Sister Sarah Bottorff: Week 55

Well, time is moving by so quickly. But life is so good! Last Monday was so fun! My companion and I just treated ourselves and rested. We had a blast eating pizza and shopping around the black market and looking at little shops. It felt like we were on vacation. And I loved it! For FHE we went to the church with our investigator and played games and participated in the spiritual thought with the young single adults of UB. Turns out they are all really fun and fashionable and awesome. My investigator made friends so fast! She's doing REALLY well, by the way! :)

On Tuesday we met with a new member who has been super busy lately. But she is so cute and she has such a strong testimony. We shared a scripture with her before heading over to our other investigator's house. We brought Sister Harper with us! :) I translated and it was so fun! My investigator LOVES Sister Harper (not that I blame her one bit) and she keeps asking when she'll come back with us! We taught about tithing and fasting and ate delicious food! Teaching with Sister Harper was so fun! She is so friendly and fun and I learned a lot from her, even though we just taught one lesson with her! I'm grateful for a mission president's wife who takes time to go out and teach with us!

Wednesday was English class. Two girls came and we had so much fun with them! We talked about the old wives’ tales that they heard as kids. For example, they said if you cry in bed your mom will die. Luckily, that's not true. And it's a good thing I never cry in my bed. After class we taught our investigator that had gone to family home evening with us. She is progressing so well - her baptismal date is set for February 4! She asks amazing questions. My companion and I went to institute (young adult religion class) after the lesson, and we were both spiritually fed. It's a really cool feeling to go to institute in a different language and actually gain something from the lesson! Hello, miracles in my life! :)

On Thursday we had zone training and my companion gave a talk! In Mongolian! And I was so proud!!! She wrote it all by herself and I only helped a TINY bit with translation! I'm so happy for her! YAY!! Zone training was so good! We learned about how to be better teachers. I can always use trainings like that! I love new ideas! Afterward we went out to dinner with Sister Olsen and Sister Wilcox. We ate delicious sandwiches at eMart. I love that place. And I love those sisters.

Friday we had a fun adventure because we went on a member split. Two returned missionaries in the ward became our temporary companions while we taught two lessons at the same time! It's awesome! My lesson went GREAT!! The girls we taught were so cute and hungry to learn more. My companion, on the other hand, didn't have a single lesson, despite having appointments made and then calling everyone in the phone. But she eased the pain by getting a chocolate bar with gummy bears and pop rocks inside the chocolate. Gotta love what people will teach us! :) It's a party in your mouth!

Saturday we met with a newish investigator and ate rice soup with meat. Literally a bowlful of rice with boiling water (to make soup) and meat chunks. Not too bad! And the lesson was so good. We taught about Jesus Christ and how He suffered for her sins and sorrows. I love teaching that because not only does it help the people we teach, but it strengthens my convictions and gratitude for my Savior. We also met with our new member again and another investigator that day. This investigator has a daughter who is a returned missionary our age, and she rode the bus part of the way home with us. It was so fun to talk to her and laugh about her fun post-mission life! She's so cute! I love the members here! Their examples help me to be better because they are so giving, fun, kind, and full of pure love.

Church was good yesterday. My ability to understand and translate is getting better and better! We also met with a different investigator and made huushuur together. Good times - especially when she got out white stuff and cut it up. My companion was like, "Is that fish??" And I was like..."no...that's fat....." Oh the good life in Mongolia! The adventures never end!

I'm so blessed to be here. Sometimes I feel weird (after eating large amounts of fat) but I feel like I'm in the right place doing the right thing. Sometimes I walk up a mountain covered in snow and ice and gers and smoke and think to myself, "I would have NEVER pictured myself randomly walking by gers in the middle of Mongolia on a random Tuesday!" But I'm so glad I do! Also when I'm on busses where there's not even room enough to breathe out because there are so many people I have the same kind of thought. But with all the crazy, I also never would have guessed that on a random Tuesday I would meet with a woman who, only months ago, was not excited about even hearing about Christ. But now, through changes brought by many different sources, she is scheduled to be baptized so that she can commit fully to following her Savior. She KNOWS Him now. And through watching her growth over the past few months, I've grown. I love Mongolia. I love my Savior. I love my mission!

Love you!

Sister Bottorff