Welcome to the Krazy Kingdom: Cadence October Updates

Саин баина уу!

How are you all doing this week! I apologize for my lack of writing emails these past two weeks. The MTC has been so busy with General Conference and with my new district arriving. But my district is finally here and we've been studying Mongolian diligently for almost 2 weeks now! Our district is very large compared to most at the MTC. We have 8 Elders (Ахлагч нар) and 4 Sisters (Эгч нар) altogether. At first, it was really weird seeing them all in person since we only knew each other from zoom, but now we are all very good friends and super close. We went to the temple together on our first Pday which was an amazing experience. Overall, they are a great bunch of Elders and Sisters and I couldn't ask for a better district.

I do miss my old Japanese district so much as well but I am still so lucky that I get to see them all every day since our classrooms and dorm rooms are so close to each other. So, while I am no longer in their district, I still feel like we are never apart, which is a blessing.

My companion's name is Sister Allen. She is pretty awesome! We get along great and have fun joking around and practicing Mongolian together. This week, we met two Mongolian missionaries! Чулунбатар Эгч (Sister Chuluunbaatar) is the sweetest, most wonderful Sister you will ever meet. She left on Wednesday, sadly, but I am so happy that she is able to now go to the field and serve. She is serving in Temple Square in Salt Lake City, so if any of you are in the area, I would recommend going and meeting her. She will bless your life, just like she has blessed mine. We also met Ахлагч Дашдаваа (Elder Dashdavaa) this week and he is just a sweetheart. He also has such a kind spirit and has such a strong testimony. He has been helping our district learn Mongolian and he is just so patient and sweet to us. Sadly, he is also leaving the MTC soon, but I am so happy for him as he sets out to serve in the Chicago Illinois mission. I know he will bless a lot of lives in Chicago!

We have learned so much Mongolian this week! I can definitely feel the Хэлний бэлэг (Gift of Tongues) helping me learn. There is just so much material to cover in such a short time! At this point in our learning, we know how to pray, bear our testimony, and give a short lesson and share scriptures about the first part of lesson 1 in 'Preach my Gospel' in Mongolian. I know how to teach someone about God and Jesus Christ and eternal families, but I am still practicing making grammatically correct sentences haha. I know that the Lord is helping me learn, and I know that through showing faith, He will help me continue to grow so much more.

One scripture that stood out to me in my personal study this week was Alma 32:21 which says:

"And now as I said concerning faith - faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."

I know that this gospel is true. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that He atoned for our sins. I know that Heavenly Father loves us individually and that if we have faith in Him, He will bless us abundantly. I cannot prove that God is real through visual evidence. But I have felt the Spirit testify of Him and I have seen His hand in my life. He loves you and He cares for you. He wants what is best for you and I can promise you that if you simply show your faith in Him, your life will be filled with more joy, more blessings, and more fulfillment. Jesus Christ is our light and He will show us the way to eternal happiness.

I invite you to pray every day this week to Heavenly Father and strengthen your relationship with Him. Talk to Him about your concerns, about your successes, and about your life. He loves to hear from you. If you have any questions about prayer or about Heavenly Father, please ask and I would love to answer them! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Sister Potter

Сайн Байна уу! Сайхан Амарсан уу?

How are you all this week? We had some very fun experiences at the MTC. Today marks 2 1/2 weeks of our district being at the MTC and I have just completed my 5th week here. It's been so long and we still have so much more to go but I am loving every second of it. Even when things become difficult or stressful, I feel the Lord helping me through the struggles and easing my burden so nothing ever feels like too much.

My teachers have been so wonderful and patient and diligent in teaching us Mongolian and I am proud to say that I taught my first full 20 minute lesson on the Restoration in Mongolian! It was so difficult and my companion and I fumbled a lot, but we pushed through and we were semi-understandable. We've been putting in so much work to focus on our teaching and it really has paid off. I am so excited to continue to grow in the language because there is still so much to learn, but I am also happy with the progress I've made so far. Heavenly Father has truly blessed me with the Gift of Tongues.

We also learned two Mongolian games this week. One is called the finger game, and it's similar to rock paper scissors. Another one involves tossing sheep ankle bones around like dice and then flicking them to collect them. Whoever has the most ankle bones at the end of the game wins. Our teacher brought his entire set of ankle bones to class and we were all scared because there were about 70 haha. We asked him where he got them and he said that the members in Mongolia just give them to the missionaries after they've eaten the sheep. Mongolia is such a fun place!

I also forgot to mention that last week, we had the privilege to hear from our apostle Elder Rasband and his wife at the MTC. They talked to us about how to become more dedicated disciples and missionaries and how to continue this path after our missions. It was so cool to hear from an apostle in person!

Our district has become a lot closer this week too. Our teachers taught us that the Mongol's use the phrase "Та надад чаасан малгай эмүүлж байна" which basically means "you're making me wear a paper hat" a lot. You say it when someone is trying to make you look stupid. So our district decided to make paper hats for all of our teachers and sign them as gifts. Then we made them wear them and took pictures of all of them. We had a good time.

I was reading in Alma 5, where Alma is teaching the people about repentance and the truthfulness of the gospel. I love how he describes Jesus Christ. He says:

37 "Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yeah, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd."

I know that Christ is our good shepherd. He is reaching out to us with His arms extended to give us love and comfort and support. He has sacrificed so much for us, and yet He still continues to search for us when we are feeling lost, confused, alone, and afraid. Through Him, we are safe and will find happiness. If we commit to becoming like Christ and following Him, I know that we can be saved through His Atonement and through God's mercy for us. I invite you all to learn more about Jesus Christ this week and study how you can become more like Him this week.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

- Sister Potter