It's been another great week here in Mongolia! Super busy and fun!
Monday we went down and got measured for the traditional dresses our new member is making! I am so excited! I forgot what my fabric looked like, but I got to see it again, and now I'm excited! :) We then went and shared family home evening with a wonderful family! I love doing family home evening because the families are so cute and we always have a fun time together. The moon was also amazing that night.
Tuesday we visited a sister in the ward who has cancer. It was a sacred feeling in the ger, as her health is slowly declining. But she is a trooper, and people are taking such good care of her. We also visited our nine year old investigator and taught her about prophets. She is so fun, and every time we see her, she screams and runs to us and hugs us. :)
On Wednesday we had a district meeting at the White's house and had the best cookies of my life. I don't know how she works such magic on her cookies since my cookies ALWAYS turn out like biscuits here. I gave up for a while and just made breads because my cookies were like breads and my breads were like breads, but now that I've had her cookies, I'm on a quest. New mission goal. After the district meeting, we had two really awesome lessons with our investigators. The first, a twenty year old girl, had a lesson about the Plan of Salvation. She is such a deep thinker, and I love it. She asked where exactly God lives and why we needed to get bodies in order to progress. I loved answering her questions and talking to her. Our next lesson was with our other investigator, and we talked about baptism and confirmation and the Sabbath day. I love talking about these things because they bring so many blessings. I love our investigators so much!
Thursday was our day to teach English, and nobody came except the two people who popped their heads in to say hi and then left. Sister Shreeve and I passed the time with journal writing and cookie eating. And then we had a really fun gospel lesson with our investigator that night. We had a recently returned missionary come with us, and then on the bus, we ran into another lady from our ward, and she came to the lesson, too! It was basically a party! And I'm not gonna lie, I didn't understand almost anything that happened (that's what happens when a ton of Mongolians got together and talk...it's just so fast paced and I can't keep up) but everyone felt the Spirit and it was a great night!
FRIDAY WAS MY YEAR MARK!!! We had a party with our MTC (Missionary Training Center) group sisters, and I made tacos and Sister Shreeve made a cake and decorated my room! I love my companion!!! We had so much fun catching up and reflecting on the past year. These girls are like my sisters now! I love them so much! Then I had a meeting with President Harper. He is such a good man, and he is so good at giving advice and keeping calm. Sometimes it feels like a big weight is on my shoulders as I try to help others come to know Christ. It's a BIG deal! But he has a great way of recognizing that while also keeping calm and helping me feel like it's something that I can do! I love it! After the interview we planned for the week and then went to a baptism for a family the Elders taught. I led the music and we ate cake and then we went on an STL (Sister Training Leader) split. I was with Sister Kerby!
My day with Sister Kerby was so fun! She and I talked a lot and I learned a lot from her. We talked about what we're learning and how much fun missions are! We also taught a few lessons! We taught a brand new investigator, who is really excited to learn more. We will go back next week a few times and teach her more! Then we taught our investigator grandma - her whole family was in town! So we all talked about God and how He has given us families. It was so much fun, and we had a great conversation. Then we visited another investigator who has been busy for a while. We talked about sharing the light of Christ. We are making xuushuur together next week. And then after some miscommunication, we didn't meet with our other investigator, but we did meet with a cute returned missionary and her family! I love her! And she is always so good and nice to us! We finished off the day making goals and then switching back. And I got a package! It was filled with happiness and Christmas joy! I loved it!! Thanks, family! :)
Yesterday we talked in the long distance branch! People from all over Mongolia who live really far from church services sit over the phone. We got to give talks, and it was so fun! I talked about repentance. Then we attended church services and after church and studies, we went to the Sutphin's (the senior missionary couple who runs the branch) house for dinner! We had a lovely evening! :) Thank you, Sutphins!
I love my mission! I can't believe it's been a year since I started this amazing adventure! I love the people more than I knew I had the ability to love. And I have grown so much! I am so excited to see what's in store in the coming 6 months. If it's anything like the last 12, I can't wait! It's going to stretch me and be a fun and crazy adventure!
I love you all!
Sister Bottorff
< Sorry - no new photos this week >
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