February prayer letter

A missionary has several goals for his ministry. One is the salvation of souls through personal evangelism and the public preaching of the Gospel. He has a goal of training the believers under his influence to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Another, often over-looked responsibility of the missionary is to encourage other Christians to consider what God's call is for their lives and to inspire especially young people to give their lives for Christian service.

It is for this reason that I urged two young men to join my family for nine months in Mongolia. I wanted them to experience missionary life in both glory and agony. Many young people have a chance to take a missions trip that lasts two weeks or perhaps a month. But that is much like going on a honeymoon with your wife. Of course it is a great experience! Everything is new, there are plenty of things to do, and the time is well-organized. The first month of any trip can be thrilling simply because it is an adventure. However, once the adventure wears off, the disillusionment sets in.

I wanted them to try their hand at learning a new language, one that was not an Indo-European one. I thought they should experience riding a bus with a hundred other people some of whom may be pickpockets and petty thieves. It would be good for them to shop by themselves in exotic bazaars and eat unusual foods and smell strange smells. They might find themselves challenged spiritually in conversation with people from diverse backgrounds. Most of all, I knew that only time would give them the opportunity to know the homesickness and help of God, only months would acquaint them with the frustration of language immersion and the fruition of laboring over a difficult tongue, only a long period would reveal to them the slow, brick by brick effort that is needed for a new work in virgin territory.

Yes, it has been hard. There have been those picked pockets and deceitful deals. Cynicism, discouragement, unfulfilled expectations, failures, grumbling, heartache, illness - all these have been met and conquered through the power of God's grace. I am sure that there have been times when they would have preferred leaving to staying. They still prefer using English to Mongolian. But they are learning and growing and understanding more and more. When they go to Bible college they will not just discuss what they think about missions, they will talk about what they experienced as ambassadors of the King of Kings in a strange land.

They have seen a habitually sinning church member almost come to church discipline before repenting and being restored. When a man for whose salvation I had been praying and working for six years was saved, they witnessed it. They have observed me preach with confidence in Mongolian and stumble to speak it at a restaurant. Thrilled, they found they could share the Gospel in Mongolian remembering grammar and vocabulary they had forgotten that they had learned. Frustrated, they have asked a language classmate to come to church again and again only to hear some new excuse with each Monday morning. Language learning has perplexed them and winter winds have assailed them. They have observed the baptism of first generation believers and watched disappointed as promising young believers leave.

While in Mongolia, they have taken turns with our children to wash the dishes. They have learned to wash, dry, fold, and iron their own clothes. They have learned to make meals and eat new foods. Missionaries have shared their hearts with them and missionaries have separated from each other while the young men have observed. House fires - they have extinguished them.

One young man came seriously considering the mission field and may leave convinced that has not the skills to be a good missionary. The other young man came to see a novel land but was planning to study engineering; he leaves wondering what God's call on his life is ... exactly. Both may end up missionaries or neither may ever leave the United States again (though I hope that is not true). But I am confident that God has used their time in Mongolia to conform them to the image of His Son.

Their time in Mongolia has fulfilled three Biblical commands. First, they have fulfilled the Biblical command to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. They have left behind family and friends to go to the ends of the earth. Second, we are told to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send laborers into his harvest. I have no doubt that their prayers for missionaries will be more fervent and more intelligent because of their time in Mongolia. Third, we are told to teach people to observe all things that Jesus commanded us; they have seen it in action and had it happen to them.

To me, their time in Mongolia has been an unparalleled opportunity to have a part in crafting young lives for Jesus Christ. I would be thrilled to see them study missions at Bible college and give their experiences to others. If God calls them to missions, they will be far more prepared than I was and far more focused in their studies before entering the mission field no matter in which country they may eventually serve.