fun, and during gym time, I decided to try playing four square.  I ended up meeting the elders who are headed to Colorado Springs!  So watch out for them and be nice! :)  They all seem nice.  One of the best parts was that Sister Hansen and I borrowed a piano duet from the music library, and we have been playing it in our free time.  I love it!  It is so relaxing to play the piano.  Right before bed, Sister Hansen taught me some really beautiful songs that we can sing together, too!  I love music!

On Saturday, we began teaching with a "new" companion. I will be teaching 2 lessons a week with Sister Olsen.  We taught our first lesson together on Saturday, and that went well!  Other than that, it was a pretty typical day.  Class and volleyball and the usual.  But my point count in volleyball is up to 6 now, so I gave myself a pat on the back for that! :)  It's in the little things that makes life great, right? :)

Sunday was amazing, as always.  Church was really great, and I had some ice cream with lunch!  It always tastes so good!  The other meetings that day were really good, too.  I love the time I get to spend with such good friends.  It still amazes me that we haven't even known each other for 2 months, though!  The weather was perfect on Sunday, which made the temple walk really great!  I didn't bring a jacket, and we sat on the temple lawn for a while, just enjoying the sunshine and the break from our everyday work.  The devotional that night was given by Elder Allen of the Church's missionary department.  He spoke in January, and he gave another great talk this Sunday about repentance and what a gift it is.  I love that we can change and let go of all of our mistakes.

Yesterday was back to the normal everyday schedule.  We did have Subway for dinner, though!  And we met a senior couple who got  back from serving a mission in Mongolia a few years ago.  They assured us that we would LOVE Mongolia, and it made me really excited.  Also, Sister Olsen and I taught a girl over Skype who lives in Mongolia and will start her mission in Mongolia next month.  I look forward to seeing her again!  She was so nice, and I just loved her! 

The next two weeks are going to be exciting!  I have regular classes this week, and then a P Day on Saturday.  Monday through Thursday of next week will be spent on the BYU campus, and we will be practicing English teaching and finishing up our certification.  I look forward to all that is coming up!  I love you all and pray for you often!

Love,
Sister Bottorff

Sister Bottorff and Sister Hansen

Sitting on the lawn at the Temple.

Sunny selfies :)