Daniel and the other missionaries destined for Mongolia stayed longer in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) while waiting for visas. Then Daniel and a few others were sent to the Georgia Atlanta Mission to tract and wait for visas. He actually went straight to Alabama. Three weeks later the coveted visas arrived and he was on his way to Mongolia.
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Take a look at the car in my driveway. It appears to be just a plain 2005 Honda Civic. I purchased it last Friday to help me drive down the cost of transportation. With only V6 engines in my other vehicles I decided to make a change, ready for higher gas prices next summer.
How much cheaper is this Civic for me to drive? Well this is Utah and this Civic is a Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV). With Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) at a subsidized 93 cents GGE throughout the state I really am driving on the cheap.
Natural Gas Vehicle
These advantages potentially affect me directly or indirectly economically:
These advantages affect the community directly or indirectly:
I test drove and filled a Cavalier.
Me by a CNG pump,
I filled up for the first time last night. It was straight-forward though a little different. The pump was the old style non-digital readout type (not the one pictured). The car gas gauge (interesting that it is still called a gas gauge) was reading 1/4 left. It cost $4.56 to fill and took about the same time as filling a gasoline tank with the same amount of fuel. That is probably enough for about 150 miles. I expect to get 200 miles out of a tank. If there is interest I will post my mileage and CNG use in a future post. I’m used to larger cars but this Civic surprised me with quite some zip. It was a gas to drive.
If you are interested in a used CNG car yourself, check out the CNG Utah website where I purchased my Honda. The folks there were low pressure and friendly. Perhaps you already own a CNG powered vehicle. How do you like it? What have been your savings? Would you purchase another CNG?
By now you may have figured out that my purchase of this CNG Civic was purely economic. As far as the environment is concerned I am against Cap and Trade. The threat from CO2 (plant food) has been greatly overstated. The earth has enough and to spare. Just relax and use the resources God has given you and go out into the world with a little less fear and trembling. You will do just fine in your stewardship despite what Al Gore says.
14 Dec 2011 — There is now a CNG station right in my hometown.
1 Jan 2012 — Without the 50 cent a gallon federal subsidy the price has risen to $1.50/gge in Utah.
Daniel ready for snow.
The new car looks really fancy. What happened to the other two cars? Good job on your talk too Mom. Happy Thanksgiving this week! Eat lots of stuffing etc. We are going to the senior couple’s house for dinner. It should be really fun.
The church is closed for another two weeks. So yesterday we took the sacrament around to all the members. We basically followed the same route as last week. It went by really fast and was still a good opportunity. Seminary and institute is allowed, as well as all the schools started up again today. The mission got the all time high for lessons taught per companionships in one week. We are doing what we can to keep the members and progressing investigators strong and faithful. The Lord has greatly blessed us in that outstanding achievement.
Other than that, every day seemed to be much the same. Time goes by really fast but at the same time goes by really slow. My companion only has 23 days left I think, so before I know it I’ll have a new companion. There isn’t much more to write about this week. This next week will have plenty of excitement so I’ll write about that more.
Happy Birthday Steven! Sorry… I remembered on the day it was your birthday — I just kept forgetting to say happy birthday.
Thanks for all the support, Happy Thanksgiving!
Love Elder Willoughby.
Daniel by the river in Choibalsan
Presented have been portions of an email from Elder Daniel Willoughby serving in the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission. If anyone wishes to send Daniel a message, write it in the comments and I will make sure he receives it.
Today my wife spoke in church.
Daniel receives his missionary nametag from his mother
Our five children were born within seven years of each other so are really close in age. When they were small our favorite song in FHE was “I’m so glad when daddy comes home“. Instead of a great big kiss at the end of the song, the kids would tackle dad and wrestle with him on the floor until one of the kids got hurt and then the song was over. Our other favorite song was “I Hope They Call Me on a Mission” when I have grown a foot or two. I hope by then I will be ready to teach and preach and work as missionaries do. I have been asked to talk on preparing a missionary. Our oldest son served in Santiago Chile West, the next son served in California Oakland Spanish speaking, the third son served in Mexico City North and our last son is serving in the Ulaanbaatar Mongolia mission.
I don’t have anything profound or new to share, just four simple things we did in our family.
I am glad to be able to teach primary to an amazing group of eight year old children in our ward. They are bright and happy and it is very apparent that these children are being taught the gospel in their home. They know how to say a prayer, they are learning to read the scriptures and starting to memorize the articles of faith. They have wonderful parents. These children have parents that follow the counsel we have all been taught about holding a regular FHE, scripture study and family prayer. We had times in our own family when we were consistent and able to do these things but there were other times when family scripture study, FHE or family prayer just didn’t happen. We had our share of teenagers that came to FHE and remained in a prone position on the floor with their eyes closed the entire time. But we never decided it wasn’t worth the effort and we never stopped trying.
Jake tracting in Mexico.
We have been fortunate to have the best home teacher in the stake for the past twenty years or so. During all the time he was a counselor in the stake presidency and then as our stake president, he never missed a month home teaching. I’m not sure how many home teachers are that faithful. We got to know all the Hulse boys over the years — young Loren, young Nathan and finally young Joseph. They learned to set up appointments by calling us on the phone or talking to us in person. They learned how to shake hands in greeting and how to prepare and give a message. I’m grateful for Brother Hulse and his example and love for our family. I’m also grateful to my husband, Richard, and the families in our ward that allowed our boys to home teach and learn these skills.
President Monson said:
Brethren, is every ordained teacher given the assignment to home teach? What an opportunity to prepare for a mission. What a privilege to learn the discipline of duty. A boy will automatically turn from concern for self when he is assigned to “watch over” others. (Thomas S. Monson, “The Call to Serve,” Ensign, Nov 2000, 47–49)
We were our children’s employers while they were young so they could learn to manage money. As Richard was the main force behind this topic, he agreed to write how the savings accounts were managed:
A black hole has a one-way surface, called an event horizon, into which objects can fall, but out of which nothing can escape. It is called “black” because it absorbs all the light that hits it, reflecting nothing.
Thus a black hole mission savings account will not allow any deposited money to escape. The one exception made is for a mission.
We set up mission savings accounts at the bank for all the children when they were young. The accounts were set up so that their Dad’s signature was required to withdraw money. The children were required to put 50% of any earnings into their account. When they were old enough for Scouts, ten dollars was paid into their accounts for each completed merit badge. An Eagle required 21 merit badges which meant each boy earned a deposit of $210.
Remember Richard wrote this part for me:
One day my wife said the children wanted to change the mandated percentage. It sounded like a rebellion and my wife appeared to be siding with the children. I called a family council and planned for the worst. The new percentage that the children wanted was to change it from 50% to 40%. So after tithing they would still retain half their money to spend. I pretended to reluctantly agree and was happy they would still be saving a substantial proportion of their earnings.
After a few years I removed the percentage requirement but the children still contributed heavily into their black hole accounts. Their percentage would sometimes be much higher than the old 40% rate.
All four boys earned all their mission money this way. Our daughter, Sarah, was exempt from saving for a mission but the account was still a black hole. She could withdraw money for parental approved activities like marriage and buying Fathers Day gifts.
She used it to go the Europe instead.
We tried to help some of the children with dating and other expenses to allow them to focus on saving for their missions. One of our sons worked at Lagoon in Group Foods for a summer when he was 15. He went to work happy and came home covered with grease from having slaved over a hot grill frying hamburgers all day. But he came home just as happy as when he left because he was earning money for his mission.
Most of our children studied a foreign language in Junior High. President Hinckley said:
Study a foreign language if you have opportunity to do so. You may never be called to a land where that language is spoken, but the study will have given you a better understanding of your own tongue or of another tongue you may be asked to acquire. (Gordon B. Hinckley, “Tithing: An Opportunity to Prove Our Faithfulness,” Ensign, May 1982, 40)
Paul with a little girl.
I’m grateful to the good youth leaders from our ward that served over the years. They took the boys camping even in the winter and organized terrific youth camps and treks. There were lots of great service projects that helped the boys learn to work and serve others. Participating in ward activities, attending church and going to seminary helped build the enthusiasm for serving a mission.
What young man wouldn’t look forward to the adventure of eating sheep head, goat stomach, and horse pizza? Daniel, who is serving in Mongolia, also looks forward to the day his eyelashes freeze his eyes shut. When I asked Daniel what helped prepare him to serve a mission, he wrote:
To Mom:
The things that helped me prepare for a mission the most were the small and simple things we were taught to do every week and day. Scripture study, prayer, attending church, and opportunities to serve others. I am happy that I always liked going to church. I can’t really remember a day when I wanted to stay home and not go. I learned that from Dad and your example of always going yourselves. Also I don’t know how you taught me, or where I learned it from, but the discipline to wake up every morning is very helpful. I just remember always waking up myself with my alarm for school every day, and giving me that responsibility early was probably a good idea. That seems to be a struggle for some missionaries.
After turning 18 years old, going to mission prep class each week really helped. It made me want to go and got me excited about it. I learned a lot from there, especially how to take notes from teachers in that kind of setting, as in the MTC there is tons of things to take notes on.
Other important preparation was just the fact that I knew Dad and you loved me and always wanted to help. Sharing of your testimony and love for the gospel were all things that influenced me to get ready to serve a mission.
Daniel is not allowed to proselyte but serves the Mongolian people by teaching English and can share the gospel with those that express an interest. He writes:
We did two big service projects this week. One was on Friday for a member in the branch. She needed her fence to be moved since the ground where it was no longer could support it. We had most of the members in our district get to work. As I was working it reminded me of my summer job. I had the thought that, “I worked all summer earning money for my mission digging fence holes, and now I’m on my mission digging fence holes.” It made me laugh. We were able to finish the project and it looked good.
I wish I could show you a picture of the fence they moved. It consisted of some logs with the rusted tops of barrels connected eight lids across and four lids down. It is an interesting structure but I wouldn’t call it a fence.
In 1993 Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated Mongolia for the preaching of the gospel, and the Ulaanbaatar Branch was organized that same year. Today, the Mongolian members of our Church number 9,000, reportedly the largest group of Christians in the country.
Steven's welcome home sign as he returns from his mission.
We have been counseled to get out of debt. President Threadgold said he hoped we all had a 401-M account in place in preparation for our mission. I’d like to share an experience from the blog of a couple now serving in Mongolia.
The people of Mongolia sometimes seem to be caught between a rock and a hard place. Universities and Colleges here are not as robust as we find elsewhere, like in the States. They are improving but still have some catching up to do. So, many companies located here in the capitol city of Ulaanbaatar ask for a college degree from a foreign university in order to qualify for their best jobs. But it is very difficult for most here to be able to handle that kind of expense. Particularly when a young family is involved. Sometimes, fathers have left their families to secure the needed degree, something we worry much about.
Then, a couple of months ago, Brigham Young University – Hawaii campus announced the offering of new online classes which students could register for and take over the Internet. What a tremendous blessing! Students can actually complete up to three years of college over the Internet. The final year they must spend on campus. But that is much better than four years!
Interest was high here, as one might expect. We knew the tremendous benefit this could be and tried to pass the word around. We would learn later that Mongolia would account for 50% of all enrollments in the entire Asia area!
The couple wanted to help by setting up a computer lab in the mission home. They tried lots of different ways to get the needed computers.
We finally contacted the BYU-Hawaii administrator over the online program, Brother Griffiths. He said they were in the process of upgrading computers and he would bring them personally. We worried about customs and the enormous charges that might be incurred. We finally greeted Brother Griffiths as he made his way through the airport. We weren’t seeing what we had expected by way of boxes, etc. in which computers might be transported. So we figured they might still be making their way through customs and we would need to pick them up somewhere.
But finally we asked him how it went with the computers. And he said, “Great! They’re all right here in my bags!” He had packed them all in his luggage, only needing to pay for one extra suitcase! They didn’t even bother to ask him his name. Just checked him through without even saying “goodbye”! And he had twelve computers — six laptops and six desktops without monitors. Twelve of them!
This is the impact just one couple is making by serving a mission.
A quarterly newsletter is emailed to us telling us news from the Mongolia mission. This was recently written:
Re-upping is something that two of our senior missionary couples are doing. Elder and Sister Olpin have recently returned from a 3-month break in the US to serve a second mission in Mongolia. Elder and Sister Anderson finished their first mission in Mongolia on September 2. They will be back in November to serve their second mission here. Our complement for senior couples is 14, but we have never had more than 11 couples in the country during the past 2 years — right now we have 7. We are constantly pestering the Mission Department to send more.
Elder Tingey said that the senior couples are the scaffolding for building the Church. This is so apparent in Mongolia. We love our senior couples!
In the D&C we read “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind”. (D&C 64:34)
In the May 2001 Ensign Elder Robert D. Hales said:
What is the best way to teach our children — and grandchildren — light and truth? What is the most important way to set our families, both immediate and extended, in order? Is it possible that in spiritual matters our example speaks louder than our words? Temple marriage, family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening are all vitally important. But there is another dimension — the dimension of service. If we are willing to leave our loved ones for service in the mission field, we will bless them with a heritage that will teach and inspire them for generations to come. (Robert D. Hales, “Couple Missionaries: A Time to Serve,” Ensign, May 2001, 25)
I hope they call me on a mission, when I have shrunk an inch or two. I hope by then I will be ready to teach and preach and work as missionaries do.
Sarah inside the Colosseum on her European tour.
One area of preparedness we have neglected over the years is our 72 hour kits. We only have one full kit for one person. As I want to be able to take the kit with me in an emergency I decided long ago that it needed to be based on MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). MREs are lightweight and come with their own food warmer. For me the civilian MREs will do as they are easier to obtain. If you want to learn more about MREs I highly recommend the MRE Info website.
There were nine MREs in our kit which is three full meals per day for three days. The meals have snacks to supplement and boost the calorie count. We tried four of the menus:
The first two we did not like but the last two were OK. Later I googled online for the distributor of the MREs and found the corporate website at Ameriqual Foods. I didn’t see the meals that we tried in their A Pack Ready Meal self-heating emergency meals at the Ready Meal website. I ordered a box containing two each of the MREs to try them out. Alternatively a half case can be ordered from The Epicenter containing one each of the six menus.
Every APack Ready Meal includes an entrée with self-heating unit, side dishes, beverage mix (bottled water not included), condiment, utensil and towelette. As mentioned, the MREs we tried were very different from the APacks. When the APacks arrive I will check those out and report.
The food is already cooked and all you have to do is warm the MREs. We did this as part of our Family Home Evening on preparedness.
Jake, Rick, and Paul slip the food pouches into the supplied heaters.
Paul filling the heater bag with a small amount of water.
Paul and Jake put the heater and the food pouch back in the box.
Find a handy "rock" to angle your MREs while they warm.
Partake of your MRE dessert or snack while your meal is warming.
Jake's MRE was so gross no-one would eat it. The others were fine.
It is important that you try your emergency foods before you actually have to use them. In an evacuation you will no doubt be stressed so foods that you are familiar with and like will help to ensure you stay nourished.
Do you have an 72 Hour Kit and if so what kind of foods are in it? Do you use MREs? Have you ever had to evacuate your home?
This situation happened when Daniel transferred to Choibalsan. He described it thus:
While walking, I felt like some burden had been lifted off my back. I was so relaxed and felt so good. I thought about why I felt that way the entire day. I couldn’t accept that just because I came here some burden would be gone from my back. Then I realized… I wasn’t wearing my backpack. Ha ha. That was funny. My backpack came later with my luggage by truck. It really isn’t that heavy either.
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This is my beautiful granddaughter Aurora. Enjoy the show, it is best in full screen mode.
If you cannot see the video click here.
Download the original OpenOffice Presentation (78.9 Mb).
Source of All Things Bright And Beautiful is the Young Women Camp Songs web page.
Daniel was rich for 30 seconds this week.
Those comics were way funny dad! I showed the one about Atlanta with Elder Weaver from my group. He laughed hard too. I like to say to someone who doesn’t recognize the name of a Mongolian person… you know the one with black hair and brown eyes. Of course everyone has that color so you get a good pity laugh. Also I think the one about eating goat’s stomach could get a little laugh too.
You may be wondering what all the money is in the picture. Well I had this brilliant idea came to me so I decided to do it. I took out the money in my savings account and exchanged it into Mongolian bills. I figure that when the exchange rate is better I can then exchange it back and get some good profit. Good idea eh? Well it would have been a good idea seven months ago because the exchange rate was 1.8 then but now it is 1.5. [Rickety note: What really happened is a banker allowed Daniel a few minutes with the cash to take the picture]
This week we have plenty of time to do just missionary work. It was great! We met with lots of people and our investigators are progressing great. They think the church may be open again, but they don’t know for sure when. So like last week we went to all the church member’s houses for sacrament. This week we were able to administer it 10 times to 47 people. We started early at 8:30am, trying to catch our less active member before she went to work, but we missed her, just barely. Every other appointment went according to plan and we were busy the whole day. It wasn’t nearly exhausting as last week for some reason. I think because we had already experienced it. I shared the same spiritual thought 10 times. That was actually a really good experience. It was 3 Nephi 27:21. I asked, “What did the Lord want you to do?” I think that’s translated right. We got many answers but few said that the things Christ did He wants us to do as well. So it was a good teaching moment. I felt the spirit strongly and it helped me adapt the lesson to what the people needed to hear.
We made horse pizza last night too. I say that because the meat we used was horse. It was really tasty. Can’t say it tastes much different than beef, but I will anyway. Basically the thought that runs through my mind when I eat horse meat is, “Hey this isn’t beef… it tastes like horse.” I don’t know how else to describe it. So I had pizza for the first time in awhile.
We taught English at the church right before the church got closed. We also teach at the Red Cross center, or we are going to start teaching there. There haven’t been any English sittings allowed really so we haven’t taught. We just have been busy doing missionary work. I know it is Heavenly Father’s work and He is helping us every day. He lives and loves us very much. Thanks for the emails and support.
The things that helped me prepare for a mission the most were the small and simple things we are taught to do every week and day. Scripture study, prayer, attending church, and opportunities to serve others. I am happy that I always liked going to church. I can’t really remember a day when I wanted to stay home and not go. I learned that from Dad and your example of always going yourselves. Also I don’t know how you taught me, or where I learned it from, but the discipline to wake up every morning is very helpful. I just remember always waking up myself with my alarm for school every day, and giving me that responsibility early was probably a good idea. That seems to be a struggle for some missionaries.
After turning 18 years old, going to mission prep class each week really helped. It made me want to go and got me excited about it. I learned a lot from there, especially how I like to take notes from teachers in that kind of setting, as in the MTC there is tons of things to take notes on.
Other important preparation was just the fact that I knew Dad and you loved me and always wanted to help. Sharing of your testimony and love for the gospel were all things that influenced me to get ready to serve a mission.
I really like the comic idea. Those are really funny. I really like your character too. It looks just like you. I’ll usually send everything that I think is funny home. If I have some really good ideas I’ll send them your way.
Love Elder Willoughby.
Presented have been portions of an email from Elder Daniel Willoughby serving in the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission. If anyone wishes to send Daniel a message, write it in the comments and I will make sure he receives it.
Paul made this video while on his mission. His mother had sent a parcel with various items that included a lot of different flavored Crest toothpastes. Another item included was a tube of Skippy peanut butter. Paul put them altogether and came up with this video.
The official title is Real Creamy Delicious Toothpaste. Paul says:
After unwrapping flavor after flavor of toothpaste, the last one surprised me.
