Small steps

It is not every week that I am privileged to witness someone turning from idols to the true and living God. This week’s update is about one of the more incremental changes.

Dashgaa was saved through the witness of many Christians over a period of about ten years. He was a Mongolian teacher at one of the language schools here in Ulan Bator. After his salvation he was baptized by Roland and began attending a group that met with Roland on Sundays. Through various circumstances, the group of people that James and I had been teaching was merged with a group that Roland was teaching, and Dashgaa began to attend our meetings on Sunday mornings.

Dashgaa on left with Roland & Ganpurev

Dashgaa’s wife Tongaa is not saved. Her family is very Buddhist and although Dashgaa and Tongaa have their own ger they live in the same little fenced area. This means that there is much pressure on Dashgaa to deny his Christian faith and return to his Buddhist roots. Dashgaa and Tongaa have three children about the ages of our children, a daughter age 11, a son age 4, and another son who is a toddler.

Dashgaa’s wife is quite antagonistic to the Gospel, does not want to hear about Jesus, and refuses to attend our meetings on Sunday morning. I am determined our family will do our best to love their family to Jesus. Towards that end, my family had visited their home during the Lunar New Year and enjoyed our chance to get to know them. A small step.

Then about a month ago, we had a celebration on Thursday night for International Women’s Day which is a holiday in Mongolia. Because I was planning a game involving couples, I invited Dashgaa to bring his wife which he did. I was a little surprised to see her come. She had a chance to meet the other ladies in our little group and seemed to enjoy her time. Another small step.

Two weeks ago, I asked Dashgaa if I could visit his home. Normally, I try to ask the first time that I visit a Mongolian home and then just show up after that. (Did I mention to you that it is rude for a close friend to ask if he can visit? A true friend is expected to come over without asking.) I picked him up from work, and we went to his house. On the way there, Dashgaa said that when he told his wife that I was to visit, she basically said, “Why would he want to come to our ger?” Many Mongolians are embarrassed to host a foreigner in their ger. I asked if that meant she did not want me to visit. He assured me that she did not mind me visiting. If she had not wanted me to visit she would have said so directly.

I had a pleasant visit and was able to acquaint myself more closely with his family. Towards the end of the evening, I mentioned to Tongaa that my wife taught a Bible class for children and asked if her children might attend the class when her husband came on Sunday. Tongaa became very quiet and gave me no response. I moved on to other topics since she seemed agitated by my request. But the visit and the invitation to send her daughter were another couple of small steps.

The very next Sunday, Dashgaa was unable to attend on Sunday. Frankly, I forgot about the invitation that I had extended to Tongaa to send her daughter. So you can imagine my joy when this past Sunday, Dashgaa walked in with his eleven-year-old daughter behind him. I was so glad that I wanted to jump for joy. Yet another small step: such small steps, you might think, but such small steps lead to Jesus. My prayer is that through patience and love we would see this entire family united in Jesus Christ. Please pray for Tongaa’s salvation and that God would bless us with wisdom, love, and patience as we endeavor to show her the love of Christ. For the love of Christ constraineth us …