Friday, October 22, 2010


This is Nara Thompson. She is an amazing woman. I am going to quote from a letter that I wrote as part of her story.
"While we were at the MTC one of the other couples said, "Oh, our daughter has a friend from Mongolia. Would you like to hear from her maybe she can answer some of your questions." We said that would be great and really didn't think anything of it.
A couple of days later we got an email from Nara Thompson. She introducded hersellf and said that she was coming to Mongolia in October and she would like to meet us. We emailed back and forth several times in casual way and this week we met her.

Nara is one of those rare individuals who can make things happen.. She was born and raised in Ulaanbaatar. Her parents were from the upper elite. Her father was a Supreme Court Judge and her mother was a prosecuting attorney. They raised her to be a very caring and thoughtful individual. when she was a teenager she began thinking if there really was a god. Her mother had been raised Buddhist and her father thought if you were a good person that was enough.. One day she was taking a final exam and was stumped for an answer on an adavanced math test. She remembered thinking, "If there is a god will you help me remember how to do this problem." She said the answer just flowed out of her pen. When she met the missionaries she said she remembered that experience and what they taught just rang true.

She joined the Church and went to BYU-Hawaii. While she was there she accepted a mission call to Canada. Her family wasn't very happy. At the time there was a senior couple and the Elder had been a judge. He talked with Nara's father and eased his fears about her serving a mission. Her father also helped ease the way for the Church to become recognized in Mongolia.

After her mission she went to BYU and met a fellow who had served in Mongolia on his mission. They married and now live in Highlands Ranch, CO with their three sons. He is an attorney and she has a masters degree in international relations.

She always felt like she needed to give back to her country. She has started a foundation called "Care4Kids International". She raises money and gathers supplies for children who live under the streets in Ulaanbaatar. The city is heated by a giant grid hot water pipes and these homeless children go down man holes to get near the pipes to stay warm.

She contributes to a shelter called "the first station". It is run by the police department. They find children everywhere in the city and bring them to this shelter and provide them with food, clean clothes, and a place to stay for a period of time. They clean the children up (usually including shaving their heads to control lice.). They try to find a parent or reltative. Often that is impossible, which really complicates things because if you aren't registered with the government you can't get a job, health care or education. Many of these children come from abusive environments and don't want their family to be found. Many are from single mothers who can't afford to keep them and send them away. It is a tragedy beyond anything I have ever seen in my life.
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