Three hundred posts!

This is the 300th post that I have added to this blog since I began on June 28, 2006. Here are some interesting posts from the last two years.

Ganpurev's salvation testimony and post-salvation testimony

Finding our apartment on Google Earth

One of many unusual witnessing opportunities

Almost losing a month's salary

Ministering to neighbors

The Dangers of Speaking Mongolian

Thoughts on missions work

Spanish, English, Mongolian - what is this?

Winter is not done yet

It looks like winter is still trying to hang on. Yesterday, we woke up to snow on the cars. It was not cold enough for the snow to stick to the ground but when the wind blew it felt as if it were icy!

The high yesterday was only 48 degrees and with the wind it felt much colder.

What does a missionary do?

Meetings in churches in the U.S. are usually an enjoyable time. One of the things that I enjoy the most about being in churches in the U.S. is question and answer time. I never know what people are going to ask, and they usually do not know how I will answer (otherwise, why would they ask the question?) Sometime a church will want to ask questions for almost the entire time that I am with them.

One of the questions I was commonly asked while in the States on my furlough was: "What does a missionary do with his time?" When I am asked that I am never sure where to start.

Take this last ten days as an example: in this short time I have helped 3 missionary families as they arrived in Ulan Bator. (One was coming for the first time, one was returning from a furlough, and one was coming to the city from the countryside.)

I have been to the airport twice, both times arriving home well after everyone was in bed. I picked up a stray bag from the airport.

I helped unload a truck that included firewood and rough cut lumber (my hands still have those little micro-splinters that you feel sometimes but cannot seem to locate - see picture to the right). I helped unload the truck in my Sunday clothes no less because the missionary arrived Sunday afternoon right after my service dismissed. The fellow missionary said, "I didn't expect you [to come] and help me unload the truck." To which I replied, "We all talk about serving one another in love. This is one way that I can show it."

I picked up my new residency permits from a Mongolian government office after initially experiencing some trouble in obtaining them.

I spent part of two days helping the new missionary family find housing. Sometimes I gave advice, sometimes I worked as a translator. During my time as translator, I was able to be a witness briefly for Jesus Christ to the landlady of the apartment my missionary friend was considering. She even said she would visit my church services sometime (though many Mongolians say that).

I taught Bible lessons - both lessons arranged ahead of time and one where a Mongolian church member came to my door asking for help understanding a passage of Scripture.

I visited the sick. While on that visit, I was bitten by a dog. Rabies in Mongolia, you ask; it's everywhere ... except hopefully not with the dog that bit me.

I spent time cleaning and arranging the rooms used for the services of Faith Baptist Church.

I made a visit to property where a building for a church could be built and investigated various building options.

I prepared Bible lessons and sermons and assisted Ganpurev in preparing his sermon for Sunday.

I had a meeting with fellow missionaries to discuss the Mongolian Bible translation.

My family took care of several children for a different missionary family whose wife had just given birth to their fifth child.

But you know what the most interesting thing about all this is: my next ten days will probably be completely different! Praise the Lord; I am so glad that He called me to Mongolia.

Things are heating up ... but not the weather

Yesterday we had 15 Mongolian adults come to the service and 9 Mongolian children. I think that is the best attendance on a Sunday morning ever. People just kept coming in (the last person arrived about ten minutes before the sermon was over, but we are glad that he came). There were three first time visitors, two of whom were invited by Mongolians. I am excited about the possibilities. Pray for us as we follow up with these new folks.

I was greatly encouraged by the turnout Sunday since some of those who were regular attenders during the winter were still not there (see last Sunday's update). In the past, during the summer our numbers start to fall off as people leave the city for the countryside. So it was encouraging to me to see new visitors and have so many people come. We are just about to outgrow the place where we are meeting - and that is a good thing!

Wow! the weather here has been extreme. Yesterday, the high was 86°; today, it started off snowing in the morning. By 3 PM this afternoon, it was still snowing and the temperature was 41°. That is cold for this time of year.

Quote of the day

"Life is simply a stewardship, and not an ownership; a trust and not a gift. With a gift you may do as you please, but with a trust you must give an account." D.L. Moody

The building boom in Ulan Bator

I came across this article about the building boom and constraints in Mongolia. I have some serious reservations about the truthfulness of some of the article. For example, the article claims that the top five builders only complete about 60 apartments per year. Just in the last twelve months more than that number of units has been added within a long stone's throw of my apartment building. I do not know who the top five builders are but I would say there are hundreds of units every year that are completed. The government talks about adding 40,000 units of housing - they will not get there building 60 units per year.

Still, the price of housing is skyrocketing in Ulan Bator. Poor Mongolians will continue to live in their gers. But foreigners who come to Ulan Bator are paying higher and higher rents. We are very grateful to God that He provided a way for us to purchase our apartment some years ago. It is one way that we are protected for ever higher housing costs.

Updates

Dashgaa said yesterday that Tunga reads the Bible occasionally. She remarked to him that Christianity seems like a "developed" religion. (I am not sure what to make of that). He said to her that she should read the Bible more often. She responded by telling him, "You read it!"

I have been trying for some weeks to meet again with Gustavo's wife Bayarmaa. It seems that there has not been a good time to meet her. But Gustavo told me earlier this week that his wife told him, "I don't want to think about Jesus Christ right now." Please continue to unite with us in prayer for these spouses that are not saved.

Also, Ulzee's mother, Aya has some tumors in her abdomen. The doctor initially recommended surgery to remove them. Several doctors are having a meeting today to determine a course of treatment. Please pray that they would have wisdom about how to treat her. Ganpurev remarked to me that Aya is very calm about all this news. Could it be a mark of the Holy Spirit's influence in her life?

God's Hand in Everything

It is exciting for me to serve a God that oversees even the little things in our lives! This past weekend I went to the airport twice to pick up fellow missionaries. Bill Patterson came in with his family on Friday night. Information at the airport told one fellow that the plane was landing at 9:10, but really the plane did not land until 11:30 which meant we spent several hours waiting at the airport.

Their plane finally landed. It always takes on hour or so for passengers to pass through immigration, get their bags, and pass through their final check. But we waited and waited. We saw Billy Patterson several times as he walked from the luggage belt over to the customs officials. It turns out that he lost a bag. After filling out the report, he finally exited the customs area a little after one in the morning. I took him and his family to a guest apartment, helped him get his things up to the third floor, and arrived home about 2 AM.

But that's not the end of the story. Daniel Elliott who was returning from a furlough arrived two nights later on Sunday night. Bill had checked with the airport about his bag, but it had still not arrived. So Sunday I picked up the claim slip from Bill and told him that I would try to locate his bag while I was at the airport picking up the Elliotts.

Arriving at the airport, I asked a lady who was unlocking a door marked luggage storage if my friend's bag had arrived. She directed me to a security guard who took me within the customs area. He instructed me to wait. I had not waited very long when an older customs lady came over. I explained to her that my friend had lost a bag on Friday's flight and since I was at the airport to pick up someone already was wondering if my friend's missing bag had arrived yet. She informed me that there had not been another Korean Air flight since Bill's flight on Friday. Therefore, there was no possibility that his bag had already arrived. But she gave me permission to go over to the luggage belt and see for myself if his bag came in with this flight. It is a rare thing for a non-passenger to get permission to enter the luggage pick-up area.

Bill's bag was one of the first bags off the belt. It had been headed for Kathmandu when Korean Air realized their mistake and stuck it on the Elliott's flight. Gratefully, I retrieved it and waited for Daniel's family to arrive from immigration. Daniel's family of six had 15 checked bags with them besides hand baggage. Since all of his children are under the age of seven, he was going to have a difficult time managing to get all his luggage through customs without much help.

I was able to help him push one of his four carts through customs. The customs lady who was so helpful to me earlier was also helpful to Daniel and helped to speed us through customs. She even pushed the Elliotts youngest child in his stroller through the airport.

So Bill's missing bag arrived, though a few days late; and it offered me the opportunity to enter the baggage area of the airport and help Daniel and his family with their bags. God is good all the time and directs even the little events in our lives to His glory.

Sunday update

This past Sunday, Dashgaa, Ganaa, Uchgaa, and Buren who had been attending fairly regularly were all absent from the services, yet we still had a dozen Mongolian adults along with some children. The Billy Patterson family, newly arrived in Mongolia - also joined us for the service today. That was a great blessing to Gustavo (who speaks Spanish but little English or Mongolian) since Billy and his wife also speak Spanish. We also had a first time visitor who was saved in Hatgal and came to Ulan Bator recently. Also, Basca was back. He came a few times a year or so ago and then went to another church where the missionary promised to make him a preacher. I guess things did not work out over there. I am glad to see him back.

Ganpurev preached from Psalm 42 & 43. I can definitely see continued improvement. My sermon was "Walking in Christ" from Colossians 2:6-7. I thought the sermon went well and was well-received.

I proposed to Basca, Bilgee, and Jagaa who are all single young men that we meet together weekly to study the Bible and pray. I think it would be good for these three young men to have some accountability and doctrinal teaching. They have all expressed their desire to be followers of Jesus and could grow to be stalwarts of Faith Baptist Church. We agreed to meet this Wednesday to begin. Pray that God would bless my efforts to disciple them.

Residency permission update

Let me begin by saying that I appreciate your prayers so much.

I returned to the immigration office today by myself based on the recommendation of Dashgaa who often deals with the immigration office on behalf of his school's students and the recommendation of Davaajav, my lawyer. Davaajav said, "Go in and ask them, 'What do I need to do? Can I talk to the boss?'"

I arrived just before 11 and stood in line for about half an hour. I prayed, rehearsed what I would say in Mongolian, meditated on Scripture. When I reached the counter, the immigration official recognized me immediately, got out my paperwork, and asked, "Do you speak Mongolian?"

"Yes," I responded.

He then said, "Go to the bank and pay 15,000 togrogs [about $14] per person." That amount is the standard fee to renew one's residency permission.

I went and paid the money, gave him the receipt, and he sent me on my way with a claim check to claim my passports with the new residency permission stamped in them next Tuesday.

Frankly, I cannot explain why they did not just do that yesterday. I could have paid my fees and picked up a claim check yesterday. Perhaps they just wanted to show some bureaucratic muscle.

But the end result is that there is no trouble with my residency permission. Let me say again how grateful I am for your prayers!

Prayer update

Well, I have something to write about this week ... but it's not my choice of topic. With the help of a legal professional, I have spent the last two days gathering my documents together to renew my residency permission, a fairly mundane task. Knowing that I would be finishing up my paperwork and visiting the immigration office today, I prayed for God's blessing on my work before beginning my day.

Everything was in order when my accountant and I visited the immigration office today. However, the first bureaucrat we visited flatly refused to extend my residency permission because my company had not shown enough activity. As far as my lawyer and I know, there is no legal requirement for a certain minimum amount of economic activity which means there is no legal reason for them to refuse me residency permission. Also, my multiple entry and exit visa is valid through May of 2010. All we asked for is an extension of my residency permission, a very typical request at the immigration office.

My accountant called my lawyer and talked for a bit. His advice was to take my request to extend my residency permission to a new window. In other words, seek out another bureaucrat to approve my request. So we did. We stood in line for some time at another window. When we reached the new bureaucrat, he took my paperwork, looked at the same information that the previous bureaucrat had seen, and started to write information on my paperwork as if he were going to accept it. But then the first bureaucrat we visited walked over to a third bureaucrat and had some words with him. The third bureaucrat then came over and talked with the man with whom we were currently dealing. He then began to ask the same questions as the first person.

My accountant patiently explained the situation. The second bureaucrat then took my paperwork, placing it in a separate box, and told us to return the next day at eleven. What he did not say was most significant: he did not say to pay a fee which in previous years was a necessary part of submitting one's paperwork. My accountant reminded him that my residency permission expires tomorrow and asked if everything was going to be fine. He said it would be. But I remain unconvinced.

Suffice it to say, I do not feel good about the situation. It seems odd to me that he accepted my documents, including my family's passports, but did not require me to pay a fee. It may be if they refuse our request to extend our residency permission that we will be forced to leave the country at least temporarily.

Of course, we leave all this in the hands of our Lord and the Lord of all the earth. I am not worried, but I would ask that you would pray with me that God's will would be done. Because I do not think our work here is completed and am not ready to take a break, I am surprised that things did not go more smoothly. But I know that God is in control and am prepared to follow as He leads.

Look for an update tomorrow as I will know more after my visit to the immigration office.

Uyungaa went home today

I called Bayambaa today to get an update on Ermune and see when he might be discharged. When Bayambaa answered the phone she was already at home. She had only just arrived.

So we took Uyungaa home to her parents. Boy, her brother Ermune was glad to see her!

Sunday update

It has been busy around the Dean household with an extra baby about. Sunday morning was no exception. I usually try to make Mother's Day a more relaxing day for Kristie. But today that was difficult. First, Uyungaa's (paternal) grandparents decided to come visit Uyungaa in the morning. It was a little disconcerting since Uyungaa has been at our house since Monday and they have not made an effort to visit her before now. We told them that we had a church service to attend, and they were gracious enough to cut their visit short.

Almost immediately after we returned home from the church service, Mandaa came over to visit his daughter. Then the baby did not sleep much this afternoon which cut Kristie's rest short. Maybe I will try to get Kristie some quiet time tomorrow.

Numbers were down at the church service today. The number of adults was about right but there were only a handful of children. Because of the hand, foot, and mouth disease kindergartens and elementary schools are closed this week. I think many parents have taken that to mean that their children should be kept at home.

Health update

You have probably heard about the hand, foot, and mouth disease that is ravaging parts of China. Doctors here in Mongolia say that there are now cases in Mongolia too. It does not surprise me since much of our produce comes from China.

Kindergartens have been closed and many first and second grade students are staying home from school. Bayambaa who is at the National Infectious Disease Hospital with her son Ermune told us that 250 beds have been prepared there for hand, foot, and mouth cases. Ermune will probably be discharged this week, maybe sooner if they need more beds.

Ulzee was not doing well on Friday. We will see how many stay home tomorrow from church because of illness or the fear of illness.

Health update

Kristie and I visited Ermune's mother Bayambaa in the hospital. Ermune must stay isolated so we were not able to see him. According to his mother, he is doing fine. They are giving him some medications now. He probably will be in the hospital another week or so. He is scheduled to have another test next Monday after which they will evaluate his condition.

Also, we heard today that when Aya recently visited the local health clinic the doctor there said that she should see a cancer specialist. There are two growths on her abdomen that are causing some concern.

Aya is Ulzee's mother. (That is Aya in the picture with a table prepared for Tsagaan Sar in the foreground.) I am still not certain about Aya's salvation. Please pray for her.

Update on Ermune

Ermune definitely has hepatitis A according to the Mongolian doctors. He has a mild case and is expected to recover without trouble. His mother Bayambaa must stay with him for the two weeks that he is in the hospital. I believe that he is mainly staying in the hospital to isolate him from others and prevent the spread of hepatitis. When I asked what treatment he was receiving, his father told me that he was observing a regimen but receiving no medication.

Since his mother must stay with him for the two weeks that he is in the hospital, someone needed to look after their daughter Uyungaa since the father Mandaa cannot get time off from work. Uyungaa is ten months old and a sweet, usually calm baby. (That's Uyungaa sitting in the chair with me).

She had been staying with one relative, a bachelor who obviously did not know much about babies. Ganpurev and Ulzee took the initiative to investigate the situation and found that it was not a healthy situation. Since this relative as a garbage collector the baby was literally living among garbage. He brings home things that have been thrown away that he thinks may be of value and keeps them in his small, dormitory-style room.

We made the decision to take care of the baby ourselves since no one else besides the bachelor wanted to watch her. Ganpurev and I went to see Mandaa to see if there was someone else who might watch the baby and if not to get his permission to watch his daughter.

When I arrived at the relative's place to take the baby, she was sitting on a pile of old clothes (there was no bed) and there was a pile of garbage nearby. I will close the curtain of compassion on the scene of squalor. Suffice it to say that when Uyungaa arrived at our house, Kristie and Ulzee promptly gave her a bath and washed all her clothes. We had a few things of Elsie's that Uyungaa wore until her clothes were ready.

It's been a busy couple of days. Kristie has not been sleeping well at night. Uyungaa gets her up several times a night crying, probably because she wakes up and does not know where she is. Either way, Kristie is pretty tired and trying to keep up with her normal work as well as have a baby around. Please pray for strength for all of us.

Also pray for Mandaa. He is not a Christian and though he has heard about Jesus Christ in the past has always said that he is not interested in religion. His mother is very set in her Buddhist ways and exerts no little influence on him. My desire is that this labor of love would give us new opportunities to witnes and would open his ears and heart to the message of a loving Savior.

Do we believe in prayer?

In a small mid-western conservative town, a new tavern started a building to open up their business. The local Baptist church started a campaign to block the bar from opening with petitions and prayers. Work progressed, however right up till the week before opening, when a lightning strike hit the bar and it burned to the ground.

The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, until the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means. The church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the buildings demise in its reply to the court.

As the case made it's way in to court, the judge looked over the paperwork. At the hearing and commented, "I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner that believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that doesn't!"

I don't know if this story is true or not but it seems to illustrate a common problem among Christians. We pray and pray and as soon as one prayer is answered we move on to the next request without stopping to thank God for His answer to our prayers. Whether we intend to do so or not, our reaction speaks volumes. It is as if we pray as if we are dependent on God, but once we have our answer we act as if God's intervention was unnecessary to the solution of our problem.

Sunday update

This past Sunday was an interesting one for me personally. Ganpurev preached from Psalm 23. Now I have heard many sermons from Psalm 23, but I have never heard a sermon from Psalm 23 preached by a true shepherd. Ganpurev has not read books about shepherds and sheep; he has been a shepherd. It was very interesting for me to hear a shepherd preach on Psalm 23.

Mongolians are easily offended when they are compared to sheep because they know how stupid and defenseless sheep are. You can say, "All we like sheep have gone astray," and emphasize "like sheep." But the unregenerate Mongolian hears, "All we like stupid and defenseless animals have gone astray." The end of that statement just reinforces in the Mongolian's mind the first part of that statement. He thinks, "Of course they've [he does not want to admit this about himself so ...] of course they've gone astray - they're stupid animals." You see a Mongolian knows that a good part of a shepherd's time is spent trying to find lost animals. It is a frustrating task because the animals have become lost through their own stupidity.

So I followed Ganpurev's lesson eagerly as he explained the roles of a shepherd and how they matched the roles of our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. His explanation of sheep and our resemblance to sheep was also fascinating. He did an good job of using the sheep illustration to work in man's need for a Savior.

For those of your wondering about attendance we had nine Mongolian adults this past Sunday which is a down day for us. One member was in the hospital with her son, another told me that family matters would keep him from attending.

Please keep praying for Ganpurev as he grows in his ability to preach.

News

Ermune, the little boy that we have watched a couple of times in the past, is in the hospital. The complaint seemed to be a particularly bad bloody nose. However, the the local government health clinic did not seem to be much concerned.

Bayambaa then took him to a private hospital. The private hospital diagnosed a liver problem and sent him on to the National Infectious Diseases Hospital which is near our apartment. He will be there for fourteen days.

Strangely enough to the American mind, his mother is required to be with him 24 hours a day every day until he is discharged from the hospital. So not only is Ermune in the hospital, his mother is as well for the next eleven days. She had a baby that she was nursing but had to give the baby over to her father to take care of because she could not bring the baby into the hospital with her.

Meanwhile, her husband Mandaa continues to work while they are in the hospital. His birthday was over the weekend, and he chose to go out and get drunk with his buddies while his wife and son were in the hospital and the baby is with grandpa. I'm still a little confused about the situation - not the facts of the situation which I know quite well, rather I remain confused about people's reasons for doing what they are doing.

It seems to me that because it is liver related, the doctors think that Ermune has hepatitis. The symptoms that have been described to me are the bloody nose, jaundice, and trouble with his liver. They think that he caught this disease from his environment because the disease is often spread in Mongolia by mice and cockroaches - both of which are very common.

Still, the doctors have not yet started a regimen of treatment. Ermune was admitted to the hospital on Friday, and some tests were taken. However, the pathology department does not work on the weekends so Bayambaa must wait until Monday to find out what the tests show. Then the doctors will prescribe a course of treatment. She has asked us to pray, and we'd ask you to join us in prayer as she and her son are in the hospital. I will give you more updates as I am aware of them.

Expressing our gratitude

This blog is especially written to thank those of you who send us things. Some of you send us big things. Others of you send cards and notes. Regardless of the size, we are thankful for the things that you send us.

As an example that even the small things matter, I've included a picture of Elsie holding a card that she recently received for her birthday which is later this month. Inside was a single dollar bill. Elsie was so excited: first, to have a piece of mail all to herself. She opened it, pulled out a cute card and the dollar bill, and said, "Look, they sent me money." The whole thing made her day.

So a big thanks to all of you who write and send things to us. It makes our days exciting especially for the children.

I woke up to snow this morning

It has snowed every May except one in which I've lived in Mongolia. So I should not have been surprised to wake up to a snow storm this morning. Yesterday afternoon was warm enough (63 degrees). But in the evening the wind came and brought with it a cold front (or should that be the other way around).

By this morning it was cold, and the snow was falling.

So much stuff: the American predilection to accumulate things

As Americans we seem to have an innate desire to accumulate possessions. I recently moved into a new office. Part of the move involved going through all the things that I had accumulated in the six plus years that I have been in Mongolia. I found things that I had brought over from America with me but have not used in the years that I have been here. I hold onto those things thinking that someday I will use them ... someday.

We live in an apartment that is about 1000 square feet and have to resist the "let's save it, we might need it someday" mentality. A constant source of friction has been the need for more storage space. As soon as we have a new cabinet or bookshelf, it seems to fill with "things," and there never seems to be enough room for the next item. Kristie and I have been discussing whether we really need more storage space or whether we really need less things.

With four children and widely varying weather, it seems that we have lots of clothes, shoes, boots, and coats. We have the heavy winter boots that are not quite warm enough when it is below zero outside, but that are too heavy for springtime wear. Then we have sandals for the summer and slippers to wear about the house. (Mongolians do not wear shoes inside the house.) There are dress shoes for formal events and work shoes for working outside. Multiply all these pairs of shoes by four children and two adults - not to mention the shoes that are not anyone's size but will eventually fit the next child - and the house seems to be overflowing with shoes.

Just within the last two years we were finally able to get everyone their own closet. Each closet seems packed with clothes yet the children sometimes complain, "I can't find anything to wear." I myself probably have enough sweaters to last for the rest of my lifetime, and I've probably given away about a third of the sweaters that I once had.

Mongolians will often wear the same outfit two or three times in a week. If they have three pairs of shoes besides their slippers than they are doing well. Why do Americans need a pair of shoes for every occasion?

Most of the American families that we know in the States have nearly two times the space in their homes that we do (and half the kids). They have a two car garage but cannot even park one car in it because of all the stuff that they have. Still, they are so proud of themselves when they find a bargain at a garage sale. Something else to stick in their garage among the other once useful items, I suppose.

Meanwhile, many Mongolian families that I know can fit the family's entire wardrobe in a small closet and a single chest (that also doubles as a table). If it were true that American families were much happier than Mongolian families perhaps this accumulation of things would be a worthy endeavor. But it seems to me that our ability to amass things only makes us eager for more.

Perhaps the next time that you are tempted to buy a pair of shoes, another sweater, or snap up that really good deal at a garage sale, you can ask yourself: "What if I just did not spend the money this time?"