Sister Sarah Bottorff: Week 48 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello!

This week was so fun! I never thought a mission could be so fun! :) Don't worry though, we are working hard while we have our fun! :)

So my companion and I were told that the buses to our area would be closed because of the cold, so we didn't go out on Tuesday. Instead, we worked at home on our area book (updating and organizing our lists of people) and got lots of other stuff done.

On Wednesday we ventured out again and had a blast! There is a cute little grandma in our ward who lives really far away - deep in a ger district. She and her husband have difficulty getting to church, but we love to visit her. When they cannot attend church in person, they attend the phone branch - they can participate in Sunday meetings over the phone! She has some fun service projects for us! :) This time we went with the American Denj sisters (they run the phone branch) to her house where we shoveled snow. We laughed so hard when her walkway was all shoveled and she asked us to bury the trees she planted this summer, which are the sizes of small bushes. It was hilarious! But it makes sense that the snow will melt in the spring and water the trees. It was just funny at the time to be there and bury trees. But I made a snow angel and that made me happy!:)

THURSDAY WAS THANKSGIVING! And it was something to celebrate! Sister Rue and I made a really awesome thankful turkey for language study. We tried to draw pictures so that they could be understood at home...so we'll see how good your Mongolian is! And also how good our art skills are! :) That was followed by a lovely lunch with the sisters in my zone. We had chicken and gravy and mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and stuffing. I made rolls, too, which were a big hit! :) I was in heaven with all the food and the great company! :)

Friday we started the fun jaunt around UB to meet with Sister Rue's people from past areas. I am going to be in heaven the next two weeks as we continue doing that. I get to meet the best of the best at these trips! The people are amazing! They are so humble and kind. Like I walked into a ger behind Sister Rue and a 14 year old just gasped and ran to me and said hello! She didn't know that the two of us were companions, and she was so surprised to see me. Then I said hi and she gushed over my Mongolian. Literally after saying Hi. And then they treated us to a beautiful dinner the mom made, and then they insisted I come over during the holiday in February.

Saturday our jaunt continued in my first area, UNUR! I love that place! We visited with the cutest people who all remembered my name! One even knew my WHOLE name. I miss those people. They are so nice, and it was so fun to be able to talk more to them! I can't wait to see them again in the coming months! I missed the mountain hiking that we did there. The views are just breathtaking from the tops of the ger district mountains. Later in the day we went to visit Batchimeg, a new member that I taught a little in Unur. And her family was so nice to help us find our next appointment. They literally walked with us the whole way. And it was cold outside. The 16 year old daughter walked arm in arm with me so that I didn't slip. And she was so patient with my Mongolian, but we had a great conversation! I love the people here! :) After the visits, we had dinner with the sister missionaries in Unur and ended up staying the night with them. It was a blast! Sister Brezenski made apple buuz and Sister Olsen and I jammed out to her Christmas music.

On Sunday we had church and then came home to no power. We ended up staying the night at the American Denj sister's apartment that night. Luckily it was still light enough to get an overnight bag packed. And I pulled out my trusty head lamp when it got too dark.

When we got back in the morning, the power was still out. But only in our apartment. So we made some phone calls and it magically got turned back on! The only problem was that our ice box freezer melted in the meantime. And so we did some of that fun project yesterday, along with finishing up other mission projects. Then, we went to Shangri La to celebrate Sister Tao's birthday. It's a buffet in the nicest hotel I've ever seen. And the food was to die for. Like I had a steak and creme brule. I was in heaven!

So while this week was crazy, I felt so grateful! I have a warm house and good food to eat. I have support and love coming from both ends of the world. I have the Gospel in my life that helps me to be happy despite unhappy times. I have a Savior who gave His life so that I can be happy and live with God again. And I have the opportunity to share that with the people in the most beautiful place.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Love,

Sister Bottorff