Christmas Concert, piano lessons, and a needed break from teaching English

Christmas concert. This week was highlighted by the annual Christmas Concert. Last year it was performed at the Circus – a rented public auditorium and advertised broadly to the community.

This year the decision was made to hold the concert at the Bayanzurgkh building and split it into two performances – one for the District and one for the Stake members. Members would invite friends to attend with them.

Our good friend, PuuJee, had a major contribution

Because of a mix up on times, we missed the first performance but were able to attend the second one on Sunday afternoon. We got there early to get good seats and to be able to take pictures of the event from a good location.

Love of music. Mongolians love and have special gifts for music. The choir had been in rehearsal since October. They prepared a full range of Christmas carols, pieces from Handel’s Messiah, and light-hearted Christmas music.

Curtain call with guests

Some of the performance was in English and some in Mongolian. The English was completely understandable as if performed by an American choir. It was an hour and a half of Christmas songs sung to perfection. The venue was an improvement from last year when the sound system and acoustics left something to be desired.

 

After the closing prayer, the choir performed the Hallelujah Chorus. A little Down’s Syndrome girl from the front row walked up and inserted herself between two choir members and proceeded to sing along with the choir. The moment was absolutely precious.


She fit right in

Concert afterglow. After the concert, we mingled and took pictures with the performers and filled special requests from members for special group pictures.

Unur Ward members in attendance

Unur Ward Bishop and family member

The atmosphere was joyous as friends got together and celebrated with choir members. Here are a few snapshots from that scene.

Ourselves and our daughter's converts - Ulziika, Naranchimeg, and PuuJee

Tuvshinbayar and his fiancé, Bolmaa

Piano Teaching. Though English teaching stopped for the Christmas and New Year’s break, Darlene’s piano teaching kept going.

Enkhjin, next to Darlene, was baptized three hours later

One of her students, Enkhjin, was baptized into the church the same day as her lesson.

Buyanzaya, a gifted student, was preparing to accompany eight Christmas numbers at church and needed some extra attention.

Buyanzaya had a two hour lesson that night

We also caught up on some shopping and personal errands during this break time. We had one dinner out with a few of the senior couples.

Darlene, the Stewarts, Gardners (backs to camera) and the Woods

Mongolian winter? The weather is around 20 degrees below zero or more on some days but is bearable because of layering up. The smoke in the atmosphere is definitely unpleasant and seems much worse than last winter. As far as Mongolian winter in concerned - so far, so good!  



Merry Christmas everyone!