Week 7 Pictures

Dad note: lots of new pictures this week :)...no labels :(

Week 7

It was mentioned that I left out the color of my companion's socks.... well, of course they are black

We have four teachers (only one or two teach at any given time though), Brother Boyd, Brother Higgs, Brother Standley and Sister Mologdallii (she's Mongolian). And they are all students at BYU! They are really fantastic teachers! This week The Cambodian, Vietnamese and Hmong missionaries are leaving. after they go their teachers will help coach us (the Mongolians) on being better missionaries (in English) so we will have 10 teachers sort of... it's a really cool opportunity to be able to have a "personal trainer" essentially for missionary work!

Our Zone got new missionaries this Week! 4 sisters: 3 going to Thailand, 1 to Indonesia. 8 Elders: 6 Thailand, 2 Singapore-Malay speaking. As a zone leader I got to meet the missionaries on their first night and we gave them an orientation, some suggestions about the MTC, guidelines, a tour, that sort of thing. It was really cool! We have several missionaries from Australia and I might be just a little jealous of their accents but, oh well. I know that they are all going to make great missionaries. I have really been working hard to be a good example to them and to the rest of the Zone, so that I can be a good leader, and be more like Christ. 

This week we started our TESoL training, Teaching English as a Second Language. The Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Mission is the only mission that is required to be certified english teachers as well. For the next two weeks we will complete an online course teaching us how and why we teach. Then we go to the ELC (I don't quite remember exactly what it stands for.... English Learning Center or something, I'm sure you can find out and look it up) at BYU, for the next week. After that we leave to Mongolia! Every night for the next 2 weeks we will take an hour and a half to work on our online course, the rest of our day is the same- study -> food -> class -> teach investigators, our evening class time will just be shortened to accommodate this new course. Week three we actually will leave the MTC from 8 am to 3 pm every day frommonday 3/7 through Thursday 3/10. There we will go to the ELC to do our practical training, with actual classroom teaching, observation and review. I'm super-duper excited for this, after that week we will leave on the morning of Tuesday the 15th or Wednesday the 16th (Visas permitting fingers crossed). The time is just flying by now I see the end of the tunnel and I'm going to work as hard as ever to get there.

Last Week I mentioned there was a lot of hype for our devotional. Well Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. a really great thing that he concluded with was something that President Gordan B. Hinckley said to him when he was called to serve as a 70, 

"Does the Testimony of Jesus Christ still burn in your bosom like it was when you were a young missionary?"

As a young missionary I can testify that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and that through Him we can all change, we can all feel the incredible love of God, we can all repent of our mistakes, sins and wrongdoings, and feel the peace and joy of spiritual cleanliness that can come when we deny our natural man and become like Jesus Christ. Mosiah 3:19:  

 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever,unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child,submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

Ахлагч Jonathan Wilding

Week 6

So this Week will have more said about it than other weeks

So My companion, Elder Christensen is 5'7" 113 lbs has brown eyes, he did a semester at Northwest College in Wyoming last fall. and he absolutely Loves BYU... like to death. He will hear if he got accepted by the end of this month, and he's super duper excited!!! Since he's going to Thailand he didn't bring a real winter coat so he's made do with his wonderful BYU jacket, he also didn't bring any p-day pants so up until yesterday he would be cold as we had to do our errands like laundry and haircuts and breakfast in shorts. Luckily we went to the bookstore and got him a pair of MTC sweats and he was surprised at how comfortable it is to be warm again haha. Elder Christensen really loves music and plays the guitar really well. He wants to go into music and business after the mission. He Says Hi! He is also Half Brazilian.

Mongolian things that I've learned... So My teacher Brother Boyd was telling us how there is a KFC in Mongolia. In America KFC is where you'd go if you didn't want to make dinner, in Mongolia its where you take your family to go someplace nice.... "get dressed up kids we're going out for dinner tonight... we're going to KFC". A common Missionary Service is digging new pit toilets, fun! I would actually love to be out there doing that instead of being at the MTC for another whole MONTH!  Oh Well I'm blessed for this opportunity to learn and grow in a wonderful and spiritual environment. If you bump feet or touch feet you shake hands and apologize because feet are dirty and that's the culture you also don't put like anything on the ground definitely not books. Also you don't throw things to people, because t=you throw things to dogs, so always hand it to them.

Mongolian Language is difficult because of the lack of relation to most other languages especially English, and its very different sentence structure. It is Subject Object Verb and from English that's hard because I have to switch the way that I think about how things interact from - I did something to someone- (Subject Verb Object) to - I to someone something did- (S O V). I have to think about the players in the game then describe the play.... I usually have to say what I am trying to say 3-4 times because I hadn't decided how to arrange the sentence before I spoke. Anyway It does make a lot of sense and I love it... Its just different! I've gotten used to Cyrillic and I'm now working on thinking in it.

There has been a lot of hype about tonight's devotional, and there isn't ever any hype about them, the MTC keeps it very hush hush and we only find out who's speaking 25 minutes before it begins. So I anticipate that there will be someone important tonight! 

I was made a zone leader with Elders Heacock, and Cowles. This is interesting because they aren't my companions but they sort of are. We teach and study and plan together, like companions but we don't always go everywhere together. I kind of have 3 companions right now which is certainly unique! We get to welcome the new missionaries to our zone tomorrow and now I have to go to all of the leadership meetings hooray! more meetings haha, oh well, I get to be a missionary to missionaries.

Loving others doesn't come "naturally" to anyone, that is what the natural man is. The natural man is selfishness, its the desire to turn inward during times of trial, stress, or other hardship. Really becoming like Jesus Christ is the trial of this life. God's plan is for us to become like Him, He has given us His son Jesus Christ to let us do that. By following the Teachings of Jesus, His Gospel, we can repent and change our natures. Not only does the atonement cover when we make mistakes or sin, but it covers before that, it allows us to change, to turn from making a wrong decision and following Christ's example and working to attain his attributes (look in Chapter 6 of PMG ). Charity is a gift, it is not inherent in the nature of the natural man, some people have been blessed to easily receive this gift but all must work to attain it and maintain it.

To love others and live with differences is to forget yourself, and become like Our Savior Jesus Christ.

Week 5 (2/9/16) Pictures 

Blue sweater and light blue tie day (1)

Blue sweater and light blue tie day (2)

Blue sweater and light blue tie day (3)

Elder Christensen

Elder Ostler (Hmong Speaking)

Elder Taylor(left) & Elder Lewis(right) (Hmong Speaking)

Sister Hansen's Hair beard

Treats from Deb-Deb

With Elder Bringhurst (Singapore)

Sunday Selfie

Week 5 (2/9/16)

Elder Christensen Had to go to the Orthodontist yesterday and it was pretty rad, getting to leave the MTC. They also gave us slushies?!?! That was unexpected, but quite awesome!

Week 5

My zone is comprised of:

5- Hmong Speaking elders going to California and Wisconsin/Minnesota

5- Thai Missionaries 1 Elder (my companion) and 4 sisters. All going to Thailand

7- Cambodian 3 elders and 4 sisters. Going to Cambodia

3- Vietnamese speaking elders going to Texas and California

9- Mongolians obviously

Elder Christensen is pretty great he is awesomely clean, which is really great when there are 6 people in a room, while the other 4 are not so tidy... oh well. 

Classes are long and we work all day. Every day is like Sunday, 3 hours of church ha, try 24/7. It's great.

My teachers said that they spend a lot of service time digging new pit toilets. Sounds like fun...

Last Tuesday Elder Zwick of the 70 spoke on prayer. We need to pray fervently and frequently, really give our hearts to God in prayer really understanding that He will answer you. I know that God Answers the sincere prayer, those who are willing to follow his answer. 

Can someone find me the quote about "that which we persist in doing becomes easier, not because the nature of the thing is easier..."

(Parental Note: Heber J. Grant often quoted Ralph Waldi Emerson...

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do has increased.”)

We will start our online ESL training in either 1 or 2 weeks hopefully I'll find out who my sponsor is soon! That will be super exciting!!!

With The most Love,

Ахлагч Jonathan Wilding

 ...

(Letter to the parents)

To me an Idea was (Mongolian grammar for "I had an idea"): When you have the missionaries to dinner ask them give a brief message on a missionary discussion. That was something that would have helped me when growing up cause I wasn't really sure what the commandments were, and definitely did not know what the Doctrine of Christ was, and what that meant to me... It could help Thomas, also going over those things during FHE would be really good. I know that it is really important and will bless the whole family. Teaching the simple, eternal truths of Christ's Gospel is beneficial to everyone. 

Package from home

Dad,

thank you so much for the book, it is my most prized possession I love it so much and look through it every day! I can't wait to start adding to it :)

"the book"

package from Kate

Mom, 

Thank you for your cards at the beginning they meant a lot :) I need to finish writing my letters to you all. I sent one off to Rick and LJ just so you don't worry. Mary Kate sent me stamps for the time being.

Something heartwarming that I realized yesterday is you now have two sons on missions.

Love your son,

Ахлагч Jonathan Wilding

Week 4 Pictures

My new companion, Elder Christensen (going to Thailand!)

Waiting to host arriving new missionaries.

Waiting to host (part 2)

Week 4 - So Time Doesn't Exist (or something like that)

The first three days at the MTC were without a doubt the longest days of my life. They felt like weeks. Now as I approach my month mark, time is getting weirder. Every day is both an eternity and the blink of an eye. When I look back to last Tuesday, I can't even believe that what feels like a lifetime ago was only a week.

Last Tuesday's devotional was given by Elder Hallstrom, I sang in the Choir "Hurrah for Israel". Something that I thought of during his talk though was, We are who we want to be. We don't have to look behind us to find who we are, but should instead look ahead. Who do we want to be, what are we willing to become? That is who we are. In this world Jesus Christ is our example, Look unto Christ, Try to be like Jesus. D&C 6:35-37: 

 35 Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.

Through the atonement of Christ we can change our natures, and be forgiven of our sins

 36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

Look to Christ as your example

 37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful,keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

Be faithful and keep His commandments

God Has a plan for us That I know. I was split from my triple companionship and am now companions with Elder Christensen, he's going to Thailand. This is a fantastic opportunity! and a significant change. 

Dad's note: (I managed to catch him before his computer time was up, but while waiting I thought "Perhaps Sister Hansen has posted information which might explain." Thank you, Sister Hansen.)


What???!!?!! You can't just drop a bomb like that with no additional info. Swapping companions in the MTC is unusual. But swapping to be with someone not in your language group ... I've never heard of.
Also, sister Bringhurst said she saw you (your back as you walked away) while dropping off Austin. Did you get to be his host?


Response: Elder Christensen's companions were in a group of old Thai Missionaries that left on Monday, and because I was in a 3 person companionship, the Branch president reassigned me to be his new companion. He's from Wyoming.
Also I've seen Elder Bringhurst several times, but missed hosting him by just a couple of minutes.


==========

Still Dad's note: I hope the Hansen's don't mind, but I'm going to "borrow" a portion from Sister Hansen's blog this week. jenniferhansenmongolia.blogspot.com

"We also had to say goodbye to our dear friend's the Thai's. About half our zone did their time and said "so-long" to the MTC at 2:30 Monday morning. It was so sad and exciting at the same time, and weird to think that that will be us in a few short weeks. We will be getting a new delivery of about 10 Thai missionaries, along with a Malay and an Indonesian within the next month. So now it's our job to welcome them and show them the ropes of the MTC, instead of the other way around! Our zone is very different and special because each district is learning such a difficult language. Our zone consists of all the weird Asian languages that people don't really ever think of, like Cambodian, Laotian, Vietnamese, Malay, etc. We really all lean on each other for support and have become very close friends.

This is something from like my first week at the MTC that I forgot to tell you about. When Neil L. Anderson was here speaking at a devotional, he was telling about the " A Savior Is Born" campaign video that was shared worldwide. He told us that the video was viewed by 54.5 million people. The language it was most viewed in was Spanish, at 28 million views. He went on to list the other highest ranking languages the video was viewed at. Would anyone ever guess that the 5th language most viewed was Mongolian!! What. My companion turned to me and said "Our people are prepared!!" Tender mercies. I don't know how that is even possible, where there are only 3 million people total in Mongolia, and probably less than half have access to the internet. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

On the topic of Mongolia, the people have been praying fervently for a new stake in Mongolia. There is currently only one, but they are so close to having another, and this is very important to the church and the people. If there is 2 or 3 more stakes, it may even be a possibility for a temple to be built someday. Can you imagine all the blessings this would bring to that country? God already has a very special place in his heart for Mongolia."

Week 3 - Pictures

Elder Heacock Elder Garcia Elder Wilding

It snowed overnight

me, elder Christensen, elder Young

our lesson planning in english ( we spend the rest of the time preparing our mongolian)

Our Teacher Higgs Ax (Brother Higgs), Elder Urness, Elder Cowles, Me, Elder Heacock,
front – Sister Olsen, Elder Garcia, Sister Guild, Sister Hansen, Sister Bottorff

Planning for P-Day

Sister Hansen, elder Heacock(preping a stellar priesthood lesson on the atonement)

Sunday morning studying L2R elder Urness, Elder Garcia, Sister Olsen, Sister Guild, Sister Bottorff, Sister Hansen

The dictionary is $217 in america but only  ₮18,800 == $8 in Mongolia Which is Ridiculous