Zuun Kharaa

Last fall, we posted a little bit about a place to the north and east of here called Zuun Kharaa. Just as a reminder, here is a recap of some of what we posted.

Many families in Zuun Kharaa live in a typical Mongolian ger on a piece of property a couple of hundred feet or so square. Each is fenced as required by law and many families raise farm animals, gardens, children, etc. all on their little piece of property. However, in some parts of that city (a really pleasant little city, by the way), the only access people had to drinking water (notice the past tense used here) was to dig a relatively shallow and open water well by hand, on their little piece of property. Right next to the animals -- and the outhouse. It doesn't take much imagination to picutre the result.

Fortunately, the Church was able to have four deep water wells drilled last fall. Each would provide a common well of fresh water which the residents could come to and get water from  But it wasn't until this spring that the pumps and well houses could be completed and the water made available. Three of the four wells were dedicated and opened two or three weeks ago. Last week, several of us had the privilege of traveling to Zuun Kharaa to witness the dedication of the fourth one.

That dedication had been scheduled twice before, only to be canceled because of heavy rains. We were scheduled to travel up there last Thursday. Wednesday night, we had another down pour.

It was questionable whether or not we should go this time, too, because of all the rain. But the couple in charge of those things (Elder and Sister Lasson) felt that this really needed to be done. So, we left first thing Thursday morning. It was still raining. A lot. Again!

When we arrived, Zuun Kharaa was a mess. We felt like we were in Venice, Italy! Water everywhere! We began to wonder if we could reach the wells at all. But, we had a Toyota Land Cruiser so on we pushed. But in some places we kept checking the floorboards to see if any water was getting into the car!

Each of the wells had been located on the property of one of those ger families who would also manage the water station. In exchange, they would receive free water and perhaps some income from selling the water to others. Now, don't be too concerned. The 'fee' for the water is a staggering 2 Tugriks per liter (1380 Tugriks equals one U.S. dollar and a liter is just over one quart). That means a five gallon container would cost almost 3 cents! But it is enough to pay the electricity, provide for long term maintenance and allow a small stipend for the operator.

Despite some remaining question about continuing with the well opening, the Lasson's pushed ahead. We soon learned there were reasons why it was felt needful to push on. It seems that the well operater for well #4 had not yet opened the well, believing that the opening ceremonies were necessary, first. That was actually not the case. And, we also learned that the recent rains had completely contaminated the already questionable hand dug wells, leaving many with no real source of water.

Above is a picture of one of those wells.

So, we held a well grand opening ! And we had a good old time! We had candy, bottled drinks and even a ribbon cutting! Oh, and fresh, pure drinking water, too! A good little group gathered round for the festivities and we made some new friends that day! There was even a drawing for some water containers and one cart!

We'll post more about this special little town next time.

4th of July Celebration

Thought you might like to see a few pictures of our 4th of July celebration. We were on the committee who planned and carried out the whole shindig and it really was quite a good party! Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Brots, potato salad, drinks, etc.

One of the senior couples told us they thought it was just like a good old back home 4th! And it made them very homesick!

The best part of the whole thing was the childrens parade which helped open the whole thing. Sister Caldwell was in charge of that and the kids had a blast! Love the balloon hat.

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And the Marine color guard leading the way was a nice touch, too! We had the Marine band there playing for nearly all the party!! They had their Pop Rock Band and the Dixie Land Band there (bet most of you didn't even know the Marines had such groups, did ya'!). The whole orchestra was supposed to be there, too, but half of them got hold of some bad food the night before!

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A couple of our missionaries helped do some of the cooking. They did a great job!

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Oh, we can't forget the desert baking contest. This one took honors for the best looking. Didn't taste bad, either!

And the weather cooperated very well, too. upper 70's, low 80's maybe. And a few clouds to keep sunburns away!

It was a fun but very busy day.

Out With the Old, In With the New

We have a new Mission President!

On June 30th, we bid a fond farewell to President and Sister Andersen. Such changes are unavoidable, we know, but we will miss them.

They leave behind a great legacy of service and sacrifice. He was the right man, at the right time and in the right place. That can be said of all mission presidents -- including the new one.

We will have many cherished memories of their service here and of our opportunity to share some of it with them. They have touched many lives and will be missed.

The new mission president and his wife (President and Sister Mecham) arrived on June 29th. Yes, that time is a bit unusual, as far as we know. Most commonly changes in mission presidents takes place on July 1st.

We are thrilled to welcome the Mechams and have already witnessed the Spirit strengthen and mold them as they begin their service here. We already can see the wonderful leadership they will, in their turn, provide here.

We will only have two months to get to know them and work with them before it becomes our turn to leave. That brings an interesting mix of feelings.

Be Strong Part 3

We really need to do some serious posting! Too many things happening lately. Senior Outing, President and Sister Andersen about ready to depart, President and Sister Mecham about ready to arrive. Wow!

But first, the youth conference.

This is a picture of their arrival. They were transported by buses, which stopped down the road a couple of blocks, leaving the kids to walk into the camp itself. After the mornings' instruction (see previous post), they arrived here at about noon or there abouts.

Again, there was about 400 of them or a few more. And they were very well organized, orderly and well behaved.

After getting settled in and particpating in a talent show that evening, it came time for lights out. These kids really know how to have a camp. There was no need for adults to remain on alert through the night trying to be certain the young men and women stayed where they belonged. They simply did what they should and all had a restful nights sleep.

The next morning, they were all up early (on their own), studying the scriptures wherever they could find a spot.

The next day was full of fun and instruction, with several sites selected through which they rotated for the individual instruction/fun that was organized in each.

And they had a wonderful time!  There was a fireside Friday night and then a dance. Sister Caldwell and I (along with a few riders) left after the fireside to return to our apartment in UB. They wouldn't let us stay, insisting that we were too old and they didn't have room anyway!

We hear they stayed up a bit late this night. They all knew that it all was drawing to an end and they did not want to waste a minute of it!

But, indeed, all good things must come to an end and Saturday morning was that time. So, after spending much of the morning making baby quilts, they returned to UB.

And remember, some of them then had to climb on buses and spend as long as three more days on bumpy, rough dirt roads, getting home!

We hope they will remember this experience as long and as fondly as we will!
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Be Strong Part 2

When the day of the youth conference arrived (Thursday, June 17th -- see previous post), we went over to the Church early, to help provide breakfast and a sack lunch for the some of the kids (the ones who had needed to travel in from the countryside) before they left. We arrived at a little past six o'clock. Thought we might find things still a bit quiet, there.

Wrong!


The kids who had traveled in from the countryside, had stayed overnight in the mission offices, sleeping anywhere they could find a piece of floor big enough to through out a blanket or two.

As you can see from the pictures, when we arrived that morning, the kids where already up and were cleaning the church building!! We were astonished! They really did a job on that place, too! They had a fireside at the building a bit later,

cleaned everything up, and packed there belongings before leaving. You can see them all in their youth conference T-Shirts waiting for the fireside to start.

This is the scripture upon which the conference was based. "Be strong and of a good courage" (Joshua 1:9)

Finally, we sent them off to camp. It was about an hour to an hour and a half ride on buses to get them there. Half of the drive was getting through to the other side of the city. Then they hit the bad dirt 'roads'. And that's after the three day ride some of them had just getting to the city! But we never heard a complaint.

We were unable to go with them that first day, being obligated to teach English. But we did go up for the day on Friday. When we reached the camp (and part of the drive was on some of the worst 'roads' we have seen here), we found a very unexpected surprise. It was in the middle of some heavily tree'd forest! We had no idea there was that kind of forest anywhere near Ulaanbaatar.

This last picture shows the camp where they stayed. It was really a pretty nice place. Similar to Mill Hollow (a public school system in the Salt Lake City area), but actually nicer in some ways. Not perfect, but it more than did the job for us.


We share more of the actual conference in the next post.

Be Strong!!

This is going to take a couple of different posts, but we have a lot to share.

This last week, Elder and Sister Cook visited with us here in the Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar mission. Elder Cook was the first mission president here, beginning in 1994. At first, he wasn't the mission president because there was no mission, yet. But that quickly changed and the Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar mission was born.

His wife, Sister Cook, is the 1st Counselor in the General Young Womens' Presidency. The two of them brought a lot of wonderful instruction with them, which they provided while they renewed long time friendships and visited with many members here whom they have come to love over the years.

Elder Cook was the one who found and brought several key people into the mission and whom are very much still an important part of the mission today. One of those is Batbold (pictured). Elder Cook needed someone who knew the area (they certainly didn't at first!), had a car and could drive them around town.

So, he went out on the street and watched cars as they drove by, hoping to flag someone down who looked like the right one for the job. You need to understand that this is how you get around here. You just hold your hand out, indicating that you need a taxi. Usually, an actual taxi of some sort stops. But often, just somebody passing by who could use a couple of bucks, stops and temporarily becomes a taxi.

As he watched, he saw a van driving by and thought, 'That's just the kind of vehicle we need!', and he held out his had. The man stopped and off they went, looking around the city.

The gentleman's name was Batbold. They managed to communicate enough that Elder Cook let him know he needed him again the next day. And the next day. And the next day after that! But finally Batbold said, 'I can't drive for you anymore.' Elder Cook asked,'Why not?', to which Batbold answered, 'This isn't my car!'

Elder Cook felt that Batbold was needed by the Lord here and told him that it was ok, they needed him to do other things for them. Batbold has been working for the Church every since. He is the 2nd Counselor in the Mission Presidency and handles all of the physical needs for us missionaries. Such things as making sure we all have apartments to live in and that everything is kept working as it should in those apartments.

Batbold is a wonderful man, well loved and respected by everyone in the mission. In fact, the mission would likely about fall apart with out him. He travels throughout all of Mongolia, taking care of problems and making certain everything is in good order.

While Elder and Sister Cook were here, we had Youth Conference. It was three days long, running Thursday thru Saturday, June 17, 18 and 19. And what a youth conference it was!!

This was a nation wide youth conference and the youth were brought in from all over Mongolia. That in and of itself was a monumental task. If you have been following this blog or are familiar with Mongolia, you will know that roads here are not exactly what we are used to in the States. We've included a couple of reminders of what most roads are like here.

One of the branches sent 41 youth across these roads, on a bus! Yup! A big old bus like the Greyhounds we find in the states. It is absolutely amazing where they take those buses!

And understand that this wasn't just a couple of hours of riding for those 41 youth. It took them three days none stop (night and day) to get here. Then, they spent three days camping at youth conference, climbed right back on those buses the afternoon that the conference ended, and headed back to Khovd, where their homes are! Hundreds of kilometers (oh, we mean miles) each way!

We don't ever want to hear American youth complain about some silly little 8 hour drive on freeways to get to a youth camp, again. It will fall on deaf ears!

These kids are unbelieveable. We were able to spend part of the conference with them and to help out a bit. It was a remarkable experience. We'll tell you more about it in the next post.