Sain Uu,

Сар шинэдээ сайхан шинэлсэн үү? Алт мөнгө их цуглуулсан уу? It was a Tsagaan Sar to remember! First an explaination of the pictures:

The first picture should have a few familiar faces- the Ford's fireside was this last Sunday! They came almost a month after us and are now heading home on Thursday... it's a sad week for the mission in that way. You'll have to see if you can find out when their farewell is- you won't want to miss it!

The second picture is of "the original 4" with Sister Chuluunkhuu. She's back from Korea! This sister was in the MTC with us last September. (It's nice to be able to talk now!)


The third picture is Elder Myagmardorj and I, the Fords, our mission financial secretary Battsetseg and her husband Mugii and their daughter Chinkhuslen. She had us over for tsuivan on Saturday and we had a great time at their house and a nice break from eating buuz. We worked with Battsetseg almost every day in the office and she is a huge asset to our mission.

You may have the fourth picture from Sister Hunt, the "family picture." Elder Verdusco, Elder Neuberger, and I all sporting our deels. Good looking group ya?


The picture is of Elder Quinton and I with President and Sister Clark. I love these two! What an incredible year it has been with them. We all met as a mission on shinii 1nd (the first day of the lunar new year) and "greeted" them (zolgox?? I don't know a cooler way to say it in English).


It's been an incredible opportunity to soak up Mongolian culture this week! An email can't describe all of it, but it was a great week to grow closer to these Mongolian Saints. Tsagaan Sar this year started on Wednesday the 22nd with "Bituun" (Tsagaan Sar's "Eve") and then throughout the rest of the week! Tuesday we had district meeting, got some other work done and then went home and put on our deels! You think two foreign missionaries get stares wearing shirts and ties- it's even better when we're wearing deels! We spent Bituun at Sister Unurmaa's house and started the buuz count, had a great night as a district (all 8 of us).

The next picture can only be appreciated by those who have been to Mongolia. A great Өвөө picture.

The next is of Elder Quinton and I at our 1st Counselor in the Bishopric (Spelled right? sanixgui bna aa) Ganbolds house.


Picture 3 is Elder Huff and I at Brother Ganbolds house. You can see from the last 2 pictures the 2 main types of deels. 1 is daavuu, simple fabric; and the other is torgo, or silk. I have a fabric deel, but you'll see that most of the Elders have silk- just preference! I think the fabric is more common for a Mongolian deel and looks less "tourist!"


This Elder Buyanbat (with the hat), Elder Tugsbaatar, our district leader (the suit), and I playing ankle bones on Bituun. There are some sweet games you can play and I had a rough time playing against all that experience- but had a great time.

The next picture is a different game we played at our new member Brother Sergelentsogt's house.

So on shinii 1-3 (Wednesday through Friday) out visiting the members and investigators! Every house has the same basic arraingement of food. You go, greet the family from the eldest down, and then feast! You talk about family (yamar garaltai ve?), their conversion story, and sometimes show talents. We never did the talents last year in Sansar, but this year in Selbe we've been able to see a lot of Mongolian singing, etc.- and doing a bit of that ourselves! We were at our 2nd counselor in the bishoprics house, Brother Ganbold (same name as the 1st counselor), and I commented jokingly at my companions great singing skills (singing's not his thing). Brother Ganbold heard and called Elder Quinton out for a solo talent and asked him to sing a solo! Poor Elder Quinton's stammering and trying to find a way out of it, so Elder Stranski and I helped him out. They requested an American song and so we sang the national anthem. And then after I joined with the Mongolians and we sang the Mongolian national anthem (thanks to the MTC teachers for teaching us). So that's a little look into what happens at these appointments! I love speaking with Mongolians and so I really like the appointments.

Okay I'm running out of time really quick here, if there's anything that I didn't explain it's because I was rushing and let me know next week.

On Shinii 2nd we went over to Sister Tungalags house with the district and the Bishop and his wife. On Thursday I ate 66 buuz with all the trimmings, this was the only day that hurt by the time we got home. If you remember from last week my goal was 175 for the 4 day period, but the last day we ended up not going to a few houses and so I only hit 166 for this year.

The next picture is the whole group in our deels. This was on Wednesday when we met up with President and Sister Clark.


This is Munkhjargal, our new member on Shinii 2nd. He's 11 years old and getting ready to receive the priesthood! In the city a lot more people wore deels then they did last year and it's really cool to see even as modern UB is getting.


You should recognize these 4- Brother Purev, Sister Nyamsuren, and Sister Unurjargal (and her son)! We got to visit them Saturday night and it was by far my favorite visit over Tsagaan Sar! They're doing really good, Brother Purev was having a lot of headaches and pains relating to his cut off cigarettes and alcohol about the time he was getting baptized, now that's all doing a lot better and they're really growing as new members! Their youngest son is now taking the lessons and after he is baptized they've set the goal to be at the temple one year later. As a missionary there are few things that bring more happiness then hearing those words.


The third and final picture is President and Sister Clark, some of the couple missionaries, and the Songino and Bayanzurkh zones at the Bayanzurkh Building.


Hearing from you all this week, in this missionary's work, and from every other aspect of life there is countless witnesses that we do have a Father in heaven, that He does listen to and know us, and he answers sincere prayers.

Love, Elder Jolley

Happy Tsaagan Sar

Received this sweet email from Sister Hunt this morning and some pictures. Enjoy!

Sister Jolley- All of the young elders and sisters dressed up in their traditional Mongolian attire today and I took a lot of pictures and I assumed you'd like to see them. As you can see, all of the elders have had deels made. We really like your son's deel. Elder Hunt wants to have one made like your son's. He was so cute as to offer to take us to the black market and show us where he bought the fabric, trim and belt and his hat....so cute! Notice in the first picture how your son is supporting his right hand with his left....very traditional. The picture of your son with two elders...he said that they were his "sons"....I assumed that he was their trainer? The last picture is of the 4 elders that all came out together. ~Sister Hunt

Elder Jolley with his "sons" — Elder Verdusco and Elder Neuberger

Elder Reeves and Elder Jolley

Celebrating Tsaagan Sar
A bunch of the sisters, elders, senior couples and mission president

The original four...
Elder Reeves, Elder Jolley, Elder Wilson and Elder Huff

Гэр Бүл Минь Ээ

Happy Tsagaan Sar!!! The Mongolian new year is at the door and Elder Quinton and I are doing great in Selbe. The transfer call came out this last Saturday- and for the first transfer in a long time I had that wonderful "transfer day" feeling, wondering what was in store! While working as assistant transfer was an incredible opportunity to learn and understand how to receive revelation.... now out of the office it's a time to see what the Lord has in store for this mission during the next six weeks! I've always looked at them as a time to re-evaluate where I am and what I need to improve on and so..... I'm staying in Selbe for the next 6 weeks with Elder Quinton!

There wasn't too much changed around this transfer and so now I'm really working on lifting where I'm standing and really trying to bless this area. Right now we really, really, really need new investigators! There's things that as a companionship that we need to
do better and then I think the Lord will bless us with the investigators that we both want. So this next transfer needs to be an improvement on all fronts. I really don't like being called the old
missionary or the "experienced missionary." I loved the feeling in my first few transfers of just fighting and struggling and working to be the Lord's servant and I'm trying to create that kind of a environment of continuously desiring and focusing on that change and improvement.

This last week we were able to find 3 new investigators who have friends who are members, and so we are really excited to begin meeting with them frequently. Tsagaan Sar starts this Tuesday with Bituun and officially ends Friday with Shinii 3, but usually carry on throughout
the rest of the week. I'm planning on stuffing my deel with pass-along cards and using this as a week to show an "example of the believers" every where we are and I believe that will lead us to some of the people that the Lord is preparing for this area. Then there's the eating side of Tsagaan Sar..... there's going to be a lot of buuz eaten this week! Elder Quinton is ready to dive in to the buuz fest and we've both made a goal to pound down 175. You guys better be excited because I'm going to make all these foods for you guys when I get back- your going to love them! We've been working a lot with the ward leaders and even started Ward Council up last Sunday- so a lot of good things are happening in the ward. The members are all really loving and last week we had the opportunity to get out and fellowship some of the members by making buuz with them (which is a huge thing in the weeks before Tsagaan Sar. Every family makes between 1000-2500 buuz- all to be eaten over Tsagaan Sar). So you'll see that in the pictures we're sending. Also... no one in Selbe thinks that American Elders can eat Mongolian food. I don't know if this is because of previous Elders or what but I think they think we're all light weights! Elder Quinton and I are always asked "Can you eat meat? Have you learned to eat meat since coming to Mongolia?" So this week when one of the sisters in the ward invited us over for food I requested
чансан мах, boiled/cooked meat, to put an end to all this. When I was in Chingeltei we ate chansan max all the time but they don't do it much in the city. Чансан мах is legit Mongolian food, just a bunch of boiled mutton (sometimes with the head and intestines like we saw on
Bizarre Foods) with potatoes and carrots. Then all the foods placed in a big bowl in the middle of the table, every takes knives and goes for it. By far my favorite Mongolian food. I've sent a few pictures of that for ya.

To close I want to share a scripture that I've been studying this last week:

63 Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently

and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall

be opened unto you.

64 Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto

you, that is expedient for you;

65 And if ye ask anything that is not expedient for you, it shall

turn unto your condemnation.

66 Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the

wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice,

because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth bideth and hath

no end; and if it be in you it shall abound.

67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be

filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that

body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.

68 Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to

God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil

his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own

way, and according to his own will.

Truly God lives. He is as close to us as we want Him to be. If we can but desire these things, just desire to have him in our lives and make the necessary changes all things are possible to us through our Father and His Beloved Son.

Love, Elder Ryan Jolley

Hey Family,

Sain uu? So today I've run really low on time and so I'll get in as much about this week as I can and also answer your guys questions. Elder Quinton didn't have English at all this week so it was a great week for teaching! I love every opportunity we have to get out and it was great to get out and do more of it then usual! Usually when my companions teaching I do extra language study or work on the area book, and he studies Mongolian while I teach. My companion teaches a family and so a lot of the time I end up having these huge conversations with their youngest son (who can't pay attention long enough to sit through the lessons), and so I ask him about Mongolian and he just fires off questions about anything. I'm still getting the opportunity to translate a lot in the ward (we have an American Elder's Quorum teacher) and I'm really working on continually improving in the language. And I'd be totally fine with forgetting English right now to do it! I included a picture of us making buuz with our Bishop and his wife, and a few of the members of the ward. Sorry out of time, I love the work! I love you guys!

Elder Jolley

Making buuz

A feel of Ulaanbaatar

Hey Everyone-

It was great to see the house! It looks really nice and it's great
knowing that you all are a bit more settled in now. I'm getting
settled in to life in Selbe and things are starting to come together
with investigators as we find those who are ready to come to Christ.
The dynamics of our mission is so different here in methods, but I
know that with some faith and creativity the results are the same!
Elder Quinton teaches English right now Monday through Thursday and
Saturday from 4-6 p.m. and then I teach Monday,Tuesday, and Thursday
from 6:30-8:30 p.m., and so were teaching quite a bit. But this week
Elder Quinton doesn't teach so we're going to take advantage of that!
And now that things are thawing out it's only up from here- we're now
on the warming trend until spring! My last winter in Mongolia....
bittersweet. We had a lot going on this last week, I'll fill ya in:

Monday we taught English from 4 on and so we busted out all the chores
and then played some ping pong over at the Church. When I went to buy
fabric for the deel I picked up 2 paddles and a bunch of ping pong
balls for 5 bucks (I love prices in Mongolia), and so we've been
playing a lot on Preparation Day lately, trying to get good enough to
fight off the Mongolians that we play with (most Mongolians are great
at ping pong!) I just use my "wing span" and it helps me get a bit of
an advantage. I also got Elder Quinton to get a deel and a fox hat, so
we're going all out for Tsagaan Sar! People in UB don't wear deels as
much as those who live in the khuduu and so we're going to be the
foreigners fighting to keep the culture alive. Tsagaan Sar this year
starts February 22nd with Bituun (Tsagaan Sar's eve) and then goes
until the 25th... then we're set for transfers on the 26th. This
transfer has been really slow to me! Work has been great and we're
plenty busy, but I'm still adjusting to life out of the mission office.
Time flew by so quick the last 6 months! I love reading Elder
Mickelson's emails, it sounds exactly like what Elder Tuvshinbayar and
I were doing, the layout's almost the same.

Tuesday after district meeting we had a lesson, taught English, and
then went on companionship exchanges with the Bayanzurkh district
leader (a.k.a. Elder Verdusco!). So we split up at about 8:30 and I
went with him to Bayanzurkh. They're living in my old apartment (where
I lived with Elder Zolbayar in Sansar) and worked together all of
Wednesday. Trainer and trainee back together again. But now Elder
Verdusco is a district leader and I loved watching and observing him
in his work. He works out in the ger districts and so I liked being
out of the city center and meeting in gers again. He's really grown
and is a Christ-like, humble, powerful missionary. I've got a lot to
learn from him and we set some great goals at the end of the exchange
that I hope will help him in his work and in his district. Elder
Quinton, though a new missionary, has a lot of confidence and really
takes the reins with work in Selbe whenever I'm gone and he and Elder
Bataa had a great day.

Thursday was zone council. This time it was great to see zone council
from the "other side." I had never been to zone council before not being
an assistant so I've always been used to the planning and presenting
side of things, and so having that perspective and attending zone
council now was really great! Elder Huff and Elder Myagmardorj, Elder
Zolboo (Erdenet ZL), Elder Tuvshinbayar (Darkhan ZL), Elder Wilson
(Songino ZL), and I met in the President's office from 10 to 3. All
incredible Elders! All of them I've been able to watch grow and serve
in the last year and a half. We did a lot of preparation for the
upcoming all-mission conference. Elder C. Scott Grows is attending and so
it's been "re-vamped" a bit. So I left that day really re-focused on
the needs of the zone, ready to work! Then Friday we had no English at
all so we were out all day, got a lot of lessons in and soaked up the - temps
while we've still got them.

Saturday President Clark invited Elder Wilson and I to be apart of the
East District Branch Mission Leader training. We taught and
demonstrated the missionary coordination meeting and how we can work
better together as full time missionaries and members. That was from
12 to 3 p.m. in the mission presidents home. I loved being apart of
the training, Elder Wilson and I worked with the assistants on that
and it was put together quick but went great! We are trying to
establish some habits that will help the branches and missionaries
work better together and so we were able to draw from a lot of
experience between the 4 of us! Then on Saturday, our emee Tserendulam
got out of the hospital and we were able to meet with here again!
She's been in the hospital (which usually in Mongolia isn't terribly
serious- if you get sick you go straight to the hospital), but read
from the Book of Mormon and prayed while she was there! I've never met
with an emee (grandma) investigator that has understood as great as
she does it's incredible! Then on Sunday I filled in for an RM and
taught the investigator class, attended the ward missionary meeting,
worked with some of the ward leaders, met with a member family for
dinner and that was the day!

Our times up, we've got to go get the washing machine repaired. I love you guys!

Elder Jolley