Muddy Mongolia

Several days of rain have turned the streets into lakes, the sidewalks into dirty puddles, and the rest into mud. It reminded me of an update I wrote the first year I was in Mongolia; it follows below -

It has been raining here in Ulan Bator. I have enjoyed the rain. It has been a fine Oregon drizzle. The type of rain when it is too wet for the school children to go outside; but after a few days of Oregon drizzle, it is better to let them go out than race around the classroom. The teachers at Westgate know what I mean. We had that kind of rain this week. I loved it! As I was walking along a sidewalk, I closed my eyes and imagined that I was walking along Scholls Ferry Road between the church and our old apartment on Beard Road. But I soon had to open my eyes to avoid stepping in the creek. That piece of sidewalk only lasts for a block and ends in a gutter full of water.

In Ulan Bator, this type of rain only lasts for a day or two. Because therain sewers in Ulan Bator are often plugged, a little rain soon is enough to cover the potholes in the streets. That does not bother the taxi drivers, however, they will just drive on the shoulder alongside the street. The truck drivers and bus drivers do not even care enough to do that - they simply plow through the small lakes, bouncing and jostling cargo and passengers alike. It makes for an interesting race on some badly potholed streets as the smaller, quicker taxi drivers pass the trucks and buses during lake-less stretches of road. Then when the taxi drivers reach the small lakes they drive up on the shoulder while the trucks and buses plow right through splashing muddy water on the taxis.

Every once in a while, you get in with a taxi driver intent on destroying his compact vehicle. He too tries to plow through the small lakes. Although he drives as if enough speed will allow him to hydroplane over the potholes, of course, he hits the deepest part of every pothole. You soon begin to cringe as you enter every lake. You know that if the next pothole separates the axle from the car, you will have to swim for shore. It sure is hard to dodge the buses while you are swimming.

Update on Buren and his family

Buren has been helping me to locate some property for a building. Recently, I spent part of a day with him and his wife looking at possible property. During our conversation he mentioned that two of his daughters, Chimgee and Uchkaa, would like to be baptized. I asked him and his wife if they also believed. Buren said that he does not yet believe but he is understanding more all the time. This is progress. In the past when I would ask him whether he believed in Jesus he would always respond that he did not understand. Now at least he says that he is understanding.

His wife Sonin is unable to come on Sundays because of work. Interestingly, she says that she is also understanding more and perhaps will become a believer in Jesus one day. She did attend our special meetings on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night last week.

Knowing that sometimes parents will say that their children are interested in things (like learning English) that the children really could care less about, I had Kristie ask the girls individually if they wanted to be baptized. They both seemed interested. So now we need to sit down with both of them and ask about their salvation testimony and the reason that they want to be baptized.

Please pray for Buren's family to be saved and baptized. Also, pray for wisdom for us that we would have the proper discernment as we talk to these two young ladies. Both of them are in their early twenties and have been attending our church services regularly. We are eager to have another baptismal service.

Weekend update

This past weekend I was able to visit both Enkhee and Ganbold. Enkhee was electrocuted and burned about a month ago. The electric shock knocked him unconscious. Some co-workers dropped him off at home unconscious and left. (I'm not sure why they did not take him to a hospital). The next day Enkhee returned to work. When I visited him I saw the scars from the electrical burns. He attributes his safety and "quick" recovery to God's protection. He still works seven days and about 80 hours a week. In fact, the last two times that I met him, I visited him at work.

Ganbold continues to work seven days a week too. He recently won an award as a top bus driver for his company. The company offered to send him on a vacation (unpaid) for seven or ten days. Ganbold declined to go because he needs the salary more than he needs the vacation he said. Neither of these men though saved is able to attend our church services. My heart is burdened because their spiritual growth is stunted by their lack of personal Bible study, lack of prayer, and lack of fellowship.

As an example of this, on Saturday Ganbold's father-in-law came to visit. He noticed that all the pictures of gods and idols were gone from Ganbold's ger (that's good). He began to rebuke them for not having their gods out. But Ganbold did not talk this opportunity to witness to his father-in-law. Perhaps the spiritual discernment and boldness necessary for such a time is missing because of Ganbold's weak spiritual life.

On Sunday, the numbers were down but still above where they were in the fall. Ganpurev preached in my place on the love of God and did a good job. Obviously, he speaks the language much better than I do. I had given him some help and some verses to use but was impressed because most of his lesson was not a restatement of what I had taught him and he had some verses that he did not get from me. It is good for me to listen to Mongolian preach and exciting to think that God understands Ganpurev's Mongolian preaching as well as He understands my English preaching!

Please pray for these Mongolians. They need to realize that they must put God's kingdom first and then God will work on their behalf.

Bob, questions, answers, and salvation

Wednesday night, Bob came to the last night of our meetings by himself. I was surprised to see him. Afterwards, he stayed to talk with me. He wanted to talk about business - he requested my help in making a sale to a foreigner - and then transitioned to talking about the sermon that he heard on Monday.

He claimed that he had many questions about the sermon and about the Bible that he wanted answered. I let him talk for about 15 or 20 minutes. I think he is under conviction and claiming that he does not have anyone to answer his questions (he says my language skills are too poor) gives him an excuse for not believing. I listened to him patiently. When I break came, I replied that I did not think that the reason for his disbelief was a lack of knowledge. I told him directly that he simply refuses to submit himself to God. He then went on to say that his pride and self-confidence is very important. He said that it would be very sinful for him to say that he believed, to be baptized, and then to return to his old, sinful ways. I agreed with him and told him that what he needs is repentance. To not only regret his sin but to turn from it. Then his objection was that he fears that true belief would change his life. I told him the answer was simple, "Trust the Lord."

Keep praying for Bob. He is obviously under a considerable amount of conviction from the Holy Spirit. I believe that is why he talks about having questions. It is his way of hiding from the truth. The truth is that he knows about the true God and is rejecting His authority because he does not want to repent. His problem is partly pride and partly fear; but his pride and fear will lead him straight to hell. On one hand, I find his objections to be almost laughable because I know how faithful God is. On the other hand I pity him because he is storing up God's wrath for himself. If he does not repent, one day he will receive the just penalty for his sin. It is a scary thought.

Prayer update

It has been a busy couple of days. Over the weekend, I tried to get out to visit several people. Enkhee has been struggling with working constantly. It is painful to watch his family hurt as he is never home. His son wants to go with him everywhere and sees him rarely. He can never join us on Sundays he says and does not have time to even read his Bible and pray consistently. When I challenged him to put the things of the kingdom of God first (easy for me to say), he brought up a whole litany of reasons why he has to work as much as he does. My heart aches for him as I watch him makes choices that cause himself and his family to suffer.

Sunday we had a good attendance and good attention to the preaching. Speaking of the people of Nazareth and their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, I pointed out that while it is possible to reject Jesus Christ, the one who does so suffers. The people of Nazareth were the ones who lost when they refused to see Jesus as anymore than "the carpenter's son."

Monday night and Tuesday night we held special meetings and asked special speakers to come in to preach to us. Monday night a Mongolian and Tuesday night, an American who speaks the Mongolian language very well, came to speak to us. Attendance was better on Monday but Tuesday we still had eight Mongolian adults who made time in their busy schedules to hear the preaching of God's Word. Our speaker talked about holiness - a topic that often is overlooked in our relativistic, tolerant American society. It is a blessing for me to sit under other people's preaching. I need it!

Pray that God would bless the results of this week's preaching and use it to revive our hearts and re-energize us (that is, the Americans and Mongolians) for the work which He has called us to do.

Sunday & Monday update

We had our first special meeting last night (Monday) which was well attended. My main concern with the special meetings was that attendance would be low the first night followed by decreasing attendance. God was good, however, to give us a good group of adults and children last night. The rousing singing, good preaching, and fellowship afterward was enjoyed by all who attended. Please pray for continued good meetings. We have another special speaker scheduled for tonight, and on Wednesday we will share our vision of where this church is going.

Buren and Bob were both at last night's meeting and probably will be back tonight. Continue to pray for their salvation.

Special Meeting

We have been preparing for some special meetings Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night next week. Some other speakers are coming to give our usual attenders a chance to hear someone else, and on Wednesday night, we hope to present our vision for the coming years. We want to accomplish two objectives in these meetings.

1. We want to stir our Mongolian believers hearts with a renewed love for Jesus Christ and a recharged desire to serve Him
2. We want to see the Mongolians realize even more fully that this is their church. We are here: to help, to witness, to disciple, to teach. But ultimately, they are the ones who will make this church grow and prosper both spiritually and numerically.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit would use these meetings to increase our faith, strengthen our resolve to serve, and energize our love for the Savior.

Missions quote

"True faith glories in the present tense, and does not trouble about the future. God’s promises are in the present tense and are quite secure enough to set our hearts at rest. Their full outworking is often in the future, but God’s word is as good as His bond, and we need have no anxiety." – James O. Fraser

Prayer update

I have not had an opportunity to teach a Bible lesson at Ganbold's house for the last three weeks. He calls on Sunday afternoon to tell me that they are all busy at work or otherwise and will not be able to have me teach a lesson. He needs to recognize the truth of Matthew 6:33 but as a young Christian still does not understand the importance of making time for God.

Enkhee is also struggling. When I called him Monday to visit him, he said that he is never home. I suggested that I might visit him at work, and he agreed to that. Still, he too needs to make time for God.

Bilgoon, the boy with brain tumors, had a CAT scan taken this week. Pray that the scan will enable doctors to make a diagnosis and that it will give Bilgoon's parents some direction on what should be done next.

Mother's Day in Mongolia

There is no Mother's Day in Mongolia. They celebrate International Women's Day in March but the emphasis is on women in general not mothers necessarily. We took advantage of the American Mother's Day holiday to honor Kristie. I made breakfast and took the family out to an afternoon dinner. The children made cards for their mother. And late in the evening, Kristie and I both called our mothers in Oregon. (It was Mother's Day morning, their time).

We had another good turnout on Sunday with a dozen Mongolian adults and 28 people total counting Mongolians and foreigners. Bilgee continues to bring people out; this last Sunday a co-worker that he invited came to visit bringing along his wife and son.

Continue to pray for men to be saved. Buren continues to come regularly. I wonder sometimes what is going through his head.

The weather here has been normal for spring. Days of beautiful, warm weather interspersed with snow flurries. Last Wednesday, the high was 84° F. The low on Saturday was 21° F, but temperatures returned to the high 70's on Sunday. Sometimes it is hard to know how to dress.

Enkhamgalan & Ganpurev update May 07

I know that many of your have been praying. Many of you have been praying for the men with whom I work with by name. For those of you I offer this update.

I met Enkhamgalan last year and though his name means "peace" he certainly did not know what peace was. We've met a couple more times since then, and he occasionally attends on Sundays. Yesterday, Bilgee, Enkhamgalan, and I met for a Bible study, and the difference in Enkhamgalan's attitude is remarkable.

Perhaps you think that the difference is his situation but you would be mistaken. Enkhamgalan's father has cancer and his life currently hangs in the balance. Also, last week Enkhamgalan found out that he would be losing his job this month. Despite those setbacks, he seems more at peace than he was before. As I asked him some about salvation yesterday he gave me some answers that lead me to believe that he a Christian. What else could explain the amazing peace that he has in the midst of his difficulties. Please pray that his present circumstances will strengthen his faith and that he will find comfort in God and God's word. I, too, would ask your prayers for wisdom as I work with this young man.

In other news, Ganpurev still has his job. I asked him what his boss had to say to him Monday after he declined to come into work on Sunday. He said that she said nothing to him. I see this as confirmation of God's blessing on a right decision. Continue to pray for Ganpurev's growth in grace. This weekend Ganpurev and Ulzee said that they will visit Mandaa and Bayambaa's place. I have witnessed to Mandaa before but I am hoping that Ganpurev's superior Mongolian will be a help to Mandaa's understanding of salvation. Please pray for Mandaa's salvation. It would be a wonderful event for Ganpurev to be the one to lead Mandaa to our Savior!

One last note, remember I said that the weather had been warm. Don't worry about global warming just yet. Today (Friday) at 3 PM it was snowing here in UB. It's not quite summer yet.

Thank you for praying!

Some notes on pronouncing Mongolian names

Recently, someone pointed out to me that including a pronunciation guide to my transcrition of Mongolian names would be helpful. I intend to do that in future posts but thought I would begin with a short guide that I can also provide a link to in the future.

Mongolian has two sets of vowels: vowels that are considered to be made in the front of the mouth and vowels made in the back of the mouth. The front vowels are e as in the Spanish espanol, i as in Amy, o as on tooth, u as in spoon. The back vowels are a as in father, o as in dog (only made further back - think "aunt" as someone from Boston would say it), and u as in ... well there's no equivalent in any English word that I can think of. There are several other letters that are considered vowels that are combinations of the aforementioned vowels and a combination of y. So there is a ya sound. One Mongolian name that has this sound is Bayambaa.

There are also several consonants in Mongolian that we don't have in English. One is the kh. Another is the back g. There is a 'v' like sound that is made with the two lips rather than with the upper teeth and two lower lips. They also have a single letter for our ch as in church sound, and another single letter for sh as in ship.

You'll notice a two letter combination at the end of many names such as Bilgee, Bayambaa, Ganaa, Saraa. These are actually a small suffix that Mongolians often stick on the end of names. The two letters actually denote that the emphasis is on the last syllable. So it's not Bilʹgee. Remember the e sounds like espanol (more like day) so think Bil·gayʹ.

That's all for now. I'll try to add some pronunciations in parentheses after new names from now on.

Imagine choosing between God and work

Imagine if you lived in a country where unemployment was high and even those who had employment often went unpaid because their bosses "had no money." In the most recent case of this, my friend's boss took the money that he had been paid for a job and spent it all on alcohol. Then when payday came, he was unable to pay his employees. So they received no paycheck. Other friends of mine have worked for months only receiving half their salary and an excuse about how little money the company has.

And imagine that you live in a country where there are almost no protections for employees, and no method for mediating a dispute with one's boss. Sure, you could leave your job and be unemployed. But the hope of a paycheck (even if you only receive one occasionally) is better than absolutely no hope of a paycheck.

Now imagine that your boss began to ask you to work most Sundays. Would you have the faith to tell your boss that you had something more important to do on Sundays? Even if you knew that your boss might fire you and you would have no recourse? For many Christians here in Mongolia, these are the choices that they face. I had yet to see a Christian with enough faith to tell his boss that he would not work on Sundays ... until this month.

Ganpurev's job used to be strictly Monday through Fridays, a rarity here in Mongolia. Then his boss asked him to work one Sunday and then another and another. Soon she was asking him to work more Sundays than he had off. Recently, he told her that he would no longer be working on Sundays. That is easy to say ...

So his boss called him this past Sunday morning, said something urgent had come up, and that she needed him to work. He politely declined and reminded her that he would not be available for work on Sundays. When I saw him Sunday, he told me, "I might not have a job tomorrow." He was not joking.

It shows a great amount of faith for a Mongolian to decide that setting aside his Sundays for God is more important than working. I can see how God has used these difficult months at work to build faith in Ganpurev's life. Please pray that his faith would continue to grow and that his decision would be a testimony to other Mongolians.

Balmy weather, good attendance

This blog post will be a little more chatty than most for those of you who enjoy chatty posts. We've had beautiful weather here for the last week. Temperatures have been in the high 60's and 70's. We actually hit 84 on Saturday. That about 25 degrees above normal for us here. So the children have been enjoying playing outside without coats. And it's been nice to get ready to go without spending 5-10 minutes with hats, gloves, and other cold weather clothes items. The weather is forecast to be cooler the next few days before it warms again at the end of the week.

You might remember Dashgaa from a previous post. His father passed away last week. Please pray for him and his family. I believe that he is the only one saved in his entire family. I know that his wife needs salvation still.

Also, Sunday we had a good turnout. Bilgee has brought a visitor on Sunday every week for the past four weeks. None of them have come back a second time yet, but he keeps bringing them.

Some of you may be wondering, "So how many were there this last Sunday?" Well, we had ten Mongolian adults, five Mongolian children, and nine foreigners (including my family) for a total of twenty-four. I noticed this morning in my blog that I was happy to have six Mongolian adults back in February, so we are making progress. Don't forget that we have some special meetings coming up in the middle of the month. Please be praying for those meetings.

It seems as if every family in our church is struggling with work-related issues right now. One is losing his job this week. Another may be losing his job for refusing to work on Sundays. A third recently missed receiving his salary because his boss took the money that he received for a job and spent it all on alcohol. I think this is a good opportunity for our church family to grow through trials. Please pray that they would accept the grace that God is offering them to deal with difficult circumstances.

I was scheduled to teach a Bible lesson at Ganbold's Sunday night. However, he called Sunday afternoon and said that whole family was not at home because they had taken a mini-vacation outside the city. He said to come next week. Keep praying for the salvation of his sons.

I haven't heard from some of you in a little while. Don't hesitate to e-mail me when you have a chance. I'd love to hear from you.

Missions quote

If after my removal any one should think it worth his while to write my Life, I will give you a criterion by which you may judge its correctness. If he give me credit for being a plodder he will describe me justly. Anything beyond this will be too much. I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything. – William Carey in a letter to his nephew Eustace

Many prayer requests

Personally, I feel a little overwhelmed now with some specific prayer requests. However, I know that many of you are reading this blog so that you can know specific ways to pray. So let me just dive right in ...

The Bible study at Ganbold's (blogs about Ganbold) ger went profitably for a little while. Then, the last two weeks they have been unable to find time when I can teach them although I did visit Ganbold last week. When I visited none of his sons were home; most of them were still at work when I visited about 9:30 Saturday night. Please pray that Ganbold and his sons would make time to study the Bible and would be blessed by their efforts to seek God (Jer. 29:13, Heb. 11:6). Thank you for praying about that Bible study. The good news is that I believe Ganbold is now saved.

I have a man with whom I meet occasionally. I do not think that he is a Christian yet, but he is searching for something and is slowly growing in his understanding of the Gospel. His name is Enkhamgalan (blog entries about Enkhamgalan). Though his name means "peace," he certainly lacks that fruit of the Spirit. He now has two prayer requests. First, his father is dying of cancer and is not a Christian. Secondly, he just found out this week that he is losing his job. Even more than in the U.S. losing one's job can be extremely discouraging in Mongolia. Please pray that the circumstances of Enkhamgalan's life would drive him to Jesus Christ and that he would learn that in the midst of difficult situations Christians are "more than conquerors."

Many of you remember Enkhee who made a profession of faith in Christ (his salvation testimony). For several reasons, he feels that he cannot leave his job. However, his job requires him to work seven days a week. That means that he cannot attend our Sunday services to be fed God's word and be encouraged by fellowship with other believers. Recently, he works as an electrician and recently was electrocuted burning his arm and knocking him unconscious. His co-workers brought and dropped him off unconscious. The next day he returned to work! As an American, I cannot understand it. Please pray that he too would make time to fellowship with believers and to study God's word.

Then Ganpurev would appreciate your prayers too. He has a good job as a driver and manager and fix-it man. His boss really likes him because he is a faithful and trustworthy worker. Unfortunately, in the last few months his boss has been asking him to work 70-80 hours a week including Sundays. He missed two Sundays in a row for the first time ever back in April. He recently talked to his boss about it, requesting Sundays off. His boss responded that he was the only driver she had (which is the boss's problem if you ask me). So he is wondering what he should do. He would rather spend the time with his family and with the church; however, like all the other Mongolians, he is very hesitant to leave his job. I told him that I think God has led him into this trial to teach him something (James 1:2-5). Please pray that God would give him wisdom to respond to his boss correctly and to be a shining testimony for Jesus Christ. We know that God wants Ganpurev to work and to provide for his family; perhaps God has another job for Ganpurev. If so, pray that Ganpurev would recognize God's direction and walk by faith.

Another young Christian man who regularly attends church also found out this week that he will be laid off from his work. (He's the one who introduced me to Enkhamgalan.) He too is searching for work. But I see these work-related problems as an opportunity for these saved ones to exercise their faith. But it takes a lot of faith for a new Christian in Mongolia to see God's hand at work in (what to them) are desperate circumstances.

On top of this, there are three people in our church who are praying for the salvation of their spouse. The spouses names are Bob, Mandaa, and Tongaa. Please pray that the saved spouses would have God's grace to show the love of God to their husbands/wife and pray for the salvation of the unsaved spouse.

I trust that all of you who read this will pick at least one or two of these prayers requests and ask God to give you a burden for them so that you pray for them fervently, earnestly, and regularly.

April prayer letter

This is our prayer letter from April. I meant to post it earlier and forgot. Some of you may not get our prayer letter by mail or e-mail and may want to read it. However, if you follow this blog closely, this information is all old news.

The exciting news for this month comes from Resurrection Sunday when I visited Ganbold’s ger to teach him and his family another Bible lesson. A surprise was waiting for me as I looked around Ganbold’s ger that night: all his idols were gone. When I asked him where his idols were, he told me he had disposed of them. I followed up my initial question by asking him why he had done that. He told me that he now believed in Jesus and no longer needed his idols. At the end of our lesson, Ganbold also prayed to ask the Lord God for forgiveness of his sins. Since many of you have been praying for his salvation, I am glad to report that I believe he has shown fruit appropriate for repentance.

Resurrection Sunday night I also asked his sons if they wanted to pray to ask God to forgive their sins. They said they were not ready. Frankly, even before I asked I expected that they still were not ready. However, I am not discouraged because they are still listening to the preaching of God’s Word. I told Ganbold that he needs to pray for the salvation of his sons. Please join with us in praying for their salvation: Gantulag, Gerel-od, Gerelsaikhan, and Darkhanbold. Certainly do not neglect to pray for his wife, Khorloo. She seemed genuinely interested in the Bible teaching on Resurrection Sunday.

The potential impact we can have through Ganbold’s family is truly amazing. First, there is still significant respect for age here in Mongolia. Since Ganbold is the oldest in his family, his testimony and his beliefs will carry considerable weight. He has two younger siblings who are Christians, but they are the youngest in the family. Five other siblings could be substantially influenced by his decision. Second, the idols that Ganbold had were not just any idols. He had received them from his father who was a famous shaman in his local area. That Ganbold rid his home of these idols was a decision that surprised several of his relatives. To me, his willingness to give up his gods is just another evidence of the Holy Spirit regenerating a wicked heart. Please pray that Ganbold will grow in grace and be a bright testimony for our Savior to his family. Third, Ganbold has four grown sons, two daughters, and three daughters-in-law. Almost all of them have come to at least one Bible lesson that I have taught in Ganbold’s ger. Please continue praying for their salvation.

The greatest obstacle, again, is time. Ganbold and his sons all work as bus drivers, often spending 12-14 hours a day preparing their buses, driving, and repairing them. They all work six days a week and many times work seven days to cover for other drivers. When I teach a lesson, it is rare that all of them can be there. Pray that time will be given them to study God’s Word.

Prayer update

A very unusual thing happened this last Sunday: two of the main east-west roads through Ulan Bator were completely closed and much public transportation was not running. Perhaps that was the reason why half of our regularly attending families did not come on Sunday. Still, we had a first-time visitor on Sunday.

We are planning three weeknight meetings from Monday, May 21, to Wednesday, May 23. The plan is to have the opportunity to gather the Christians together and preach some sermons intended to stir our hearts. It will be a challenge to prepare the extra sermons and even a greater challenge for the Mongolians to get off work and be there each night. Pray for the preparation and planning for these meetings.

The weather here has been simply wonderful. Temperatures have been in the mid 70's with sunny skies. (Too bad the heat is still on in our apartment.) These temperatures are significantly higher than normal for late April and early May. The children have enjoyed playing outside, and Kristie and I have enjoyed moving some of the children's louder play outside.

Quote about our great country

"The foundations of our society and government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings should cease to be practically universal in our country." – Calvin Coolidge