On Thursday we held a farewell party down in the basement for Elder and Sister Martin.  They were to leave early the next morning for home.

We had to keep it a surprise in order to get Elder Martin to come.  Crowds make him nervous.  He started to turn around and leave but we would not let him.

All of the couples made treats to share at the party.  Elder Shrope and I made the center piece

 It is our tribute to Elder and Sister Martin made from some of his surgical gloves.  Don't you think it looks like them?

 Lots of people that work here in the building wanted to come and say good-bye and express their love for the Martins.  In fact we had to get down more chairs and make the circle bigger to fit all their friends.

 And  a group of the Mongolian saints sang a song to the Martins in Mongolian.  It is a type of traditional song they sing at farewells.

Elder and Sister are now back in Idaho with their families.  We miss them, love them, and wish them well.

Saturday we walked to the Bangkok Cafe to have a farewell lunch with the other couples for the Martins.  They leave us this Friday.  It was actually a nice and sunny day and I even wore my light spring coat instead of the winter one I have worn all week.  But that doesn't mean that it is hot here.

This is the little stream that runs behind the Sky department store that is on the backside of the Chinggis Hotel across the street from our apartment.  We crossed over this stream on the way to the restaurant.  Even though it was sunny and nice, the water was still iced over.

Then on Sunday we awoke to snow.  This is what the chapel grounds looked like as we arrived to church.  The road to Nalaikh was very icy and we had to drive the van since the Land Cruiser was gone and we were doing a little sliding about four times even though we were driving very slowly.  In fact all the cars on the road began to drive half on the road and half on the shoulder where it was dirt and snow instead of ice.
By the time we left church, the sun had come out and melted all the snow and ice off the roads.  Except for the heavy traffic in the city, the drive home was a breeze!  Wonder what the weather will be like tomorrow??

After our tearful good-bye to Keiko on Tuesday night, things have returned to normal at the office.  It is getting cold now with it being 17* F in the morning when we come to work.  Needless to say I have now got out my winter coat, gloves, scarf, and even thermals in preparation for the colddd!!
We also got out ballots for the election next month marked and faxed in!!  We hope everyone will get out and vote this November!
We got to watch conference this weekend since we get it here a week late so that it can be translated into Mongolian.  All the Americans watched it in English.  I read Saturday afternoon talks because I stayed at the apartment and baked for our potluck for Sunday.  I was glad I did because after we came home after we watched the priesthood session and Relief Society conference, our electricity kept going off every five minutes for about an hour.  Not good for baking!  But we did get to eat our soup and grilled cheese sandwich, which we got cooked just as the lights went out the first time, by candlelight. 
On Sunday between the morning and afternoon sessions of conference, all the couples had a potluck lunch in President and Sister Clark's apartment.

 The food was wonderful as usual and we enjoyed the short time we had to visit with one another.

This is Elder and Sister Farmer that arrived here in Mongolia a couple of months ago.  They work in family history.

 Unfortunately with the window behind them, Elder and Sister Richardson are shadowed!

 This is the last time we will have such a potluck with Elder and Sister Martin.  They go home in less than two weeks!!!  We will really miss them.

And this is Elder and Sister Wood.  They just got here last month.  They work in the mission office.  We have not had an office couple since the Fords left in Feb so everyone is very excited to have the Woods here!  It was a fabulous conference and a wonderful lunch!

For the past six days we have had the pleasure of having Keiko Ikeda visit with us from Japan.  Twenty years ago Keiko stayed for almost a month in our home in Oceanside, CA as a cultural exchange student.  It was great to be together again and to catch up on what is happening in our families.

 On Friday we took her to Sukhbaatar Square.  This is her in front of the government building.

 It was the first time since we have been here and visited the square that the steps and front area of the government building has not been roped off so that we could get a close look at the statues.

 Then we took her to Millie's Cafe for lunch and then across the street to the Tibetan temple museum.  Last time I was here they said no pictures.  This time they said no pictures inside the buildings but we could take them of the outside of the buildings.  There was a gentleman sitting outside the doorway playing traditional Mongolian music on a horse head fiddle so Keiko got to hear some of their beautiful music. It was a beautiful day.

 On Saturday we took her to the Chinggis Khaan statue.  This time I got a closer look at the entrance with Chingiss's nine generals on top.

 And here we are together in front of the giant authentic Mongolian boot.  It is actually made of skins from over 1000 goats(I think but it could be sheep).

 Then we went to Monk Cave and Keiko, Elder Shrope, and Ganzorigt, our driver, climbed up and into it.

 This is where 100 monks hid out and lived many months to avoid being killed.  It is quite a large open area inside that rock formation.

 Elder Shrope and Ganzorigt helped Keiko climb down.  She is 41 years old and I am 61 years old and she needed help which is why I do not climb up there!!

 Next we went to Turtle Rock.  When we were here in July it was all green.  With all this brown ground and yellow trees you know for certain that fall is here and snow is just around the corner!

 This camel was at Turtle Rock.  He was looking the other way until he heard the camera click and then he started posing.  As long as I stood there with my camera out, he would look straight at it.  Guess he likes having his picture taken!

Then we saw these dinosaur replicas.  Dinosaur bones and petrified eggs have been found in this area.

 We finished our day at Terelj by having a picnic beside the river.  We actually drove through a little stream to get to this place next to the river.  Another beautiful day.

 On Monday we went to Zaisan Hill.  Elder Shrope thought we could walk there from the souvenir shop.  We got about half way there and decided to catch a cab.  This is a very large Buddha.

Elder Shrope and Keiko at the base of the statue.  It was very windy and cool and though the clouds are very dark we did not get rained on.

People have left money in this lion's paw and candy in his mouth.  We then went back near Sukhbaatar Square and had a late lunch at the Bangkok Cafe.  That evening we went to Nalaikh for family home evening with the young people of the branch.

Tuesday evening before Keiko left for the airport we went to Bolorsaikhan and Tsolmon's apartment for dinner.  It was Tsolmon's 29th birthday.  Keiko got to taste some Mongolian cooking but not buuzs.  Bolorsaikhan's sister-in-law and niece were there.  At noon they had come by the office to invite us to dinner and the little girl cried when we talked to her.  At dinner, she smiled and laughed and even played with us.  She is a little sweetheart.  Her daddy was not there but next week he finishes his year in the military.
When it was time for Keiko to go, we both cried.  Who knows when we will be able to see each other again.  We are thankful for this time we have had with her and she enjoyed seeing Mongolia even though we did walk her a lot.

We just got back from our week in Hong Kong.  We went a group of 17 Mongolian members who were going to the temple, four of which were children.  Nine of the adults were going for the first time and they were all doing family names.  It was very exciting!

 This is our group gathered at the Chinggis Khan airport in Mongolia ready to depart for Hong Kong.  There are 19 of us all together.

And this is our group with President Aki, the temple president, and Elder and Sister Chan of the temple presidency.

 This is the patron housing where we stayed.  It is right across the street from the temple.  The part of the building with the round window is the chapel where we attended church on Sunday.  The mission home and the distribution center is also in this building.  We stayed on the top floor and it is a very nice facility.

 This is the temple viewed from across the street.  We were on our way there to do the 4:00 and 7:00pm sessions.

This is the front of the temple outside the temple grounds.  The water fall is on both sides of the wall.

 This is the front gate into the temple grounds.  And this is the landscaping along one side of the temple.  The temple is surrounded by buildings and this is the only walkway beside the temple on temple grounds.

 We are outside the entry doors to the temple.  You can see the umbrella rack behind us.  There is another one on the other side of the steps.  This is the rainy seasons and we saw umbrella racks everywhere.  In fact the night we arrived it was raining hard with thunder and lightning.  We got off the bus at the wrong stop and had to walk several blocks in it before we found the housing.  We were soaked but then the rest of the week was hot and humid and we wanted some rain!!

 This is the temple at night, lit up and shining so beautifully.

So that their parents could attend to temple, we helped with the children.  This park is right next to the housing.  We also stayed with them when the little girl cut her foot and it started to get infected, and the boy got a sore throat.  Elder Shrope and Ganbold took the train across town to get them some antibiotics from a member who has a pharmacy.  They were feeling better by the next day!!

But some times it was a little tiring keeping the children entertained!!  Plus helping with the two babies.

 This is two of the three families that came to be sealed.  Since it was their temple 'wedding' they wore their wedding dresses.  The other family did not have a wedding dress but later borrowed one of these and took their picture.

 On Saturday we rode a couple of trains and a bus to go sightseeing for the afternoon after spending the morning in the temple.  The buses are doubledeckers and we rode on the top deck.  The trains go very quickly and are color coated  as to where you want to go.  We went from the red train to the blue one.

 We went to the water front and walked down the "Aisle of the Stars".  They call it their Chinese Hollywood.

We only recognized a couple of the names.  First was Bruce Lee.  He has a star but also a statue. 

 The other one we knew was Jackie Chan.  My hand is as big as his!!

 This is what the buildings look like on both sides of the water.  Very tall and very crowded! Some of these buildings are 80 to 100 stories high!!  And this little fishing boat was just heading back toward the dock.

 This display had horses, chariot type carriages and lots of people in colorful costumes and it looked like the were of paper like you see lanterns made of but then I sure it was of some other material so that it can withstand the rain.  At night it lit up and was quite beautiful.

This is one way to cross the water.  We did not ride in this but took the ferry across.

 On the other side we took a bus ride up to the top of a hill.  This is some of the scenery from the top.  This is actually an island and it is amazing how they build up along the sides and get so many buildings in such a small area!

 We walked through a couple of malls but did not have time to do any shopping.  We were on a tight schedule and they were always stopping to take pictures.

We did have time to stop for lunch.  Yes, McDonalds!  We had to come to Hong Kong to have American food, and the chicken sandwich was great!

Then we took the ferry back to where we had begun so that we could watch the light show.

 Every night at 8:00 pm the buildings around the waterfront put on a laser light show.  Besides the lasers from the top of the buildings, some have lights that move or blink on the front of the buildings all to music.  It was very nice, and it was finally comfortable with the evening breeze off the water!!

 Everyone had their picture taken by a photographer along the waterfront.  And then we had a group on made which was given to Elder Shrope and I as a gift from the group.  The man in the white jacket is Chen, out tour guide.  This is a great memento of our tour and this wonderful group of people we are with.

 On Sunday afternoon, Elder Shrope and I took a little walk around the neighborhood.  This brightly colored building is "Tuto Time", a kindergarten I think.  There are very many schools in this area.

 This is a little tree growing not on the roof but along the edge of it.  I do not know how it is growing there but it is.

And they use bamboo for their scaffolding.  We saw this at several construction sites plus this where they were working on the words on the building.

And there is a lot of greenery everywhere here.  I thought this was an interesting looking tree.  It looks like several younger trees growing up and joining the older one.  A beautiful tree.

And we also happened to find this scout headquarters!   After all our years working with the scouts, this was exciting to find.

 On the last day we took a stroll around Festival Walk which is a mall.  This is a stage display on the ground floor.

 There was a display of photos that some university students had taken on a trip to Germany.  A few had ribbons on them.

And we watched the ice skaters on the rink that is also in the mall.  It is a nice place to be when it is so humid outside!

On Monday afternoon everyone gathered for their last meal in the patron housing.  We needed to use up our foods and clean up the kitchen before we left.  Everyone  shares to kitchen area in the housing and is responsible for cleaning after each use.

And then it was back on the plane and heading for UB, Mongolia.  We arrived in UB at 1:20 am and by the time we got to our apartment it was 2:50.  But it was a wonderful trip and a wonderful experience.  One we will always remember.