Sister Sarah Bottorff: Week 14

This week has been so fast!!!!

After I emailed you last week, Sister Wilkins and I ran into two other missionaries who were going to KFC. So we went with them! It was so fun to eat American food and relax! I tried not to listen to the American songs on the radio though! :) Then, we shopped for food and went back to our apartment and cleaned and did laundry. The apartment is MUCH better now! After Pday ended at 6, Sister Wilkins and I went to a member's house for Family Home Evening. Our travel time took much longer than we anticipated, so we were running low on time. My MTC teacher was there for the lesson! It was so much fun to have FHE with 2 families and my MTC teacher! We were about to leave, and then the mom came out and said dinner was ready. Because we were running low on time, we decided to scarf it down. Sister Wilkins and I sat down and I started eating as fast as I could. And then it hit me. The soup had been boiling for a long time. And it was so hot! And I had a huge spoonful in my mouth. My eyes started watering and I started sweating and I spit some out on accident. I looked like a mess! Haha Everyone was so worried about me! But I got through and just ate the soup slower. Sister Wilkins had told me to slurp it, but I had forgotten. Oops. So I slupred the rest and had cold water when I got home. It was only yesterday that my tongue went back to normal. And I'll try my hardest to never do that again.

On Tuesday, Sister Wilkins taught English, and an hour after I dropped her off, I went to the church building to do English training. We should start next week in our sponsor schools! I'm really excited! Sister Hansen and I taught a class of about 35 people that night. It went really well!

Wednesday was Sister Wilkins' birthday! We made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and then she had English. While she was at English, I went out with Sister Guild and Sister Bennett, and we got locked out of their apartment. So the four hours Sister Wilkins was teaching was spent waiting for the locksmith. Good times! We actually had fun! Then, we got Sister Wilkins from her school and she and I headed out and taught a lesson. We taught a teenage girl and then her mom listened while she sewed. Her mom asked us to meet with her to answer some of her questions! So we set an appointment for Saturday. After the lesson, we went to the city center and did a split. Sister Guild and I went together and Sister Wilkins went with Sister Bennett for the night.

I was with Sister Guild all day Thursday. We had to take another sister to teach English, and after we dropped her off, we had to take a taxi back home. And the two of us made it with only minor wrong turns! We were so proud of ourselves! Then we did some studying and had English training again. We learned about assessing our students and learning which level they are on. Sister Wilkins and I went home after the training.

On Friday, Sister Wilkins and I planned for the coming week while eating biscuits and gravy! We scheduled a lesson and it turned out to be SUPER far, so it took about 2 hours to get there. It was up a mountain and then up some more and then up some more. The view was gorgeous! We taught a lesson on prayer. It was a great lesson, and the Spirit was so strong! Then, Sister Wilkins and I headed to the church for some training. I went out with Sister Guild to a member's home. He made us stir fry with veggies and chicken and rice. It was so good! And we spoke English! He told his conversion story, and I fell in love with his little daughter who is SUPER cute! When I met back up with Sister Wilkins, she handed me a package from home! Turns out goldfish and candy and hot chocolate and popcorn have NEVER tasted so good! Thanks mom and dad!!!

Saturday was great because we met with the woman from Wednesday. The lesson on prayer and Heavenly Father went really well! The spirit was there and I was honored to be a part of the lesson. Then, we met with a couple with a young baby. We shared a little thought on prayer and they invited us to stay for dinner! We had a great talk with them, and they invited us to come back and continue teaching them! We tried to meet with a couple of people afterward, but they were in the countryside, so we headed home.

Yesterday I went to a missionary meeting with our bishop. He asked the missionaries a bunch of things and I didn't understand. Then, Sister Wilkins leaned over to me and asked if I knew how to sew. I said yes, so she told the bishop. And then she said, "It looks like you're teaching the women how to sew American blankets on the 23rd!" So we are going to sew! And learn words for "thread and needle and sew" in Mongolian! :) Church was great! It's so fun to be around so many wonderful people, even if I understand 10% or less of what they say! It's always a good time! We had studies and then had dinner with my MTC teacher, her husband, and his friend. She fed us traditional Mongolian food. I tried eating horse for the first time! Turns out I LOVE horse!

I love being a missionary! I pinch myself every day and can't believe how fast my time is going! I hope you have a great week! I love you all!

Sister Bottorff