Mostly about Utah
In October 2008 I visited all thirteen Utah temples. It was then that almost all of the photographs were taken that appear in this series of posts. To download a photograph click on the image to obtain the full resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels with a file size of 3 to 4Mb.
The Jordan River temple entrance
In October 2008 I visited all thirteen Utah temples. It was then that almost all of the photographs were taken that appear in this series of posts. To download a photograph click on the image to obtain the full resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels with a file size of 3 to 4Mb.
Draper temple nearing the end of construction
In October 2008 I visited all thirteen Utah temples. It was then that almost all of the photographs were taken that appear in this series of posts. To download a photograph click on the image to obtain the full resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels with a file size of 3 to 4Mb.
The Bountiful Temple in August 2008
Presented here are portions of Elder Daniel Willoughby’s thirty third 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.
This week was great! My birthday was awesome. It was also my old companion’s birthday, Ganbileg. The whole zone came in the morning and we had cake. It was good. They sang happy birthday etc. Then I went on a split with Elder Warner (on the left in the photograph), he was in my MTC group. We went and taught English where they also sang to me. It was really fun to teach English that day because the class simply talked to us and we didn’t have to teach much. It was fun teaching lessons with Elder Warner as our language is close to the same. It made both of us happy to do more of the talking during the lessons.
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The following is from the Mongolia Mission Moments July 2009 edition. President Andersen wrote that “Perhaps we should stop more often to recognize the significant accomplishments already accomplished, that we might have faith to continue to improve.”
I just received an email from ProtectMarriage.com, the good folks who helped pass Proposition 8 in California. The following are edited excerpts from that email:
Just as it occurs in California, legislators in other states also ignore the desires of the people and succumb to pressure from homosexual marriage activists, passing same-sex marriage legislation. This is what happened in Maine. Fortunately, the Maine constitution gives voters the final say. Over 100,000 Mainers signed petitions to put this issue on the ballot as Question 1. A Yes vote on Question 1 this November will preserve traditional marriage and veto the legislative enactment of same-sex marriage.
The outcome of the election in Maine has profound implications for the nation. The homosexual community never been able to convince voters to support their position at the ballot box. But they have a chance to do so in Maine. Polling shows the race to be close, and our opponents have some key advantages. Homosexual activists have been working to build a grassroots organization in the state for the past five years. They have the support of Governor Baldacci, who recently headlined a major fundraising event, as well as the Democratic legislative leaders. They are receiving a massive infusion of cash and volunteers from throughout the country.
Presented here are portions of Elder Daniel Willoughby’s thirty second 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.
We went to work this last week and it turned out to be a great week. We did a lot better than last week. It was good for us to be able to have a little success. Thanks for all the great emails. I feel very loved. Well this week I teach a lot more English. It is OK but not the funnest thing to do. We had a good class last week that was really fun and another one with 45 students in it which was ridiculous. Anyway that will all work out alright.
Missionary work is still continuing to be good. President Anderson said my companion became a missionary while with me which made him very happy. I didn’t do anything as when he first came he was ready to work. It was good though to hear that President is happy. My companion and I did well on receiving referrals from members this week. That was a huge improvement.
Thanks too for wishing me happy birthday. Yea! I’m going to be twenty. Oh yeah and as you can clearly see from the picture we can go tracking. No just kidding, but the door on the fence was really funny.
We have a washing machine in our apartment. It’s not very big and you put water into from the tap. It then has a spinner that spins the clothes, then we hang them up on a rack to dry. All people with a ger have an outhouse. Some of the service I have done is digging the hole for the outhouse. There usually is furniture all the way around, and they sit on the beds during the day. So I guess they become couches. They do laundry with the same machine I have. They simply reuse the water a bit. Their sinks have a little drip handle and it drops into a sink, then into a bucket under that. It is cool. Some have refrigerators and yes, most if not all the houses have power, with T.V. etc.
Happy Birthday! You’re turning 21 right? Wahoo! Have lots of fun. :)
Thanks for sharing your experience with me. It truly does seem to work that way. First the Lord tests our faith then later He greatly blesses us. The miracles that happen make doing missionary work worth it. It seemed like you had one amazing companion! Thanks again.
Love from Elder Willoughby
Presented here are portions of Elder Daniel Willoughby’s thirty first 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.
Thanks for the pictures Dad! They were great. This week I started teaching a lot of English. My classes don’t know English very well so I have quite a bit to teach. They are all college students studying to be English translators. For that major it would seem they should have a little better speaking ability. It will be fun to teach them though.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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