Both the Dentists we invited arrived this week.  They brought with them 3 suit cases of donated dental supplies ($3,500.00 worth).  Four months ago when we started this it seemed impossible.  Little miracles kept happening and now it is a reality.  The Governor of Choibalsan met us and treated all of us to a wonderful dinner and the next morning we found out he had also paid for our motel room.  After we met with the Hospital Administration they were so excited with the dental supplies and the dentist's knowledge and abilities that they changed what they were going to have the dentists do.  They were going to teach hygiene in the schools (15,000 students) and provide free dental service to the poor and needy children.  They are still going to do that but they are also going to provide training for the 9 dentists in the Province that serve 70,000 people. As you can see we are in way over our heads but we just keep going and heaven keeps helping us and miracles keep happening one after another.

Some of you know one of the dentists, Clyde Larsen, from Price.  He was in the college stake presidency with President Harrison.  Sally and Andy probably remember him.  Clyde will be in Choibalsan for 6 weeks.  It will cost these dentists $3-5,000 each to come and do humanitarian service.  We are amazed at the many generous people we have met.  People really can be amazing and do a tremendous amount of good which is very humbling to see and be a part of.

Pictures

--We visited this Chinggis Khan Statue--it's famous here and HUGE!

--Our friend, Nara, invited us to her geir for a BD dinner--her's and mine. This cake says Maynes:)

--then we had FHE with her, and her niece and nephews

--horses...uh, excuse me:)

--Fall is here!

Zuunkhaara

We took the train to Zuunkhaara to check on a well building DIC is building.  On the way we saw something that amazed us.  The grassy countryside almost looks like a huge golf course because so many flocks and herds keep the grass trimmed back. Because there is a fence along the railroad right of way, to keep the animals off the tracks, the grass grows taller -2 feet.  Farmers, by hand, are cutting this grass and raking it into piles. They then load it on trucks with pitch forks.  We saw these huge loads of grass on trucks.  The load is so big it almost buries the truck.  They take 16 foot long boards and put them cross-ways on the truck bed so that it makes the bed 16 feet wide and 20 feet long.  They then throw the grass up to someone on the pile who tramps it in place.  The pile looks to be 10 feet tall.  It is huge!  This is something out of American history, which I imagine Grandpa Maynes and Daw and Christensen did to harvest hay in the early 1900's.  It was an amazing sight.

We also had a closing ceremony at the Chingeltei Handicapped Association. They were so.........o grateful and appreciative.  We purchased sewing machines and sewing supplies for them: also origami supplies.  They've trained about 150 handicapped people, so that they can find employment with new skills. The things they are making are beautiful:  Slippers, wall hangings, shoes, pillow cases, cards, small stuffed animals, scarfs, etc.  They made all the prizes for the Mongolian Paralympics.  We are attaching pictures.  The embroidering, all done by machines, was amazing and beautiful.

 

 

FAT

This week we went to Choibalsan, which is on the Eastern edge of Mongolia.  We conducted 3 closing ceremonies for our water stations (pictures attached).  We had the following in attendance:  People from the Province Governor's Office, the Choibalsan City Mayor's office, the building inspectors, the city engineers, the contractor, the Branch President, the Relief Society President, and about 100 people that will use the water station to obtain their water.  They were very appreciative.  It makes you feel like you are doing some good.  

School will start this next week and our young volunteer teachers (missionaries) will be using the new digital lessons which some of our missionaries created this summer. 

We are doing good.  We get plenty of meat and some vegetables when we eat out. We try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables when we cook/eat at home. So we are getting fat! Can you imagine Laurie and Alan obese?  

Oh, and we went to a Mongolian musical performance Saturday and saw a contortionist, a really good orchestra, dancing and singing!  

Love, Alan & Laurie

Beautiful Country

This week was quite an adventure.  Grandma stayed in UB working on our English booklets that we are trying to get done in the next two weeks and I went to XAHX (pronounced: Haunk).  XAHX is a town of 3000 people up above the largest lake in Mongolia by the Russian border.  To get there it is an 11 hour drive, thru Darkhan, Erdenet & Murun to the Lake and then another 8 hour drive along the mountain around the lake to the town.  It had been raining for two days prior to our arrival and it rained again the night we arrived at the Geir Camp at the bottom edge of the lake, so the road was impassible.  We then started hunting a boat that could take us there, 140 kilometers (90 miles).  We found a man that used to be a province councilman that was from XAHX and he offered to take us, if we would pay for the gasoline.  It costs $350 for the gas and so four of us were going to head across the lake:  me, my translator, the councilman, and his boat driver; then the immigration Colonel from Murun decided he wanted to come, so two hours later (noon) 5 of us set off across the lake.  The lake is crystal clear with no fish.  The ice is 3-4 feet thick in the winter, which is too thick, and on the lake too long, for fish to live.  After a gasoline-smelling, bucking-water-slapping 3 hour boat ride we arrived in XAHX.  The city Governor and a few others met us and took us to lunch. We then took a tour of the three water stations they are requesting help with. Then back to the boat, another bucking-bronco boat ride across the lake, ending with an hour long rain and wind storm just before dark to finishing the journey.   It is beautiful country, very remote. The mountain separating Mongolia and Siberia was covered with snow. It is always covered with snow.  We saw some reindeer, yaks, and the normal herds of sheep, goats, horses, and cows. Along the countryside numerous little stands are selling horse milk to tourists and passersby.  We obviously learned a lot. We have decide to build the requested water stations so we will be going back a few times next spring. 

An interesting side note:  It is so remote and difficult to get to that in the months of January-March they drive (and of course slip and slide) in cars, trucks, and semi-trucks across the lake.  They can make it in two hours.  The big trucks take their cab doors off so that if the truck breaks thru the ice they can get out.  Every once in a while a truck goes thru the ice.  There might be another boat ride or around the lake jeep ride for us but no rides in a wheeled vehicle across the ice for us, even if it is 4 feet thick!

Other than the above adventure it was a normal week working as humanitarian missionaries in Mongolia.

BYU-H

Hello Family,

We haven't had any adventures this week--at least not too big of ones:)  I went to a couple of lessons with 2 sets of Sisters--both were about 45 minutes out of the city on a hot bus!  But, the lessons were very good and the investigators both accepted a baptism date.  The Sisters were elated, to say the least.  

We gave the Michigan Test (an English Test-vocabulary, reading comprehension, & grammar) last week--once on Wednesday evening and then again on Saturday morning.  The students are really nervous, as well they should be because it's a hard test--even for dad and I.  Yes, we took a practice test and did pretty good, but it was no cake walk:)  We'll send the tests to BYU-H on Monday and they'll correct them and email us the scores.  The students need to get 75 in order to pass, so they can go to BYU-H on the I-work Program.  

We have at least 2 District Mtgs at our apartment each week--it's nice to talk about the Gospel in English:)  It reminds us of why we're all here--to help others come unto Christ.

 

 

Count your many bessings

We flew to Choibalsan this week to check on our 4 water stations that are being built there and to finish arranging the details for the two dentists we are bringing to Mongolia.  We are attaching some pictures.  The four water stations will supply water for about 2400 people.  

We have another class starting Monday for Mongolian English Teachers.  They love our classes.  Four of the missionaries teach them--divided into two separate classes. 

We are doing good other than it is really warm here, probably just like it is in where you all live. 

We spoke in church in Choibalsan.  A five minute talk is a ten minute talk because we have to have a translator.  A translator is like a painter.  A good painter makes a carpenter into a good carpenter, and a good translator makes a speaker into a good speaker:)

This is Laurie--In Relief Society, the teacher turned the last 10 minutes over to Sister Harper--the new mission President's wife--and me.  They wanted us to teach them something.  Well, she's learning Mongolian, but still can't communicate real well, so we told them about our families:)  They thought it was cool that we each have so many children and Gkids:)  We think it's wonderful, too!

Pres Harper was interviewing and calling a new branch president. After announcing that in Sacrament meeting, nothing else had been planned, so...the 4 of us spoke.  We had been given some advance notice, which was good:)

It's Sunday night and we're back in UB.  We keep on keeping on:)

 

 

Yay for Senior Missionaries

We receive a news letter in Mongolia about the Humanitarian work that is going on in Asia.  Nepal, Mongolia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia, Lao, India, and Timor Leste are some of the countries where we have Humanitarian Missionaries that often have a short news item of something they have done in their country.  It is amazing to us to see all the good the Church is doing:  Wheel Chair Projects, Disaster Relief Efforts, Vision Clinics and Training, Clean Water Projects, Gardening and Food Production, English Teaching, Drug Rehabilitation Projects.  We have seen projects in hospitals, schools, prisons, public safety, and employment centers. Besides all this humanitarian work that is going on there is a similar effort to help church members gain education, skills, and employment.  It is simply staggering what is going on.  

The money comes from faithful member donations. Without missionary couples most of the money would be eaten up in salaries and wages, but because of the senior missionaries volunteering their service at their own expense the donated funds can be stretched to reach more people.  Most of these projects are to help the poor and needy without concern about their beliefs or religious associations.  We are humbled to see the tremendous amount of good that is being done to help and bless others.  There are many other charitable organizations that do a lot of good but none come even close to what the church is doing because of the huge volunteer force of senior missionaries.  

Joseph Smith taught that,“A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”  We are honored to be part of this work even though our efforts are small in comparison to the need throughout the world.