Mission Call to Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission

Today we received a call from the MTC about our mission. We said we hadn't received our official papers yet (they were mailed two weeks ago), but he told us our call was to the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission. It is an office mission and we need to learn Mongolian. We've ordered the scriptures and language materials from the MTC bookstore. Then we are to have three one-hour tutoring sessions per week until we report to the MTC on April 20th. Between each tutoring session we are to study Mongolian on our own for at least two hours.

Later when the mail came, there were papers from the travel department which we need to submit in order to get a visa. We need to get some color passport-type photos, create a resume, and a write a letter to the Embassy of Mongolia. I called the mission department and asked, and they said the call was for 18 months.

At four o'clock we had a conference call courtesy of William's boss at Pricewaterhouse where we were able to tell the family at the same time where we were going. No one had guessed it would be to Mongolia.

Maintaining a Christian Attitude Toward the Stimulus Package

Looking around the internet tonight I found the following article which I thought was humorous. http://mormanity.blogspot.com/

Thursday, January 29, 2009
Maintaining a Christian Attitude Toward the Stimulus Package

So much contention is being stirred by the proposed stimulus program! Maybe most of the money is going to bureaucracy, special interests, wasteful programs, and fraud, and maybe it does look like just much more of mismanaged finances that got us into trouble in the first place, but is that any excuse for negativism? This is the time when we need to look to the teachings of the Bible for guidance (I'm using the Bad News translation):

If Congress seeketh to take away thy coat, and thy cloak, and thy chariot, and thy gold, and thy silver, and thy vineyard, and thy calves, and thy oxen, and thy home, and thy 401k, and verily all that thou hast and all that thy children might have, and verily all that thy posterity might have until seven generations, and shall seek to make thee and thy posterity into abject slaves, give also thy iPod.

Be Prepared for Tribulations to Come

Is More Government the Answer?

http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ideas/090126more.html

Happy Birthday Wendy!

Internet for the Friend Magazine

Not only do the Young Men and Young Women have the internet and widgets and downloadable MP3s at http://abrandnewyear.lds.org/index.html, now the Friend magazine also has an internet page. Read about the web page at http://www.meridianmagazine.com/churchupdate/090118friend.html.

Mission Call Letter Sent

As of Jan. 16, 2009 we see that our mission call letter has been sent. This makes a mission more real and makes me nervous. We should know where we're going by the beginning of next week.

Happy New Year!

A New Year's Celebration Website

Celeste was in this special youth presentation. At midnight on New Year's Eve it came online and Celeste played it for us. I believe the presentation is to be shown to all youth this New Year. Check it out. We haven't found Celeste in the videos yet, but I understand she is wearing a deep purple shirt. At the side of my blog is a widget so you can play music from the celebration. http://abrandnewyear.lds.org/index.html

Mission Papers

Last Sunday night the 28th Wes and I met with the stake president and he finished submitting our mission papers to Salt Lake. By Thursday the 31st the online site shows us ready for assignment. We have no idea where we'll be going, but the family is now guessing where we might be assigned.

2008 Ending on the Road to Disaster

"As 2008 draws to a close, for each of us this should be a time of cheerful season festivities and spirited anticipation for a bright new year. Regrettably, I am having a hard time with either – as I watch our great nation slowly commit economic and moral suicide." By Stephen M. Studdert. CLICK TO READ MORE.