November 23, 2007 - Transferred to Sukhbaatar - the Russian Border

Hello and AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is Sister Cheryl E. Johnson reporting to you on her last full day in this city we like to call UB. Tomorrow night, after a big transfer involving another huge group of 23 new missionaries (one of whom I will be training—trainer again! AHHH!) I will be boarding the train with my newbie and heading for the border! I have been assigned to serve in Selenge Branch in a city called Sukhbaatar all the way up on the Russian-Mongolian border. [208 miles north of UB, population is 20,000, detailed map; more Selenge province info] My former companion, Sister Delgermurun, is from Selenge, along with some other great people and missionaries that I know. I’m really excited to go there. We will take the train down to Darkhan, a big city nearby where we have two branches, for zone conference.

There haven’t been sisters in this city before, at least not for years anyway, and it’s pretty much the scariest/coolest thing that’s happened to me ever. When I told Elder Durney, my district leader, where I was going he flipped out and was like, “You are SO lucky! You get to ride the train! The train is like Harry Potter!” Ha! Elder Durney’s a nerd, but that’s okay. So am I.

Whoah! Speaking of Harry Potter and temptation, this past Sunday we went to Elder and Sister Soderberg’s house to celebrate Thanksgiving, and they had the 7th book just sitting there on the shelf! Elder Johnston pointed it out to me, but actually it didn’t bother me that much. I can wait. Then we talked about how nice it was to be totally cut off from the World in our Mongo-bubble.


Happy Thanksgiving from the Khan Uul and Enkhtaivan missionaries! I made deviled eggs!

It was just like a real Thanksgiving with little children running around and everything. If Elder Durney [glasses] looks a little shifty in this picture it’s because he’s going to Choibalsan…again. Actually he doesn’t look that shifty, but he does look exactly like that kid with the dog from Rocky and Bullwinkle (or is it the dog with the kid?).

Tonight is a really special night. Of course, here in UB Town, Friday nights mean baptisms, but this isn’t just any baptism tonight. My companion, Sister Khorloo’s pappi is getting baptized tonight! Three years ago her family moved to the city from the khuduu [out in the country/not in UB]. First her father and her brothers moved in and found a place to live, then Sister Khorloo and her older sister came to join them. When Sister Khorloo arrived at their new house, her father told her that he had been meeting with some church missionaries and that she had to meet with them and hear what they had to say too. This totally and completely weirded her out, but from the moment the two Mongolian elders dressed in suits entered their ger, Sister Khorloo’s world completely changed.

Since that time she and all of her siblings but one who is still living in the khuduu with their animals have joined the church. Her father was the main force in getting them all to take the lessons, but soon afterwards he went to the khuduu on business and stopped meeting with the missionaries. That and the fact that he just couldn’t give up smoking have kept him from joining the church for the past three years. Then, three months ago, Sister Khorloo started her mission, and her father started taking the lessons again. We got a call from the assistants Monday night saying that her father’s baptism was this Friday night and that President Andersen was giving her permission to return to her home branch for this one night to witness the event. And lucky me, I’m her companion, so I get to go to and see all of my Sukhbaatar people before heading off for Sukhbaatar! (In Mongolia there is a province, numerous cities, a UB district, an LDS branch, a square, and about eight hundred other things named “Sukhbaatar.” How do you show your appreciation for the guy who brought communism to Mongolia? Name lots of stuff after him, yuum shig.)

We also had a fireside for the missionaries getting off their missions this week. It was kind of sad because two of my companions buusan [completed their missions], and they both live in the khuduu. I don’t know if I’ll see them again before I go home so we took lots of pictures.
From the back: Bold, my old investigator who got baptized after I left Sukhbaatar, Sister Khorloo, Sister Me, Sister Nergui, Sister Uugantsetseg, Enkhbayar (Sister Khorloo’s bro), Demchig, my #1 new member, Munk(zul? Tsetseg?)
Front row: Baigalmaa, Odgerel (my cousin Alan’s Mongolian twin) and Brother Cool. That’s not actually his name but that’s what everyone calls him and I can’t remember his real name. It’s okay though, cuz he is cool.

Oh my goodness! So much to do today! I’ve got to wrap up my affairs here in the city and stock up on deodorant. Things are a bit different in the khuduu. I might die out there. I probably won’t get mail very often. I’ll have to say goodbye to the California and BD’s and other such quasi-American things that I’ve been enjoying thus far on my mission. There probably isn’t a Good Price in Selenge either. Looks like no more cooking with brown sugar…Hurrah for Israel!

Khuduu-fully yours, Sister Johnson

Some photos to share:

Sister Khorloo in our scary kitchen.

This is Jargal, recently returned from the California San Jose Mission. She knows my brother, Brad who also served in San Jose.

This was my favorite English class at the high school I taught at. It was hard to say goodbye. These are the students that had the s’mores.