Missionary Dan Email #30 from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Presented here are portions of Elder Daniel Willoughby’s thirtieth email from the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission. If anyone wishes to send Daniel a message, write it in the comments and I will make sure he receives it.

Zone Conference

So yesterday was Zone Conference so I wasn’t able to write. Zone Conference was about adversity. It was really good and I learned a lot. The Mission President explained that this life is like a testing center and like any testing center isn’t the funniest place to be in. But, after leaving the testing center you are relieved, depending how you did on the test. It was good to put things into perspective.

Conversion Story

Thanks so much for the conversion story, Dad! I read the whole thing, it was really interesting. It really is amazing how the Lord prepares people to hear the Gospel, just like he prepared you. Also thanks Mom for writing how you met Dad. I’ve actually never heard it before, so it was really fun to read. Now I can see where I inherited all my dating skills when I was in high school. :) ha ha.

Missionary Work

So this week was a good one. I had two experiences where I was talking to people on the street telling them about the church. The first one I was prompted to ask if he’d ever been to a Christian church before. He said he’d been attending one for about five years. That started a conversation and we talked for about five minutes. As usual I asked if we could come by later and meet with him to tell more about the church. To that he said he had time right now! I was surprised as that has never happened. We were able to meet with him, tell him about the church, give him a book of Mormon, and share our testimonies. It made us really excited.

Then another day just as similar someone was observing my companion and I talking to people. As it probably looks a little funny with us walking along side people talking to them for a minute or two then going straight to talk to someone else, the person asked me what we were doing. I said we were missionaries and told where, what time, and what my church is. I asked her if we could meet later and she said, “I can meet right now.” I was again surprised but very happy for the opportunity. We were able again share about the restoration and our testimonies.
I know for a fact the Lord helps His missionaries do His work. It is a great blessing to talk to someone who has a genuine interest and share what is so important to me. I know its true and can see the blessings that have come in my life and the lives of others.

My companion is great and his ear will be okay. We simply get to go the doctor everyday. Also school is starting up so I’ll be teaching more English. That will take quite a big chunk out of time to do missionary work. We’ll do the best we can with the time we have. Sorry no pictures again, I don’t have my camera. Hopefully next week I’ll have it with me. I’m still adjusting a bit to how my companion likes to spend Preparation Day.

To Adelaide

Wow you had some crazy dreams. Thanks for telling me. I’ll be honest I had a good laugh.

I’m not sure about the language, it could possibly be dialects. I do tend to understand people I’ve listened to a lot more than someone I just met. As for other areas they do have different dialects. One area a missionary said was like a southern accent, but they were speaking Mongolian. Keep up the great work! :)

Thanks for all the great letters and the support. I love you all!
Elder Willoughby