I love Choibalsan

Cauh yy?

This week has been literally the best week of my mission yet.  I love Choibalsan, and I really hope and pray that the Mission finds me a sponsor here so I can stay.  On Wednesday, a lady from the Mission Office (her name is Tuvshin) is flying here to work it all out.   Keeping my fingers crossed!   She's a great lady and I have faith that it will all work out.

So first off, I have never been more tired in my life as I am this week.  It's a good tired, though.   Monday through Thursday, waking up at 5:30 for Seminary really kills you.  It reminds me of my Seminary days when I was late like everyday.....(which I regret).  I love Seminary here, though.  The kids love it, and they love us.  Seriously.  We also receive like 100 American dollars a month from the Church to make breakfast for the kids each morning.  I make pancakes all the time for them, and they love the American food.  They think it is weird, but delicious.  So when Seminary is over we go home, shower and start our studies. We leave the apartment around noon and we are gone all day until about 9 pm.  We have a ton of responsibilities........Seminary, Institute, Mutual, Firesides, ect.  There is something to do everyday with regards to running the Branch, and whatever it is that day usually takes us a few hours, so we are at the church quite a bit everyday.  Honestly, getting this Branch up and running properly is the #1 task at hand, then missionary work.  I feel we are doing a good job at balancing it though, and teaching investigators and trying to re-activate less active members.  But the needs of the Branch require a lot of work. On Sundays, my companion and I teach Sunday School to the investigators and the youth, then we teach the Priesthood lesson to the youth.  There are not enough active adults to fill callings so we have to fill the gaps.   It's hard, but we just smile and keep working. I feel really outta my league with this Ward Clerk calling.  #1, no training. #2, MLS (the church data base software) is in Mongolian, and #3, I can speak Mongolian, but I have difficulty with reading comprehension.  So running the Branch Records and whatnot is a really difficult task.  I feel I'm in over my head, but I know I am receiving Heavenly help though. Sometimes it is just hard to recognize it when you feel like you are getting nowhere.  We know we have been entrusted with a "Stake in Zion" and we are doing our best to keep it going.   Did I tell you that I love my companion?  He is so great!  We have the same work ethic and outlook on how to accomplish things that need to be done.  We share the same desire to work and serve in this Branch.

I love the members here.  I received such a warm welcome and they all help me with the language so much.  I will be teaching a lesson and will stumble on some words and they will just smile and help me.  I love it!  At first, I was embarrassed, but I now am so grateful for it.  That being said, my language is getting a lot better. I mean A LOT.  Grammar is making sense and sentence structures are getting engrained in my head.  I especially love our new members in the ward.  Right before I came, my companion baptized six people.  They all have such solid testimonies and you wouldn't even think they were brand new members when you hear their understanding and see their faith.  Two women, Sister Ayone-Erdene and Sister Gelthinthestheg, are like our "moms away from home."  They are both new members of only a month, yet they feed us every night!   Literally such a blessing.  They have been teaching us how to cook Mongolian food.....well just me, because my comp already knows.  I got some new recipes for us to try when I get home!  I am pumped about that!

But hands down, the youth are the best.  There are like 5 boys and 5 girls and they are golden.  One 14-year old boy has become our best friend.  His name is Erdene Monkh.  He is seriously like 4-1/2 feet tall.  He helps me all the day long with my language and he is with us at literally every appointment and lesson, except when he's at school.  On Tuesday night we were walking him home.  It was a dark night and pretty cold.  Out of nowhere, Erdene Monkh took hold of my hand.  At first I was a little taken back.   I looked at him expecting him to be smiling at me to make a joke or something but he was just looking straight forward at the sidewalk ahead.  That is just Mongolians for you.  They are so loving and they just want to be accepted.  Erdene Monkh is 14, he's in the teachers quorum, and he's had a pretty rough life.  He has no dad, but his mother is really active and is the Primary President.   He sometimes gets picked on by the bigger kids because he is so small.   When we walked him up to his 5th story apartment, honestly I was a little scared.  By far the seediest apartment building I have been in here.  I mean there was a dead dog on the stairs, dim lighting, people drinking and smoking everywhere, and I had to breathe through my mouth because of the smell.  He let go of my hand as we walked down the hall to his apartment.  There was a group of about 5 big guys literally sitting right in front of his door smoking and drinking and going about being "merry."   But Erdene-Monkh walked right through them, unlocked the pad lock that keeps his door locked and we went into his apartment.  I couldn't help but give him a pat on the head for his bravery, and then he told us, "They won't mess with me."  Such a great kid.  I was humbled by his home....one room, no bigger than 12 ft x 12 ft.   No kitchen, just a little room and a toilet.  Him, his mother, and another young man from the ward, Erdene Monkh's friend, live there.  But, then you look at the faith and bravery of this little 14-year old kid, you look at his mother's strong testimony and you realize that they are just fine.  They don't need more. They don't even know what "more" is because they are content with what they have and with their standing in the Lord's Kingdom.  I hope we can all strive to be like this 14-year old boy and his mom.  He now holds our hand whenever we walk him home and its dark.  He just needs to feel loved and protected.  We will be his best friends and his example.

The work is great. About six investigators strong, four being youth that were brought to church by their friends!  I love it. One kid, Erdene Monkh's best friend, a 14-year old boy named Tsengoon, will be baptized on May 16th!  Too early for river baptisms, but in the summer, we do RIVER baptisms!  I am pumped for that!  This Sunday we had 6 investigators that came to church.  Majority were youth.  I love it. We are building Zion, and we are baptizing future missionaries and church leaders here in Mongolia.

Fun Facts:  I ate sheep liver this week. It was a solid meal, I really liked it actually.   We had a 28-year old woman from Atlanta, Georgia in Church yesterday.  She is in the Peace Core and lives here.  We invited her to church and she came!  We taught the investigator class in half-Mongolian and half-English.  It was pretty cool.  I kinda don't like teaching in English anymore!  You want to be too detailed and you just spit out too much information.  Teaching in Mongolian is great because I am forced to teach simple doctrine.  I just thought that was a weird comparison.  I did not think I would walk away from teaching a lesson in English with a negative feeling.  She was great, but she said because of Peace Core rules she can't take our lessons.   I kinda wonder about that, but it's Okay. She thanked us and said she had always been impressed with Mormons.  Hope to see her back again.

I love you all.  Basketball is calling.

Elder Harris

This is a really strong family in our Branch. They made us dinner a few night back. 

The kid in green is one of our investigators, Tsengoon, and his best friend, 

and our BFF, Erdene Monkh!

We put together a clean the church service activity, and we had quite a few people show up! Here is a pic of all the people who came. The Relief Society sisters made food and the men worked. The three boys in the back are all investigators and the woman with the yellow stripes is also. So great!

The yard had like over 3 feet tall weeds covering the whole thing, and after 3 hours it looked great! Still not done though!

Blue skies! This is the city center! They call it the "Golthompt."

In our office at the church. 

Hoop Vision. The nicest court in Choibalsan. 

Transferred Way East to Choibalsan

Dear Family,

So this week was full of surprises. At the beginning of the week two of our investigators, Tsalthmon and Ankhbayar, dropped us.That was two pretty big bummers, but Heavenly Father must have a different plan.

Alright, well I am just going to cut to the chase. So President Benson called us on Thursday, and asked us to come in for a meeting with him.  I always have that, "Oooooooohhh, Marc got called to the Office" feeling, as if I did something bad back in high school.  The walk down to the church is always very long and my mind couldn't stop thinking about what this could be about.   "Am I in trouble?"  "Can't be, I am being obedient." "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS ABOUT?"  Anyways, I arrive and President calls me in.  He says, "Have a seat," ... I sit down... "Pack your bags, you are going to Choibalsan."  I was in shock, and I repeated back to him what he had just said to me to make sure I was hearing right.  He said, "You will fly out Saturday."

So here is the low down.  From what the AP's (Assistants to the President) told me and other Mongolians, I'm the first American elder in Choibalsan in about 3 years.   So I am dang lucky and so humbled to be here.  Next, my companion and I are the only missionaries here. My companion is Elder Khash-Erdene, and the crazy thing is, he is the Branch President!  He is a 24-year old elder from Darkhan.  He is a stud and a great missionary.   He is fluent in Mongolian (obviously), English, Swedish, and Russian.  He lived in Sweden for 3 years with his brother and attended a university there.

Choibalsan is the farthest place EAST that missionaries go here in Mongolia.  It is 410 miles east of Ulaanbaatar and about 20 miles from the China border, give or take, and a little over 10 hours away if we traveled by car.  It is the capital of the Dornod Province and the population is about  40,000.   Choibalsan actually has about 100 members who attend Sacrament Meeting each week, I hear.  This place is the flattest place on earth.  Literally!  No mountains, no trees, just 360 degrees of straight horizon. I included a couple pictures of it below.  You can Google it and see what I'm talking about.  The weather here is great too!

Back to my shock and awe....President Benson told me that my English sponsor approved this move, but now I need a sponsor here in Choibalsan. They are working really hard to find me one, but if they can't, I will return to UB in two weeks.  But President did say not to worry about it and that he truly thinks they will find me a new sponsor here. So pray for me!  Next he said that I just have to stay low key for a while. There are no Americans here, so he told me that there is absolutely no street contacting.  Also I cannot wear a suit, only on Sundays to church.  It would just look too out-of-place.

So I left for Choibalsan Saturday morning via plane. That was fun!  No scenery though, just desolate Mongolian land.  I flew with the Mission Clerk, Onon, and President Benson's 1st counselor and wife.  The flight was about an hour and a half, and pretty smooth.  No complaints.   Sunday, I was called by President Benson and was sustained in Sacrament meeting as the Ward Clerk. Yup, I have been in Mongolia for two and a half months, I'm not very fluent in the language and now I work the MLS program on the Church computer...in Mongolian, not English.  I feel pretty deep in over my head, and I don't know exactly why I was called to be here and also as the Ward Clerk, but I am grateful and I am ready to serve.  I know the Lord knows me and is helping me here in this calling.  President Benson said that I was called  here to support and sustain the Branch here. Our main focus is to reactivate the inactive and support the active members. Also, I teach Seminary every morning from 6:30 to 7:30, and we also are in charge of the Family Home Evening program every Monday evening at the church, Mutual on Wednesday evenings, Friday Firesides, and also we teach the Institute classes.

I am truly blessed and grateful for God's plan for me.   Gotta go.......

I love you guys,

Elder Harris

Before my transfer to Choibalsan, here is my companion and I in the
Bayanzurkh Branch.

I'm here.  I just arrived in Choibalsan. 

The land is flat as can be. 

My companion, Elder Khash-Erdene, and I at Elder Zina's family's home! (He's the elder from Mongolia that I met and was friends with in the MTC. 

Choibalsan has a new church building. This picture belongs to another blog. 

Althmaa's Baptism was the Highlight of my Week!

Dear Family!

Today is my companion's birthday and we have a lot of activities planned, so this will have to be short and too the point!

So this past Friday, we had an all-day Service Project at the Bayanzurkh Building! We took everything out of this huge storage room, organized it, got rid of half of it, and put it all back in.  It's weird to say this, but we had such a great time!  Then right after that, we went home, got showered and headed over to the Chingeltei Building for Althmaa's baptism!  We got there around 6 p.m. and the baptism was scheduled to start at 6:30.  Pretty much no one was there except Elder Palmer and the sign language investigators.  I was expecting a full house....thinking I am still in America.  But that didn't matter!  Anyway, I got changed into my white baptismal clothes and then Althmaa showed up!  We took a lot of pictures, and got caught up because I haven't seen her in a month or so.  Her mom came, which was so great!  They just kept telling us "thank you, thank you!"   It was the sweetest thing.  You could just see the happiness on Althmaa's face.  This has been a long time coming, and she was so ready!  Soon after, the program started.  Two of Althmaa's church member friends spoke and we sang a few hymns.  By this point, I had the butterflies like crazy. I was so nervous, and I was just repeating the prayer in my head over and over again, in Mongolian, of course.  Then I just told myself to relax and focus on the Spirit.  The Spirit took over, needless to say, and I was ready to go.  I asked her what her full name was (Mongolians' names are usually their Father's name followed by their name).  I never knew her father's name, but all she answered was, "Althmaa."  I asked a couple more times and I don't think she understood, and neither did I so I  said, "Okay...Only Althmaa it is!"   So we walked into the font, and I started and all I said was "Althmaa," then I was stopped.  I was told to say her father's name too!  So I asked her again what her father's name was and then she understood!   So here we go again!  Name and Prayer were flawless, but the dunk wasn't so flawless.  The font was about mid-thigh level on me...so pretty low.  So when I baptized her, her legs came out of the water!  So here we go...try again!  The second time it was great!  Afterwards, she just looked at me and said, "Thank you!"  We hurried and got changed and then she bore her testimony.   It was such a great experience!  My first baptism.   Something I will never forget.  I am so grateful to be here, and I am humbled to know that I was chosen by a Prophet of God to serve here.  The Mongolian people are so great, and they are so strong and ready for the Gospel. You can see it in their eyes.  They just shine with happiness, something you don't see in other people here. When you walk down the street you can tell who are  members and who are not.  It is obvious.  They have something different.

Then on Saturday, we were supposed to have our other baptism, Ankhbayar, but he didn't show up.   It was really sad.  We haven't been able to get a hold of him since then either.  Please pray for him, and for us.  Maybe Heavenly Father has a different plan, who knows.  We just have faith in good things to come.  But Sister Ackley and Sister Sneddon had two baptisms in our branch this past Saturday!  It was a great service, and we now have two new girls in Young Womens!

Also, my companion and I found two new investigators this week!  Such sweet guys!  Tseran-Chimed, who is 21, and Tugulthdor, who is 20.  Tseran-Chimed is Chosen.  It is so obvious.  In about 3 days' time, I think he racked up about 20 hours at the church!  He just loves it.  Last night there was a Fireside at the Bayanzurkh Building on "The Work of Salvation."  Tseran-Chimed came to church and stayed for all 3 hours, THEN waited there for an hour and a half while my comp and I went to give the sacrament to an old man in our branch who lives 35 minutes away, then he stayed for  the 2 hour Fireside!  He loved it all and had tons of questions about missionary work! I am just really excited about these two new investigators we have because our branch is in dire need of Melchizedek Priesthood-aged young men. More to come about them and their progress next week.

We also had Zone Conference this week.  This is where we have a 7-hour training with all the missionaries in our Zone with President Benson.  It was such a great time.  Seriously such a spiritual high.  We learned a lot of things, but the main focus was on not getting offended; not getting offended from church members, our family, and especially our companions.  It was a really humbling experience and I definitely heard some  things that I needed to hear to become a better disciple of Jesus Christ.  Also, everyone in the Zone had a personal interview with President.  President Benson is truly called of God to be a Mission President here in Mongolia.  He's 35 years old and has the wisdom of a man who has been around forever.  I really love that man. He knows exactly what we need and exactly what Mongolia needs.

I love this work.  I love you guys.  I gotta go. Basketball is calling!

Love, 

Elder Harris 

Elder Harris, Elder Ulziibayar, and some other elder whose name we don't know!

Elder Harris and Elder Ulziibayar with Althmaa, after her baptism. 

Elder Harris, Althmaa, Elder Ulziibayar. Elder Ulziibayar came for Althmaa's baptism!

Elder Harris, Althmaa, and Elders Ulziibayar and Baldandorj.

Conference Weekend

Dear Family,

How is everyone? I am pleased to report that General Conference as a missionary is ten times better than sitting on the couch at home watching it.  This weekend, we (meaning all of the American elders and sisters) gathered on the 3rd floor of the Bayanzurkh Building to watch all the sessions.  On Saturday, in between sessions, a herd of us American missionaries heading over the "Sky Department Store" (the Mongolian Target) to get food and snacks.  It was really funny.  So many Americans...well only like 30.  On Sunday in between sessions, we had a huge potluck lunch, which included PB&J sandwiches!  So nice to get a taste of America!  It was really one of my most cherished experiences here in the mission so far…watching Conference, that is!  Sitting in a church…in Mongolia…with 30 American missionaries watching a Prophet of God speak about us and to us.  Really, I can't describe it, but I will never forget it.

Conference…Well this is what I learned... In my opinion, the overall message was "Defend your Faith," and "Families."  Elder Holland was so awesome and direct in his talk from Saturday Morning Session. He had a different countenance to him.  Maybe you guys didn't really notice it, but all the Elders and Sisters here thought so.  When he said, "I am more certain of the Restoration (and other things) than I am certain that I am standing here in front of you right now."  Wow!  We all were like, "Woah."  I loved when he said, "Discipleship…It is the strait and narrow path that doesn’t have a lot of latitude."  Such a true statement.   Such a powerful talk about Defending the Faith!  Pres. Eyring gave a great talk about Families.  I love my family!  Elder Nelson gave a great talk about Faith.  "Your faith will be tested and challenged."  Also I loved when he asked us, “What are we tied to?" If you really think about it, it is such a valid question for all Latter Day Saints. 

Again….Defending your Faith.   Quenton L. Cook's talk about family history work was great. His statement, "We will be saviors to our family through ordinances, both living and dead," really hit home to me.  I really have gained an testimony and understanding of why Family History is so important.  #1: It is a commandment.   In Priesthood Session, Elder Uchtdoft gave a great talk about Addiction, and he crowned it with, "We are sons and daughters of the most high. WE are not meant to be shackled to earth, wearing a straight jacket made by ourselves." My favorite talk of all came from Pres. Eyring in Priesthood Session, all about Heroes.  So great!  All priesthood holders are lighted candles to the world.  Hands down the best talk of the weekend…..again about Priesthood holders Defending their Faith.  President  Monson’s talk in Priesthood session about Courage and Holding true to your Faith was so great also.  Jabari Parker's fathers quote was solid too.   Sister Stevens’ one liner literally hit all of us so hard when she said, "The Gospel isn't weight, it is wings." So true.  So solid.  It made me really think of you mom…just saying.  I could see you up there giving that same talk.  Other talks about Faith came from William R. Walker and Lawrence Corbridge.  Then Elder Bednar didn't let anyone down with his talk about, "The Load."  How true is that?  The Load is what delivers us.  We all fall into the trap of thinking our  load is holding us back and weighing us down, but in the end, where would we be without it?

So I hope you get the point.  We need to Defend our Faith.  We are all just the fulfillment of prophecy, whether we fall away or we stand firm in the faith and hold to the rod. You choose what you will be tied to in these last days. Good thing is we already know who will win, so the choice should be simple.  Let us all make the right choice for ourselves, our family, and our posterity.

This week’s work was slow and dragging. We only had 5 lessons all week.   It’s hard not to  feel like a waste of time when you have a week like that, but I have faith that through the Lord, He is just molding us to be what He needs.  Salvation didn't come easy.  We are working hard, but we just got cancelled on a lot this week.  That is hard, but we just have to keep kicking & stroking.  It will come.  Please pray for us to find people to teach.  As of right now, we have four investigators.  That is not enough.

The baptism of Sister Althmaa was postponed until this Friday because she will be getting baptized together with her younger sister.   That will be such a neat experience.  I am so pumped.  Her baptism is Friday the 25th, then we have another on Saturday, Ankhbayar.  The fruits of our labors are showing, and that is so promising in these hard times.

I love you all so much. Please work everyday to lay your treasures up in Heaven. We can't afford to slack.

Until next week…Kick & Stroke.

Love,

Elder Harris

This isn't a great picture, but it's all the American Elders minus a few at Conference.

Just chillin' with the sisters I came out with during conference weekend. 

Just arrived in our area (Shar-Khad) for the day. Gotta get to work.

This is Elder and Sister Stewart. Hs is the mission doctor leaving this week. Great couple! I'll write more about them in a letter I'm sending. I will miss them. 

This is the recipe we submitted for the mission cookbook that is coming out. A Mongolian drink: boiling hot milk with rice, but I put the American spin on it... boiling chocolate milk with rice! Mmmm.

The Lord's Hand is in This Work

Dear Family,

This week has been great!  I have seen the Lords hand in our work this week so much, and I am incredible grateful for it!   Just to answer your question, we will watch all the General Conference sessions next week.  They have to translate it into Mongolian first. So we are looking forward to that!

So the whole mission received a letter from President Benson.  He is calling this month a "Baptism Month."  He wants every companionship to have at least 1 baptism, and hopefully more.  If this happens, there will be over 40 baptism his month, which will be incredible!  So we got straight to work.   He wants us to invite and commit the investigator in the first contact to baptism, so no matter what we taught, we have just extended that invitation!  It has been great!  We found a new investigator at the church this week.  His name is Tsalthmon.  He is 30 years old and has an incredible story.  He was working in Korea a few years back, and he was driving his motorcycle while intoxicated when he was hit by a car.  So this being said, his body is pretty messed up.  Bad leg and hand, but his spirits are great.  He admits that he is a partier, but he is looking for change.  How great is that!  Also, he is a huge fan of American rappers so I have rapped with him a little bit, but not enough to drive the spirit away!  ;)  He is so great, and he has committed to baptism April 25th.   He told us his parents are Buddhist and that Buddhism just wasn't for him.   Just today, Monday, we found him chilling at the church.  I asked him what he was doing and he literally was just hanging out.   We can tell that he just really wants to know more.   Yesterday in church he participated in all three blocks, especially priesthood meeting.   More to come regarding him

Great guy.  He is so receptive and at church yesterday he was involved and participated in the investigators class and priesthood

Upcoming Baptisms:

April 11th:  We will have my first Baptism.  Remember Althma from my first area?  Well she is getting baptized this week and asked her new Elders if I could do it.  President Benson approved so I am so excited.  Elder Ulziibayar and I taught her everything, so it will be a very special experience for me and especially for her.

April 18th:  My companion, Elder Baldandorj, will baptize his mother.

April 19th:  Another investigator named Himbayar.  We are teaching him now.  He is great, and has expressed a desire to serve a mission.  He's an all around great kid, and he will be a great member.  My companion, taught him in his last area, but then he moved into Bayanzurkh, so Elder Baldandorj has know him for a few months. From what he tells us, he has never missed church on Sunday.

April 25th:  Brother Bimbaa and our new investigator, Tsalthmon.

The Lord is truly blessing us.  I can see his hand in this work, and it is so obvious.  A man, Tsalthmon, a self-admitted partier, just shows up at church and says he wants to change and is now hanging out at the church.  Coincidence?  I think not.

So we have also been teaching my three English students the Gospel.  They live in Shar-Khad, which is my favorite area within our area by far.  It is kinda ghetto and the shadiest characters are everywhere.  Everyone stares at me because I am probably the first white guy they have seen in years.  But getting back to my English students, their Grandma wants "girl" English teachers for them, even though their mother approved.  So I, not wanting to rock the boat or do anything that would jeopardize my visa, decided that we will just pass them along to the sisters in our area, Sister Ackley and Sneddon.  I'll be honest, it was hard.  I wanted to keep teaching them, but that is just the pride in me.   I am trying so hard to be more humble every single day.  Pride is the destroyer and there is no room for that out here.

So since you all have seen conference, did China open yet? Any special news?

I love the Book of Mormon!  This week I have almost finished Alma.  I love the 2000 Stripling Warriors so dang much!   Such studs!   I have always loved them, but as a missionary it is so much better.  I would like to share something I have never noticed. They are referred to numerous times as "little."  Alma 56:19...Our little Army.   Alma 56:30... My little sons...  Alma 56:33... Little Army.   Alma 56:39... My little sons.  I have always thought that these young boys were buff and huge.  At least that is the artist's depiction.  But no! They were small!  Small in numbers and size.  Even though they were small,  Alma 53:20 says...."They were true at all times to whatever they were trusted."  Alma 56:47..."Taught by their mothers."   Alma 57:20..."Firm and undaunted."  Alma 57:21..."Obeyed with exactness."   And this is my favorite, Alma 57:27...."They are young and their minds are firm and they do put their trust in God continually."   Can we all just strive to be like these little guys!  THESE LITTLE GIANTS!  They were delivered from two battles not because they were strong and the best warriors, but they all lived because they had the FAITH OF A GIANT!  Sorry I am getting carried away but I just love this story so much more now.  Right now, there are about 88,000 Stripling Warriors throughout the world.  Missionaries.  Small, but "firm and undaunted."  We learned in the MTC that when everything is said and done, less that 1% of everyone who ever lived will have been missionaries.  Crazy, huh?   We are small.  So what?  We are bringing the world His truth.

Love,

Elder Harris  

One of our investigators, Tsalthmon

The view from my apartment window. 

Our apartment. It's pretty nice.  

Your package arrived! Thanks mom and dad!

Nice view from our apartment. 

One of my favorite meals here: eggs, meat, veggies, and rice, oh and a dumpling-like thing. 

Some gross lake fish.... but I ate it though.

Little kids from our area. 

They love us!

Cow chasing in Shar-khad. 

Quiet.... Quiet...

Got 'em!

Just a Quick Letter This Week

Dear Family,

Well, I will apologize in advance.  I don't have much time today.  We are moving into another apartment, I have a new companion, and we have 1000 things to do.  So sorry, but here it goes.

Last Tuesday my short-term missionary companion left back to the countryside all of a sudden.  Since I needed a new companion and it wasn't transfer day yet, I was put into a threesome with Elder Faber and Elder Ulziijargal.  I had a great time, they are great elders, but I got NO work done in MY area, which really bothers me!   But, hey, what can you do?   So I was with them all week and we taught quite a few lessons to their investigators, so that was really nice.

On Saturday we had a mission-wide service project!  It was really fun!  All the missionaries split up and went to their church building and cleaned the buildings from top to bottom, inside and out.  It was really enjoyable and it felt great to be there with 20 other missionaries serving!

Today is transfer day!  As expected, I received a new trainer and a permanent companion!   His name is Elder Baldandorj!  He has been on his mission for 7 months and is now also a Zone Leader.  I am very excited about that, and I know we will work great together!  I am very grateful for him already and for his welcoming attitude!    The best thing is that his mom is getting baptized in a few weeks, on April 18th, and HE GETS TO BAPTIZE HER!   It will be such a privilege to see that!   So today, we've already got a lot of things done.  We have moved to our new apartment across the city.  It was the AP's apartment, so IT IS STINKIN' NICE!  We have an incredible view of the whole city, so that is very nice.

Besides Elder Baldanjorj's mom, we have two baptisms scheduled for April 18th, so I am very excited about that!  I hope and pray everyday that they will progress as planned and be able to enter the waters of baptism on that day.  Please pray for me and my companion and our investigators.

This past week, I had the opportunity to read from Alma quite a bit during personal study, particularly Alma giving counsel to his sons.  I love that. It is very applicable to all of us because we all have a Father who just wants the best for us.   I am very excited to get back to work in MY area (Bayanzurkh) and I'm grateful that I didn't get transferred to a new area!  I know good things lie ahead here and I can't wait to see the fruits of our labors. 

I know the Lord knows me.  I know he is looking over Elder Baldandorj and I, and he is right here with us.  I love that feeling!   I feel so close to my Heavenly Father, and I can feel such a change working in me.  I know this is where I am supposed to be right now.

I love you guys!  Stay Safe!

Elder Xappuc (Harris)

My new companion and trainer, Elder Baldandorj.

When we aren't catching a bus, we are trying to get a taxi. 

Service project at our church building.

Elder Farmer and I. I will miss him. 

Elder Faber and I. I tripled-up with him and his companion for this week. 

Church clean-up service project.

What a week!

Hello Family

I trust that all is well, and everyone is safe and sound there in Henderson. Thank you for all the pictures I have received from you guys this week!  Looks like you are all having a great time with everyone in town!  If you go out and eat anywhere, eat at Taco El Gordo for me, okay?

So as I am sure you have been wondering, my companion, Elder Ulziibayar, went home with his family last Tuesday.  It was really sad for  him and me.  You could tell it was really tearing him apart.  All and all, I think he made the right decision for him.   President Benson met with me right after he left and told me that he will be back soon.  Apparently, his father's health is on the mend!  What a blessing!  He and his family are now all going back to the countryside to help his father rehabilitate back home.  That was great news!  Elder Ulziibayar said that when his father is walking again, he will be back!   Please pray for him and his family in this hard time.

Well this week has been quite different but I am very pleased with the changes that have happened with me.  With my companion's departure, I was with the AP's (Assistant to the President)  starting last Tuesday.  It was a kinda difficult trying to juggle the Assistants' schedule with mine, but it all worked out in the end.  They were great!   So with almost no notice, I "moved" into their apartment, and started working with them.  The down side was that I was now in THEIR area, so MY area kinda got neglected all week.  But Heavenly Father knows the situation and he proved it in my absence.  The funny thing is.....from Tuesday to Friday, I had to wear the same clothes.  I had to improvise for a tooth brush, and I had no razor to shave.  So Thursday when Zone Training came around, I definitely got some puzzled looks as everyone saw me with three days of scruff growing in.  Oh well, it is all part of the experience, right?

As you can imagine, the dynamics of this week were very different.  Sunday morning I received my short-term companion.   He will be my companion until this Thursday when we have a "mini-transfer day" and I get a new companion   My short-term companion's name is Myagmardorj!   He is a 27-year old RM (returned missionary) who served 2 years ago here in Mongolia!  He served with my MTC teachers!   The Mission office just called him up and he headed down here Sunday morning to be my companion for the week!   Pretty cool, huh?   He is a great guy, but his English is VERY LIMITED.   I was pretty nervous.  I didn't know what it would be like and if I would even be able to communicate with him, but when I met him, he immediately showed love for me and understood that I was just a new missionary that had poor Mongolian language skills.  It was very comforting that he was willing to help me and that he was ready to work.  I sat down with him, explained the work that needed to be done this week in the area and we got to work.  He gave me the responsibility of talking on the phone, conducting every lesson, and of calling our investigators and making appointments.  It is hard, lemme tell you, but I can do it.  I know the Lord is right there with us and He is personally helping me.  It is extremely difficult being the only companion that knows our area, but getting thrown into the fire is the best way to learn, right?   We got lost yesterday and we took a few wrong buses, but I am learning.  Like conversion to the Gospel, it is an on-going process!   I'll keep you updated on all this.

We taught three lessons yesterday together, and everything went great!  I'm so grateful to have this Brother as my companion to help me out in the Area for the week.  He straight up told me from the beginning, "You are going to speak Mongolian, okay?"  I was pretty nervous, but it is incredible how much Mongolian I really DO know when I am forced to communicate only in Mongolian.  All I have to do is just put myself out there and I have been able to explain everything I need to say.  Truly a gift from the Holy Ghost.  Sometimes I sit back and think how far I've come in only three  months.  I went from not knowing any Mongolian to being able to express myself enough to get by, and most importantly teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It truly is a blessing, and something I wouldn't be able to do without the hand of God in this work. 

This week I really had my testimony of prayer strengthened.  All week long I felt like my investigator, Brother Bimbaa, was getting neglected.  We really had a hard time meeting with him because of conflicting schedules.  All week I prayed and prayed that he wouldn't forget our message, and that he would keep on doing the things we asked him to do.  As of now he is the closest investigator we have towards baptism, and I was just really nervous that without us at his house every other night like we had been, he would forget our message and stop progressing.  Well Saturday night I called him to remind him of church and to my surprise he asked, "I want to know if there are other activities at the church?"  I didn't really think much of it, but I told him we had Institute (religion classes) on Tuesday nights and explained a little more about it.  After we hung up, it hit me!  Holy cow!  He wants to know what else he can do to participate in church!   I haven't met with him all week, and he obviously had been thinking about this without our encouragement!  Then we met with hum on Sunday and he asked more questions about Institute and told us that he would be there on Tuesday.  My prayers were heard and answered.  I know Heavenly Father's hand is in this work.   It is so evident with experiences I have like this. 

This week I also went on "splits" with Elder Odd.   He is such a stud and probably my best bud out here on the mission so far.   He is from Cache Valley, UT (an American, of course), and has been here for a year.  He went to Utah State before his mission and also was valedictorian.  Besides the valedictorian thing, we have tons in common!   He teaches English to a woman who is the Second Chair in the Democratic Party here in the Mongolian Parliament.  So he is a pretty big deal.   I was with him while we taught her English this week and what an experience it was!  We were in her sweet office and we sat at this big conference table.  She has really good English skills so we just conversed for an hour or so.  Before our meeting with her, she had just come from a personal meeting with the Prime Minister of England, and she told us all about it!  It was crazy!  Then she asked Elder Odd and I, "As foreigners, and Americans, what have you noticed about Mongolia that you don't like, that we can change to become a better country?"  Well we were shocked to be asked this.  We are just two 20 year old kids.... Haha!  So we just told her that the traffic is terrible and maybe that could be fixed.  It was such a cool experience. 

Also this week, I started teaching English!  I teach a 17-year old girl and her 11-yr old cousin in their house.  Like I've said, my Sponsor is a member of the church and is pretty much famous.  She goes by the nickname "Ukraine Nara."  She served her mission in the Ukraine like 8 years ago, when she was in her 30's.  She is so awesome!  These two young girls that I teach are her little "doe's."  That is what Mongolians call younger family members.   They are not members of the church, but we have been given permission to teach them English AND the Gospel!  Like a 1 - 2 Punch!  I am so excited!   At one of our meetings, Sister Nara gave me a drink called "Arts."   It is literally the worst thing ever invented.   It is pretty much boiling hot, moldy milk curds.  It looks and smells like the worst throw up that could come from a baby.  Well, like a good sport, I took about 4 gulps and then I tapped-out.   She just laughed at me and then gave me some hot water to wash it down.  I never will get used to that drink.  Don't worry though, I am going to figure out how to make it so I can make and share it with you guys in two years when I get home!  HaHa

My language is coming along great!  This week I have seen a huge improvement in my understanding and comprehension when I talk to people.  I have had a few full 3-5 minute conversations with people this week all in Mongolian, and we both understand each other.  It is AWESOME!  I don't understand everything they say, but enough to continue conversing!  Something I know I would not be able to do without God's hand in this work.

I love you guys.  Stay safe in the sunny city of Henderson.  The weather is getting great here!  No more jacket!  Just suit and tie!  I love it!

-Kick & Stroke-

Love,

Elder Harris

Me just chilling in the church lobby. 

This is me with the lady from the Parliament. 

This is one of the girls that I am teaching English to. She's my sponsor's relative. We've also been given permission to teach her and her cousin the Gospel. 

"Meat" being sold out of the back of a van!! Can you believe it?

My short-term companion for the week. His name is Myagmardorj. 

He's a great guy.