The Holy Ghost softens hearts and prepares people in His own time

Dear Family,

Well, it is getting so cold here. I mean below zero cold!  It's not even funny, cold!  I love it though, and we stay warm.  Snow is everywhere, and that is fine, but the wind is bitter... bitter.. cold.

This week was a good one, with much success!  This week we found four new investigators!  One is a 50 year old man named Bold.  He is coming to church pretty strong now (4 weeks in a row), but he is still having a hard time meeting with up with us.  Please pray for him to find the time to meet with us.  The other three are our other investigator (Togoldor's) father, mother, and little sister.  So we have a Family to teach that we've been praying for!   It was funny how it all came to be.  It was pretty much just pure faith in following the promptings of the Spirit, and 100%  trusting that even though it seemed crazy, it will work.  We were meeting with this family one evening last week and talking about everything besides Church.  Togoldor was not home, we were waiting for him.  The family has never shown any interest whatsoever, but they always send their son and little 8 year old daughter together to Church.  Well, this week was the Primary Program and the daughter, Odentsetseg, was telling us how she memorized all the songs and is so excited to sing at Church.  The mom and dad said they planned to come and watch her, and right there, BOOM!   There was the opportunity we had been waiting for from this family for five months!   Right then, I felt prompted to just invite them to be baptized.  Why?  I had no clue, because they have denied and pushed away any and every invitations for like five months.  So that evening, I had pushed away the prompting a few times, but I finally felt the reassurance that all would be well!  I looked at my companion and told him in English that I am going to invite them to be baptized and he just looked at me like I was crazy!   The father was half asleep in his chair, the baby was crying, the mom was counting rice.. yes counting rice... haha, and the little daughter was doing homework.  So I just spoke up and told them I wanted to share a story about Jesus from 2nd Nephi 31:5, about His example to us of Baptism.  Works every time!  The Spirit came and supported us in our faithful actions, and they all agreed to be baptized on the 26th of December, so we were so pumped!!!   We left the house and my companion just looked at me and laughed.   It wasn't me, only the Holy Ghost can do that.  The power that missionaries have is one that is not our own.  The Holy Ghost softens hearts and prepares people in His own time and by His own plan.  Truly a great story in the making.

Togoldor and Munhbaysgalan will be baptized on December 12th.  That will be a great day.  Please pray for them that this will go through. Toes and fingers are crossed here.

Work in the Branch is going great.  As I said, the Primary Program was yesterday. It was so dang cute!  They sang five songs, mostly the teachers sang, but that is okay.  Those little children are so cute when they remembered the words.  Their favorite, and the crowd pleaser, was "Book of Mormon Stories."   All and all, they loved it and so did I!

Yesterday I had to have a pretty stern interview with one of the brothers in the branch.  He is pretty much crazy and does many things that are quite inappropriate.  My companion and I have had to speak to him in the past.  I share this because I truly feel for this man, and care for him.  I see him as what he can be and not what he is.  I closed that interview and I felt good, the way I feel our Savior would feel.  It was a weird experience for me, but it is moments like this when you feel the true Love of Christ working, and it is something you will never forget, even when it is in an interview such as this one.   

I love you guys. Pray hard, read carefully, and watch for the Blessings that come to those who look towards Him.

Elder Harris

We got the Primary together before the Primary Program on Sunday and snapped this picture.   Look at their smiles!   Aren't they the cutest?! 

 Me with my companion and the Primary Presidency before the Program....

My Mongolian "deel" is finally finished!   I am truly so proud of it, and I can't wait to show it off in the States on every Holiday!

(Wikipedia says: A Monogolian "deel" is traditional clothing worn for centuries by the Mongols and other nomadic tribes in Central Asia.  The deel is still commonly worn by both men and women outside major towns, especially by herders.  In urban areas, deels are mostly only worn by elderly people or on festive occasions.)

We are all wearing our deels (except the sisters)!     We will all wear our deels for Tsagaan sar, the Mongolian New Year! 

Mom, you've asked for pictures of my apartment for months, so here it is!   Home Sweet Home, Mongolian-style!  Pretty nice, huh? Our study area. 

The kitchen...

My bed and prayer cushion!

Another view of the bedroom...

Looking into the bedroom and kitchen...

The tub and shower...