April 6, 2007 - Spring Revelations

I just found out in an email from Mom that Grandpa Muir passed away. I love him so much, and I’m grateful that he passed so peacefully and that everyone was able to say their goodbyes and send him off. I know without a doubt that he is with family and friends now and is probably talking their ears off. He was a wonderful example, leader, and patriarch in our family. His influence lives on as his children and grandchildren stay strong in the gospel that he had a strong testimony of.

All is taivan (peaceful) here in Sukhbaatar. The highlight of my week was turning to walk down this one street and seeing this whole big mess of trash. We’re discovering all kinds of new and exciting things as the snow melts around here, and by “new and exciting” I mean “mud and trash,” but this particular street was trashier than the rest. Even my companion had to get out her camera and take a picture.

Yes, things are getting a little messy around here, but at the same time Mongolia really is becoming more and more beautiful. The past couple of evenings the sunsets have been absolutely gorgeous. Every couple of minutes my companion will notice that I’ve stopped and exasperatedly ask what I’m doing, to which I reply, “Zuuger l kharaj baina…” (“Just looking…”).
I really can’t remember what else happened this week that’s of note. English class has been good. My companion’s still good. She’s really quite hilarious. She has the hymns on CD and loves singing in English together. She’s obsessed with The Star Spangled Banner and we sing it all the time, even when we’re walking around in our area. Every time I have to stop and put my hand on my heart which makes her laugh. She also makes fun of babies whenever we hear one crying, which makes me laugh.

That’s pretty much all I have to report this week. I hope you all enjoyed Conference last week, just as much as I hope I’m going to enjoy it this week. It only takes that long to get the translated version sent out, which I think is pretty impressive. Fortunately the missionaries still get to watch it in English. When I heard that it just about made me cry. Conference is definitely a time to be spiritually fed and refueled and the thought of trying to get through and understand 8 hours of Conference in Mongolian would have been too much for me.

Peace out, Sister Johnson