This Week was Awesome!

So this week was quite the different week. For starters, Tuesday was our p-day, so we went to the black market! It's closed on Mondays, so we haven't been able to go, but this week we went and found ... CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!!!! We bought snowflakes, tinsel, a santa cut out, a red bow, a Santa hat, and a crown. We then went home and decorated our apt, so it actually feels like Christmas!!! Oh, and we bought some awesome matching shirts, haha.

We went to visit an ALA member on Wednesday who fed us milk rice, then old buuz... well those buuz were NASTY! My comp and I were each given a huge bowl, and my comp was struggling to eat it too. I ate some, but also kept a huge chunk in my cheek... my comp did too... but there was no where to spit it out - no garbage or bag or anything! So we each had a chunk of nasty meat in our cheek, and as soon as we left we spat it out but we had eaten a good amount and one hour later it hit ... we both got food poisoning! Ugh, it was awful! We thought we were going to die!!!! We went home for a few hours to try and endure the pain and other nasty affects of food poisoning .. but let's just say the next 24 hours were rough, haha.... oh Mongolian food :)

For Christmas, all the missionaries will be going to the city for the day and spend it together. We will have a concert of sorts so our zone will sing Away In A  Manger, then a Mongolian new year song with customized lyrics, and my comp, 2 zone sisters and I are learning a traditional Mongolian dance that we will probs do. Anyways, practicing for these things in our free time has definitely provided some entertainment! haha. My comp knows Mongolian dance, so she looks great, but I feel ridiculous, haha

This week at one of my English lessons, I only had one person come. He thought he was fluent in English and started talking to me in  what sounded like gibberish. I decided to try and teach him the ABC's, so I wrote them on the board and started with ABC.... after having him repeat after me for 15 minutes, I started asking him what they were... he didn't remember... so I decided to teach him using Mongolian equivalents... but he doesn't know Mongolian letters either!!! So I decided today he would just learn A, B, and C. I spent the next 45 minutes having him repeat and asking him, and repeat... Anyways, in one hour he learned.... "B." So yah, sometimes English teaching is like that haha. That was an experience I will never forget! 

In regards to the work here....Both our branches had over 80 people! Woohoo! They are really growing. It's amazing to see! All of our members are doing member missionary work. We give them all personal challenges to bring 1,2,3, or more friends to church... and wow, they really are! This week we had more investigators than members at church! It was awesome! Because of our members our teaching pool is growing exponentially. We have so many amazing investigators, and this week found new families to teach and all of these investigators are so prepared. They are so open to what we are teaching them and really believe what we teach them. They are all having amazing experiences with prayer, and it's strengthening my testimony so much! First of all, in order for the work to move forward throughout the world, we need members to be the missionaries. Secondly, prayer really is our opportunity to talk with God... and yes, He hears, and yes, He answers!!! He answers everyone, but His timeline is always different! 

Last, but not least ... We had three investigators get baptized!!!!!!! And the elders had one investigator get baptized, who I had taught for 3 months.... It was such an amazing baptism!! And one of our new members baptized one of them! And another 16 yr old boy got to baptize one of them as well (his first time baptizing someone). It was so cool to see! Everyone that came felt the spirit so strongly and our investigators' testimonies that they shared were so strong! These people are very special and very prepared spirits! I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to teach them :)

We have tons of investigators who are progressing really well, and the next few to get baptized are planning for the first week of January. But transfers are this week... I really hope I don't go, so I can keep watching the work grow here in Erdenet!!!

So, that's all for this week! I love you all! I'm praying for you all! Keep in touch please!!