A Thyme and Pine Needle Soda, please(Nov. 9th)

Alllllllright, It’s your favorite Elder Cappuccio serving in Mongolia, writing you again! Well, to those that won the election, congratulations; to those who lost, accept my condolences. Anyways, while Election stuff is interesting, Mongolia, and more specifically, Missionary Work in Mongolia is more exciting! This week has been pretty good. We put our shoulder to the wheel and received blessings for it. Of course, everything is not where we’d like it to be, but things are improving. In particular, one family that we’re working with is doing really well. It’s a husband, wife and their daughter. He’s the one that we extended the commitment to obey the word of wisdom. So far, to our knowledge, he’s been keeping it! No doubt it’s been hard, but he really wants to be baptized. In fact, just this past Saturday, he was at the baptismal service and one of the speakers talked about how through baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we become new people. After the service finished, he said to both of us, “I need to get baptized, I want to become a new person, Got it?!” My mouth almost dropped I was like, wow, he just said that. Haha, it was awesome. Now everytime we meet with him he talks about that all the time. Then his wife reminds him that if he wants to get baptized he’s got to start reading the homework we give them and all that other stuff. Haha they’re funny. Anyways, we also extended to his wife the commitment to not work on Sunday and honor the Sabbath. At first, on Sunday, we thought she wouldn’t come even though she promised because her husband came with the kids but she wasn’t there. Then, like 5 minutes into the meeting, she slips in quietly and found a seat. I wanted to shout for joy but of course, it was sacrament meeting and so I didn’t. I just smiled. It was awesome. We have one person going in for baptism this week. We were supposed to have two but we need to work with the other a little bit. Nevertheless, I had never seen the former so happy before! After she exited the Baptismal Interview, she was just beaming. I can only imagine how she’ll be after the baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Oh, and to answer your question, we have baptismal fonts in the churches here in Mongolia ;). Once upon a time it was rivers though…

So yea, that’s kind of been how our work is going. Our biggest struggle is finding new investigators but I have a good feeling about this week! As long as we keep following the rules and giving our all, the Lord will bless us. Alright, so now that I’ve talked about our work, I’ll mention other miscellaneous items from this past week.

#1 I had this soda the other day called Selenge. That’s the name of a region out here, but anyways, the contents of the soda made me kind of laugh. It was: wild oats, wild thyme, medicinal perennial grass, and pine needles! Haha, it was a different taste, but I warmed up to it.

#2 There is a senior couple in our district out here. They don’t speak Mongolian. What that means is that they need a translator whenever they need to talk with Mongolians! So sometimes, when my District Leader is busy with other business, I have to translate for them. I can only describe that experience as humbling and humiliating. If you just have to understand yourself and speak for yourself, it’s not too bad. Still hard, but manageable. When you’ve got to translate for an outside body, it’s so much harder! Everytime I get done translating for them, I just feel terrible. Now one of my goals is to be a good translator. Haha so yea.

So…tell Brother Young I’m going to send him a letter today. I wrote him one but I wasn’t able to send it yet. Anyways, it’ll take like 2 months old or so so yea.

Well, I love all of you! I hope that everything goes well for you and you keep thriving in the Gospel. That’s the only source we can turn for for peace in this day and age. Any other source will leave us wanting. I know this church is true and I’m loving the opportunity I have to serve a mission here in Mongolia!

~Elder Cappuccio

Dear James,

Obama won the election, oh well, at least Cali is happy. What do you use for baptismal fonts in Mongolia? No icy rivers, right? Read the story below......

love always,

mom,

Church History Gems

Church History in Canada

"One of the great families to join the Church in Canada was that of Archibald Gardner. From his journal, we learn of the family's experience in Canada during the year 1843."Robert Gardner describes the day of their baptism: 'We went about a mile and a half into the woods to find a suitable stream. We cut a hole through ice eighteen inches thick. My brother William baptized me. . . . I was confirmed while sitting on a log beside the stream. . . . " 'I cannot describe my feelings at the time and for a long time afterwards. I felt like a little child and was very careful of what I thought or said or did lest I might offend my Father in Heaven. Reading the Scriptures and secret prayer occupied my leisure time. I kept a pocket Testament constantly with me. When something on a page impressed me supporting Mormonism, I turned down a corner. Soon I could hardly find a desired passage. I had nearly all the pages turned down. I had no trouble believing the Book of Mormon. Every time I took the book to read I had a burning testimony in my bosom of its truthfulness.' " Thomas S. Monson, "Days Never to Be Forgotten," Ensign, Nov. 1990, 68 Topics: Book of Mormon