Last night was our farewell dinner with the couples.  We have been to many of these over the past 23 months but this time it was our turn to be the couple leaving.  We went to the Indian restaurant in the Flower Hotel which we like very much.  The food was good but the company even better!!

 Elder and Sister Gardner and Elder and Sister Stewart.

 President and Sister Clark

 Elder and Sister Richardson and Elder and Sister Hunt..and of course Elder Shrope.

And Elder and Sister Wood.  Only Elder and Sister Farmer were not there because Elder Farmer was under the weather and with it being -17* outside, he did not need to be walking to the restaurant.  I think the only thing we will not miss in Mongolia is the temperatures!!!  But we will miss these couples and all of those we have come to know and love in the time we have been here.

Friday was zone conference for the Bayanzurkh zone of which we are apart.  It was our last zone conference--another of our lasts. 

 The missionaries received some great council and helps on how to handle some situations they may face when teaching and then they roll-played them out with each other.  They were just wonderful and really got into the roll-playing.

The Gardners and the Stewarts are the other couple missionaries in the zone.  We helped by participating in demonstrations  and comments.  Elder Shrope and I also bore our testimonies since we were the departing missionaries at this conference.  It was a wonderful day.

 On Saturday all the couple gathered at President and Sister Clark's apartment for our Thanksgiving dinner.  We also had Elder and Sister Meehan with us who are here from Hong Kong.  They are the Asia area couple over humanitarian and welfare services and are here for the week. 

Here Sister Clark and Sister Hunt are putting the turkey on the serving dish.  We all wish we had a kitchen like this one in the mission home!!!

Yes we had pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake!!  Sister Richardson had can pumpkin she bought last year which was good because we could not find any anywhere this year.  Plus we had apple crisp and chocolate bundt cake, all delicious!!

And here we had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, homemade rolls, carrots, and green been cassrole.  Just like at home--well all most. 

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the food and the conversation!  Afterwards President Clark showed us a video called "The Crying Camel."  It was about a family in the Gobi that had a camel that rejected her colt because of a hard delivery and the things they tried to get her to accept it.  It was very touching and showed realistic
Mongolian life in the countryside.  It was a great Thanksgiving day even if it was a little late,  Sometimes celebrations have to fit our schedules instead of when they actually happen but that is okay.

On Wednesday we had our last English test preparation lesson with Tenuun, Altan's son.  That day Marta and her Dad stopped by to say good-bye to us.  They were in town from Darkhan and we will not see them again before we leave.  So yes, tears were shed but we will keep in contact and if Marta gets into school in Utah, we may get to see her sometime.  Her Dad has written a book he is trying to get published about the history of the Church here in Mongolia.  I read a few pages of his manuscript dealing with his own history and it was very interesting.  It is written in English and I would love to read the whole thing when it gets published.

Onon is home for a couple of weeks from his job at the mine and he also stopped in to say good-bye.  We will miss talking to him about school and dating!!  He is a wonderful young man and will be a great leader in the church in Mongolia.

On Thursday we had our last temple preparation classes for new missionaries.  These two Elders and six Sisters left for the missionary training center in Manila this morning.  We had a full day with them as we taught them from 9:00 am til noon, and then from 4:00-7:00 pm.  

Muugii was our translator for the whole day.  Since many of these missionaries do not speak English, the translator is invaluable to us, and Muugii did a great job.  We have really enjoyed teaching new missionaries about the temple and will miss it very much.  We wish this group well as they begin their missions.

I have decided that since we have a little less than two weeks left instead of waiting until the end of the week to post I will post as things happen for this next little while.  Last night we attended our last family home evening in Nalaikh.  It was a fun night.

 First a young lady challenged Elder Shrope to a game of ping pong.  Of course she beat him!!  they love to play this game. 

Then we went into the kitchen and I instructed them in how to make cookies from a cake mix.  The girls watched as the boys put in the ingredients and mixed the cookies, and then put them on the pan to bake.  While they were baking, we took some photos of us having fun with the Elders...

 And one of the young boys who is there every Monday night and every Sunday.  He doesn't speak any English so he just smiles at us a lot!

 Elder Shrope bringing the first pan of cookies out of the oven.  I had forgot to bring hot pads so he has toilet paper as his hot pad!!

 Then they frosted them and ate them.  I had also brought a pan of frosted brownies and they ate them all.

 This was the whole group last night being funny....

And then here we are all together.  We will miss them.  They are all so special like Otgonchimeg who is the young lady sitting next to me.  She has to walk with a crutch, and when Elder Shrope is on his knees they are the same height, but she always has a smile that is as big as the sky and lightens the room when she enters.  They are all happy, supportive, and very loving!!!  Wonderful, wonderful people!

This has been a week of lasts for us.  Elder Shrope attended his last district council meeting.  We gave our last alternative Michigan test and also our last Michigan test.  Ate for the last time at Chico's Family Chicken restaurant.  And today Elder Shrope gives his last talk in sacrament meeting as the district council speaker.
Of course we still have two more weeks before we leave and so we still have many more lasts to do.  And some of those will be very hard to do because we will miss the people here so much.
Missions are great and we hope all couples that are able will serve one.

This week we got snow--more than just little flurries that did not stick.  It started snowing Thursday night and through Friday morning.  We got 1-2 inches here in the city and Nalaikh got almost a foot.

This car has been parked outside our apartment house since Thursday.  We have not had snow since Friday and this is Sunday and as you can see the snow has not melted off the car!  The sun is out but it is still so cold that the snow does not melt.  In fact Elder Shrope tried to dump the soil out of the pots that he grew vegetables in on the patio but it was so frozen he couldn't.  So he has brought the pots into the apartment to thaw them enough so the soil will come out!!

This is the new sign they have put up showing you are entering Nalaikh.  I was hoping to stop and get a closer shot of it but the roads were too icy to stop and try to get going again.  But we were having to drive so slow I could get this shot without it being a blur!  But it is a beautiful monument.

It was a full and emotional weekend for us.  On Saturday we held our last Reverse MTC before we return home.  Miigaa did a great job teaching the career workshop as usual.

We had four Elders and Four Sisters in attendance that were finishing their missions.  Also one Elder that was here with his companion but he is not going home.  He has six more months and then he will be back for his class.

They were a great group and were happy with their certificates for attending the workshop.  Now they are ready to return to their homes, find jobs or go to school, and begin the rest of their lives.  We love them and wish them every success.

 On Sunday this little guy came dressed as a future missionary.  He even went around shaking everyone's hand and welcoming them to church.  Elder Shrope gave him his Hong Kong temple tie clasp and he proudly showed it to everyone.

Then Sunday evening was the missionary fireside where all those missionaries going home bear their testimonies.  And yes we were in that group since we do leave before the next fireside.  Also bearing their testimonies were the eight missionaries we had yesterday in the workshop plus three who had returned from serving their missions in the States.  I fought off the tears while speaking but not as I sat back down.  It is hard to say good-bye.

 Afterwards there was a lot of handshaking..........

 And hugging with those we have met and loved here in Mongolia!!

 This is Dolgor who we call Emee(which means Grandma but the E's need to be printed backwards).  She was part of our temple trip group in Sep.  She gave me hugs and kisses.  She is such a sweet lady.

 And then pictures with some of our friends from the building like Eegii who translates for us when we teach the temple preparation classes to the new missionaries going to the MTC.  She also travels with them and is their translator at the MTC in Manila.

 And one of the Elders serving in Nalaikh at the moment. 

And then with the gang from Nalaikh.  These are the ones that have been a big part of our life these past 22 months as they are also our FHE group.  We love them and will miss them very much.  They are a fun group and we look forward to spending our last few weeks with them.