February 29, 2016

Snu!

So to answer your questions from last week! Our schedule is just like any other missionaries. We are out until 9pm teaching and if we are teaching a lesson then we just have to be home by 9:30. It doesn't really matter if it is cold outside, we still have to go out and meet people. Even though it can be freezing at times, it really isn't that bad. We are able to do it. We don't go door to door. We can't do any of that. When we aren't teaching English then we teach our investigators, new members, less actives, or we go visit the members. So basically our studies are from 8 to 11 because we also have an hour for language and then we eat lunch and then we are able to start our day and the people I listed previously are how we fill our days. We have a lot of people to teach here especially in our ward right now. We are serving in the Han-Uul Ward and there is so much potential here! We are both so excited!

 

Sis Roo & Sis Kerby

So I am sure you are wondering who my new companion is.... So Sister de Ruyter (aka Sister Roo) is my new companion! I am so happy! She is awesome! She is the one in that picture that I sent home before who lived in the apartment with us when I was in Songino. She is from LA and guess what she is also DUTCH! I couldn't remember if I told you that before! But yea she is dutch and her family even makes those muisjes that we love so much! It is seriously perfect! We actually just made toast with cheese and jam on it this morning!! How great is that?! All my past companions thought I was so weird and thought it was gross that I did that! But Sister Roo understands:) She knows whats good! Anyways, I love her and I know this is going to be a great rest of the transfer. I am just sad that I only got her for half the transfer because this coming transfer is when the new missionaries called to Mongolia from America are coming so she probably will be training so I will most likely get a new companion. Sister Bollwinkel and I were talking though and were saying how awesome it would be for us to be companions this next transfer! It will be weird not being the new missionaries anymore but I am excited to see the new missionaries.

So this week was really hard, but even though it was hard, it actually ended up being the best week ever! Sister Roo and I have been able to grow a lot being together. I think that this companionship was exactly what both of us needed at this time. We have already, cried together, laughed together, been weird together, but most importantly we have been able to support each other. She is a great missionary and I look forward to the things that I am going to learn from her.

 

I realized this week that I am truly okay with where I am at right now. I keep having this perfect image of who I want to be in my head that it makes it really hard for me when I realize I am not perfect. It is so frustrating when we want so badly to be the best and then we end up falling short somewhere along the line. But this week I realized that I don't need to be perfect, I just need to keep trying and not give up. We had an experience this week that helped us realize that we can do this. Our first lessons that we taught together were AWFUL! haha like they were bad. We were both trying to figure out how the other one taught and try to know when we were passing it to each other. We had some awkward silences and our last lesson we both didn't even understand what Badamgarav was saying to us. It was hard. We are each other’s first American Companion so we are used to when we don't understand our companion will jump in and help us and talk to them and then after we would be able to hear about it. Sooo with us... that didn't happen. haha. I laugh about it now but during the time is sucked and we were both just like what are we doing?! It was really hard but then on Saturday we were teaching Battumur a new member and his grandma, badamgarav, (the same lady) and this lesson ended up being great. It was just like the scripture in D&C that talks about how both understand one another and walk away edified. It wasn't a perfect lesson of course. We didn't say everything perfectly BUT they understood us and even helped us with our pronunciation at times. It was actually funny because sister Roo was trying to say purpose in Mongolian and she couldn't say it and they kept trying to help her but she eventually got it. It just made me realize that we will never be perfect at the language but we are going to be able to at least teach the gospel and that is the most important thing. We taught that lesson simply and it ended up being the best lesson ever.

This experience was definitely one of those assurances from the Lord. Just like in Alma 58:10-11 when they talked about assurances. This was one of those moments. He was showing us that we really can do this! I am so thankful for the experiences that I am having here and for all that I have been able to learn here. Even though it can be hard at times, to me the experiences and things I have witnessed have made it all worth it. Last week we had two baptisms and this week we have badamgarav getting baptized. Getting our investigators to this point is what it is all about. We are helping bring them closer to their Savior and there truly is no better work than that.

I wish I could send my pictures that I took but of course the computer that I am at, the USB port doesn't work so I will have to send them next week!

I hope you are all doing well! I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Kerby

Oh I am also going to be sending an "Only in Mongolia..." every week so you can look forward to that:) Sister Roo and I decided to start this!

"Only in Mongolia would your water boiler get so hot that it ended up melting to the power cord!!"

Yes this happened to us this week and it sucked:( It was our only one so we had to go to the store and buy a new one. Plus our air filter broke and we are still waiting for that to be fixed. Let's just say it has been a fun couple of days. haha. I look forward to our many more adventures together!