Thanksgiving Week
Our Dear Family:
Our e-mail address is: malanjackson@gmail.com. Our letters to the family have gone mostly unanswered. It is lonely here and we miss all of you so very much. We would like very much to know how you are doing , what is happening in your family, about school, about work, about your health, about your time together, about the fun things you do, and so on. Please write to us. We loved the telephone call from Tamar this week.
We did celebrate Thanksgiving here on Wednesday, and it was a quite a different experience: the six senior couples here in Ulaanbaatar prepared lunch on Wednesday for a total of 110 people, including the 90+ missionaries serving in the city. We did quite well considering the fact that there are no turkeys in Mongolia (someone said they saw a few for sale at an important market for $20 per pound). We had chunks of chicken in gravy over reconstituted potatoes, pumpkin cake, imported cranberry sauce, fresh imported peppers and tomatoes, rolls, and home-made stuffing. The missionaries loved it; some went back for as many as four re-fills. It was good, but just not like being with our family.
We still struggle with the approach to Church activity here by too many of the members. Dependability in Church matters is very unpredictable with too many of them; and being on time for meetings and appointments is not a priority. The Mongolian culture is so very different; and as Elder Oaks once wrote, "It takes three generations for the Church to settle in." We are getting used to it; Linda lets it bother her more than I do.
My returned missionary search is improving as the branch presidents better understand the need to re-activate these people and respond my repeated reminders. We are having some good successes in re-activating a few, but it is not easy for them or for us.
Linda works hard on her family history research and instruction, but again the lack of dedication of some of the people who she has called to help her is a bit discouraging.
We had a fun experience on Thursday: Bat-Ulzii, who I took to Utah in the mid-nineties to study, and who is an inactive Church member, invited us to one of his restaurants for lunch. He was thrilled to learn that we are here since I did help him a lot as a young student. He and his brother started with a food import business that is very successful and now have three restaurants and will open the fourth in March. The name of their restaurants is "Altai Mongolian Barbecue." He learned the idea in Utah and thought there should be Mongolian barbecue restaurants in Mongolia. The restaurants are first class; the food is much better than the Mongolian barbecue in Utah. And his restaurant signs and ads show the statement "Since 1203." He said Chinggis Khan and his warriors barbecued meat on the inside of their metal shields, so Mongolian barbecue began from that time.
The Mongolian legislature has not yet passed a viable mining law, so many of the foreign companies that have invested hundreds of millions of dollars here and pulling out. This will have quite a negative effect on the economy. Returned missionaries who have worked at these mines come to my office often to see if I can suggest possible work for them. I am able to help some of them; and we do have a senior couple here in charge of LDS Employment Services, so they are helping as well.
One couple we have gotten to know well from the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine visit we made have been laid off and came to my office early last week to see if I could help them. But, on Friday they came in and said that another member of the Church here is flying to Hong Kong on business tomorrow and offered to pay their airfare to take their young son with them and be sealed in the Hong Kong Temple.
As you can imagine, they are elated. They had been saving money to go by train in June.
Last night we had dinner with a young woman who assisted us with our livestock project in 2000. She also visited us in Utah and is now married. They have just bought a new apartment near the mountain on the south city of the city, not too far from where Josh and Kim teach. We had a wonderful dinner, but mostly were amazed at the size and beauty of their apartment. It has three bedrooms and a modern kitchen. The interior finish work is as good as anything back home. Their parking is under the building in a heated parking area. The owner of the building has a second one nearby. The two have forty-five apartments and only four are sold. This city is way over-built but the construction goes on.
Linda still gets tired easily, but we are in good health. The weather is getting colder: mornings have been about zero degrees Fahrenheit but the forecast for this week is for some snow and temperatures down to seventeen degrees below.
We love you. Please do write to us.
Mother and Dad
Week Fifteen Already
Our Dear Family:
It hardly seems possible that we have been in Mongolia for almost four months. Times seems to pass slowly only when we think of all of you and how much we miss you. We love you so very much.
With Joshua's help I sent a few photos to you earlier this evening. These should give you some idea of our life here and prove that we are still alive. Not only are we alive, but we are doing quite well. We have been busy this past week; but it has been a good week and we have not gotten too tired.
We appreciated talking with Mother and Tamar. It is good to get news from home first-hand. We spoke with Mother just after she had returned from Aunt Marjorie's funeral. She said it was a good funeral and she was not tired even after the long day traveling to Richfield, going to the funeral and then the cemetery and then riding back to Orem. She said that she still gets lonesome but is very grateful for those of you who visit her. She sleeps well and said that she has no pain at all.
Linda's family history work keeps her very busy, and the assistant she has trained have been very helpful. Now, however, they want to change to something else. I do hope they stay with her so that she can get the work done and not have to train new people.
Tomorrow morning will be my last English class with the judges in the district court. The new couple, Elder and Sister Caldwell, who
arrived a week ago will take the class and I will begin teaching seminars and teachers at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, the university I have worked most closely with since 1995.
The last senior Elder assigned to try to find and reactivate returned missionaries, who returned home a month ago, told me that he gave up looking for them after a few months because it was just too frustrating. I can understand the even better now: my secretary and I are finding long-lost missionaries quite regularly, but reactivation is a real challenge and the process and difficult and tedious. It is worth all of the challenge, though, and I will probably be doing it right up until the time we come home. Too, the branch leaders upon whom I must depend to help find the returned missionaries just do not seem to sense the need to go out and find the lost ones.
I continue to see and enjoy the company of close friends I have made over the past fifteen years. Last night we had dinner at the home of Sodnomdorj and Yanjin. They are especially close to us, and it was pleasant being with them.
Joshua and Kimberly came to our apartment after their church meetings and we had dinner and enjoyed a long visit. They are doing well but do get frustrated with the behavior of other foreign teachers at their school.
Each day gets a little colder now. Yesterday and today were especially cold. We are grateful for our warm apartment and our warm clothing.
We love you and miss you so very much.
Love, Grandpa and Grandma Jackson
Update on Mongolian life for the Jacksons
My dearest Children and Cherished Siblings,
How great it is to get a weekly letter from some of you. I will try to be as diligent also. It is go good to know how and what all of you are doing. It sounds from your letters, that all of your family, including youselves, are extremely busy in worthwhile things.
We have had a busy week ourselves, and the next week of Thanksgiving, will be even more so. I canceled both my Tuesday and Thursday evening classes to help prepare for all the Mongolian missionaries in the Ulaanbaatar area (99). All of the sisters are helping. I am to make 2 large batches of dressing, a pumpkin cake, and buy 8 dozen couisants. Today I cut all of the bread so it could dry out by Wednesday (the day we are serving the missionaries) and cut and cooked the onion and celery. I'll put it together Wednesday morning and bake it at the church. My little 2-burner stove is too small for a regular dripper-size cake pan. Sister Anderson our Mission Mother had a training meeting in Hong Kong and brought home canned pumpkin and cranberry sauce. One of the English-speaking members, who has a private plane, brought 2 turkeys to Mongolia. They are going to roast them and chunk the meat and put it in chicken gravey to serve over instant potatoes. We'll have dressisng, cranaberry sauce, and many other goodies for the missionaries.
I am feeling well and working hard at genealogy. I have good assistants who come into the center and help the mongolian members transfer their Mongolian information to English PAF.
Dad goes on a walk-about every Saturday morning to the big black market called the "Zaa", which is a nice walk for him and he really enjoys it. I usually stay at home to do the washing and cooking for the week. It is too cold now for me to walk that far. It is below 0 most of the time now. Dad loves it! Oh, it will get much colder, about 40 degrees below 0 Fahrenheit.
Our apartment is lovely and nice and warm, in fact, we've even have had to turn the temperature down!
Our daily 1/2 mile to the Service Center, where our offices are, takes me about 25 minutes. Dad will walk with me when it gets icy. Next week it is supposed to snow Tuesday and Wednesday and after the people pack down the snow, it will be icy the rest of the winter. Our clothes are very warm and comfortable, that is not a problem. We sure pile on the layers, though.
We are so grateful that all of our family spent time together cleaning up the yards. Thank you so much. It is great to hear of all of you doing things together!
We want to express our love to all of you and tell you how proud we are of each one of you! We certainly do miss all of you!!! But, the work we are doing here is very important!
Take good care of yourselves.
Love Eternally, Your Mother, Sister Linda Lou Jackson
Message from a Re-Activated German Brother Here
Dear loved ones,
As you well know, we are getting closer to my birthday. Every year there is a celebration in my honor and I think that this year the celebration will be repeated. During this time there are many people shopping for gifts, there are many radio announcements, TV commercials, and in every part of the world everyone is talking that my birthday is getting closer and closer.
It is really very nice to know, that at least once a year, some people think of me. As you know, the celebration of my birthday began many years ago. At first people seemed to understand and be thankful of all that I did for them, but in these times, no one seems to know the reason for the celebration. Family and friends get together and have a lot of fun, but they don't know the meaning of the celebration.
I remember that last year there was a great feast in my honor. The dinner table was full of delicious foods, pastries, fruits, assorted nuts and chocolates. The decorations were exquisite and there were many, many beautifully wrapped gifts. But, do you want to know something? I wasn't invited. I was the guest of honor and they didn't remember to send me an invitation. The party was for me, but when that great day came, I was left outside, they closed the door in my face .... and I wanted to be with them and share their table.
In truth, that didn't surprise me because in the last few years all close their doors to me. Since I wasn't invited, I decided to enter the party without making any noise. I went in and stood in a corner. They were all drinking; there were some who were drunk and telling jokes and laughing at everything. They were having a grand time. To top it all, this big fat man all dressed in red wearing a long white beard entered the room yelling Ho-Ho-Ho! He seemed drunk. He sat on the sofa and all the children ran to him, saying: "Santa Claus, Santa Claus" .. as if the party were in his honor!
At 12 Midnight all the people began to hug each other; I extended my arms waiting for someone to hug me and ... do you know .... no one hugged me. Suddenly they all began to share gifts. They opened them one by one with great expectation. When all had been opened, I looked to see if, maybe, there was one for me.
What would you feel if on your birthday everybody shared gifts and you did not get one? I then understood that I was unwanted at that party and quietly left.
Every year it gets worse. People only remember to eat and drink, the gifts, the parties and nobody remembers me. I would like this Christmas that you allow me to enter into your life. I would like that you recognize the fact that almost two thousand years ago I came to this world to give my life for you, on the cross, to save you. Today, I only want that you believe this with all your heart.
I want to share something with you. As many didn't invite me to their party, I will have my own celebration, a grandiose party that no one has ever imagined, a spectacular party.
I'm still making the final arrangements. Today I am sending out many invitations and there is an invitation for you. I want to know if you wish to attend and I will make a reservation for you and write your name with golden letters in my great guest book. Only those on the guest list will be invited to the party. Those who don't answer the invitation will be left outside. Be prepared because when all is ready you will be part of my great party.
See you soon.
I Love you!
Jesus
P.S.
Please share this message with your loved ones, before Christmas.
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