Sister Sarah Bottorff: Week 73 - It's Colorado in Mongolia, and faceplants!

I went to Colorado this week for P-Day. We hiked Bogd mountain, and the whole time the 3 Coloradans in the group kept getting overwhelming feelings that we were back in Colorado. It felt like home! It felt so nice to breathe the fresh air and feel the warmth of the sun and to finally get to the top after quite a hot and steep hike up. But it was breathtakingly beautiful! We died a little afterward. I may have been sore up until yesterday.

We had zone conference this week, and they assigned the STLs (Sister Training Leaders – I’m one) and Zone Leaders to come up with activities that would last an hour. They also encouraged us to get people out of their seats. I thought everyone would hate my idea of playing Book of Mormon character charades, but it turned out to be a party! The people in our zone were divided up into 4 groups and rotated every 15 minutes. And the charades station was sometimes a little too fun. I had fun running the station and seeing the over-the-top presentations of the characters. One was Abinadi, and one of the sisters was wearing a yellow skirt that she waved around to act out the fire. One was the story of Nephi on the boat, and the characters were making me a little sea sick with the way they portrayed the boat, leaning and running sideways around the room in perfect synchronization.

I went on 2 splits this week! One with Ulziitei in Jargalant and one with Sister Brezenski in Bayngol. The views from the ger in Jargalant made me almost pass out. I was in love. I miss ger districts a lot. Being back climbing mountains and looking out over vast rolling hills of gers and little shacks made me feel like I was home again. That day was rainy and cold, but we had a blast! It was also National Marathon Day, so the main roads were closed, encouraging people to get out and walk and bike. We spent the majority of the day in the middle of the road! :)

My split with Sister Brezenski was also super fun! It consisted of a lunch appointment with an overload of food, KFC, good talks, and good times. We are going to go to the big Chinggis (Khan) statue together today! I love Sister Brezenski!

Our investigator family is doing so well! The triplets will be baptized on June 2. Their parents will follow in a couple of weeks. They are amazing examples of faith and willingness to follow their Savior. The kids were decorating cookies as we walked in for the lesson on Sunday night. With excitement, they presented 3D cookies of us, flowers, and other creations. They are quite the artists. They proceeded to answer the baptismal interview questions with ease and faith. They are such good examples to me. I love them so much, and I'm grateful that I can be in these sacred places with these most incredible people.

I've been thinking a lot this week about love. Mostly because my heart feels like it's going to burst every time I see my ward members and my investigators. I'm smitten. And I think it's a little tiny portion of what Heavenly Father feels for us. Little babies were waddling around Sacrament meeting this Sunday. One would take a step or two and literally faceplant on the ground. But everyone just looked at him and smiled. And helped him up. He didn't seem phased at all. Not the 1st or 10000th time. And I think that's what God does for us. He sees us faceplant and instead of freaking out, He lovingly reaches out to help us up. He smiles. And sets us straight and doesn't look back. What's repaired is never brought up again. I love it. And I'm so very thankful.

Love,

Sister Bottorff