The Growth of the Church in Mongolia
There are many pioneers in the Church in Mongolia. The church came to Mongolia in 1993. Now there are 9,000 members in a country of three million people. The church consists of one stake, two districts and three mission branches.
Meeting with Friends and Family in Mongoli
Verda Jensen, a long-time friend of mine, told me that her daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Richard Lasson, are on a mission in Mongolia. She wanted to go on a trip to China with me (where I lead tours) and then after visiting China, we would go on to Mongolia to visit her family. She invited me to go with her. WOW what an opportunity!
I never thought I would go to Mongolia. I never thought I would ever see a yak or ride a camel or visit a ger. I was really excited.
Life in Mongolia: The Ger (Yurt) and Nomadic Culture
The gers (yurts), which are the basic portable home of these nomadic people, could be seen throughout the county side. They are also the basic home of many of the people in the cities. A ger is a round tent-like dwelling about the size of a very large tent. As we drove along the roads, we often saw one packed on the bed of a truck. It takes about half a day to put up a ger.
Missionary Work in Mongolia
There are 123 missionaries and eight senior couples in the country of Mongolia. Only seven of them are from America. The rest are from Mongolia. Missionaries coming in from out of Mongolia must teach up to 20 hours of English each week. The young Mongolian missionaries are eager to go on and get an education, and many of them come home and save their money to go to BYU Hawaii to get an education.
Humanitarian Efforts of Deseret International Charities (DIC)
Carol and Richard Lasson, who have been in Mongolia for fourteen months, are welfare missionaries in Ulaanbaatar (UB) who manage Deseret International Charities (DIC). Their work here falls into five categories. First, to donate wheelchairs to help needy, disabled people who are unable to obtain their own wheelchairs; second, to help the people sustain themselves by growing gardens; third, to build water wells and water stations to help provide people with clean water closer to their living areas; fourth, to provide equipment and training to improve eye care; and fifth, to provide neonatal resuscitation equipment and training to save the lives of infants suffering from asphyxia at birth.
Our first outing in Mongolia took us 100 miles out into the countryside to check on four new water wells that had just been built by DIC. What an experience!
We left UB early in the morning. It took us an hour to get out of the city though the busy traffic. A million people live in UB, and there are no freeways and very poor highways with a lot of potholes everywhere. Once in the countryside, I thought I was in central Utah as there were many rolling hills with aspen-like trees turning yellow intermixed with deep green evergreens. However, when I saw and heard yaks, I knew I was not in central Utah. As we drove through the country, we also saw herds of sheep, goats, horses, and cows. Farmers were also cutting grass hay in fields and loading it by hand with pitchforks onto the bed of their trucks. They beckoned us to come and help them. When the hay was loaded, it hung over the truck on all sides about five feet, and it was at least five feet above the cab of the truck. Each time we saw a load of hay rolling down the small highways, we wondered if they would make it to their destination.
The Zuun Kharaa Visit
When we arrived in Zuun Kharaa, we visited the small LDS branch building and met two of the six missionaries who were working in this small village of about 15,000 people. They showed us though the small branch building. The most interesting thing to me was the small rubber baptismal font and a ping-pong table found in one of the classrooms.
Challenges of Rural Mongolia
Elder and Sister Lasson then took us to see the four new water wells. Finding clean drinking water in Mongolia is a challenge. Many people have to go long distances for clean drinking water. In Zuun Kharaa the water table is high and often the water in the shallow wells is not safe for drinking. The streets there are dirt, and when it rains, the roads turn into rivers. Huge ruts form as people try to maneuver vehicles through the mud to their homes. When the road dries, the ride down the streets is a bumpy experience at best. To add to the country scene, we saw cattle sleeping in the middle of the roads. As we drove though the town, we met the other four missionaries out visiting people in the village. Two of them were riding bikes.
As the day came to an end, we had a wonderful three-hour drive back to UB. We saw the herders out bedding their flocks, and the sun setting on the beautiful Mongolian countryside.
What Elder Lasson Learned in Mongolia
At the end of the day I asked Elder Lasson what he had learned here in Mongolia. He said, “I have learned that people around the world are very similar, but the customs and the way that they live life can be very different. I have also learned that God loves all people of all races and all countries.” The people here in Mongolia are a gentle, warm, loving people who are growing in new ways as they accept the gospel.
