Miracles are Real!

This week was great! So many miracles! We finally met with that taxi driver I had mentioned a little while ago... and his friend...twice! They are amazing! Mundag shuu! They really are great and I think they could definitely be great priesthood leaders here, if everything goes well! 

On Thursday  we were doing our big plan at the church, when a random 20 year old boy came in and started talking to us. He grew up without a family, but worked hard and found that he was blessed with musical talent. He sings, dances, and is a rock star on the piano! Everything was going well in his life, and when he graduated from high school he got a job as a waiter. But one time he got in a fist fight with a guy who came to his restaurant and he got sent to jail. He has been in jail for 2 years, but just recently the president of Mongolia released about 2,000 prisoners from jails around Mongolia, he was one of them. We talked for a long time, and he has huge regret for what happened and he truly wants to change his life. He seems to be looking for just this in his life. He comes to all the English classes as he knows it will help him better his situation. We also had the opportunity for his first lesson to have our branch president and the mission presidents' first counselor sit in on the lesson. The spirit in that lesson was the strongest I have felt it in a lesson before. When I taught about families and prayer, I didn't think about what I was trying to teach him... It just flowed. As I talked I knew it was coming from God. I wasn't having trouble speaking and he understood everything I was saying. He even began to cry as I taught him. It was probably the most amazing lesson I have taught on my mission so far!! Oh, and he brings us chocolate bars when he meets with us... God knows we love chocolate so he sent us this investigator, haha. Anyways, he is so amazing and so prepared! (Oh, and mom, no worries about him being in jail or whatever, we will always meet him with a priesthood holder as well)

Two teenage girls I have been teaching since July  are almost ready for baptism I think! Their phones have been off for a couple weeks, and when we checked their addresses no one was home and they weren't coming to church but I finally got a hold of them! We are going to try and meet every day this week and we are planning on them getting baptized next week! We also have 3 others set for baptism on the 11th. I'm praying everything goes well and nothing falls through. They are all so prepared and ready for this gospel. 

We have been checking addresses of less active priesthood holders, with very little success, but we found two this week who want to meet and contacted lots and lots of new people as well! We also have been working a lot with members... and we saw the results this week.  At church, we usually have 40 or 50 people come to each branch, but this week in one branch we had 67 people … and drum roll...... in the other 94!!!!!!! What!?! Yep, that happened! We doubled sacrament meeting numbers in one week - diligence pays off. It was amazing and there were so many new people there. We are making tons of goals to keep it going and make these branches grow into wards so that this district can become a stake. And if it becomes a stake... and if in UB they form 2 more stakes... Mongolia can get a temple!!!

I also learned how to make traditional soiban this week- and it was good!!! I can now make mantuu and soiban and soup and lots of other stuff... woohoo! For thanksgiving we ran out to a mini market of sorts and bought ramen, coke, candy, cookies, pringles, and pickles which we ate at 10pm, haha. It was fun though :)

THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS:

1. How are you handling the cold and is there much snow?

The cold is awful some days and bearable others- I bundle up (multiple layers of tights, scarf, jacket, hat, mittens) so it's doable. The snow mostly just gets packed down into ice, so we slide around trying not to fall. I have only fallen one time so far :)

2. Do you try to teach about Christmas much?

No, not really. People don't know much about it here, except that the church has a special program around Christmas.

3. Any new foods? What is the weirdest thing you've eaten recently?

Nothing new I think... nothing too weird I think... I don’t know. I'm finally getting used to this food and starting to like it!!! What has happened to my taste buds???

4. What do you miss from back home?

I miss salad... a lot.... and Christmas trees and lights and family and friends :)

That's about all this week. I love you all. I love this work! The church is true and this truly is God's work. I see miracles in people's lives each day that strengthen my knowledge that everything missionaries teach is true!