Welcome to the Krazy Kingdom: Cadence - Jingles & Janky

Сайн Байцгаана уу! Өглөөний мэнд Ах Эгч нараа. Сонин сайхан юу байна даа?

I hope you are all doing well. This week has been full of such wonderful experiences and adventures! It snowed twice this week! My eyelashes froze about 6 times and I almost slipped on ice about 5 times running to catch buses or packages or get to English class on time. You really have to plan out your day way in advance because the traffic is so slow. Sometimes we end up running or walking for miles since the traffic stops the busses from moving at all. It's such a fun experience!

We went deel shopping this week. Deels are the traditional Mongolian clothes that everyone wears for their national holidays. The older generations like to wear deels every day, but everyone one else waits until holidays to bring them out. I sadly did not get a good picture of the deel that I bought but I promise I will send a good picture of it in a later email.

We are slowly getting to know the people in our ward and I am becoming to attached to everyone here. The members in Unur are so sweet and have such strong testimonies. They are truly so wonderful. This week we made cookies with one beautiful family and shared a message about the Light the World challenge with them. I still don't know much Mongolian but I know that the Lord was helping me communicate with the sweet children because they were talking to me nonstop all evening while we baked the cookies. They were so eager to tell me all about the things they are learning in school and about their favorite movies.

We visited another wonderful family that lives on the outskirts of the city. They live a very humble life in a very tiny home with no bed or bathroom. But they are the happiest people I have met here! Sister Tuyatsetseg has the most adorable laugh and her husband plays the guitar really well. We spent one night at their house just singing Mongolian songs with the guitar and eating food. I feel at home with their family and they bring me so much joy. They invited Sister Burgess and I over for Цагаан Сар (The Mongolian equivalent of Thanksgiving) and we are so excited. I love how wonderful and joyful the people are here despite their small living situations. It really opens my eyes to understanding how we can find joy in Christ and in His Gospel, no matter our circumstances.

In terms of food, I tried "intestines wrapped in fat" sausage this week. 0/10 do not recommend. I love the culture here but I must admit the food takes a lot of stamina to get down sometimes haha. I also tried Mongolian egg noodles and fat soup. Mongolians really love their fat. The people feed you so much here but the food is mostly healthy which is awesome!

We also got to teach English again this week and I am loving English class. Classes usually last about 2 hours in this area and we spend one of those hours having one on one conversations with a student. We try to get them to practice speaking conversational English as much as possible. I met a really wonderful student yesterday who explained the history of Mongolia to me. We also has a deep discussion about music and culture. I love meeting people who are so passionate about their culture and who are willing to share a part of it with me. I really truly love Mongolia and the people here. I wish everyone was as lucky as I am to be here!

Our investigators are all doing so well. We have two who are so eager to learn about the gospel and we teach them 2-3 times a week! One of them told us she wants to be baptized as soon as possible, so we are working on finishing teaching her the lessons and preparing her to be baptized. Our other investigators are active during our lessons and eager to attend sacrament meeting when we invite them which is also amazing. I love all of them so much and they inspire me to have more faith and diligence. One of our investigators shared an inspiring message with us. She has been wanting to feel the Spirit when she prays to Heavenly Father but hasn't been getting any Spiritual impressions. After another attempt to pray, we met with her and we were discouraged to learn she still didn't feel anything. She told us not to feel bad and explained that she believes that she is receiving the Spirit, she just doesn't know how to recognize it yet. She told us that she will continue to pray diligently and she asked us to teach her more about the spirit so she can learn to recognize it in her life and when we teach. She really inspired me and taught me such a valuable lesson. Sometimes we will not recognize God's hand or the Spirit in our own lives when we are seeking answers. But that is okay because we know that God is always there and we can rely on Him. He knows perfectly what is going on in our lives and He will help us in His timing as long as we diligently seek it.

Sister Burgess and I also decorated our apartment for Christmas! We put up a janky Christmas tree and stockings and we've started a nutcracker collection as well. We also hung snowflakes all over our ceiling. We've been having fun getting into the Christmas spirit.

I encourage you all to watch this year's Light The World video and reflect on how you can share your light with others. I know that through sharing your light with others and through serving others, you will be happier this Christmas season. Remember that God loves you so much and so perfectly. Jesus Christ loves you too. He is the greatest gift and we can celebrate His birth this Christmas season. I love you all and if you have any questions for me, I am an email away. I will try my best to respond as soon as possible!

Love,

Sister Potter