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| Khovd from the air |
Training a new FH
Consultant. We met with Altanbileg, a bilingual, young single adult. He was
called to be a Family History Consultant in the Khovd Branch.
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| Darlene with Altanbileg |
We met him in UB shortly after are arrival in Mongolia. He
speaks Spanish, French and English. He
loves to practice his Spanish with me as there are few Spanish speakers around.
And vise-versa.
Fortunately for us, he
moved back to Khovd to be with his family for the summer and school year as he
prepares for graduation from college.
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| Gankhuyag in denim coat and his 13 year old son behind him, Elders Batbileg, Khash-Erdene and Monkhsaikan (standing) |
Also one of the bright English speaking
missionaries, Khash-Erdene, has been assigned to Khovd. He has a delightful,
outgoing personality and is a real resource to us as long as he is assigned to
the Khovd area. He has already helped us register members in Darkhan earlier
this summer just before he entered the mission field.
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| Elder Zolbayar and Branch missionary eating after completing a service project |
Additional duties and
hospitality. We spent Friday night,
most of the day Saturday and Sunday for a few hours after church helping
Altanbileg sign members into Family Tree. We spoke in church - Darlene in
Mongolian.
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| The Farmers, Nara and Gankhuyag |
The Branch President had us and the four missionaries over for
dinner on Sunday afternoon.
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| Standing: Elders Batbileg, Khash-Erdene, Zulbayar - in front: Gankhuyag and Elder Monkhsaikan |
The Branch President Gankhhuyag and his wife Nara
raise chickens, geese and turkeys in their compound.
They and their children
are preparing to go to the temple in January.
The hospitality was wonderful as are the people in Khovd. They
still greet foreigners with warmth and the youth and children love to practice their
English.
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| Our Sunday dinner |
This was just prior to an All-Mongolia direct broadcast to
all church units by the Mission President as he and others introduced a 90
day Book of Mormon reading program to the members.
All members (including the
senior couples) are being challenged to finish the Book of Mormon before the
beginning of Tsaagan Sar, a national
holiday that begins with the lunar New Year, Feb. 2, 2014.
Preparation Day activity with
two of the Branch Presidency and two missionaries.
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| Mongolia's Great Wall |
We drove to the wall
built by the Mongolians as a barrier against the Chinese in the 17th
century. This is Mongolia’s “Great Wall” to keep the Chinese invaders out.
It
isn’t nearly as big or glamorous as the Great Wall in China but a historic
monument to the spirit of the Mongolian people as they attempted to resist
Chinese occupation.
Several monuments in Khovd commemorate the great leaders of
this era as they revolted or led armies to preserve or restore Mongolian independence.
Paintings in Khovd Museum
Overlook. We went to an overlook of Khovd though the view was marred
by early morning pollution from coal burning fires in the ger districts.
We then visited a natural springs area and the Boyant River
that runs by Khovd.
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| Visiting the springs |
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| On a bridge - a layer of smog in the background |
Museum tour. This was followed by a visit to the Khovd provincial museum
where we had a guided tour. One of the highlights was three replicas of cave paintings located about 50 km south of Khovd. The originals have been marred by graffiti so this was special.
One of the
highlights was seeing a tapestry with Mongolian family records preserved in
Mongolian script.
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| Close up view |
Khazak dining. We stopped at a Khazak café in the public market - our third
meal there during our stay in Khovd -
for an early lunch.
The owners of the café are investigating the church. The food
was some of the best we have eaten in Mongolia.
They cook the ribs for several
hours prior to serving them – making the meat soft and delicious. And the price
was right!
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| Outside the public market were wagon loads of cow dung for sale to heat gers in the winter |
A monastery visit. On the way to the airport, we stopped at a Buddhist
monastery where I was able to get a few pictures.
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| Symbols of Buddhist dieties - the elephant, monkey rabbit and pidgeon |
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| Giant sheep ankle bones |
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| Buddhist scriptures - golden scrolls |
Our nomadic adventure in Mongolia is drawing to a close. On the flight back I
couldn’t resist few more pictures of Western Mongolia.
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| Edge of Black Water Lake |
This was our last
training trip outside of UB for this calendar year. Maybe it will be our last
big trip as we will try to preserve next year’s Family History travel budget
for the missionary couple who will replace us after we leave in April.
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| Notice the cultivated land near the top of the picture |
