Mongolian people

What is it about the humble people of the world? What is it about their ways and their routines that I love so much? What is it about their natures and their courage, their strength and their determination that I value so much? They are better than the rest of us in so many ways. Their pictures should be on billboards and their stories told and retold for the rest of us to learn from. I want to be like them. I want to live life without so many material encumbrances and possessions and to rely on the Lord in all things because there is nothing else to rely on. I want to have the kind of faith that they have and show the kind of humility and love that they show in just how they live life. They are truly the elect of God's children. Most live in far off places, in humble surroundings with lives that are harder than we can even imagine. They live with one foot in the grave most of the time, never knowing if or when the next challenge will come and how they will overcome it, or if they will survive it. A lot of the Mongolians we met only had enough food for that very day (although their next meal was walking around outside of their ger), enough heat for the next few hours and shelter that is made of lots of layers of wool forming the sides of their ger. They have about three or four changes of clothes, sometimes less. And yet, most are happy. Most are strong and determined. Their challenges have made them tough. They are true and full of faith, strength and courage.

Sometimes I think that it is so unfair that so few have so much in the world when so many have so little. Going to Mongolia taught me many things, but one great lesson that I was reminded of again is that we Americans are sometimes the poor of the world in regards to what really matters. So often, we are poor in spirit, in values and in character. The Mongolians, the Peruvians, the Argentines I have known, and many others are the rich ones in the world, because many rely completely on God. They are rich in spirit and in the end, that is what really matters. At the end of their lives they can take with them that richness of spirit and testimony while the rest of us find that all the material possessions we've accumulated count for nothing. Hopefully we're building up stores of a lasting nature as well. It seems like our challenge is to survive our wealth, our overabundance, our materials possessions and to not let them ruin us. While the Mongolians we met were battling just for the necessaries of life, we are battling the overabundance of life. Their challenges and our challenges are polar opposites, but in the end, they are all challenges. It's how we face them and what we do with the choices we have that matter in the end. Will we stay true to our beliefs and hold the line under both extremes? Can we learn from each other? Can we help each other? Can we value the good in all people?
I love humble, sweet people and I loved meeting so many of the Mongolian people Andy grew to love. We visited 19 small homes, either gers or other humble homes. One or maybe two homes came close to the standards of living that we enjoy. Yet, the people were gracious, kind, loving and they threw open their doors and invited us in to their homes. No worries about it being spotlessly clean, well decorated or organized. They were just happy that we would come. Gracious hosts, unworried by unimportant things. They gave us the best they had and we appreciated it so much because we knew it came from the heart.

Make your own digital slideshow

Mongolian culture

I'm almost finished with my Mongolian overview. I've saved the best for last - THE PEOPLE. Stayed tuned. But for now, check out some of their unique cultural offerings. On the last night of our stay we attended a show of traditional Mongolian singing, throat singing, dancing, musical performance and watching an amazing contortionist. Mongolians are very talented and you won't see any of their stuff done by Americans. We don't have the genes I guess. Amazing stuff!

Check out this You Tube link for Mongolian throat singing.

And this link for Mongolian contortionists. Get ready to squirm.

Mongolians love Chinggis Khaan

Mongolians LOVE Chinggis. The airport is named after him, the nicest hotel in the city is named after him and a whole bunch of other things. They finally passed a law that businesses had to have permission to use the name of Chinggis Khaan in order to control its widespread usage. He is like a George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and George Patton all wrapped up in one.






Chinggis Khaan was a very important leader and conqueror in the 13th century in the Mongol Empire. We bought some t-shirts that named him "man of the millennium." He conquered much of Asia, some of Europe and part of the Middle East during his reign. The Mongolian people hold him in very high regard. He was a tough guy and he lead a group of tough people. There are no whiners in Mongolia. I was also struck by some of the similarities between Native Americans and early Mongolians. They even lived in tee pees and had similar clothes evidently. We visited his HUGE statue out in the middle of nowhere and also went off roading to the remote 13th century village where they have built a settlement to reenact what it was like back in the day. It was amazing to look out over the vastness of the wild tundra and try and imagine what it would have been like to live back in those times. We went in a bunch of huge Gers to see what life would have been like, tried on some baller clothes, ate authentic food and rode a horse and camel. It was the Mongolian version of Williamsburg. It was an amazing day to learn more about the life and times of Chinggis Khaan. What a man!

General conference, Easter and two birthdays all in one!

Rick and I have been home alone again for a few days since everyone left to go back to their own homes. Today was a good day. We absolutely loved listening to conference yesterday and today. It filled our buckets to the brim and to over flowing. We were moved to tears more than once. It was so nice to just concentrate on the messages and the music and to feel the spirit and to discuss the possible applications of the things we learned. I think the Spirit will lead and guide us to better our lives if we so choose.
Little Ellie was singing this song as she was playing the other day before they left to go home "Follow, the Prophet, Follow the Prophet, Follow the Prophet, don't go astray. Follow the Prophet, Follow the Prophet, Follow the Prophet, he knows the way." She is only two years old and already she knows who to follow and why. So sweet!
We had some fun Easter activities before Jordan and the girls left to go home on Friday with Andy helping to drive them. We had FHE and dinner with Dave and Courtney at their home and dyed Easter eggs earlier in the week. Then we had an egg hunt in the front yard in cold weather a few days later. It was fun to be with the girls and enjoy doing some activities together as a family.
Claire celebrated her 28th birthday while she was here visiting. It was great to have her here while Mom was also in town and all her grandparents could be in attendance at her party. Happy Birthday dear Claire. We all love you!
Jake celebrated his 31st birthday today, on Easter Sunday. Dave and Courtney, Andy, Jordan and Jake and their family were all together today for Easter, conference and to celebrate Jake's birthday. Dave flew down for a MBA interview at the local university, Courtney went to help her sister who just had a new baby, and Andy drove Jordan and the girls home. How nice that they could all be together for a few hours! Later today we picked Dave up at the airport and drove him to the home of Rick's brother Doug where he got to eat his second Easter Sunday meal of ham, cheesy potatoes, salad, and other good stuff with all of us.
It's been a wonderful day. We're so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives, for good children, grandchildren and in-law children. We are very fortunate and we acknowledge the hand of God in our lives.
You can click on each picture in the Smilebox to enlarge and also watch the little video of the egg hunt!

Personalize your own digital scrapbooking design

Mongolian cuisine

This picture shows a typical Mongolian kitchen that is located in a ger. They usually have an electrical wire coming into the home which lights a single bulb, the TV and a small refrigerator. They haul their water in daily using a large plastic or metal container (as see on the right) and they use that to wash their dishes, their clothes and themselves. The small little sink seen in the picture has a small container above it. This can be filled with water to create a small stream of water for washing. The dirty water is collected below the sink in another container and is discarded. The homes have a central stove for heat and for cooking. Some also had a one burner electrical unit (as shown above) but most just use the top of the stove for cooking (just like our grandparents and parents did back in the day.) They usually steam their food in a large container placed over hot water. I observed that they have no counter space. Can you imagine having no counter space in your kitchen? They use slates of wood placed on chairs or some other surface and then they put those wooden boards away when not in use. Since space is at a premium, I thought this was ingenious!
They buy their bread since they don't have stoves to bake anything. They do make a sort of skillet bread though that was very good.
Elder Russell M. Nelson and his wife Wendy visited this ger when they toured Mongolia. The widowed sister and her family are faithful members of the church. Her son was one of Andy's companions. Andy spoke of the young man last Sunday who needed a kidney transplant. The young woman shown above is his sister and she donated a kidney to her brother. We heard from the mission president that the surgery went well and that both are recovering well. Such good news!
The rest of the pictures show some of the meals we were served along the way. Most were good and we could always find something to eat. Rick and I didn't enjoy the taste of mutton in the bodes, but Andy gobbled down anything they put in front of him. He was always very sweet and complimentary of the cooking and appreciative of their efforts in sharing their food with us. Again, such wonderful humble people offering the best they had. I was so touched many, many times.











Everywhere we went, the Mongolian people served us food. The would start by giving us a hot cup of water or a cup of hot milk. Then they would fill a small table in front of us with all sorts of traditional Mongolian dishes. They were so kind and generous and we knew they were giving us the best they had to offer with love and friendship. They often ate with chop sticks, but would offer us forks if needed.
Mongolians eat simple food. They are proof that you can get use to eating what you have available. Their children also eat a lot of meat. They are also resourceful and proof that a person or culture will eat just about anything if they get hungry enough.
They are BIG meat eaters. We saw a sign that said: "Meat is for man, vegetables & grass are for animals." They are big believers in this motto. They eat A LOT of meat. They pretty much eat the entire animal, whether it be a sheep, a goat, a horse, a cow or a camel. The especially eat a lot of mutton since it is abundantly available. Like many other cultures (we also observed this in Peru and Argentina) they eat all parts of the animals, including all the parts we throw away like the innards, tongue, head and such. I didn't see any seafood and because they aren't a coastal country, I don't think they eat hardly any seafood. Why would they when they have millions of grazing animals just out their back doors? I tried horse and also had some tongue.
The growing season in Mongolia is very short, hence, they can't grow very much food on their own. They do grow potatoes, onions, cabbage and carrots, but must import all fruits and other more exotic vegetables. These imported food items are available, but they are expensive as you can imagine. I didn't see anything but a cabbage salad, and didn't see any lettuce until we ate dinner at the Mission President's home one night and Sister Andersen served us a green salad. So, the resourceful Mongolians make do with what they have. They also have flour and with that flour they made different varieties of bread and use the flour to made bodes, which is the main food items we were served in about 15 of the 20 homes we visited. They are the little round ball dumplings you can see in many of the pictures. The meat mixtures in the center can be made up of any combination of ingredients, even surprise ingredients like stomach, intestine and even worse things that I won't mention. Andy, always the trooper, ate it all!
The video below, shows the process in making the little bode dumplings that are seen on many of the tables. I think this sister was very skilled in making the bodes just right.