Sunday update

This last Sunday we tried something for the first time. I asked the people the Sunday before to be prepared to pick the songs that we would sing. I was not sure how it would turn out and so picked a couple of songs ahead of time - just in case. But I should not have been concerned. We sang about twice as long as normal before I stopped taking requests. The church really sang out and it blessed my heart to hear them sing.

Even though the weather is warming up, the heat is still on. To let in some cool air we had opened the windows of our rooms. With the windows open and the people singing out, I am sure that many passing by heard us.

It has taken some time for us to get to the point where the people sing out. Remember, every person who has come to our church has been a new Christian; all these songs are new to them. The words of the songs are even new to my family though we may know the tunes. So I am grateful to hear such enthusiastic singing. We will have to set aside a Sunday every month to let the church pick the songs.

We continue to have a good turn out. We have had ten or more Mongolian adults in attendance now for over a month. It used to be that we would have a good Sunday and then a bad one (attendance-wise). It has been encouraging to see the attendance stabilize.

Roland and Joann Gay's last Sunday is coming up. They leave next month to return permanently to the United States where Roland will continue to work on Mongolian Bible translation work. We will miss their help. Ganpurev will take over some of the preaching responsibilities. I really want to see the Mongolians help out with the preaching, the singing, the children's ministries, etc. and really make this their church.