Sister Sarah Bottorff: Week 19 - Happy Mother's Day!

Hey everyone! Happy Mother's Day!

I can't wait to Skype tomorrow!!!!

This week was another great week! After I emailed last Monday, I shopped and then took Mongolian pictures. Haha It was a great time! I am with Sister Wilkins, Sister Bennett, Sister Guild, Sister Kofed, and Sister Khandsuren. Sister Khandsuren finished her mission on Wednesday, so we took some pictures! :)

On Tuesday, I taught English. I love teaching, especially on Tuesdays, because my students are pretty advanced, so they get a lot of my humor. Most Mongolians don't get sarcasm at all. So it makes my humor a little hard to understand. But this class gets it. And we were making inside jokes and having a good old time.

Wednesday was fun because I taught two English classes. And Sister Khandsuren finished her mission. That was sad, but it was fun to hang out with her for some of the day! We had to do language studies later that night, so Sister Wilkins made it fun by taking me to the little store in our apartment complex and teaching me food words. We finished our study by buying some treats. But she only let me buy them if I talked to the store owner. He seemed a little weirded out that I was asking him about how many kids he had, but we just laughed and went home and ate our treats. Luckily he was a good sport! :)

Thursday was my favorite day this week. I did weekly planning. And then I had the opportunity to meet with my favorite family! They are awesome! And we met with all of them except the son. But Their house has my favorite view. They live at the top of the mountain, and I finally got some pictures this time! :) Aren't they all so cute? The Spirit was so strong in the lesson. We taught about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And I loved it. And they loved it. Everyone is so interested and they all have faith. It is amazing to find people who are ready and accepting. They fed us some amazing food, too! We got out a little later than expected, but then, when we were almost down the mountain, the parents called and said we forgot a bag. So we ran as fast as we could back up to their house. Maybe 3/4 of a mile uphill. And then we had to run back down. I kept coughing, but we made it home in time! And then we got the phone call we had been waiting for for days. And afterward I was so happy because I found out I'd be staying with Sister Wilkins in Unur! It's gonna be a party!!!

On Friday, we cleaned the main church building. Our job somehow ended up being the literal worst. We cleaned the tiles outside because in the wintertime, they glue rugs down so that people don't slip. And we got the job of cleaning off the glue. But afterward I got pizza! So it was all worth it! Then, I moved into my new place, and I live with Sister Kofed and Sister Hartley! This is going to be a great transfer!!

On Saturday, we taught 3 lessons. The first was to some women who aren't really interested in our message. But their little son was super cute, and we had a great talk! The second lesson went really well! We taught a whole bunch of women about the Book of Mormon. And they were so excited to learn more! I love teaching! The last was at a member's house, and we had a lesson about trusting in God. We had a great discussion, and it was a really good visit.

Yesterday, I had church, and I understood about 10% this time! YAYYYY!!!! I'm getting better! :) And two ladies asked me questions, and I TOTALLY ANSWERED THEM!!! Miracles happen every day! :) Then, we went to teach our investigator, but she wasn't home. So we asked to meet with her mom, and she agreed. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and asked her to read it. She said she would. I can tell she was feeling the Spirit. That is a really cool feeling. We went home and studied and made pancakes. And only wanted to cry a little when we didn't have chocolate in the house. We made a weekly goal to be prepared with cookies next Sunday.

I'm loving my mission! I have moment's I can't believe I'm here. It hits me fairly often, but I think each time is a little gift from God. It makes me feel so grateful! This week should be awesome! I'm SKYPING HOME tomorrow! :) And then on Wednesday, I will be observed teaching English. And then the rest of the week we are having a big English conference where they are flying in people from BYU and BYU Hawaii to teach us to be better teachers! I'm really excited! I love you all! Have a great week!!

Love,

Sister Bottorff