ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — Members of the BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir joined several hundred Mongolian Latter-day Saints and others here to help pick up rubbish from the grounds of a World War II memorial park on a cold, rainy morning.
Because a shipment of tee shirts identifying the effort as a service project of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints didn't arrive in time, most of the volunteers tied identifying yellow tags to their arms. Many of them also wore facemasks as protection from the dust and the cold.
Though the temperature had been almost 70 degrees (F) the day before, a local Church member explained the north wind blowing from Siberia brings sudden temperature drops this time of year. The day before the choir arrived in the Mongolian capital, for example, it had been snowing. Most BYU-Hawaii choir members are not used to such weather, but willingly joined in the service project.
"We promoted this through the Church, invited Scouts and college students, and got over 1,000 people involved in the project largely because of the BYU-Hawaii group," explained Namkhai Adiyabold, first counselor in the Mongolia District Presidency and director of a local tour company that participated in BYU-Hawaii's 2007 business plan competition. "The largest number was from the Church."
"To have the choir visit here has been a great opportunity to introduce the Church to our country," he added. "Now, every member is proud that we have this great school and students."
"The service project was incredible, and fun; and seeing all the places we've learned about this past year is just amazing," said Monica Fiala, a junior vocal studies major from Ashland, Virginia, who described the choir's entire tour of China and Mongolia as "phenomenal. We've witnessed miracles every day and we get to see people's hearts get changed. It's been such a blessing."
Mongolian members of the choir also thought the service project and tour was worthwhile. Enkhtugs Purevsuren, a senior culture and communications major from here, said she was "a little bit nervous at first, but then they all liked it. I'm also really happy that some people could see we're here to help and share our love."
Purevsuren was happy the choir members could visit her home country, "because a lot of people have misunderstandings about Mongolia. I wanted to show the culture and our people. Even if it's not as developed as China, it means a lot to me to bring them home so they have a chance to see where I live."
"It's been almost three years since the last time I was home," added Purevsuren, who was an high school exchange student in Illinois, and then after a year at home, went to BYU Idaho before enrolling at BYU-Hawaii. "My parents were crying when we met."
"It's been amazing. We've seen places I never would have visited," she said of the overall tour. "I feel like we've grown a lot spiritually."
Another Mongolian choir member, Narangarvuu Enkhbaatar — a junior culture and communications major, said the service project was "a lot of fun. In fact, I was a little shocked so many Church members came. We used to do service projects when I was young, but this one showed me that the Church has really grown here."
"It's such a privilege to come home with the choir, and I'm so happy," she continued, adding that between her going to high school in Japan and her parents going to Korea, she hadn't seen them for five years. "They were so happy to see me and said I had grown a lot. I was a young girl when I left them."
"I'm very blessed to be in the choir."
— Photos by Mike Foley: (upper left): Will Ellis of Laie and a Mongolian member of the Church help with the clean-up; (middle right): Monica Fiala; (middle left): Enkhtugs Purevsuren; (lower right): Narangarvuu Enkhbaatar; (bottom): BYU-Hawaii students and others at the war memorial clean-up project, with Ulaanbaatar in the background.
