January 25, 2016

SO exciting news! I had my first baptism on Friday! YES OTGONDELGER was baptized and it was an awesome experience. She was so happy and it was a nice service. After she was baptized we had her bear her testimony and it was the sweetest thing, I know you might think this is funny but i am not kidding when I say that she was glowing as she was up there speaking what she knows to be true. I felt so happy when I saw her up there. I am so grateful to have known her and to have been able to see her change little by little. I was reminded of the Sons of Mosiah and the type of mission which they served. When they began their mission they spoke of how their hearts were depressed and ready to turn back but the Lord came unto them and comforted them and told them to bear their afflictions with patience and he will give unto them success. This is exactly what they did. Even through all their discouragements and afflictions they did it with patience and because of this, the Lord was able to work great miracles through them. They were able to convert thousands to this gospel. Through their hard times they thought of the people and the bore their afflictions that they might be able to bring one soul unto repentance for how great their joy would be if they did this. I thought of missionary work in general and how it is not an easy thing. We face many challenges during this time but if we have patience and think of those we are serving, we will be able to face the challenges we are handed. I have been able to experience some of this joy that Ammon spoke of. There is nothing better than being able to witness someone come closer to Christ and partake of the necessary ordinances in order to do so. I saw the happiness in Otgondelger's eyes and that was all that I could ever ask for. This is why I chose to serve a mission. It is serving with all your heart might mind and strength so that you will be able to experience moments like these. Granted I will not baptize thousands of people while being on my mission but the few people that I am able to help is all that I could ever ask for. All I desire is their happiness and for them to realize what this gospel can bring to their lives! Even though I have faced a lot of hard days, those don't matter. It is moments and memories like these that matter and something I will cherish my whole life. The things that I have learned while serving here are things that I wouldn't trade for anything and I know that I am serving here for a reason. I am here to share the truths that I know to be true and that I hold dear to my heart. I am here to help share that families can be together forever. I am here to share of our Savior Jesus Christ and His atonement and of the sacrifice He made for us all. I am here to share of our Loving Heavenly Father who gave his only perfect son so that all of his imperfect children may return to him. There is no greater love then that what our Father in Heaven and His Son has for us all. I am here to teach of Joseph Smith and how just like them he desired to know the truth and so he prayed to God for an answer. I am here to share that they too can know for themselves and can pray to their heavenly father and receive an answer. I am here to share about the Book of Mormon and how it is the word of God and that as we read and abide by its precepts we can draw nearer to God, receive answers to our prayers, and receive blessings from our Heavenly Father. The message we carry is so precious and important and I am thankful to be a part of this great work.

Tuguldor is coming along. He has grown so much and desires so strongly to be baptized but until his dad gives permission or until he turns 18 he will not be able to be baptized: (yea he came to the baptism and enjoyed it!

Well it’s that time again! Transfers are this week! It is crazy to think that I will already be entering my third transfer! I know for a fact that Solongo will not be my companion but as to who will be staying in the Songono ward I am not sure. I have a feeling that I will be the one to leave because President likes to move the new missionaries around a lot but we will see. I definitely wouldn't mind staying in this ward :) 

So this was a pic of my area that i serve in. It was a nice day so I wanted to take a pic.

                                                                       







On our last p day we ate at burger king which is 100 times better than America and the place is a lot nicer too!



 They take better care of their restaurants here. Mostly because burger king is considered fancy here as opposed to America so that is part of the reason for that i guess. haha

Love, Sister Kerby

January 18, 2016

      Put Your Confidence in the Lord


Sain baina uu! (yes, that is how you spell it) I have been learning to text in Mongolian the past couple of weeks and they use our alphabet when spelling. it has been fun being able to learn that! it is crazy because first I am learning the Mongolian Language and then I have to learn the Scriptural Mongolian because of course it is slightly different and then I need to learn to text in Mongolian and I have also been learning how to write Mongolian in cursive... It is a lot to remember but is is so fun being able to learn it all! The language is coming along! I finally figured out how to pray for the most part! Yes I know... It has been 3 months and I am just now figuring out prayer :) haha, what can I say this language is a hard one :) but no worries as you can tell from what I titled my letter this week, you will understand as you keep reading why I wrote that. Anyways, the language is still coming along. We had our Zone Training on Saturday and they had us teach Repentance to another person and we had ourselves recorded so that during our next district meeting we will watch them and then go over what we did well and what we need to improve on and how we can improve. It has actually been helpful practicing like this. it makes it easier for when I actually have to teach it. So I don't know if I told you about this but we have a 42 principle notebook that President Benson has asked us to do which is all the principles that we are to teach from Preach my Gospel, the first being God is our loving Heavenly Father and then the gospel blessing families, etc. Anyways so in this book we have to write how to teach each principal. First it is in English and then we translate it to Mongolian. So president has asked us to have all of this done by the time our 12 weeks is over so I am almost done with mine. I just have a few laws and ordinances that I need to do from lesson 5 and then I will be finished. But anyways I finally finished my repentance principal and its translated and even has been looked over by a Mongolian so I know its all right ;) this book is a really good idea, because it helps with the language and then it helps you really come to learn and know the principal you are teaching. Not only do you learn it but as you are thinking about what to teach regarding the principal you thing about exactly why you are teaching it and why it is important. Then you think about how it will help you investigators life. It is really cool and has helped a lot. The point of this book is to get you started with your language and then throughout your mission you improve it and continue to make it better than before. You will add scriptures and personal experiences to it and this is what helps you learn the language and be able to teach better. This was President Bensons goal for it and it has been helpful. sorry I feel like I rambled a little bit about that, my bad. I hope it all makes sense. :)

YES OTGONDELGER IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!! WHOOOOO! I am sure you can tell I am excited about that. :) Her baptism will be this Friday and I can't wait. It is such a special moment and I am so glad that I have been able to teach her since the very beginning so that makes this even more special for me! I don't know who will be performing the baptism. I think it will most likely be a member.

To answer some questions from others, I won't stay in the same place my whole mission. I will definitely move around and during the summer is when I will most likely be sent to the countryside since that is when most schools are out for break. I don't need to be stationary just because I teach English.

The next group of missionaries won't be coming until March. Their group is about the same size as our group was. We have had a few Mongolian missionaries come in but that is mostly because they are waiting for their visas so once they get them they will leave for America. Other than that we don't get mew missionaries often. We sometimes get mini missionaries but they are only here for as long as President Benson needs them to be.

So this week has been good, it has been a leaning experience for me. I realized this week that I wasn't relying on the Savior as much as I thought I was. I thought that I was, but I was thinking about it the other day and I am not. I have been praying for His help and asking for some kind of guidance but I noticed that I have been relying too much on my own abilities and what I am capable of doing. And then I realized that I was so focused on what I could do and the things that I couldn't do but this isn't about me. I need to put my confidence in the Lord and rely on his abilities because he can do all things. He overcame the world and he was able to save us all. I am learning to truly rely on him and learn what it means to place my confidence in him.


Love, Sister Kerby

January 11, 2016

This week has been great! Our investigators are improving so much! Otgondelger was telling us how she is starting to feel like the church is true! She has been reading the Book of Mormon an has read it from the beginning and she is now in Mosiah! We are planning her baptism for the 22nd of January so I pray she continues to prepare and keep the commitments we extend! It is so exciting!




Tuguldor also has come a long way! We met with
him on Saturday and he was telling us about how

he is reading the Book of Mormon as well. We only asked him to read 1 Ne 2 but he read all the way until 1 Ne 13! When we asked him about what he read to check his understanding of the scriptures he understood it pretty perferctly! He told us all about  Laman and Lemuel and Laban and Nephi and it was so neat being able to listen to him speak about what he learned and what he understood! Later he even asked and talked a little about the tree of life and had some questions regarding some of the things he read. He was so curious and had such a strong desire to learn! We were teaching him about following the prophet and the word of wisdom and when I started teaching him about the word of wisdom he actually already know the things which he was supposed to avoid and listed them before I told him about it! It was pretty cool actually. All I did was talk about how it came from Joseph Smith and then the blessings we receive from following it and then he was already prepared for everything else. He was so willing to follow this commandment like he was like of course I will. He already had a desire to follow it before we even asked. It was awesome!

Solongo and I have been praying for this and praying to have our investigators understand and gain desire to truly learn more and they are starting to! They are changing so much. Especially Tuguldor! I have noticed a huge change in him from when we first met. It is absolutely amazing how this gospel changes people and how much they are able to grow when they start applying these principles we teach into their life! The Lord truly is able to work miracles and this is His work.

The Lord always keeps his promises. When He says He will answer our prayers, He answers them. Granted it is in His time and in his way but he does answer them. This week we were able to see those answers! We were able to witness first hand these miracles occur. What a privilege it is to be a part of his great work! It took a while for us to receive our answer but we continued with our faith and continued praying for his help and He gave it to us.





Sometimes we are just asked to have patience. Like the people of Alma in Mosiah 24. They had such heavy burdens but they prayed to the Lord and he made them light. Notice though that the Lord didn't take them away. They were still there, but the made them light and gave them strength so that they could continue and be able to press forward through their trials. They submitted patiently as well as cheerfully during their trial. How often are we happy during our own trials? Oh let me think, that's easy.... Never! haha. We have trials during this life. It is just a part of what we were asked to endure when we came here. But we aren't given trials to make us sad. The whole point of this life is to have joy. Trials are her to shape us into new people and we are only asked to endue it well. Be happy during this life. "Forever is composed of nows". Don't let your nows be full of doubt or worry. Let them be full of faith and hope that t hings will work out. Focus on what brings you happiness. This life is meant to be full of joy. Take each footstep in faith and make the best of your "nows".

Sister Kerby

January 4, 2016

I understand that life can be difficult sometimes and that we don't always know why some things happen to us, but just remember that we have a loving Heavenly Father and that our loving Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. We need to trust in this plan and have faith that all will work out. Something that is always hard to keep in mind, I know this better than most, is that we will be given it in His timing and in His way. We don't always understand how things happen but our Father in Heaven knows. He knows everything and He has a reason for doing things the way that he does them. President Monson said, "He who created us and who loves us perfectly knows just how we need to live our lives in order to obtain the greatest happiness possible." Heavenly Father only wants our happiness. He has provided us with this gospel so that we may be able to receive that happiness. As we follow what we have been taught and keep the covenants that we have made and will make, be steadfast in our faith, be hopeful, and do all that is asked of us. Heavenly Father will bless us. He wants to bless us. He knows the things that we stand in need of and in His timing will it be given to us. Sometimes he just requires our faith and is testing how far are we willing to go for Him. We are given these experiences in our life to help us grow. He stretches us and sometimes he stretches close to the point where we feel we might break, but we never actually break. We are only stretched into something stronger that is able to withstand more than we were able to before. Little by little he molds us into the people he desires us to become. Don't worry if things are not working quite how you are expecting or wanting them to. Just know that they are happening the way that it is intended to and that it will work out in a way that will benefit you. As we rely on our Savior, He is able to help us overcome all things. I have developed a deep and abiding testimony of Him. I know that He lives, I know that He loves us, and I know that through Him we are able to become perfected and like our Father in Heaven. We are capable of so much more than we know. Don't look at yourself through mortal eyes, but see yourself through our Heavenly Father's. He sees us as his sons and daughters with the potential of becoming like him.

I wanted to share this with all of you as well. I know that you have hard times in your life as well, but keep looking forward with hope in the promised blessings and faith that they will be given to you. Remember all the blessings that you have received. Remember to thank our Heavenly Father for them and show your gratitude. I honestly don't think that I thank Him enough for all that I have been given. I encourage all of you especially since it is a new year now to reflect on this past year and what you have received. You will come to realize how much you have been given and have to be thankful for.

So this has been an interesting week for me. After I talked with you guys we were leaving and got on the bus to go home and I got robbed! It sucked, the day after Christmas and I get robbed. They took my new wallet that my companion gave to me, luckily it didn’t have a lot of money in it but i was super sad about the wallet: ( don’t worry i am okay. it just sucked is all. Then we were invited to a members house for new years and they live in a gert district and so they live about 30 minutes from us. We take a bus there but then we have to take a taxi up to their house because it is on a mountain and we didn’t want to walk all the way up there cause it was freezing. It had just snowed so the road was super bad. We didn't know how to get to the members home so we called her and then had her explain the directions to the driver. As he was driving us up the mountain his car kept sliding and it was not a very good car so of course it was sketchy going up this mountain in a crappy car and I am worrying we are gonna get stuck or he will hit something cause the road is so narrow. Once we got to a steep part his car wasn’t haven’t it anymore. He stopped moving and couldn’t get up the hill, he was basically just sliding around. Well after several attempts of trying to move we finally just paid him and got out. We thought her home was just at the top of the hill.... so once we climbed up there what did we see.... Nothing! He didn't even drop us off close to where she lived. Tuguldor was with us too cause we were teaching him a lesson at their home and so we were all lost. Solongo called the member and we tried figuring out where we were. We were basically walking around this mountain for almost an hour until we found there home. That was fun... haha. As we were trying to find it Tuguldor and I were just having fun in the snow and sliding down the mountain. So even though it was cold and we were lost, we definitely made the best of it. The lesson we taught went great too! We taught him the third lesson and it was amazing! I was able to speak and gave an example of faith using America as an example. I asked him if he had ever seen America and if it existed type thing and he said no but of course it exists. and I asked him how does he know and he was like he believes it does. I told him how this was faith and how even though we can’t see God, we believe in him and have faith in Him even though we can't see. It was a really cool lesson:) It was around 7:30pm when we left their home and as we are walking down this mountain it was super dark but luckily Tuguldor had his phone light on so we could see. Anyways we are walking down and this is one of those neighborhoods with the dogs that people have to guard their home so they are super mean.... so wait for it.... we are walking down and just talking and all of this sudden this dog comes around the corner and starts barking at us and running towards us! HE was freaking huge and Solongo and I were so scared. Luckily Tuguldor was with us because even though he was terrified of dogs himself he was so brave and started yelling at the dog and was trying to scare him away from us. He kept coming towards us but Tuguldor was doing kicking motions so the dog was staying away. Eventually we passed this persons home and was able to get away and the dog fortunately didn't follow us. It was scary but it was funny cause Tuguldor was yelling at the dog and saying "Dont bark at my sisters!" haha so cute. But yea those were my experiences for the week... fun!

Well this is it for the week! I love you all! Have a great week!

 

This was a bus from the mission home, they rented it so we could deliver all our gifts. Where we delivered was about 2 hours away. Not all buses look like that but close to it.

 

 

 

 

 

Surenhyy bought us some presents for new years. this was one of them. haha. I loook good i know;) That hole is by our apartment and sadly people live down there so we decided to take them some of our cake and surprise them.

Love,

Sister Kerby