Well it has been things back to normal in the office.  We have helped a few people with job applications, taught English, counseled a young lady with family problems, and helped with last minute PEF applications.  Mostly we have been getting ready for our trip to Hong Kong next week.  We have paid for our tickets and have received them.  We will be traveling with a wonderful group of Mongolian members and are looking forward to going with them to the temple.  We do not get back until 1:00 am Tuesday morning on Oct 2nd, so my next post with be late but should have some pictures of Hong Kong to share!

It has been a week busy with meetings.  On Tuesday and Wednesday we had all mission conference from 9:00am to 8:30pm on Tuesday and 8:45am to 5:00 pm on Wednesday.  Elder Wilson of the Seventy and his wife were here for the conference.  He has been called into the area presidency over Asia and they are living in Hong Kong.  It was a wonderful two days with all the missionaries here from all the areas to meet together!
All the sister missionaries had their picture taken with Sister Wilson (she is in the orange sweater).  All the missionaries had their picture taken with Elder and Sister Wilson but I have not receive my copy of it yet.

On Thursday we had our staff meeting with Elder and Sister Wilson in attendance.  After that meeting each couple had an interview with Elder Wilson about our mission.
We had received a new couple on Wednesday evening, Elder and Sister Wood from Las Vegas.  They will be working in the mission office.  We have not had an office couple since the Fords left in February so they are very much welcomed, especially by President and Sister Clark! 
Saturday and today has been district conference so we have stayed here in the city and the members of Nalaikh have come here to the meetings.  Elder and Sister Wilson have spoken in conference also, letting all the members and not just the missionaries have the pleasure of hearing counsel from them.  It has been a wonderful week full of counsel and inspiration!

On Wednesday, Elder Shrope spent the day in Nalaikh helping to get the church grounds ready for the open house to be held on Saturday.  I stayed and worked in the office while he mowed grass.

 It really looked good since this was the first time it had been cut all year.  This is only part of the lawn behind the chapel.  Most of the front is driveway and brick sidewalks.

The branch had made these invitations for the members and missionaries to give out to nonmember friends and family.  Then on Saturday the missionaries and many of the young people passed them out on the street as they invited people to come see the chapel.

 Each room in the chapel was set up to teach a little about each organization of the church.  This is the Primary room and showed a little about what the children ages 3 through 11 have been learning.

The Young Women's room showed the things that the girls between the ages of 12 and 18 learn and the awards they work to receive.

The Relief Society room explained the adult women's program in the church.  They also talked about families and being self-sufficient through budgeting, gardening, etc.

The Young Men's room talked about the Aaronic priesthood and the things that the boys from age 12 to 18 are taught.

 They were shown the baptismal font and told about baptismal procedures and the need for baptism.

 Even the library was opened and had a display showing the variety of materials that are available to help them learn about the gospel.

Here Pukie, the Elder's Quorum president, is telling about the Melchizedek priesthood for those older than 18.  He also explains a little about the addiction recovery program that the church has here to help those with alcohol or drug problems. 

 Sister Erdene-tsetseg was one of the guides.  She has been a member a long time and is the Sunday School teacher in Nalaikh.  She gave detailed information in each room and answered all questions those she was showing around might have.  Then she would introduce that person, or group of people, to Ser-Od as they were leaving.  He would give them some missionary pamphlets and take down their name, address, and phone number if they were interested in learning more.

Even the young boys out back playing basketball were doing their part.  When other young men or boys came to play with them, they would ask them if they would like a tour of the building and bring them inside to one of the guides.  It was a very successful day and they had between 50 and 60 referrals for the missionaries to contact.  Plus the weather was beautiful-warm and sunny-which helped bring out more people.  

This week we had some sad news.  This sister in Nalaikh who was baptized a couple of months ago passed away on Monday.

Her funeral was Friday but even though we wanted to we could not attend.  It was at 7:30 am in Nalaikh.  Most funerals here in Mongolia are very early in the morning.  It was not the hour that made it so that we could not attend but it was due to a new trial law that was started on Friday to last for the next two months to try and eliminate some of the cars on the roads.  It goes according to the last number on the license plate.  Certain numbers cannot drive on certain days on any city street during the hours of 8:00 am to 10:00 pm.
The schedule is Monday-#1 & 6, Tuesday-#2 & 7, Wednesday-#3 & 8, Thursday-#4 & 9, and Friday-#5 & 0.  Saturday and Sunday and all legal holidays all cars can drive.  The mission president's car is a 5 and the van is a 0 so neither of those cars can be driven on Fridays.  The Landcruiser is a 8, but we could not drive it because two of the couples had left Friday morning for Murun with it.  Since the funeral was before the starting hour we could have gotten to the funeral but then would not have been able to return to the city and our office.  If this trial run works, they will extend the time past two months.  It will make it difficult for us to get to any baptisms in Nalaikh since they are all on Fridays if the Landcruiser is not available.

We finished our Michigan test preparation classes on Thursday evening and gave the test to five people that thought they were ready on Saturday morning.  Hopefully they will do well so they can then continue working towards going to BYU for their education.