LuNaR nEw yEaR. #68

Happy Lunar New Year! In Mongolia, Lunar New Year is like Christmas and Thanksgiving combined – three days of nonstop dumpling feasting to celebrate surviving another harsh winter. My companion and I visited 16 homes, and we both gained about 8 pounds! We ate anywhere from 5 to 13 dumplings at each house, and as we left, we received money and gifts. One house we visited had a 98-year-old grandmother. She hosted 63 people at her house on the first day, with a 15-foot table and 4,000 dumplings – it was incredible! On the first morning of the Lunar New Year, we woke up early to greet the sunrise. It was a lot of fun, and we even did two TV interviews. I also met someone who remembers my cousin Justin Betteridge, who served here 24 years ago! The whole experience was wonderful, filled with laughter, singing, remembrance, smiles, and love. I'm so grateful to be among these incredibly generous and Christ-like people. When I'm with these families, I can't help but think of Christ's charge to his disciples: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." I feel Him here with my companion and me, even in the "end of the world." The spirit of Christ is in every smile, embrace, and laugh shared with these people. The spirit of brotherly love truly emanates from Mongolians. Love you all, and I hope you're doing well. Happy Lunar New Year! Love, Elder Bateman