NEW COMPANION, SAME AREA!

Can you say a little bit terrified?! Now I need to know where investigators live and crazy things like that!? ahhhhh! but it's all good, I know God will help Sister Munkhzul and help this area! (:

 Sister Munkhzul is seriously so patient and loving it's awesome, I'm going to learn so much from her!

This past Tuesday we were teaching a couple (investigator) and I said we should pray every morning and night and the wife repeated me to make sure she understood correctly then nudged her husband and said they should do that and later in the lesson the man falls asleep, so stinkin cute, so we keep teaching and his wife notices and whacked him to wake him up. So as soon as he wakes up he says "exactly!!" (or yag zov) to what my companion was saying. It was too funny (:

So I was teaching the children's English class and we were learning about opposites, big/little, rich/poor, married/single. So as we were going through the vocab list of opposites, one little boy says, "teacher, teacher, teacher!!" until he has the whole classes attention as well as mine and he yells, "I'm single!" HAHA! even though he was being a disruption, he was speaking english and was excited to do so! So I'm all for that! and he definitely made us all laugh! (:

Made my first phone call this week! (: #littleprogress

So after a lesson on Saturday we were walking down the street and in a car I see this cute little hand waving at me! and I realized it was one of my English students, and she was excited to see me! ahhh! I died a little bit it was too cute! #tendermercies

I NEEDED A HOLIDAY! So on Wednesday I declared that August 26th was American Food Day! I was sooo excited!!! I even drew in my planner a giant American flag haha (: For breakfast I made pancakes that were pretty good! then for lunch was mac and cheese from America #thanksma! and then for dinner our whole mission went to Round Table Pizza and had some great food there! All in all I LOVE AMERICA, and I LOVE AMERICAN FOOD! haha BUT DON'T GET ME WRONG MONGOLIA IS GREAT AND I LOVE IT! #neededaholiday #august26thAmericanfoodday

After Round Table Pizza we went to a traditional dance/musical group and that was pretty sweet! MONGOLIAN CULTURE IS SO COOL! I just wanted to get up and dance with them!

MONGOLIA is great!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Sister Bennett (:

HELLO!! LIFE IS GREAT ISN'T IT?!

This week was great, much better than the week before, Let's start with English, it was so much better this week, I feel like I've got a little bit of a hang of lesson planning and teaching. It was conquerable this week. I made my children's classes this week sing Glorious!! ahhhh!!! it was the cutest thing and I definitely teared up and I just about cried because they have hardly an idea what they were singing about but it was just so beautiful #TEARSOFHAPPINESS haha (:

Then after one of the English classes my sponsor came in saw Glorious on the board and asked about it. Then he saw my mp3 player and said oh "whats this?" I told him I use it to play the songs and he asked if he could hear the song, so I played it, then he asked if he could go through my mp3 player and I said sure but warned him its all church songs. He said that's okay (even though I'm not sure he understood what I meant) and started going through my mp3 player, He listened to Glorious and then skipped to the next song. So as you can try and picture this cute happy Mongolian man skipping through my playlist as the students for my next class trickle in and next plays, nice and loud "I believe in Christ" through the whole little school. IT WAS AWESOME. I didn't do it! #IbelieveinChrist #sortofproselyting?

We taught an investigator this week when we met with him to teach word of wisdom he had already decided to quit earlier that morning! even before we taught it! He's trying to be more like Jesus and I love seeing these investigators progressing! #mightychangeofheart

So we've already started listening to Christmas music in August, WICKEDNESS I KNOW. but wait I have a good justification of why its okay in our circumstance! In America the rule is listen to Christmas music after Thanksgiving right?! right. Well Mongolia obviously doesnt have Thanksgiving, so the next closest holiday is Naadam, and since Nadaam was in July, IT'S OKAY RIGHT?! definitely a shoutout to Stephanie, Emily and Mikayla! I've changed my ways! Chirstmas music is always okay! #silentnight #marydidyouknow #inexchelsisdeo

Used a noil (or their outhouses) for the first time this week!! #probablytoomuchinfo #yeahImgratefulforflushingtoilets

We were helping some sister find a ride to darhan and so as we were saying bye we gave hugs cause we are girls and and said goodbye and then I turn around and this Mongolian man, has his arms wide open for a hug and says "za bye". PFTTT! tooo funny (: (dont worry mom I didnt give him a hug) we laughed and I said its okay in Mongolian #funnymongolianman #nicetry

We had a lesson this week with an investigator in a members home, this member is a semtress and had made a dress, so after the lesson my companion and I were admiring it. and all of a sudden the members wanted me to try it on and then out came the jewelry, they had me sit down for that one. So it became dress up the American time and then they took pictures with me? #reallifedressup They were sad I didnt have my ears pierced :P #iwishihadpictures

Well life is beautiful and Mongolia is wonderful! (: Have an awesome week! love you all!

Sister B (:

Mongolia is beautiful!

We made tortillas.

We made Tacos!!!

Just walking down the street.

Always Smiling

English teaching is crazy! On Thursday it was so rough I was pretty sure I was gonna QUIT! Not that I can do that :P haha but I had a new set of kids ages 10-12 and they couldn't understand me, the room was chaos a mix between letting them practice dialogs but than hearing them speak Mongolian instead, they were wacking each other left and right and it was 100% because of my poor classroom management. I HAD TO FIX IT. I want these students to learn English have fun and become better people. So I was pretty down after this class and my companion noticed and said  "you can, you have angels to help you."  MAN IS THAT TRUE. So the next day I went and visited Sister Francom who taught 5th grade for years, she helped me soooooo much and I was ready to conquer the world after that. So on Saturday I teach those same classes as on Thursday. We set up a point system, and they were insanely good! There were definitely angels helping me out. It was the best, I know everyday isn't going to be like that but I'm shooting for that (: #thanksgrandma&grandpa

They also sang the alphabet this week and said, "x, y, zed" I loved it #littlebitofcanada

After I told the class about the point system I had them do a dialog with their partner as soon as I was done explaining it, there was a little boy who didn't have a partner sitting right by him, so he immediately started hopping from the chair next to him and back to his chair, talking to himself, doing the dialog. It was the cutest thing, but a real lesson right there on obedience, he didn't have a partner but still accomplished the task that he was told to. What an awesome and cute example. #obedience

One of our investigators was having a rough time praying and would give up mid prayer but this week he offered 3 full prayers!!! Without giving up! Ahh! I was so excited for him, and I love to see the growth of testimony (: #Godlives #helovesus #prayerworks

IN America we have taco buses, in Mongolia we have hoosher buses. yum.

Perks of Mongolia: In a five minute travel radius of our apartment there are 10 little stores, it's the best. (:

Apparently in Mongolian Bailey means glove (:

But Mongolia is great and I'm learning new things everyday! My accomplishment of the week: this week I've been able to be funny in Mongolian, and not just people laughing at me but at my comment haha (: 

Always smiling,

Sister Bennett (:

The sisters in my district

Kinder Eggs, sort of, a little piece of Canada

I got your package.  The M&Ms were gone first.  I'm excited to give out the Hong Kong Temple pictures!

Majestic

Life is good, and God is watching out for each one of us I know it!

Yeah I don't even know how to describe this week, it has been the fastest and craziest thing of my life. 

We had a super and fun and great conference this week, which we did in a ger, which I'm not sure many missions can say they do that :P It was out in the countryside and was beautiful!!!! MONGOLIA IS BEAUTIFUL!

Inside where we had lunch. In a giant ger, "king size", as they called it

Mongolia is Beautiful!

I definitely learned that God answers prayers, if we have faith and are looking for our answers. I was very scared the night before the conference because I was teaching English for the first time the next day and wasn't going to have but maybe 30 minutes prep time the next morning. I was feeling very inadequate, but after praying for help, I felt mostly at peace about it throughout the conference which I was grateful for and I thought it was an answer to my prayer, which it was but Heavenly Father had even more to give me. On the bus ride back I sat by sister Overson and learned she was an English major and she was able to help me so much. I took so many helpful notes that were able to help me teach English better than I ever could have on my own. Definitely an answer to prayer, So I  learned Heavenly Father will provide if we are trying.

First day of teaching English, the very top sign with the book tells about my class.

At the conferance President Benson's daughter, who is about 4, was wearing overalls and looking seriously the cutest! I COULDN'T GET OVER IT. So I said to her "stop looking so cute okay?" (: and her response was priceless, "I CANT!" haha She is the cutest. Wish I could say the same (: #cantstopthecuteness #Missingmyoveralls

President Benson's daughter and her overalls, I love overalls!!

I love being able to learn everyday here, it's the greatest. #somethingneweveryday

Let's get to the good stuff, ENGLISH. I'm pretty sure it's the best thing ever but will be the death of me. I taught by myself 2 beginner classes and they were ages 10-15, so we literally played an spoke English the whole time. Then I had an intermediate class that ranged from ages 15-30 it was a crazy gap, but that class ended and will be replaced with another group of kids they told me. The other class I taught was advanced and they have pretty good English and they are about 15-17. Here's how I would describe teaching English: The most rewarding and exhausting four hours of my day because I'm dancing around the class the whole time. My voice afterward is shot though from having them do whole group repetitions after me. It's the greatest and hardest thing ever. definitely mixed feelings. (: #iloveit #imscaredtoteachthisweek

Me, terrified to teach English!

Okay want to hear about one of our investigators?  So it's this little couple and they are a little older. So it's hard for him to get around. They left church at 3 when it ends and got home at 5:30!! It took them a round trip of 5 HOURS TO GO TO CHURCH! can you say FAITH? we taught them The Book of Mormon after church yesterday. Ugh I love them, they are the cutest, they walk arm in arm to stabilize one another it is the cutest. #thecutest #INSPIRING

Cutest couple ever!

Life is good, and God is watching out for each one of us I know it! (:

Sister Bennett  (:

 

A little hike after our conference.

Some of my favorite people!

 

I'm feeling very blessed to be in this little area of the world.

I love my companion. We get along really well and try hard to be patient with one another in translating. She is always willing to help me and to serve me, what a great example of Christ-like love. She always is rooting me on too, I'm pretty sure I got one of the best trainers in the mission! I'm learning so much from her. 

 

This week we were eating rice and my companion always puts ketchup on it and so I always do too. I just would think to myself, "wow my companion always makes spicy food" so then I'd put more ketchup on it. Then just the other day I ate some rice that wasnt spicy and I thought meh I'll put some ketchup on it anyways. THEN MY mouth is on fire like all the other times. I finally put two and two together: The ketchup is what's spicy, not the rice. #thatsNOTketchup 

We bought KFC this week, yeah that was dangerous! It's right across from the school I will be teaching at! I ordered just a simple sandwich, some mashed potatoes and ice cream. As we were at KFC two thoughts ran through my head, the first came while eating, "wait food tastes this good?!" and the second came as we were leaving, "why did it have to end?!" it was soo good haha (: it made me realize how different the food really is here, but don't get me wrong mongolian food is great just different (: #iamanamerican #iloveamericanfood

The most American store in UB is called GOOD PRICE and we looked at the cereal and the most expensive cereal was frosted mini wheats and it was 20$!???! what that is sooo expensive here when a bag of cookies costs about a dollar! 

My companion told me this week that she wrote home to her family that I love food, and that I always make us eat. It's cause all I understand is food!!! :P haha (: 

So I met with my sponsors this week, and I'm like wait I DONT KNOW HOW TO BE A TEACHER?!, but its okay I've got God on my side! This week I'm teaching 6 classes, Thursday Friday and Saturday, each day I am teaching 2-two hour classes. There is an advanced intermediate and a beginner class. and I'm teaching them each twice this week. They told me they range around high school age. They called me Baileyann at the first meeting it was so cute, but yeah wish me luck #sharprocksatthebottom #mostlikely #bringiton

I gave a little kid a Jesus sticker at a member's house. I then asked his who it was and he said grandpa HAHA hmm, not quite. (:

Can I just say being a missionary is great! when I get the opportunity to share my testimony it strengthens it even more. Even if it is in broken Mongolian. And Mongolia is BEAUTIFUL! what more could I ask for, I'm feeling very blessed to be in this little area of the world. 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Sister Baileyann (: