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How are you all doing? This past week was tsagaan sar (lunar new year) here in Mongolia! We had a party here in Jargalant and I felt so blessed to be able to stay in this wonderful ward for it. I also took it way easier this year than I did last year. We only visited 2 to 3 houses each day and I ate a total of 38 buuz (dumplings) which puts my 75 last year to shame. But it's okay because I didn't throw up or get sick this year. We visited all of my favorite members and received many sweet gifts including leggings, socks, money, and lots of chocolate. It was so fun to dress up and wear the traditional clothes every day as well. I was really nervous about tsagaan sar because last year when we did it, there was such a high stress to constantly be meeting people and I was afraid we would run out of things to do this year with our ward being so small. But the Lord provided and gave us opportunities to stay busy the whole day. We were so tired at the end of everyday though because going to a house and simply talking and eating for 2 hours straight and then going to the next one can get exhausting really fast. It was so special though and I loved it!
Yesterday we had an amazing member invite us over too. It was a miracle to go to her house because her mother had just passed away 2 days ago and so they weren't celebrating tsagaan sar this year. Yet she still reached out to us and fed us buuz and gave us gifts and showed us so much love. I felt the true love of Christ through her. Also my favorite members Enkhbold Ah came over with us so we had so much fun together.
In terms of English, it was practically non existent this past week because of the holiday. Since it is such a big holiday here, all English had to be canceled and all stores were closed for the past 3 days. Let's just say, I am excited to get back into the groove of things and do missionary work again. I also miss my students a lot. Many of them texted me asking when class would start again so hopefully we will see a bunch of them soon. Also, all the English teachers at our church building made another Facebook English video hoping to attract more students.
Our investigators are still doing well probably. No one came to sacrament on Sunday unfortunately but that was expected because of the holiday. I think we had a total of 15 people there including the 4 missionaries. On the bright side, our Bishop finally came back from his work trip in Korea that lasted 4 months so he showed up. Pray for our investigators that tsagaan sar was a good change for them and that they will choose to start coming to church again soon.
And that's just about all that went down this week. It was a pretty slow and difficult week just because we didn't get to do much besides studies and eating food but I got to do a lot of studies which were so nice and helpful. This week in Come Follow Me and studied about opposition. I really liked this verse in 2 Nephi 2:11-12
11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
12 Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God.
A lot of people ask why we have opposition or ask why God gives us trials. From what I understand from these verses, God let's us experience opposition so that we can make choices. If he hadn't given Adam and Eve the choice to eat the fruit or not in the garden of Eden, then they wouldn't have ever had the opportunity to choose. Then they wouldn't have ever progressed, made righteous decisions, or been blessed for their work. Likewise, Heavenly Father tries us with choices and opposition so that we can choose happiness. I know that following our Savior Jesus Christ is the way to choose happiness in this life. Have a wonderful week everyone!
Love,
Sister Potter
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