Friday, January 30, 2009

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.

5 comments:

Celeste said...

I was super tired and taking a nap, but when Hannah told me we were going to find out where you are going, I jumped out of bed and ran upstairs. I'm not tired anymore :)

Joan said...

Great to hear from you Celeste.

Bonnie said...

I'm so excited for you!

John & Marjorie said...

I think that is so cool! Knowing nothing about Mongolia, it's been fun looking up information on the website. I found this Mongolian tourism website which gives some really fuuny tips for travelers. (I posted them on my blog, but you might enjoy looking at the website.)

http://www.mongoliatourism.gov.mn/

I also thought we would make Mongolian BBQ this week in honor of Mom and Dad. I found this recipe online and have no idea if it's any good, but it looks like it might be, so here it is . . .

What is Mongolian Barbecue? Originating in China's Shantung Provine, Mongolian Barbecue was adopted by Genghis Kahn of Mongolia in the 13th Century. Lore tells us the Kahn's soldiers would place meat and vegetables on top of their metal shields and cook over their campfires.

The aroma would cause their enemies surrender without a fight. Using wood, natural gas or hot coals to heat the cast-iron grill, chefs have been creating delicious meals for centuries. Smell the mouth-watering aroma of freshly grilled meat and vegetables and you will understand how this tasty dish helped Genghis Kahn conquer China.


Mongolian Beef A La House Of Hong
2 ts soy sauce
1 ts red wine (chicken broth and cranberry juice are both substitutions for red wine according to a website I looked up)
1/2 lb beef flank steak, sliced thin
4 ts salad oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 lb green onions, cut into small pieces
1 ts white vinegar
3 ts brown sugar
1 ts ground black pepper
1 ts sesame oil

Combine the soy sauce and wine. Add the flank steak. Marinate 30 minutes. Heat the salad oil in a frying pan until very hot. Add the garlic and then the beef, stir-frying for 5 minutes. Add green onions, vinegar, brown sugar and pepper, continuing to stir-fry until the beef is thoroughly cooked. Add sesame oil. Chef Paul Lee advises that the secret to this dish is to use very high heat and cook quickly... that's what makes the beef juicy and tender.

Joan said...

Joan said...
Before our materials come, I'll work on the Mongolian alphabet.
See the Mongolian Alphabet on YouTube.