Greetings from Sister Royal

April 19, 2015

Hello Family and Friends,

My year mark is in a month.... A MONTH! Time goes by so quick and so slow all at the same time. I feel like I just got here to Mongolia but it also feels like I’ve been away from you guys for at least 13 years. haha.

First of all, no it feels just like home to be called Amy :) I would feel weird if you called me anything else. Second, I do dream in Mongolian! My comps tell me I sometimes teach them lessons in Mongolian in my sleep. haha. But, mostly my dreams end up being in Monglish (mostly Mongolian with English words here and there) haha. And I can’t tell you how excited I am for this weeks weather!!!!! I think I might be able to take of my coat for the first time in like 7 months! yay!

You made CHICKEN WELLINGTONS?!?!?!?! I think that might need to be the first thing that you make for me when I get home! Or yummy pasta. Or a chicken burger! haha. I guess anything will sound good if it doesn’t have fatty meat in it. I never thought I’d say this but a steak sounds like the least appealing thing right now. lol. And, I will definitely take you up on your offer to go KFC. It is so good mom. Like a million times better than American KFC. haha.

It made me really happy to hear about Kevin’s talk. I actually loved reading it. Its so weird to me that Kevin is becoming such a fine young man. I hope he really means what he says about me being an example for him. That’s not the only reason why I went on a mission. But, I am aware of that and I try hard to make him understand the importance of missions. To be honest, missions really suck sometimes. haha. You go to some foreign country, you’re far from home, you have to live with people you may not like and you are never so aware of your insecurities and weaknesses. BUT, there is this other side of missions that are really hard to explain on paper. It is this feeling you get that even though it’s hard it is worth it. I’ve had some of the funniest/happiest times of my life while on my mission. And not only that, but I know and can feel that the things I’m learning and the blessings I’m receiving will continue to bless me the rest of my life. So, it is worth it. It is worth going through really hard times. It is worth being exhausted every morning and every night and all in between. It is worth it. So, I hope I can convey that to people through my words and my example. A mission is so worth it.

I was ready an article in this months Liahona about weaknesses. The point of the article was that weaknesses are not sins. The difference between weakness and sin is that while one takes you further from God, the other (weakness) actually brings you closer to God. Sometimes though, we rationalize our sins as weaknesses and assume our weaknesses to be sins. The trick is to identify your weaknesses and use the help of the Lord and His atonement to become strong. We all have weaknesses and sometimes our problems can be a combination of sins and weaknesses but the important thing is recognizing it and then growing closer to the Lord by making your weaknesses stronger instead of walking farther away from the Lord by sinning.

This week was a pretty great week! This Friday, Our investigator, Nom was baptized! She’s had some pretty hard times since I’ve been meeting with her. My first week in my new area, she was ready for baptism when her father died suddenly. She of course was devastated and had some really concerns and doubts about the gospel. But we didn’t give up on her and most importantly; she didn’t give up on her testimony. And although its been a long road since then, I’ve never seen her so happy as she did when she came out of the waters of baptism. I guess what I learned from this is that its ok to have doubts sometimes. It is ok to be a seeker of truth. It is ok to want to know things for yourself. But the important thing is to go to the right sources. Just like we can’t see the beauties or comprehend the vastness of space by just using binoculars, we cant receive real truth from magazines or opinions of others. The Lord, and asking him through sincere prayer, becomes our "Hubble telescope". Through seeking truth by going to the Lord, our eyes can be opened to the vast beauties of the eternities and we are able to see things through His eyes. So keep asking. Keep wondering. And as you do so with real intent and a sincere heart, the Lord with answer your prayers.

Well, even though it was a week later than all of you, I finally got to watch conference! yay! Conference is always special. But conference on a mission in Mongolia is even more special! Haha. Ok, so, there are a million other things that I want to write about right now, but there is no time! Lets just all agree that conference is wonderful and we can all benefit from listening to those talks again :) I am so grateful to be a missionary in Mongolia! I’m so grateful for a living prophet and apostles who speak the Lords words. I grateful for each of you! I love you and, family,

I love you! I’m so happy to be here and I’m so happy for the warmth that has found its way to Mongolia :) Have a good week. Oh, and don’t remember that I'll get to see you in just a few weeks :) God bless Mothers Day ;) hahahah a

Love, Sister Royal

Pictures:

1) Our investigator who is getting baptized this week! It was her birthday so we treated her to yummy KFC. Seriously, the best restaurant in Mongolia... hahaha weird huh?

  2) Just riding on the busses AKA my life. haha. I love those busses though :)

3) We went with our investigator family to get water from the nearest water pump.  Those who live in a ger have no indoor plumbing. They make mundane things fun :)

 

4) The MTC six back together again at a zone conference.