One Strong Is Better Than Many Weak

Dear Family and Friends, 

This was a good week. We had a few good experiences with some investigators, and we've been experiencing new things and new places. 

I celebrated my one year mark by attending a leadership meeting. I always enjoy learning from President Benson and we got to eat an American lunch at his house which made the whole experience all the more exciting. The purpose of the meeting is for us to learn. We then pass the learned information to the rest of the missionaries. This month we learned about key indicators and centers of strength. Our investigators need to be strong. One strong investigator/member is much better than many weak investigators/members. I found myself thinking about my investigators through the whole meeting and realized I'm working with a bunch of the "weak" type. I left with a better resolve to help my investigators become strong. I'm still trying to decide how to do that, but the desire to help create strong church members is certainly influencing our work.  

This week Tvwshintugs and Bathuyag finally attended the addiction recovery class. We've been talking about it ever since we started meeting with them, but it's never actually happened. We basically dragged them there, but they went and had many good things to report. We ended up meeting with them after the meeting and they kept talking about how amazing it was, and how they were going to stop drinking and smoking. Unfortunately, stopping is much harder than saying "I'm going to stop." We went back later in the week and  Bathuyag had been put in jail. (I didn't really catch that whole story, but that's where he was). We met with Tvwshintugs who had gone drinking with his friend the night before. I was just a little frustrated at this point, and spoke more forcefully than I normally do. According to Sister Munguntoya though, I still have a long ways to go. 

We also met with Oyunbat and Munkhzul this week. It seems that those two never remember, and never apply what we teach. We decided we were going to be bold and tell them at the rate they were going baptism was not an option. Well, at the very beginning of the lesson I asked a question (I don't remember what question I asked), and then Munkhzul started talking about how wonderful the church is. He asked if he could get baptized before May. Unfortunately, that's not an option but it's good to know he actually has a desire. Hopefully he's now realized that beyond desire, we need to apply what we learn. He's currently in the countryside for a week or two so we can't meet...go figure. 

We watched the Woman's Broadcast on Saturday. The talks were wonderful and just what I needed to hear.  We get to watch General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. It's basically Christmas because we gather with our English speaking friends, listen to the prophet's words, and sometimes even eat treats. I can't wait! On Friday, the parents of my students have been invited to come and watch me teach. I'm secretly hoping that no one shows up, but I know that won't happen. I'm already nervous, but as long as the kids behave themselves I can easily entertain them for 30 minutes. More details on these events next week. 

Have a spectacular week! 

Love, Sister Magleby