Prayer update

Although the number of children coming on Sundays has been down, the number of adults coming has been steady. We have seen seven or eight adults come every Sunday but one since the start of the new year. I mentioned Bayambaa and her pregnancy in last week's update. Well, Bayambaa was feeling well enough to come on Sunday, and she brought her father. She has been saying for some time that she was going to bring her father, but this past Sunday is the first time that he came.

Next week is the Mongolia's Lunar New Year celebration which will last most of the week. This week is a huge week of preparation for four or five days of eating, visiting, and gift-giving. Ganpurev's family has made 700-800 buuz (meat dumplings) in preparation and some families make over a thousand.

The biggest day of visiting, however, occurs on the first day of the lunar new year which falls this year on Sunday. On Sunday, the group that came talked about when and where to meet on Sunday. They all agreed that our standard meeting time of eleven in the morning was a difficult time to meet. Instead, they suggested that we meet at seven in the morning on Sunday.

You see, on the first day of the lunar new year many Mongolians do various rituals to invoke the blessing of the gods for the new year. Some climb to the top of local hills where there are ovoos or rock piles to wait for the sunrise. Some women throw milk south, north, east, and west to please the gods. So the Mongolians suggested instead that we meet early, sing some songs to praise our God, and have a Bible lesson to start the new year. I was very pleased that they wanted to start the new year in this way. Parts of four Mongolian families have already committed to join us early on Sunday morning for worship; praise the Lord!

Next week, I plan to have more frequent updates about all the excitement and activities of the Mongolian Lunar New Year. Perhaps, I'll try to keep a running total of how many buuz I have eaten. Also, pray especially for the believers here. There will be a great amount of pressure to drink alcohol during this time.

I have not forgotten that you are praying for me. We need your prayers. Next week will be the best week of the year to visit acquaintances and make new ones. Please pray for God's blessing as I seek to reach new families during the Mongolian Lunar New Year.