Almost at 6 Months ... What?

So this week was pretty great. We have three investigators that if everything goes well will be getting baptized the end of this month! We have had some AMAZING lessons with all of them about repentance and I really think they are being prepared fully for baptism. We also had an investigator who had previously said never call me again, show up and ask to start meeting with us again, so that is awesome I really hope he progresses.... boy am I praying he does!

We also got to go to UB again for mission conference, and the second counselor of the area presidency, Elder Wong, came. I learned so much about missionary work, teaching, and how to help our instigators. Here are some awesome statistics for you guys: Right now in our Asia area, there are 28 stakes (in India, China, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Pakistan, etc), anticipated 27 more stakes by 2019, and total anticipated in our Asia area in 2019 will be 55 stakes!!! The hastening of the work is real! Right now, in Mongolia, there is only 1 stake, but they want there to be 3 more in Mongolia in the next 4 years. This is the focus right now in our mission, we need to grow the Mongolian branches/districts into wards and stakes and with that will come the opportunity for a temple! It is amazing and I think we can do it, but it will take some hard work on our end and the missionaries to follow us. 

My favorite things I learned from the conference were these quotes, "the process of conversion is not just baptism" and "repentance is a process, not an event." These are so true and so incredibly important that our investigators learn before they are baptized. We all aren't perfect, and we all sin daily, and therefore we must repent daily... we must use the atonement daily. 

We took the train home again with all the other country missionaries in our area, and something crazy happened. Two of the elders got off at their area around midnight, and less than 5 minutes later they were calling me saying something about being attacked by drunken men. We were on the train so there was nothing we could do except pray and pray hard. We all did for a while until the elders called me with the update. A drunk man tried to rob the elders at knife point, threatened to kill the American elder, followed them home with one elder at knife point so they could give him money, then the elders jumped inside and slammed it shut on the man, the man was yelling and banging and broke the door handle, but eventually left. Both elders are safe and sound, but it was crazy!!! That will definitely be a story they tell to their grandkids :)

Friday, we went on splits with the STL's in our area and I had a really cool experience. We wanted to meet investigators, but I kept having the feeling that we needed to meet with this member who I had met with one time two months ago. So, we went, and the gate was open, but there was a dog and no one answering. I don't know why, but we started walking in to check the house, even though Mongolia dogs will kill you!! We get close and she comes out!! woohoo! We visited her and found out that within the last month, her son's very pregnant wife lost her baby, this ladies' mother past away, and her older sister pasted away! She has been struggling and that morning, she had just been praying and praying that God would send people her way. She told us we were the answer to her prayers. I then shared an experience I had recently about a friend passing away and a scripture that helped. And by the end of the thought she was crying and thanking us and telling us how much she needed us. This truly was an amazing experience for me, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that God led us to her through the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. 

Saturday, we went with the youth of one of our branches for the day. The idea of this activity was for the youth to form friendships and support now that school is starting so that they may stay strong in the gospel. We all hiked a mountain here, played games in a field, we taught a lesson, and played more games. It was a difficult trek and many of the youth were struggling physically, but they all did it and it was awesome to see them helping each other the whole way. People would wait for people, go back for others, hold hands, and even carry some. They were amazing and the activity was so fun!

Also, two of my favorite investigators are attending and they really want to learn and study so yesterday, I surprised them with scriptures that I got while in UB. They were so incredibly excited and grateful that they started to cry and wouldn't stop hugging me. They want to learn so badly, and this was something they had been hoping and praying for. I love them and they are awesome! 

This says Erdenet - the name of my area.

Isn't Mongolia beautiful?