Sain uu?

Amar bain uu? Thanks for the great Easter Pics! Everyone in Mongolia, of course, looks Mongolian and there aren't many foreigners so pictures from home looks "foreign" now, kinda funny! But grass, trees, white people, you just don't see much! Today we've had a little bit of rain and it's been sunny and warm all week! I'm itching to lose the suit coat, but my companions not going for it yet. We've been blessed this week and I've felt the blessing of the privilege we have to preach of Jesus Christ and His Atonement as we celebrated that this last week. I was thinking about it this week and I've been in Sansar for almost 7 of the 8 months I've been here and I've become really tight with the ward. Before I was the new Elder that couldn't speak much, but now I get to help and influence and I'm very grateful for that!

Monday and Tuesday- Preparation Day we spent most of the day trying to get new mattresses for the apartment, but it ended up falling through, so we're trying for that again today! Tuesday, after district meeting, we were asked by the Bishop to go give a priesthood blessing to the daughter (non member) of a member of the ward and she has become our new investigator. She had met with the missionaries over a year ago and we met with her again the following Saturday. After that, good ole English at the New West Hotel. I like the people, but the atmosphere there is everything a missionary tries to steer clear from so I'm glad it's only 2 nights a week!

Wednesday- We had a full day of work and ended it off having dinner at a member's house, Sister Toya. She's awesome, a stalwart saint shuu dee. She was baptized about 10 years ago and has incredible faith and a desire to serve the Lord. Her less active daughter and family were also there and we are going to try to continue to meet with them as well. We read Mosiah 4 together and it allowed this sister and her family to realize the changes they need to make and that comes through "boldly declaring repentance" as Doctrine and Covenants says.

Thursday- I started something to hopefully bring more unity to our district- studying English together. Everyone here wants to learn English and I hope that by teaching and studying with them we will become more united. All of our missionaries are great, but we've got a few rifts and such that need to be forgiven to really be united. So I'll be teaching them 1 or 2 days a week and hope that that will help out!

Friday- Our investigator Unursaikhan was baptized! I sent 2 pictures of the baptism, but it was a night that he has been long awaiting. Unursaikhan is 24, has a bad kidney so he cannot work, but has a desire to serve and help others and he will be a great example to the ward! Also, we had an investigator that we were meeting with back in January come back from the countryside and hope to start meeting with him again. The countryside goes like this- you start to meet with an investigator (always the good ones), and then one day they up and head off to the countryside and you usually don't see them again! There's still a bit of the nomadic side in everyone I guess because moves here are very sudden and not a big deal.

Saturday and Sunday- A couple of weeks ago our investigator Bayarmunkh was baptized and we've been meeting with his family ever since. As we taught the Plan of Salvation to them last night we had an great discussion about the Atonement. Bayarmunkh's dad, Erdenemunkh, believes in God and Jesus Christ and is now attending another church, but had never heard of the Atonement before. I realized why the Apostles and Prophets make such an emphasis of this doctrine now, it had never even been mentioned to this man before! I felt blessed and grateful to explain the Atonement of Jesus Christ to Erdenemunkh and his family on the day that we celebrate Christ's resurrection. I had my testimony confirmed that truly without Christ's Atonement this Plan has no value, no power in our lives. Read Isaiah 61:1 or Luke 4:18- I want to tell you how grateful I am for our Savior. Truly with Him we can do all things! I feel that in Mongolia more than ever before. And because of His Gospel we have the opportunity to live together forever. It just doesn't get better than that! As we taught the Atonement to that family I was able to testify that they could also have this opportunity! So Happy Easter, love you guys!

Elder Jolley

Unursaikhan's baptism pictures