Week 25

Hello from Hovd!

This week went by really fast!  On Monday, we made cinnamon rolls and brought them to our FHE activity!  It was fun to introduce everyone to cinnamon rolls!  Everyone loved them!  We did a testimony meeting, and it was a great evening!  Also, Hovd is known for three things.  Mosquitoes, Dust Storms, and Watermelon.  The watermelon doesn't come out til August, but the mosquitoes are certainly out!  I got like 10 bites on Monday alone...

On Tuesday, we taught 3 lessons and a few others got cancelled, so we met with other people who lived nearby.  It was a great day, and it was a little cooler outside, which made for a much more enjoyable day.  Our investigators are so awesome! :)

On Wednesday, it was. SO. HOT.  They said it was like 90 degrees F, and we tried to go quickly from house to house.  The gers actually stay pretty cool, which is awesome!  We also taught institute that night.  Well, my companion taught!  haha  I'm not quite there yet with my language...After institute, we taught another lesson.  All this teaching makes the days fly.  

On Thursday, we taught more lessons and ran mutual and had district meeting via Skype.  It is always fun to see other missionaries, and we had a great discussion about President Benson's top 4 things he wants us to remember.  1.  Obedience brings power.  2.  Make daily personal study the most important habit you develop.  3.  Work hard.  4.  Be happy.  It's good advice for everyone!  We are trying to be obedient, and it really is bringing power.  It makes life so much better and happier!  And when I work hard, I really am happy! :)  

Friday was our big weekly plan, and next week is going to be interesting.  All the youth left this morning for a week long youth conference near UB.  And most of the other people in Hovd are working at election places.  The election is coming up next week, so everyone working there is always working.  So we will have to be creative next week as we try to meet with people.  But we taught 2 lessons that night, and they went really well.  We tried to meet with one set of sisters, but they weren't home, so we went to a neighbor who is a less active member.  He speaks English and French, so he spoke in French to me.  I tried to remember how to talk back to him, but I couldn't think of a single French word.  Not from all the years I spent in French class.  haha  Our other investigator was so awesome, as usual!  She committed to live the word of wisdom, and I know it will bless her life.  She also has the cutest kids!  2 teenagers and a little baby.  And the baby is so cute.  I can hardly stand it.  

On Saturday, we helped a ward member build a ger!  It was awesome!  It goes on in layers.  First the frame, then the posts go up to hold the roof up.  Then, we put a white sheet on the roof.  Then, big sheets of wool go around the ger.  There are 2 layers.  Then, the wool goes on the roof.  And then the outer cover.  It was awesome to learn how to build a ger!  Then we did studies, cleaned the church, went to a ward council meeting, and taught 2 lessons.  It was a grand old day!  It was also cloudy, so we thought it would rain, but it didn't! Thank goodness!  

Yesterday, we had church, and then we had Skype interviews with President Benson.  He leaves in a week or two, and it makes me so sad!  He really is great, and I'll miss him!  But I'm excited for the Harpers to come!  The interview was so good, and it really lifted my spirits.  It helped me to gain perspective and set goals to be better.  We also taught 3 lessons yesterday, which makes me happy!  

Life is good.  I'm excited to see what this week brings!  And I'm so grateful for the experiences I'm having.  They are making me stretch, but when you stretch, you grow!  It's all about perspective, right? :)  Love you all!

Sister Bottorff

Fresh cinnamon rolls - it doesn't get much better than this!

Helping to build a ger. The frame is almost complete.

Starting to add insulation...

It's ready for the cover...

Finished!

Week 24

Well, I'm still alive and I'm still in Hovd!  So both are good signs, right?? :)

After we emailed last week, we shopped and went home.  I did my nails, and nail therapy is always good for the soul. :)  I also made banana bread to bring to FHE.  We hosted an FHE with the YSAs and ate banana bread (which they LOVED and had never tried) and played games after a spiritual thought.  Then, we went to a lesson with an investigator and taught the Plan of Salvation.  We brought two members with us.  One of them is a returned missionary, and he kept complimenting my Mongolian.  It's the little things!

Tuesday was a really busy day!  It was super-hot and we had 5 lessons.  I ate stomach soup.  And didn't throw up! :)  It really is the little things! :)  We had lunch with some people who were in town from UB and it was a really great time.  There were some American tourists in the restaurant and I felt really awkward.  And strange.  I don't see white people very often.....well...like never.....Anyway....One of the investigators we visited got really nervous to have an American in her home.  She cleaned and asked me all the time if the food was good and if I was comfortable.  She was so cute!  I assured her that I was perfectly happy! :)  We had a lesson that night with an investigator, and the men from UB came to the lesson with us.  They were awesome, and they said just the right things.  As we were leaving, we were saying goodbye because they were going back to UB the next morning, and the men said super nice things to me. They said, " This is really hard and far from home and so different from anything, but you will be great.  You are awesome!  You are the man!"  Hahaha

On Wednesday, we taught 4 lessons.  And they were all really good.  We stay so busy!  It is really warm, but it's been raining, which is nice and keeps me cooler.  Also, on Wednesday, I lost my voice.  Like I've sounded like I'm a teenage boy.  And it's even worse when I speak Mongolian.  And I still sound like one today...

Thursday was good because we taught and prepared the youth for their youth conference by teaching them Come Come Ye Saints in Mongolian.  It sounds so pretty!!  We also had district meeting, and it made me so happy!  We spoke in English and I saw other missionaries again!  It's been quite an adjustment to go from seeing tons of missionaries almost every day to being the only set of missionaries for hundreds of miles.  But it made me feel so happy to see them!

On Friday, we planned and taught 2 lessons. One about the priesthood and one about the Plan of Salvation.  I also ate goat.  I'm surprising myself almost every day with the things I'm eating and holding down. :)  Go me!

On Saturday we met with the Branch President and taught 5 other lessons.  It was crazy busy but so good!  Our investigators are doing so well, and I love them more and more as I meet with them.  

Yesterday after church, we taught 4 lessons.  It was awesome to meet more people and get to know them better.  Sooner or later my voice will also come back, which would be a bonus!  

This week has stretched me, and it has also been a great time to see the tender mercies in my life.  The little blessings are abundant, and they really add up!  I teach every day that God knows us and loves us, and it's been a really great blessing to really feel that in such a personal way here in Hovd.  I'm so blessed!  I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Sister Bottorff

Week 23 - God is in charge!

So this week was crazy!  It started out normal, though...

On Monday, Sister Wilkins and I met up with Sister Guild and Sister Bennett after a quick trip to KFC and went to the Buddhist Temple.  It was really pretty.  Lots of green trees and warm weather.  It was really really fun.  We even fed some birds! :)  That night, Sister Guild and I went and taught a lesson in English to a family from Africa.  They are super nice, and we taught about the Plan of Salvation.  I love the Plan of Salvation!  It brings me so much peace! 

Tuesday was our last day of English for the school year.  So we naturally had a party. And people brought all sorts of fun things to share! :)  I love being a teacher! :)  After English, we met with a new member, and the Spirit was so strong.  It made me feel so happy to be there.  

Wednesday was Children's Day!  It's a national holiday to celebrate children.  Every parking lot had tents set up with games and fun things to do.  We met up with a member in the ward and got to see the main square for a few minutes.  It was awesome!  Then, we had a lesson with a family about the Plan of Salvation.  It was a really good lesson!  And then we went to the main church building so that Sister Wilkins and Sister Bennett could plan for zone conference.  And that's when things got crazy.  I was minding my own business and talking with Sister Guild and translating things in the mission office when President Benson walked in. He said, "Pack your bags, Sister."  I didn't know who he was talking to.  Or if he was joking.  But he was serious.  He told me I'd be on a plane to a tiny town called Khovd.  And that my new companion was Mongolian.  (She speaks English and she's seriously so great!)  But I was so shocked.  Talk about not seeing THAT coming!!!  I cried and went home to pack.

On Thursday, I went to zone conference.  I met my companion for the first time and tried to concentrate.  I was so nervous!  And I found out I'd fly out first thing the next day.  I got my passport from the mission office and after zone conference I went home to pack.  I packed as fast as I could and cried, too.  I was so sad to be leaving my ward and companion!  :(  I went back to the church and picked up my new companion and dropped off Sister Wilkins.  And then went home to sleep.

We woke up at 4:30 on Friday morning and flew out at 6:30. We were on the plane for 3 hours.  And then I got to Khovd.  It's so little!  There is a tiny little town.  We tried to get settled and did some studies and bought some groceries.  Then, we went over to the Branch President's house so I could meet him.  And he welcomed me to the city.  He so generously brought out a platter piled full of every type of inside from a sheep.  And I tried so hard to try everything.  So I have officially eaten heart, lung, liver, kidney, and stomach.  I couldn't bring myself to try the intestine..... but I'd say I did a good job.  I gave myself a pat on the back.  

On Saturday, we had branch conference.  We had a meeting at the church, then cleaned the outside, and then piled in an old Russian bus and headed off to the river.  It was the most beautiful day.  And I loved it so much!  They cooked a sheep and everyone played in the sun.  And they taught little lessons to the members.  It was so wonderful!  The sky was so big.  And there were eagles and beautiful birds flying around.  And cows and goats and sheep.  So picturesque and Mongolian.  I may have gotten a little sunburned...

Yesterday was church, and even though I missed my investigator's baptism in Ulaanbaatar, church was really good.  And I love the people already.  And the mission President's counselor was in town, so he interviewed me.  He said that President Benson is so glad I'm here.  And that I have a great work to do here.  Things I needed to hear.  Then we went home and studied and I felt pretty sick.  So we didn't teach.  We just kept studying and getting things done around the house.

Today the water has been out all day, but it's been good.  I'm excited to get more settled here.  I know that this is where God wants me, even if I don't know why yet.  I'm here to do whatever God wants, wherever He wants me to go.  It's not about what I want.  So I'm trying to let go of myself and just serve.

Love you all!

Sister Bottorff