My First Post-Training Transfer - Songino - Week 26

 Dear family and friends,

It has been one crazy week here in Mongolia! Can you believe it, I am officially finished with my training and am a full-fledged missionary now? From this point forward, they could ask me to train at any point, but hopefully that won't happen too quickly. Hahah, I can't even ask a taxi to really get me from point A to B, but by the end of this transfer, I know that I am going to make a lot of progress (especially with my language). So many changes and I am with Sis. Bollwinkel as my transfer companion! We have already worked together since I arrived as she is my teaching companion, but now it is a 24/7 sort of companionship, I can foresee a lot of coke and snickers in my future because we both have the same problem--that stuff is just so delicious.

My new companion (far right)

However, before I jump ahead, it was a great last week in Baynzurk, this place is forever going to be my 'home' and hope that I will serve there again. At the beginning of the week, it was non-stop rain, flooding the streets and the ger districts. With some poor planning on our parts, my companion and I also asked one of the Senior couples to come out and visit a member who has been bedridden for a couple months; unfortunately, we didn't quite know the exact location of said ger or that there would be puddles the size of the Atlantic Ocean, but we did get some good pictures from it. After wandering around in the mud for about an hour and realizing that the first directions I was given were bad and that there was no way across a puddle to follow the second set of directions, we called it a day and went home. After that experience, I went out and bought some rain boots and learned only to invite the Seniors when I actually know where I am going. Mongolia thought it won, but we'll see next time. I was anticipating more monster rainstorms and being out in the country-ish, but I might not need them anymore. I am now serving in the hood-ish of UB.

The beginning of the rainstorm!

It's been a wet week!

These puddles were insane and so deep!

I like the people in my new ward, though! There are these three older members who have adopted my companion and I under their wing and they liked us even more because right after church, we bumped into them on the street going to visit the same member--an older sister who had fallen and hurt her hip. The roads here are so uneven here, I am not surprised whenever I hear about someone falling and hurting themselves. I have almost tripped and fallen myself dozens of times, I really should try to be more nimble. So we all went together and have won the hearts of four solid sisters and the oldest really likes me, she complemented my MOngolian writing and is taking the time to repeat herself slowly and often so that I understand her. Honestly, she has been the brightest example of compassion because many of the members are incredibly nice, but always get kind of frustrated when I cannot keep up with their conversation. I love this sister, we are going to visit her again this week and she lives the furthest in my area, so I might just feel like the Baynzurk again. We'll see. :)

Tomorrow is also the last day of my Mission President's day here before the new one comes. I wrote a letter about what I have learned under PResident Benson, so now it will be exiting to see what President Harper will teach. This is so stinkin' cool.

I love Mongolia. I love the hood(ish) and everything is all up from here.

I love you with all my heart!

Sister Olsen

Moving Day!

We celebrated our hard work with ACTUAL donuts.

My new district

These are all of the Sisters in the city who finished their 42 book.

"Get Your Hand Out of my Bag" - Week 25

Dear family and friends,

So, guess what happened this week? There was some guy who had his hand in my bag trying to pickpocket from me, luckily, I literally saw it and hit his hand away saying the above, 'get your hand out of my bag.' Do you know what made it even worse, it was a middle-aged man--probably about 40 years old--and now I have trust issues. I first thought that it was upstart teenagers that I had to be worried about, but now everyone is eligible to be a pick-pocketer, even the little old ladies. Lol, the poor guy, his hand was in the front pocket of my bag where I had just opened the zipper to pull out my bus card and he was pick-pocketing while I was getting on the bus; but there wasn't anything valuable there. It was all just a bunch of Mongolian flashcards with words like, 'repentance', 'godly sorrow', 'prayer', and the like written on them. Maybe he should have taken those cards and changed to become a better person; he also jeopardized my chapstick and I think that would have just been irritating if it was taken. I haven't really seen the Chapstick brand out here, so I am cherishing all of the ones that I have (I brought about 10 anticipating this). They do have other chapsticks, it is just not the Chapstick brand. Ah well, that was all fun, but hopefully it won't be repeated. One of the other missionaries had their wallet taken and another money out of their pocket, so foreigners beware. This is about the worst thing that will happen here.

View from a ger district. It was a stormy day where it kept raining, but look how beautiful the clouds look!

On to better things, though. This week has been amazing! So I have told you before how I am working on the English project, well, this week we had a bit of an upgrade. I was selected to be part of a small group (two companionships) to also go to a college and pitch a new idea for them as to how they could more effectively have the Volunteer Teachers help at their school. This was amazing and had concreted the idea in my mind that I finally know what I want to do when I get home, I want to pursue an MBA in Project Management. I think that Regis might offer this degree and it would be able to be fit in after work and during the classes that I want to do at home. I remember talking to Diana about how I might go back and get a second bachelors in computers, but this way seems more efficient. As a Project Manager, I would basically be doing what I am doing right now, working with groups trying to assist in completing a new endeavor, like what is happening in Mongolia with the English teachers. I love my life and am so excited to see what else I learn out here because these are some amazing experiences that are helping on every aspect of my life. 

On Wednesday, it was a day of tender mercies from the Lord. I know that He saw how we were working hard on every aspect of the day and He blessed us with efficiency and help. So the morning started by our regular studies and then my companion and I went over to the church to work on English for about an hour. By 1:30 PM, we were heading back to the University to do a second pitch on opening an English lab and explaining how it would be staffed and how the services offered would benefit the school. The pitch went amazing! I know that there are going to be great things happening in Mongolia soon!! One of the blessings was that we bumped into an LA that we were scheduled to meet with at 5 PM at here house, about 30 minutes bus ride out of the city, and she canceled on us. So, the merciful part of that was that we knew she wouldn't be there, so we did not waste time on a bus and were able to move on to a different person to meet with. 

We were kind of at a loss as who to visit, when suddenly the idea of visiting Nandaa (she is a new member who has absolutely stolen my heart), but she moved to a new Ger district and if you do not have someone guide you to their house, it is basically impossible to find people. Luckily, we called the Elders and they happened to be in the exact same part of town, going to visit someone else, but had enough time that they could get us there. Oh my heck, we are never in the same place at the same time, so this is miracle number 3 within hours. We were able to visit with her and she had the biggest smile when we got there, I know that we were there for a reason. (When I saw her yesterday at church, she gave me the biggest hug, even the kind with a squeeze because they are so happy). This worked out perfectly because where she lived allowed us enough time to get over to our next appointment without a problem.

Miracle 4 happened when we went that night to give service to an elderly couple in our ward. We went over and pulled weeds for about 2 hours, I loved it! It takes about 40 minutes to get to their house, so by the time we arrived, the sun was low and the weather was cool. We worked hard and, as we were working, the neighbor came out and he had a granddaughter from America who spoke perfect English. It sounds crazy, but after working with the students at school who move from America, they have told me how there were times they just wanted to speak English to someone and have them understand. So that is what we did, we spoke with the neighbor for a couple minutes. Not only that, but the Brother that we were helping also came out and was able to tell the neighbor why we were there (both giving service and as a missionary), since we are not allowed to proselyte, their kind of introduction is exactly what we need to meet new people. A new seed has been planted. But after the hard work, we went in and shared a quick message, and guess what, I led the discussion. Completely! Without pre-rehearsing what to say, I just went in and told them what I knew, it worked. I taught my conviction.

Do you see how tall these weeds are?!

More of my service

We were able to pound them down into this pile that we're sitting by. 

Finally, by this point it was about 9:15 and the buses stop running at 9:30 and we were still 40 minutes away from home. So we booked it to the bus stop and just HOPED that there would be one final bus. After waiting for about 8 minutes, almost ready to give up and get a taxi (which would be EXPENSIVE), a bus showed up! So we made it back to the exchange stop, by this point, we were at a bus stop that was 30 minutes walking distance from where we lived, or a 10 minute bus ride. It was 9:45 and there really shouldn't have been any buses running, but would you believe it, the minute we got off the first bus, the other EXACT bus that we needed came to the stop. This bus shouldn't have been running, but it was probably behind schedule! We were able to jump on it and get home with 1 minute to spare before the 10 PM curfew. Oh my gosh, how could you not count both of those buses as blessings?? 

Buses in Mongolia. Not the ones i was talking about above, but similar. 

This experience was the testament that I needed for the day that the Lord is in the details and that He cares about the little things in your life. So, moral of the story, be wise with your time, but trust on the guidance of the Lord. If you are doing everything with a full-purpose of heart, He will lead you along.

I love Mongolia (even with the pick-pocketing) and love being a missionary.

I love you all!

Sister Jessica Olsen

One amazing meal! (from my package)

Soup, just like at home! 

A picture of my district

First time I curled my hair in over a month! I had to memorialize it. 

Smile, it's Father's Day - Week 24

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy Father's Day! You know, if there were a policy change and we could call home three times a year, this is definitely the day that I would chose. My life is so completely blessed and amazing because of the influence of my loving and wide dad. He is one of the most wonderful people that I know! I LOVE YOU, PAPI! (note: I think Jessica is one week early in her sentiments, but that's alright! (: ) 

I got my package!

So, in other news, I have the best family and friends in the world. Yep, you are all just that amazing and wonderful. This week has been amazing in that my parents sent me a delicious (and highly coveted) box of American goodies, including my favorite cereal! Mongolia has become just a little more American for a short time. I also received a bunch of letters from members in the Laredo Branch! I think that they were probably written around the beginning of April, but they have finally made it and I loved it. This week was one of those times where it took me by surprise just how loved and supported I feel. Really, how could I have ever forgotten for even a moment? All of these good things from home led toward my great week here in Mongolia.

This week has been a busy one. With school being over, I now try to fit in random times during the day to make the English slides for the new curriculum while also trying to meet with as many people as possible and it makes for one busy week. It is great, though, because we are being blessed by having more success with meeting people and having them follow through on the appointments that we set, so our schedule is full and effective. Tuesday was probably one of the most peaceful days of my mission so far because the weather was beautiful--one of those days where the air is warm, there was a small breeze, and the sun was out, but not scorching--and my companion and I had to take a 45 minute walk to get to one member's house each way. We were kind of just chatting when, as we got closer, there was a cute herd of cows just hanging out in this valley just outside of the ger district. Then, 45 minutes later when we were starting to make our trek back after a good lesson with an investigator, the cows were gone, but in their place was a herd of horses! Oh my heck, this does not happen in Colorado!  They were beautiful and I took so many pictures, my next goal is to find a herd of camels and reindeer (this will only happen if I ever serve in the country, so keep your fingers crossed). 

Also, guess what I did on Thursday morning?? I went running, outside, in the rain-ish (it was like a light sprinkle). This was such a fun day! I had an exchange with the STL, Sister Harker (who I just love so much), and we went running before our studies and then later meetings. So, the coolest thing about this run was that I have not been outside running since about November and I was bummed because I had spent so much time last year building up my endurance to be able to jog and I thought that it was just gone, a lost talent since I wasn't using it. However, I was wrong, on Thursday I ran 2.5 miles with Sis. Harker setting a pretty fast pace and I could do it! I was winded and sweating by the end, but I can still run. Going on a mission does not mean sacrificing talents, but the Lord has a way of preserving them. (I think and hope that the same thing is going to happen for all of the time that I spent trying to learn the piano--we are discouraged from using the church building except for Sundays and English-related business, so I do not practice at all). The Lord has a way of helping and blessing the things that are important, which makes it easier to keep my focus completely on my mission. I do not need to worry about running or playing the piano (or a hundred other little concerns) because the Lord will allow everything to work together for my benefit later on, I just need to hold strongly to my faith. 

So lastly, I had two really nice comments given to me, both about smiling. The fist was one that an LA said after our lesson, she said, 'your smile makes me want to smile' and the second was said to my companion at church yesterday, 'she is always smiling.' This makes me so happy! I love the people here, I want them to know it, so now I know that even with the language being a little crazy, they know that I want to spend my time with them. I love what I am doing. I love Mongolia.

Some days are harder than others, but all in all, every day is a good day in this beautiful country of the blue sky.

I love you all!

Sister Jessica Olsen

From my peaceful Tuesday

Look how bright it is! This was taken at 11pm. 

Lunch time!

My day with Sister Harker! 

My box full of american comforts! And my favorite cereal!

Country of the big blue sky!

Conference & Cows - Week 23

Dear family and friends,

Hello! So this week has been a lot of fun and warm, rainy, cloudy, sunny, and just another wonderful week. I was walking around outside earlier this week, blinded by the light bouncing off the passing cars, breaking out into a bit of a sweat when it hit me how amazing it is being here in Mongolia. Here I was, sweating, IN MONGOLIA, getting ready to head out to do service for an elderly couple in our ward--there is never going to be a time like this in my life again. I love it. I love that my only purpose is to service and teach everyone who wants to learn--I don't even seek them out in this mission because we do not proselyte--I do not have to worry about anything else. Lol, well, besides to small worries like directions to houses and trying to find my latest snack (Russian Snickers are ridiculously delicious). However, not to put it lightly, I work as hard as I can every single day. I seek after those who have become inactive over time, I ask members for referrals, and I serve others in whatever capacity is needed in order to build trust and friendship. I am also trying to become the absolute best English teacher possible because the better that I fulfill this assignment, the better I serve the Lord. If my school is happy, I am doing my job.

Speaking of which, my classes are officially over! I miss them already! There was the slight moment of freedom, but those buggers have stolen my heart. So now, instead of teaching for 12 hours a week, I work on upgrading the curriculum for 12 hours a week. It is all give and take a little, but I am eagerly looking forward to classes again in September.

This week we have also had a Zone Training and yours truly was asked to speak. Oh my goodness, do you want to hear the coolest thing about this? I wrote the talk by myself, translated it by myself, then had my companion check it and there were only minimal changes that were made. Then, when it came time to present, I remember becoming very nervous for the first minute--I love public speaking, so this was extremely uncharacteristic of me. However, after reading the first line, it hit me, I know that what I am saying is true, not only that, but it is also everything that I believe. I wasn't just giving a talk, I was telling others what I know and love. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the loving message that we share. So as I spoke, my courage grew and I could see the parts where my vocab was a little crazy, but I could also see heads nodding in agreement, in order for others to agree, they had to understand. Oh my heck, they understood me. I still credit the Spirit because He will take the message to their hearts. At the conference, though, we spoke about the Law of the Harvest and giving yourself a break. Every day, you simply need to wake up and try your hardest to do good, regardless of the results and returning time frame, then trust God that all things will work in your benefit. Just like a seed does not sprout into a tree overnight, the same is for all aspects of life. Instant gratification is not real nor lasting, so patience really is an important virtue to learn. It was a great conference!

Later in the week, we went out to an LA's ger and had a fun dinner and lesson, building that friendship over and over again. I love this family (I think that I sent a picture of them last week)! On the way to catch the bus, we ran into a heard of calves! Oh my heck, baby cows!! Then, at the bus stop, there was a herd of cows that kept walking back and forth on the road, they kept bringing traffic to a stop. One thing that I love about Mongolians is that you can see their compassion when it comes to stray animals. They do not run over stray animals, so the traffic will stop for dogs and cows--I don't know if that makes sense, but they treasure life. I think that this is more of the Buddhist roots that run deep, but I love how much they love animals. They eat them still and nobody likes the stray dogs (so you throw rocks at them to get them to stay away--even I have carried rocks with me for the random dog that comes charging at you, luckily, I haven't really experienced that yet), but they do not hurt or kill for fun. That just goes to show the love that is within them. 

So between the cows and the conference, this has been a very love-filled week. I love being here and until I can say exactly how I feel, I show it through service. It is a great way to love.

So, to end, I love you too!

With all my heart,

Sister Jessica Olsen

A New Stake in Mongolia - Week 22

Dear Family and Friends,

Do you want to hear the most exciting news of the week?! There are now two stakes in Mongolia because our District met the qualifications to become a Stake and this is AMAZING, the blessings of a temple are only coming closer and closer, I am so excited for all of the people out here whose lives will be blessed. It has definitely stirred inside of me the good news of the Gospel: that families can be together forever and that God knows and loves each one of us very much. Our Savior knows every happy and sorrowful moment in our lives and we are never alone without comfort, the Atonement is the difference. I am overwhelmed with how happy I am about this, my mission has only just started here (or so it feels) and I already would give the people whatever help I can in order to help in any small way. So I will make this declaration now: I am going to continue to work every single day and not be discouraged because this good news needs to be shared. I am so humbled by how good the people are here.

This week has been another great week in Ulaanbaatar, the weather is lovely, the birds have been chirping, and I have only had to pull out my heaviest jacket for one day; so I have nothing to complain about. Except, I do not have hot water in my apartment anymore!! That is right, the water temperature goes from a nice cool when you turn the faucet on to a frigid frost-bite feeling of cold, it is like they are pulling the water straight from a glacier; this is making showers very interesting. So now, I am basically 'glamorously camping' in my apartment where I have to bring three pots of water to boil for the water source and my shower has become the equivalent of those three pots of water and a mug. I was going to take a picture of the pots, but I forgot, so I will send that next week. I have also decided to never say 'glamorously camping' because there is nothing glamorous about it. I have learned, though, that the freezing cold water makes for a great rinse on my hair because my hair has been extremely shiny this week--look at that, I found the silver lining. Maybe there is a little bit of glamour in it all.

I am only going to teach one more English day on Tuesday and then I will be done until September, this kind of breaks my heart. I really do love the students that I teach and will miss them. So every class we begin with a song (this is a really great way to get everyone to work on pronunciation loudly) and we picked, 'You are my Sunshine', it was really fitting. I don't know if the students know just how much I love them, they are wonderful, talented, a complete handful, they make me eat chocolate at the end of hard days to cope, but I love them. I need to take pictures of all of the older classes next time so that I will have more to share. Again, next time I see them, hopefully I will be speaking better Mongolian (I never use it in the classroom, though) and they will be able to notice that I still really like teaching them. So, in the meantime, I will also work away on my project to have an upgraded curriculum for the next school year. 

Also, guess what I did this Saturday? I did some good ol' gardening outside and was able to use a power tool--I felt like an addict because I miss all of my tools at home. I loved building things with my dad like the planters or helping to just make something random like a wheelchair ramp--speaking of which, we need to make a matching planter when I get back! It was a really fun morning of hauling dirt around, manure, and falling in love with the idea of making a greenhouse and growing all sorts of plants next year. It started quite a few ideas in my head and I think I am going to try to grow a mini herb garden in my apartment right now, I just need to gather all of the stuff (this is a lot harder to do out here because there isn't a convenient Home Depot to just run to for the supplies, so it might take me a while, speaking of which, I miss Home Depot.). I love giving service. 

So all in all, life is good and I love Mongolia. I love this work and am enjoying ever single moment of it.

I love you,

Sister Jessica Olsen

Investigators! - Week 21

Dear Family and Friends,

Can I just tell you, blessings happen when you do everything that you can in order to win the trust and friendship of the ward that you are serving in, they open up their homes and introduce you to people who are interested in learning about the Gospel and/or have become inactive over time. Without the help of the members, I would literally have nothing to do because I cannot proselyte. This is such a blessing though, because everyone that I meet is already prepared to hear what I have to say to some degree or other. I love my ward that I am serving in and the people that I am meeting. 

Also, I have discovered what a blessing it is to be teaching in Mongolian and not English--as much as I thought that I would never say this! My companion and I were invited to an investigator's house this week and she is an English teacher at the Medical University, so we could teach in both English and Mongolian, something that is not very common. She had a really good comprehension and was more than willing to ask questions, it was a cool experience. However, when I teach in Mongolian, there are only a limited amount of words that I can say and sentences that make sense, so when I say something, I have to make it count, not only that, but they really have to listen to understand what I am saying. In this particular lesson with the mix of Mongolian and English, I realized that I do not know how to teach simply in English, as odd as that sounds. In English, I phrase things too complicated and I am not satisfied with the simpler way that I would have phrased things in Mongolian--in other words, I wanted to become the teacher and leave no room for the Holy Spirit. This is not good and caused me to stumble over my own pride that seemed to grow with every English word that I spoke. At the end of the lesson, I knew that it was a blessing from Heavenly Father that I have been put in Mongolia; I love it here and it helps me remember how to be humble. This wonderful investigator is amazing and will be great at learning, but I am thankful that I have the opportunity to try in my native language, but as it turned out, she lived outside of our boundaries, so she was passed to another set of missionaries. 

Otherwise, this week has been really good! School gets out next week and then I won't have any English classes to teach until September. However, do you want to hear some really cool news?! I was selected to be part of a small group of missionaries who are going to re-vamp the current curriculum that we are using in order to make it a better learning experience for the students and easier for the missionaries to teach from. This is going to be SO STINKIN' COOL!! I am stoked about this, it is going to take 12 hours from the week for the rest of the summer, so it is going to be the equivalent of what I am already teaching, but this is going to be a rich learning experience. We are going to go over about 4 different curriculum schedules, each having about 35 lessons, and each lesson has about 30-40 parts to it, where we will take the current information and evaluate the usefulness of the information, layouts, and associated activities. (This is getting me back into the mindset that I want to get my MBA in Project Management so that I can professionally complete projects like this, that would be really neat to do.). What I love even more about this assignment is that not only am I going to basically learn the curriculum inside out, it is also a good opportunity to learn how to make the curriculum so that I will be able to make one when I go home. I haven't forgotten about my budding commitment for the English class.

This week has been busy and we have new investigators, so it has been good. I love this work.

I love you all!