Some Final Thoughts...

I'm writing this last email in my family's house, with a whole transfer under my belt as a transferred missionary. Now more than ever I've seen the truth in my mission presidents words, "You won't know the impact your missionary service had until long after your mission." Half of me feels like Mongolia was a surreal, out-of-body experience that has left me wishing I could go back. The other half knows that although my time being a full-time missionary in Mongolia has come to an end, I can build on the foundation that has been laid to make my life like my mission; and so these two ideas fight back and forth in my mind. So, this email is a running tab of realized blessings and an incomplete perspective on a life-changing start on the path of discipleship.

Right now I can't grasp the full impact of the last 2 years on my life, or the lives of those I was privileged to serve with- that understanding has been coming to me in small glimpses and promptings from the Spirit.

I do know that my mission has taught me the power of faith unto change and salvation only comes through giving of ourselves to Christ. I learned of sanctification as I saw the Atonement of Christ work in my life. I learned to love in ways that I never understood before my time in Mongolia. I learned that humility brings us spiritual strength and when we do what the Lord asks, He will always fulfill His promises. I learned to really pray to my Heavenly Father- and as I learned to pray in that way I began to learn from my prayers. I learned that no righteous purpose is impossible or unachievable to those who desire it and are willing to ask the Lord for help in accomplishing it. I saw that the work of the Lord is going forth boldly, nobly, and independently in Mongolia.

I do not understand why the Lord blessed me to go to Mongolia. It is a blessing I feel was and is far above me and I will be eternally grateful that I was able to serve among such a choice people. It is yet another testimony to me that our Heavenly Father lives, that His gospel is again restored to the earth, bringing salvation to all those who will come unto Christ.

Family and friends!

We're excited and grateful to announce that Elder Ryan Jolley
has returned from the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission.

His Homecoming will be this Sunday, the 8th of July at 9 a.m.

We invite all who would like to attend to join us for Sacrament Meeting that day
followed by a light brunch at the Highland City Park.

The address of the church is:

5212 West Country Club Drive
Highland, Utah

The address of the park is:

10400 North Alpine Highway
Highland, Utah

Please comment if you have any questions

Love the Jolley Family

Delayed!!

From the editor: Not going to lie. getting a call from the Church Mission Travel Department this morning stating that Elder Jolley, Elder Wilson and Elder Huff were still in China and wouldn't be arriving home tonight was a bit of a blow. High winds cancelled their flight. They will be spending an extra day in China and, hopefully, will be arriving home tomorrow.... one more day!!

Ger Bul Mini Ee

Tsag maani er ni yachvaa? Daraagiin doloo xonogt yavlaa gexed itgemeergui bgaa shuu. Neg l bish ee! What a great time to be knee deep in the Lord's work, what a great time to be a missionary! This last week I've been in that stage where everything seems surreal, too good to be true. I'm trying to soak it all the feelings/sights/sounds in my mind and heart, I know that I'm in a place and at a stage that I'm going to miss like crazy in the next couple of months. So like you asked Mum, I'm not doing very good at transitioning my thoughts for the next stage, but Яах вэ? That'll come eventually.

I've now just hit the week mark with Elder Haas, but it seriously feels like we've been working together for months, things just clicked and have been going really smooth from the first day on in our companionship and work! We've been super busy with both of us teaching English and then showing Elder Haas the area as fast as I can. Transfers are this Saturday and so I've only got 5 more days to show him as much as possible! On top of that we've had a couple of incredible experiences finding new investigators. I'll share just a couple of the great experiences we had this week:

Friday we had another powerful testimony builder that the Lord truly does lead people that are prepared to receive the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ! We decided to head over to 13r Khoroolol a bit early and do some of our study outside the house before Elder Haas's English lesson at 10:00. As we were about to begin studying a man came, sat down, and started talking with us. He said to us, "I have a great job, a car, an apartment, but I'm not happy." From there we began talking a bit about the Gospel and then he invited us over to his house. The night before he had a dream in which a man in white clothes came to him and said that God's grace would find him, woke up not knowing the meaning of the dream. Then the next morning as he was going out to drink he ran into us. He knows that God can help him overcome his addiction but doesn't know where to go.We were able to testify of God and His restored church and arranged for him to start meeting the the missionaries in that area.

Saturday we spent most of the day digging a well for our a family in our ward! The hole started to get deep enough that they were starting to have trouble getting out! So we took the hole down to what I think is the "bed-rock," we started having trouble getting farther with the tools we had and water started to flow. I've included a couple pictures of that in the email!

Elder Jolley and Elder Haas. Well digging.

Then on Sunday we met a great, great new family! They have 10 kids! Most have all left home and are living separately. Their daughter is a member of the Church in Korea and sent their information over. They know nothing about Christianity apart from what their daughter has said over the phone, but are having a lot of struggles right now and want to have a strong, united family and have incredible faith that Jesus Christ and His gospel can bring that change. We both left that lesson just glowing, and the Lord is blessing us to find those who will be a strength to this ward.

I kind of mentioned this in my email to Mum, but Sunday was my last time attending the Enkhtaivan branch. The meeting was especially good. I don't know why, but I just felt uplifted, refreshed as I looked out on all these great Mongolian saints. Then to finish the meeting Bishop Damdin announced that I was leaving and we all sang "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again." Oh man! That was a hard dose of reality. I love these people and couldn't be more grateful to my Heavenly Father for sending me to this place.

Now there is much left to do, but so, so little time. I love you guys, talk to you soon. See you soon!

Elder Ryan Jolley

P.S. I also threw in a couple of pictures...

Elder Haas and I planning in our wrestlers hats (don't ask)

Our meeting with Brother Purev and Sister Nyamsuren.

They have a temple date set for the middle of April!!!!! Baka.

New members from Sansar with Elder Newberger and Elder Jolley

Dear Family mini ee,

Happy Fathers Day Dad! Ta shuu!

I've been tempted a bunch to write an email to ya'll in Mongolian, but I'm pretty sure there's no Google translation for Mogol xel right now. But... don't worry, I'll make it up by rambling off in Mongolian to you guys. Tehuu? Nuguu Elder Jolley's email reminded me of that.

It has been a most excellent week. A ton has gone on!

We had a baptism.

I have a new companion.

A ton biz? So let me explain:

Monday after I sat in internet we went and met with Brother Byambsaikhan and Sister Otgonbayar and had a wonderful family home evening! Their family along with my companion wanted to learn to make pizza and so we made pizza together before the lesson. They are now attending church as a family each week and their oldest daughter also came for the first time in a while, they're an incredible family!

Tuesday we originally going to Nalaikh to conduct a baptism interview, but that fell through and we were able to attend our own district meeting. It was overcast and rainy and felt really good to be out in a suit coat. After eating lunch with the district we headed out with Bro. Byambasaikhan to his house and dug a well hole with our two district sign language Elders. Bro. Byambasaikhan could no longer get out of the hole that he had thus far dug and called us for help! So we took his meter deep hole to a good 2 plus meters. It feels nice to roll up the sleeves and do a bit of manual labor once in a while! Then Brother Byambasaikhan surprised us by making us a khorkhog while we dug. I'm definitely showing you guys this food when I get back. You make a khorkhog by heating up rocks in a fire, then throwing the rocks in with rib and leg meat, whole potatoes, carrots, and onions in water, sealed in a pressure cooker, and let it stew over the fire. Delish! I had tons of cool pictures to show you, but then the pictures were deleted.... so that was a bummer. After service we then went to companionship exchanges with Elder Bataa and Elder Davaadorj in Nalaikh; Elder Bataa and I were in Nalaikh and then Elder Davaadorj and Elder Tugsbaatar stayed in Enkhtaivan.

Elder Bataa is actually the older brother of a new member of mine in Chingeltei named Urangoo. We had an incredible day Wednesday! Elder Bataa's last 3 companions have been on their last transfer and he's really pulling at the reins wanting to feel that missionary fire in his companionship. No complaints here! So we spent all day Wednesday working like crazy and it was a great exchange for both of us. Having known him before his mission and he knowing me as a young missionary it was very easy to see the way that missionary work had changed us for good. I love how we are able to become the more Christlike versions of ourselves through the strengthening and enabling power of our Savior's Atonement. I have seen that change in myself over this last 2 years, and more importantly, I have found such joy seeing that change occur in other peoples lives- missionaries and investigators.

Thursday Elder Tugsbaatar and I settled back into work in Enkhtaivan, then things got shaken up on Friday! While we were doing our personal study Friday morning the assistants called and told us that President Clark wanted to meet with us at 9:30. So we rushed out the door and headed to the Bayanzurkh. In the meeting there were Sisters Oyun-Erdene and Uyanga, because of some immigration office issues in Khovd the 2 foreign missionaries there (1 Elder and 1 Sister. Amerik gesen ug) were being sent back to the city and Elder Tugsbaatar and Sister Uyanga would be flying out at noon on Saturday! With the baptism also coming up that didn't give us much time. So we spent the whole day  preparing for the baptism and packing up in between. I conducted the baptismal service and Elder Tugsbaatar performed the baptism. Khishgee Egch was nervous, but the service went great and she is a great addition to our ward! I attached 2 pictures that we took at the baptism- 1 is of Khishgee with Elders Tugsbaatar, Huff, and I (Elder Huff was the missionary that first met with Khishgee almost 2 years before), and the other is of a member that we are working to reactivate and his son is preparing to be baptized, Baldorj Ax and Taivansanaa.

Elder Huff, Khishgee, Elder Tugsbaatar and Elder Jolley

Baldorj Ax, Taivansanaa and Elder Jolley

So Saturday morning we had a sister in our district really ill and so Elder Tugsbaatar and I were at the hospital in the morning. We thought it may be an appendicitis, she was having a lot of sharp pain and couldn't leave the apartment and so we hopped in a taxi and got them over to the hospital for some tests. After they were situated we headed back, got packed up, and went to the Bayanzurkh Building.

I've saved all the info on my new companion for last. Elder Haas! He came to Mongolia with Elder Verdusco and I couldn't be more excited to work with him for the next two weeks! In this next two weeks he's getting training on being a zone leader and then with the next transfer will be paired up with a new missionary as the Bayanzurkh Zone Leaders. I don't have a picture of us together yet but I'll send you one asap. He has a lot of enthusiasm to learn and grow as a Mongolian speaker, as a missionary and a mission leader and so we're going to pack a lot into these next two weeks! I get excited every time I think about it, Elder Tugsbaatar was a bit bummed at first about his new assignment, but it will be a blessing to him and I learned lessons with him that I could not have any other way and I'm very grateful to him for that. After I met up with Elder Haas Saturday we had a weekly planning session, and still got out for 3 lessons before the day was over. It was a good way to start our new companionship off!

Then Sunday we attended Church (next week will be my last week in Enkhtaivan, the following Sunday, July 1st, I'll be in a companionship with the other departing missionaries and attending Church in Sansar). Khishgee Egch asked that I give her the gift of the Holy Ghost to her, then after we spent the day introducing Elder Haas to everyone! After the block we headed up to Nalaikh for that nuguu baptism interview. It was Elder Haas's first time conducting a baptism interview and it went great!

This week I'm finishing up Moroni in my Book of Mormon reading. I love the different perspective and new insights I've received from studying it in Mongolian. To close I want to share a small passage from the Book of Ether, Chapter 12:

1 And it came to pass that the days of Ether were in the days of Coriantumr; and Coriantumr was king over all the land.

2 And Ether was a prophet of the Lord; wherefore Ether came forth in the days of Coriantumr, and began to prophesy unto the people, for he could not be restrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in him.

3 For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled—

4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."

I love you all, and I love this work! What a great opportunity we have to submit our will to the Lords and to be then blessed and changed!

Elder Jolley

Dear family min ee,

Isn't it weird now that we've passed the June 9th mark? This week has been really rewarding and has gone by too fast! The highlight of the week would definitely be Zone Leaders Council on Thursday. It was a spiritual feast and the time went by way too quick. I had a lot of questions that I had been asking the Lord in my prayers and I was getting back to back answers throughout the day! We finished the council by having PPI's with President Clark, this was probably my second to last interview with him... I really don't know where the time has gone. I love this time I have to be a missionary.

This week our investigator Khishgee is getting baptized and we have 1 more baptism scheduled before I head home. Most of our work right now is with part member families and it's very rewarding to see the Gospel basics bringing joy to the lives of these people on a family level. It reminds me of a quote in PMG that goes something like this, "The study of gospel principles will improve behavior a lot faster than the study of behavior will improve behavior" (President Boyd K. Packer). A lot of times in our work, families, and personal lives we tend to focus on the problem, taking us only farther away from the source that would bring us relief. We are seeing this right now with Bro. Byambaa and Sister Otgonbayar's family. This family was inactive but have recently began coming back to Church because they have seen how not living the Gospel principles has effected their children. Now they are experiencing some bumps on the road as the try to get their family back on the Gospel track. But... as they focus less on the problems and more on Gospel principles their problems go away! As we look to our Savior we can see this change in our own lives. Whether it is doubt, anger, temptation, contention, the solution is the same, I really love what the missionary Aaron said about finding hope as we turn to God, In Alma 22:16 he says:

"...If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest."

Other than zone council and a companionship exchange with the Baganuur Elders, this week has been pretty calm. I'm still teaching at the New West Hotel and they're especially having me do a lot of editing and translating on their company material before I head out. This week we have scheduled splits with the Nalaikh Elders on Wednesday, and on Tuesday we're going to dig a well hole with the Bro. Byamba that I mentioned above. There's a lot to do and very little time to do it!  Elder Wilson and I also spent the morning filming our MTC application videos. We taught a 10 minute lesson and now that will get sent into the MTC for evaluation.

I'll have to include pictures in next weeks email, I forgot the chord at home. But after what's been going on down South I'm just glad to have my camera... Elder Jolley must have gotten really skinny or something cause I wouldn't rob him! I have to put a little shout out to relatives and friends who have sent emails. Thanks much for sending word out here and please forgive an Elder for being so slow at replying!

Love, Elder Jolley

Hey Family,

Sain Uu. I've got a lot to write and so little time! Skyler.....you're 16! And you've got a license!

This week we've had opportunities to grow closer as a companionship. It's been a harder week for my companion and I have been praying for ways to help lift and bless him. My top two solutions have been patience and work! And so we've been doing a lot of that this last week. You heard from Brother Raal about our meeting on Sunday. What a cool experience! The world is a really small place eh?

Brother Raal and Elder Jolley
(Brother Raal was a missionary in Ryan's Dad's
 mission in South Africa) 

An update on the missionary visa situation. First off, my visa is set until September and so as long as I make it to July we should be fine! On the 1st of June, 4 of the Elders from our mission were scheduled to be deported from the country. We even met as a zone on Tuesday with President Clark to learn more about what was going on, at the time we had no way of keeping those Elders in country by our own means, and we began praying and fasting as a mission for this situation to be watched over by the Lord. Thanks to prayers by people in and outside of Mongolia- the legal action following this visa situation kicked in and though a solution has not been reached, the missionaries have been allowed to stay in country while the matter is solved. This came out of the blue on Wednesday and was another reminder that the Lord is watching over this mission!

Sorry, but times up.... I love you guys and I'll talk to you more this next week!

Love, Elder Jolley