We arrived in our city last Friday afternoon the 14th. It was a very busy weekend. We unpacked a little bit but were invited to dinner with one of the key couples in the Branch of the Church. They served smoked fish, Swedish Meatballs, relishes, sausages, and slaw, which is standard here.
Saturday morning we started cleaning the apartment. It is about 900 square feet with a large kitchen and eating area. We have a king sized bed, a big surprise, a nice living room and a study area.
We received a call our sponsor wanted to meet us right away because she was leaving for Japan the next day. We hurriedly cleaned up and dressed in Sunday clothes to meet her. She runs an orphanage with 40 children. We were amazed at what we discovered. This is not a place where they baby sit these kids until they are old enough to leave. They are like a large, strong family. They take turns cooking the meals, cleaning, etc., but mostly they are in classed for math, science, art, sewing, music, dance and performing. They were leaving the next day for Japan for the 11th year in a row for two weeks touring and performing in 13 cities to sold out concerts. They put on a mini show for us that was amazing. They designed their traditional costumes and sewed them. They made pieces of art, and other memorabilia to sell at the performances. The money they earn helps them build more additions to the campus of building they have. They sing, dance, play multiple instruments, do contortions and more. And we are going to teach these talented kids English. We hope we are up to the challenge.
That afternoon we rushed over to the District Conference Leadership Meeting. This included attendees from all 6 branches in the District. Two of the units are two hours away, the other two are about three hours away. There are two Branches in the city. Debbie and I then met with the District President so he could get to know us. An hour later we had the adult evening session of conference, which was packed. Afterward the District President wanted to see me and called me to be his Second Counselor. The Mission President and his wife took us to dinner at a very nice restaurant.
Sunday morning was the final session of District Conference where I was sustained. Debbie bore her testimony, then I spoke and bore my testimony in Mongolian. We were greeted after each meeting by so many people to welcome us. The Mongolian people are warm and loving. We feel like family already.
We spent the rest of this past week cleaning the apartment, walking all over the city, shopping for groceries which is a real challenge. Every item takes ten minutes to figure out what it is. Is this shampoo or conditioner! It this dish soap or laundry soap. We made a menu for the week and then a shopping list. We have discovered they have very few of the things we typically eat. Once in a while we will find and American food item, but the price is about 2 to 5 times the US price.We have walked a long way and up a high hill to this Buddha. Recently they have had an army of street sweepers out cleaning the streets. They all use this cheap corn broom, a strange looking wheelbarrow, a shovel and a vest. They even walk down the center of the highway sweeping the middle with cars racing by. Crazy!!
Today is Saturday and we were invited to a wedding reception. The daughter of the Branch President married an American she met at the MTC. They were married in the Hong Kong Temple. It was fun with LOTS of food. Karaoke is huge over here. In their culture they are very open and love to perform. I even got up and sang an Elvis song for their wedding "Can't Help Falling in Love with You".
Our love to all of you. No need to worry about us. It is extremely safe here.
You both have me fascinated with Mongolia. I am going to investigate the country. I have no idea of what the langugae is. Dan, u picked up sign language and gave a talk within a week. By the end of two months u should be fluent. te he te he
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