Sister Magleby in Mongolia: Cleaning The Church Is Fun To Do

Dear Family and Friends,

Tsagaan Sar is this week. As a result, our work this week was somewhat hindered because everyone is busy preparing for the celebration. I didn't even have to go to English because the kids were preparing for their Tsagaan Sar concert. Anyways, we had a lot of free time and not may people to meet with. We still managed to have quite a few meaningful missionary experiences though which made me happy.

On Saturday we decided to help the members clean the church. If they cleaned the church like we clean it in America they might have a better turn out... They clean everything, and it takes forever! Sister Oyuntoya and I cleaned the stairs. They were cleaning window sills, baseboards, even the ceilings. I didn't once see a vacuum being used which is basically all they need to do. Sometimes I just laugh about the things we do here.

Usually once a week I go into Nara's office and teach her English. Sometimes though we just talk. I was very blessed with a wonderful sponsor. This week we were eating lunch together and then she got up and went into the kitchen. She came back and said, "I've noticed you really like bread so I told the cook to bring you some bread and jam." I do like their homemade bread, so I wasn't going to complain. It was cute. She takes good care of me. I've also come to the conclusion that she is genuinely interested in the church. She usually asks us questions which I try my best to answer without talking about the church... I usually just feel awkward because we're not supposed to talk about the church. I have a desire to just teach her everything about the gospel though and I think she's ready to hear it. I'm going to see what I can do about that.

This week we taught our investigator, Enkhtoya, about the Word of Wisdom. She understood it all really well, except the part about tea and coffee. Sister Oyuntoya and the member we were teaching with shared really great personal experiences, and all three of us bore our testimony about how God and Jesus Christ will help her follow the Word of Wisdom if she prays and asks for help. She wouldn't commit to actually living it, but she said she would try this week. It wasn't the enthusiastic "yes" we love to hear, but it's better than nothing!

Love, Sister Magleby