July 1998   Hovd  --Nancy     Hovd is the westernmost branch of the Church in Mongolia. From Ulaanbaatar it can be reached in three days by car over unpaved roads (where there are roads) or a three-hour flight on Mongolia International Air Transport (MIAT). (page 281)     We were led out the front door of the terminal to a fence where one of the typical blue Russian trucks had backed up with all the luggage. They asked for our baggage tickets and President Ganbold proceeded to claim our luggage. Then, luggage, two elders, two senior missionaries, Ganbold’s daughter, and Ganbold squeezed into a Russian jeep for the trip into town. Elder Swenson (long legs and all) crawled over the seat into the back with the luggage. I, fortunately, had worn a full skirt as I have learned while being here that straight skirts and dresses do not accommodate climbing into jeeps, four-wheel drives, and similar vehicles. (page 282)   The branch meets in the branch president’s home. It consists of a long room where the family lives/sleeps/eats and a very small kitchen. The president was away on business and his wife got stuck in Ulaanbaatar because the plane had filled up before she could get a seat. Their two teenaged children had everything set up by the time we got there. A coffee table served as the sacrament table. It had two pristine white cloths spread over it. Two small stools were placed behind the table. A few members had already arrived and greeted us warmly. (page 283)     Members of the Hovd Branch Elders Lowther and Swenson are in the back row!   We were dropped off at our hotel and shown to our room. The elders explained that the water (cold only) was turned on for a short time twice a day and there was electricity only a short time each day as it was turned on at different times in various parts of the city for about one hour. They showed us the large cauldron of water that had been brought to our “bathroom” and a couple of empty two-liter Pepsi bottles with which we filled the toilet tank when it needed flushed. They asked the hotel proprietor to bring us a thermos of boiling water so we could have lunch. We had brought six instant noodle dishes with us in case the hotel wasn’t preparing food that weekend. All we needed was boiling water as these handy items are packed in a styrofoam bowl, contain three packets of seasoning, and provide a small plastic fork with which to eat them.  (page 283)     A Ger next to the hotel   <<< back    next >>>