One of the highlights of my visit to Ulan Bator was climbing the steps to the top of Zaisan Hill with our team and a Mongolian friend. She was born and raised in Mongolia and now lives with her husband and three boys in my hometown of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, but is here visiting and serving this week through her foundation, www.care4kidsworldwide.org. In 1992, she met a senior missionary couple. They were volunteering as English teachers in her school. They became friends and they invited her to accompany them to the dedication of the preaching of the restored gospel high on a hill overlooking U.B. The capital was much smaller then. Now apartment buildings are being built all around the hill. It was a cloudy day, but the sun came out just in time for the dedicatory prayer.
The prayer was offered by a man who has touched me and my family, for it was Elder Maxwell who performed our marriage in the Salt Lake Temple in 1987. At the time of the gathering on Zaisan Hill, my friend did not realize that she was in the presence of a modern Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. There with a handful of other Mongolians who were at the time not yet of our faith, she heard Elder Maxwell offer this beautiful prayer. Later, as she asked to learn more about our faith from the missionary couple, she was told that the Book of Mormon had not yet been translated into Mongolian. Fortunately, because she had attended a Russian-speaking school, she was able to read the Book of Mormon in Russian and gain a testimony of this book of scripture. She was baptized a few months later and was one of the first 10 Mongolian Mormons. Now there are 10,000. She also served as one of the first 5 Mormon missionaries from Mongolia. As I looked out over the city with her, she told me that she now recognizes that the blessing given by Elder Maxwell is being fulfilled. Freedom has come to Mongolia. Economic prosperity is coming to Mongolia. The Church is blossoming in Mongolia. It was touching to me to attend a district conference which was attended by hundreds of beautiful families most of whom live in traditional Mongolian gers (round huts or yurts). I also attended two firesides, one for youth and one for young single adults and saw the chapel in downtown U.B. filled to capacity with enthusiastic young people many of whom have served or will serve as missionaries around the world. I have been touched by the beautiful Mongolian people, both those of my faith and those not of my faith. I am thankful for the privilege of visiting and serving in this fascinating country and the blessing of catching a glimpse of the miracles that are occurring here.
OFFICIAL DEDICATORY PRAYER
for the Land of Mongolia for the preaching of the restored Gospel
April15, 1993~4:00 pm, Zaisan Hill – Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
By Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
"Almighty God, Father of the whole human family, we, a few of thy children, feel privileged to gather here today. We are grateful for the sunshine and thank Thee, O God, for so smiling upon this special occasion. Though we can see Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, in the distance, Father, we know we cannot see far away. We are comforted to know that Thou seest all things at all times. Some of us are far from home and far from our families, but we are comforted to know that no place is distant from Thee. Father, as we prepare to dedicate the country of Mongolia for the preaching of the restored Gospel and for the building up of Thy Kingdom, we first seek to rededicate ourselves to Thy service and to Thy purposes in the earth. Father, bless these pioneering couples and all those missionaries who will follow. Protect them; bless them with a love for the Mongolian people. May their assistance be welcomed; may the ways they help the Mongolian people be appreciated. O God, Our Father, bless the new converts. Help them to be strong as they will shape the future of the Church in Mongolia. Please continue to raise up friends in Mongolia who will help Thy work to progress. May all of these things be combined so that Thy work will help these hardy, strong Mongolian people to be happier and more prosperous. Father, this is a wind-swept land. May it also be the case that the winds of freedom will never cease to blow in Mongolia. Preserve and protect the independence of Mongolia regardless of the moves made on the great checkerboard of the nations. Heavenly Father, may the yesterdays of Mongolia not hold the tomorrows of Mongolia hostage. We pray for the leaders, present and future, of this nation. Guide them and bless them to preserve freedom and to have a more adequate economy. Father, we realize there are many in the world to whom Mongolia is unknown and unappreciated, but we plead with thee, Father, that Mongolia not go unblessed. So, in the power and the authority of the Holy Apostleship, I dedicate the land of Mongolia and bless its leaders and people, its soil, and its sky – all to the end that the nation maybe blessed, that it will so respond to the Gospel message so that Thy work may be firmly established here. May Mongolia even be a beacon light to other nations. Father, we thank thee for the atonement of Thy Son Jesus Christ, for Thy plan of salvation which tells us who we are and why we are here. We thank Thee for the restoration of Thy Gospel and unite in our expressions of appreciation on this special occasion. We are grateful for the love Thou has given us and ask Thy blessing to preserve our memories of this occasion. We so dedicate this land. May the members of the Church here be good citizens of the Church and good citizens of this nation. For all these things we pray. As Mongolia faces the future, may the sunshine we experience this day symbolize Thine approval of this occasion and this dedication. We so pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!"
When we added up the number of combined monthly deliveries for all of the hospitals who sent people to be trained, we came up with 4770 deliveries per month or 57,240 deliveries per year. Mongolia has 60,000-65,000 births per year and a population of about 3 million. Now with the training kits that each hospital will receive, those who attended will go back and train their colleagues in this train-the-trainer program. We feel confident that those who are taught these resuscitation skills will make a difference and save many babies who might otherwise not survive.
and see an exhibit of gers (round huts) which are constructed and decorated as they would have been in the time of Chinggiss Khaan in the 1200's. We sampled some Mongolian rural foods including shar tos or yellow cream which had a delicious buttery taste. We saw a Mongolian eagle. These eagles are able to catch wolves by latching on to the lower back of the wolf as it is running. Then the wolf turns around to try to get the eagle off of him, and then the eagle attacks his exposed neck. We saw (and rode!) bactrian camels which are the only camels in the world with two humps.
One evening this week we visited one of 38 shelters in Ulan Bator for street children. The last few winters in the countryside have been very severe with temperatures as low as -60° F. Vast numbers of livestock died. Having lost their livelihood, many families have moved into the outskirts of the capital. With some of the families now unable to support their children, some have been abandoned in the city and have started to live in the streets. Other children run away from abusive homes. Some are brought by the police to the shelter we visited where attempts are made to reunite them with their families.
Due to malnutrition, many of the young boys who look like they are about 10 or 11 told us that they are actually 14 or 15.
Deseret International Charities, the local arm of LDS Humanitarian Services and www.care4kidsworldwide.org have provided kitchen appliances, a ping pong table, a foosball table as well as food for the shelter.
To keep warm in the winter when the temperatures here get to -40° F and average 0° F, the street children climb down manholes into the sewer system to keep warm. There hot water pipes are located as part of the heating system for the buildings in U.B. One boy showed us the scars over his back from burns, which occurred when he fell asleep leaning against one of the hot water pipes.
We were touched by the sincerity of the director of this shelter who met with us and helped us to better understand the problem of the street children of Ulan Bator.
Today our first Neonatal Resuscitation course began. Thirty-two obstetricians, midwives, and nurses are in the course. They come from a variety of provinces around Mongolia. There are two representatives from each hospital. Some of the hospitals where they work have as few as 40 deliveries per month, but some in the capital have as many as 900 deliveries per month. When we added up all the deliveries for all the hospitals represented, it totaled 3455 per month or 41,460 per year. That means that the potential impact of the course may extend to hospitals where up to 2/3 of all deliveries in the country occur since there are about 60,000 births in the country each year. Our goal is to get each of these providers to train all the providers in their own hospitals within the next few weeks. Each team will receive a supply of training kits and manuals to take back to their facilities. The second course later this week will include providers from some of other provinces in the country.
Today after attending District Conference presided over by a member of the First Quorum of Seventy who is based in Hong Kong, we visited Maternity Hospital II. There are 4 such maternity hospitals in Ulan Bator. We were impressed by the capable and hard working physicians and nurses. There are about 500 deliveries per month at this hospital which is twice the number we have at Sky Ridge Medical Center where I work. However, they do not have a ventilator for premature babies. The Pediatrician told us that she knew of 2 babies this month who died because they do not have a ventilator. We have asked the director to submit a proposal to LDS Humanitarian Services to procure a ventilator for this hospital. Normally, babies earlier than 32 weeks are transported to a referral center here. But there was one 26-weeker who had not been transported out because the tertiary care hospital did not have any beds. Despite their limited equipment, these doctors have some skills that I do not have: while we were there, one of the mom's delivered her baby double footling breech (feet first). In the U.S., these babies are always delivered by C-section due to the risk of complications such as head entrapment (the body comes out but the head gets stuck). Luckily this little baby boy did well! Our team was thrilled to see two beautiful sets of twins as well. Many of the babies were all wrapped up in blankets, and then the little bundles were tied with ribbons!
Following the training, we drove out to the Sukhbaatar District in the outskirts of Ulan Bator and attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a water project that Deseret International Charities/LDS Humanitarian Services is funding for the people in that local community. We first met with the governor of the 15th subdistrict, Azjargal Batbold, in his office to learn about the plans. This well will be unique because it will have landscaping around it. We then drove out to the well site. We gathered around the groundbreaking site for speeches, and then an elderly resident walked around the hole clockwise dropping spoonfuls of milk around and into the hole. Then the other dignitaries including the wife of one of the General Authorities based in Hong Kong followed suit and took a turn dripping more spoonfuls of milk. Then a blue sash and a box of tea was placed into the hole. Finally, shovels of dirt were placed into the hole by each of the dignitaries as well as the children in attendance. The final treat was visiting the ger (round house or yurt) of one of the local families which is insulated by sheep wool to keep the family warm in the winter. The lady of the house served us dried goat cheese.
Today we also prepared the packets for our Neonatal Resuscitation courses.
Additionally, we went to get groceries for the week at a local market. In addition to selling a variety of meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables, one store even sold lots of Kirkland brand (Costco) products like these nuts which were priced at $32 per container.
