Mongolia trip itinerary

Rick and I left on March 12 at 5:00 pm from SLC headed to LAX. We could each take two 50 lb. bags, plus one carry on bag and a purse or brief case. We pushed the limits on all pieces, but we sneaked by and didn't have to pay any extra. Courtney took us to the airport and waited around to see if we got rejected on any of our stuff, but luckily we passed and got underway. We took 3 bags full of stuff (over 150 lbs) to give to the people in Mongolia, including a brand new Dell laptop that was ordered by a church member who worked in the mission office. It was fun to shop for the items to share and to think about things the Mongolian people needed and would like.
We took 4 BYU footballs (deflated) and 14 football shirts that were donated by a friend who works with the team. We also took a basketball (inflated) and an air pump, among many other items. Luckily all our four big 50 lbs bags were checked all the way to Mongolia. We laid over a few hours in LA and boarded Korean Airlines for Seoul, Korea (a 13 hour flight.) Laid over in Seoul for about 10 hours (at their beautiful, clean, modern shopping center/airport) and finally boarded Miat Mongolian airlines that was delayed from departure for three additional hours, arriving in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 40 hours (March 14) after we locked our front door and set out on the adventure of a lifetime.
Elder Andy and the two assistants were waiting for us at the airport. It was so good to see him again after two years and 24 days. Words can't even express the emotion of seeing a beloved child who has served with all their heart. It's happened to us two other times and it is an emotion beyond explanation. Proud doesn't even begin to describe it. Elation might come close. The cold air literally took our breath away when we arrived in the airport. We knew we weren't in Kansas any more.
We stayed on the run the entire time we were there. Here is a little summary of some of the things we did:

March 15 - went to the tailors, the dress makers, the open air market, had lunch with new members (ate horse meat), visited three member families in their homes. Every home we entered (19 in all) served us their best food. It was simple food, but was prepared with so much love. More on that later. We went to Andy's first area, eating dinner at the ger of his companion's family who aren't members of the church. Visited the church building, saw where he lived and met with several members in their homes in the evening. It was FREEZING.

March 16- visited with members most of the day, had our picture taken in traditional Mongolian clothing, visited a member woman in the hospital. (note to self - don't ever get sick or require hospitalization in Mongolia.) Enjoyed dinner at the home of the mission president and his wife with another Elder from Andy's MTC district. His parents came to Mongolia to pick him up as well and it was a nice evening spend together talking about our sons and the work in Mongolia).

March 17- attended zone conference with Elder Watson of the quorum of the Seventy. Andy served as an interpreter for part of the meeting. Had lunch with all the missionaries and then left in a taxi to visit another of Andy's areas. Visited with four families and they all fed us. Went to the church were he served for many months.

March 18-left in the morning in a Land Cruiser for the country side. Saw the huge Chinggas Khan statue, the 13th century park and ended the day staying in a ger (yurt) resort for the night.

March 19- got up early and met our driver to see Turtle Rock and hike four miles to a Buddhist monastery (in the snow) returned to the mission home to shower and meet new members for Chinese food for lunch, visited members, attended a baptism service and then took the late train to Darhan, staying in a sleeper car, arrived at 3:00 am, stayed in the Kiwi hotel.

March 20-spent the day in Darhan visiting families, enjoyed lunch with two missionaries (a former companion of Andy's), walked around a lot, ate roast beef dinner with Brother and Sister Atkins from Canada - roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrot and peas, birthday cake and ice cream. It was delicious!

March 21- attended church in the Onion ward where Andy served. We were called out of the audience to share our testimonies, visited families the rest of the day and ate at every home.

March 22- picked up the guys' tailored suits, my custom designed suit, went to the market to buy souvenirs, ate Chinese food again, packed our bags and got ready to leave, attended a cultural arts program that was amazing, especially the contortionist. wow.

March 23- left Mongolia at 1:30 am, flew on Korean airlines for three hours arriving in Seoul at 4:30 am, laid over for 12 hours, flew to LAX, laid over for four hours, arrived in SLC at 4:30 pm, 38 hours after we left Mongolia, traveling back in time.