Yet another Testimony of the Power of Music

A really cool thing happened this week! Last week, Sister Bottorff and I auditioned to sing the duet "Coming Home" for one of the devotionals at the MTC. We were asked to sing for the missionary departing devotional on Sunday for those missionaries who are leaving the MTC this week. It was so cool! The spirit filled the whole room.

Hansen - Bottorff

After we finished, because we are not departing this week, we snuck out the side door so we could go to choir. Sister Bertasso (2nd counselor of the MTC presidency wife) met us in the hall. We expected her to just thank us and send us on our way, but she surprised us instead! She said "President Burgess (MTC president) has never done this before..." she went on to say that as soon as we started singing, he leaned over and said that we have to sing at the MTC devotional tonight. She tried to argue saying we hadn't done a sound check, the media people aren't prepared for it, etc. He said, doesn't matter, they have to sing at the devotional tonight. We were speechless! So we did, that very same night performed "Coming Home" for the entire MTC, and what a wonderful experience it was. Yet another testimony of the power of music. The following day at lunch, an older man came up to us at lunch and said "I am the Senior missionary coordinator for the MTC, and I have been to every devotional, and last night was the best I've ever heard." Thank you so much.

This is a photo in a hallway that we love, a missionary in Mongolia surrounded by little Mongolian children. Taken in 1999 I think....

We also got our new name tags this week! Our MTC name tags our last names are in English, but on our new ones they are in Cyrillic so the Mongolians can read it. Pretty cool!

So fun to see Soeur Jackson (from Nevada, headed to Paris) at the MTC! (Our dads are SCUBA buddies)

We also began our ESL teacher training (English as a second language). We'll be doing online courses for the next 2 weeks, then our last week in the MTC we will be over the ELC evaluating other teachers and teaching our own classes. We are expected to be the best English teachers in Mongolia. Because of us, we are giving these people in Mongolia the opportunity to have a better life. Mongolia is such a unique mission because it is the only one in the world where teaching English is actually part of our mission call. The more I learn about it, the more I can see the Lord working in all of the little details.

Here's a snippet from my study journal last week: Ether 12:4. The waters of the world are deep and turbulent. The only way for us to not drown in it's depths is to have a firm Hope in Christ. To have hope that this life will get better, no matter how harsh the storm.
If I have learned anything in the MTC it is that Satan targets our vulnerabilities, or the "chinks in our armour" so to speak. But with Jesus Christ as our chain mail, our anchor in the hurricane, we can overcome all the sad and hard things of the world. We can even overcome Satan. (He doesn't even have a body, how much power can he actually have?)

I was reading back through my journal from my first couple weeks at the MTC, and found this little doodle on the bottom of a page. I remember this being a particularly rough day, and feeling quite low, and thinking to myself, "Ok God, I'm all in now. Do with me what you will. I'll just move my feet to wherever you say. I'm yours."

I forgot to tell you about the First Vision thing. Our teachers challenges us 2 Wednesdays ago to have it memorized by the next Wednesday. Well, I worked hard and had the whole thing memorized on Sunday! Then I put it into action and used it during a lesson with an investigator that week. It was awesome to be able to say it to them instead of having them read out of a pamphlet. Really cool experience.

This is for my best friend Rachel Hogan!! It says "Return with Happiness" (because I don't know how to say honor...) Sister Hogan, I love you!!

Thanks for all the love and prayers,


Хайртаи,
Ханьсэн Эгч

^--turns out I've been spelling my own name wrong this whole time. I found that out when I got my new name tag. Mongolian is hard. But also cool.

Last temple walk with all the Sisters in our zone. The Cambodians left early Monday morning, and we already miss them. Left to right: Woon, Powell (Thailand) Olsen (Mongolia) Hall, Chantacoon, Lines (Cambodia) Guild, Bottorff (Mongolia) Hoeft (Thailand) yours truly, Yang (Thailand) Gallahad (Cambodia).