Cadence - Гайхалтай 7 хоног - February 7, 2023

 Сайн байцгаана уу! Сонин сайхан юу байна даа?

This week has really been a wonderful experience! I have learned soooo much and have experienced so many wonderful gift of tongues moments! First off, we were able to meet two new members who haven't been coming to church in a while and catch up with them. They started coming to my English classes, mutual, and sacrament!! Also, our investigators are all doing so well! We gave our two new investigators Books of Mormon and they both cherished them with so much love. It was sooo cool to see the look on their faces when they got their own beautiful copies. They treated their books with so much care that it really inspired me to start cherishing and loving my own personal Book of Mormon. I know that the Book of Mormon is the most true book and that it is a very wonderful and powerful gift from Heavenly Father. So many prophets put so much time and effort into making it so that we could come closer to Christ. The Book of Mormon has been one of the foundations of my testimony of this Gospel and I am so thankful for it. Please cherish your Books of Mormon because they are a gift.

Also, English classes have been going well! We played a super fun game this week centered on the Lord of The Rings haha. It was a good game for practicing vocabulary and sentence structure and the students seemed to enjoy it a lot! I also taught them adjective clauses this week and let's just say that was a train-wreck the first time around. But you learn and you try again. Our next lesson on adjective clauses went super smooth and I know that Heavenly Father was opening their minds to understanding. It was a pretty cool experience too because, as I was planning for the lesson the 2nd time around, I was struggling to figure out how to convert the topic into Mongolian. Then I was prompted to open my MTC notebook and I found my notes from when we learned about how to make adjective clauses in Mongolian and it was exactly what I needed to use in my lesson. Using those notes helped my students understand the concept sooo much better the second time I taught it and I know that Heavenly Father was helping guide me through the Spirit to teach in the best way.

Nothing else really happened this week besides awesome lessons and fun mutual and YSA activities. I love the people here so much! They are just the coolest people ever! I love being here in Darkhan and I never want to leave haha. And its fun being able to communicate even better and connect even more with the people here. Yesterday, a dear friend from Unur called me and it was the coolest experience talking to her again because I actually understood and could have a conversation with her. Back when I was in Unur, I still didn't understand very well. I have improved a lot since then and I am so excited to see the progress. I know that Heavenly Father is helping me every step of the way and I am so thankful for Him!

I was reading an awesome talk this week for personal study called "The 4th Missionary" and it focuses on making the most of your mission and becoming the best missionary through your divine potential. One quote really touched me this week:

"Every challenge you face, every hard thing you confront, every bad thing that happens to you, every unfairness, every conflict, every sadness, tragedy, every disappointment and heartache, every temptation and every opposition happens for one purpose only: to give you an opportunity to respond by applying in your life the teachings of Jesus. As you do so, you are changed to become more like Him." - Lawrence Corbridge

I love this quote because it gives me hope that even when we are given challenges or trials, they are to help us grow and we have the strength to overcome them. Through facing our challenges with Christlike attributes, we strengthen our character and become more like Christ. It changed my outlook on how I face trials and I want to start focusing more of my efforts to facing those challenges in the most Christlike way I can because doing so will help me strengthen my character. I love my Savior and the example he has set for us. I am thankful for his Atonement and I am thankful that we all have the opportunity to follow Him. He is amazing and wonderful! This week, try to have an eternal perspective about your trials - recognize that they are given to you to strengthen your character and help you grow. Doing so will help you have a better mindset about life. I love you so much and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love

Sister Potter

The first pic is me questioning the Elders' existence

Date Night

We had a fabulous date night with the kids this month.

Trek took Canyon out for some one on one fun.  They went to Taco Bell on base & ate the MESSIEST bean burritos you've ever seen.  ;-)

Then they got some ice cream at Baskin Robbins & went home to watch Phineas & Ferb together.

Bladen was my date for the month.  He chose our favorite little Mexican food restaurant & we enjoyed being together talking about school, friends, & family.

We ordered homemade lemonade & soon realized there was NO sugar added.  I couldn't drink it.  I got about 1/4 of the way through my cup & just couldn't do it.  Bladen on the other hand drank the entire glass. 

I got 3 tacos & Bladen got a bean burrito with about an inch of cheese melted on top.  That kid can eat like 10 people.  He ate the entire thing, the whole basket of chips & salsa, & even ate some of mine.  I kept telling him he should stop or he'll get sick, but he was HUNGRY.

We totally enjoyed our time together, then went home & watch Jurassic World.  Then it hit him.  He ate way too much & the poor kiddo just threw up the rest of the night.  He said it was worth it though, silly boy.

I love these little dates that I get to spend with my kids.  I love talking with them, learning more about them, & seeing them grow & develop into wonderful humans.  Bladen is becoming such a wonderful young man.  He makes me proud & I love him.

 

Service Project

Near the end of the month, I was asked to head up a big service project on the base at the chapels we use for our youth seminary classes.

We gathered up over 70 people from our church at 2 different chapels & helped the staff there clean out closets, basements, shelves, & then cleaned the entire place from floor to ceiling.  I was so grateful for all the volunteers who showed up to help.  The staff was dumbfounded at how many people showed up to help.  We managed to do 8 hours worth of work in less than an hour. 

Many hands make light work, & we had a blast doing it together!

 

Trek's 43rd Birthday

Happy Happy Birthday to this sweet man of mine.

Trek turned 43 on January 25th.  The kids loved making sure his day was extra special.

He got an amazing Hickory Farms gift set from Mimi & Baba

For his birthday breakfast, I made him biscuits & gravy, bacon, raspberries, & a cupcake.

Nancy sent him lots of fun clothes & shoes.

I got him a Ooni Pizza Oven.  He's been wanting one of these for a few years now.  (They are very popular here in Europe).  I knew he needed to get one before we move back to the states so this was the perfect time.  Who doesn't love home-made pizza cooked in less than a minute?  YUM.

We all can't wait to use & enjoy this.

The kids got him a new pair of running shoes.  He runs so much that he needs a really good pair.  I'm excited he will finally have an "official" pair of running shoes.

For his birthday dinner, I made him Fettachini Alfredo, breadsticks, & bananas.

And he got his classic German Marzipan cake for dessert.  He was SO happy.

Happy Birthday to the light of my life.  I love you.

 

SNOW

It FINALLY snowed!  The kids were SO thrilled.  This winter has been so incredibly mild this year that we had given up on the thought of possibly getting snow here before we move.  

Trek & I made a trip up to Frankfut to the temple there, & on our way home we were hit with a massive snowstorm.  What normally takes just a little over an hour to get home, took us 3 hours.  It snowed for almost 12 hours straight & the kids couldn't have been happier.  What a sight to behold when we woke up the next morning.

It was incredible.  Craiger & Trek both took responsibility to clear the driveway & sidewalk, but instead of clearing it completely, they pushed it off to one side making a beautifully slick pile of snow.  Our driveway is steep, like really steep.  Craiger used a sled to pack down that pile of snow until it because icy & slick, then Trek created a large mound at the top as a launching station.  They made a luge track down the driveway.  They spent hours adding to it, slicking it, & finally making it fun for sleds.  The boys spent hours sledding down the luge for almost 3 days straight.

It was such a beautiful weekend.  The snow melted on Wednesday of the next week, but we loved every minute of our 4 days of snow.

 

Trek's Bike Ride to France

Trek continues to love biking the amazing trails here in Europe.  This month, he planned out a beautiful 40 mile trip down to France.  He loves this trail because it passes about 10 castles along the route.  He had a blast exploring the French forests & climbing up to each castle along the way.