Quick health update

I have had some terrible allergies this summer: stuffed sinuses, watery eyes, and lots of sneezing. Kristie, on the other hand, just caught a cold. Although we are looking forward to our church camp tomorrow, it will be hard to enjoy it in the condition that we are now in. So please pray that we'll be feeling better by the time that church camp comes tomorrow.

Weekly update

Some of you may have heard about the flooding that hit us recently. Over twenty people were killed and many had gers or houses washed away by flooding. God protected us and our church members during that time. One church member's mother's ger was flooded. As a result nearly everything needed to be dried out. But no one that I know was threatened with bodily harm.

Kristie and I went to visit Tonga last week. You may remember her as the lady who had her entire stomach removed due to cancer. She looked good and seemed in good spirits. Kristie and I both noticed that she was very talkative. Continue to pray for her salvation. That is her greatest need.

Also, the church will be having our church camp this weekend. Some of those who attend will be unsaved; please pray for their salvation. Pray that those who are saved will be strengthened and blessed by the preaching. We also would like to see a unique spirit of harmony and fellowship among the Christians who attend the camp.

Hospitality

One of the requirements for a man who desires the office of a bishop is that he be given to hospitality. For this reason alone we seek to have Mongolians come to our home and share our meals with us.

But also many missionaries have found valuable opportunities to minister by inviting people over to their homes. In the book Goforth of China it is recorded that when the Goforths hosted an open house for their Chinese neighbors over 2,000 men and women passed through in one day. Of course, they did not feed them all; but think of 2,000 veritable strangers passing through your home in one day!

We have never had that kind of interest in our home, but yesterday we had nine Mongolians visit our home starting in the morning and finishing up after dinner which we shared with five of them. Most of those who visited were uninvited though not unwelcome guests. It allows Mongolians to see how Christians live. We welcome these opportunities to minister in a casual and impromptu way.

"God's best gifts are not in things but in opportunities."

Update on Tonga and Ganbold

Tonga is home now having been discharged from the hospital on Saturday. Obviously, she will have a special diet the rest of her life since her stomach has been removed. I'm not certain whether she faces additional cancer treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation. Continue to pray for the family and especially Dashka. He will need to be dad, "mom," and primary care giver to Tonga for a while as she recovers.

Ganbold came out of his coma last night and seems to be doing better. The first person he called was his mother to tell her that he was doing better. We are all glad to hear that Ganbold is out of his coma. The doctors say that his heart and arteries look good. Let's pray for a complete recovery and a renewed interest on Ganbold's part in the things of God.

A family in pain

There is a Mongolian family with whom I have become close since coming to Mongolia. One member of the family was Kristie's language tutor Ganaa (also known as Bolroo). Another attends our church (Bilgee). Their mother has come to church a few times. Various other family members have made professions of faith or attended the church services for a few weeks.

Recently, they've experienced several hard things. I witnessed to another sister of the family once years ago when she came to visit her mother. She lives in another town, and I've not seen her since that time. Last year she left her first husband and remarried a physically abusive husband. Everyone was expecting her to come to town and spend some time with the family. However, she came, stayed overnight, and left the next day. The rumor is that her husband threatened her with physical violence if she didn't come right back.

Then on Wednesday, the oldest brother Ganbold who made a profession of faith a few years ago suffered a stroke. He has been in a coma since then. Doctors are telling the family that they should expect him to be in a coma for a long time. Kristie and I went to visit the mother yesterday. She was distraught over her son. He is about 50 years old.

An uncle was admitted to the cancer hospital this week too. He has been diagnosed with lung cancer and tuberculosis.

What the family needs to see is the Christians in the family responding to each tragedy and trial with God's grace and equanimity. I also have a desire to be a blessing to the family during this time. Please pray for Kristie and me and for the saved family members to exhibit the love of Christ and the peace that passes all understanding during this time of turmoil.

Tonga update

Tonga has been moved out of intensive care. She was actually up and walking around yesterday. She is still being fed through an IV but drank 60 ml of water yesterday. She will still be in the hospital for some time.

Dashka seems to still be encouraged. I was glad to see him at prayer last night.

Picture of the week

This is Buren standing in one of the trenches that was dug to lay the foundation footers for the building to be build.

Tonga's surgery

Tonga came out of surgery on Monday afternoon. The doctors said that her surgery was successful. They did remove her entire stomach, however, which will change the rest of her life. She will be in an intensive care unit for a few days and then perhaps spend a few more weeks in the hospital.

The special offering that we took on Sunday was an enormous success. A significant amount of money was raised for Tonga's treatment. Dashka and Tonga's father particularly expressed their gratitude for the church's generosity.

Bill was able to be with the family during Tonga's surgery. Some of the family was very unsociable because they do not approve of Christians. Others spend some time talking with Bill. Our desire is to see the entire family saved.

I'll post again as I know more.

Weekly update

It has been quite a week. We had a couple of unexpected Mongolian guests over the weekend, started clearing the land for a building project, and have a member's unsaved spouse who is expecting to have her entire stomach removed because of stomach cancer tomorrow. All this means that there has been extra stress on the family the last few days. But God's grace is always sufficient for every need.

I taught on the origin of denominations at prayer meeting tonight. There were a couple of young men there who had questions. Pray that they would be humble and teachable. We had a very good turnout. Besides Kristie, there were three other ladies there which is a first.

A visit with Tonga

My wife and I went by to see Tonga at the hospital today. She is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Although we do not have a lot of Mongolian language material, we took her a couple of things to look at including some Bible-based material.

She seemed pleased to see us. And we had a friendly chat. She knows that tomorrow's surgery will not be easy but seems only mildly nervous. At the end of our short conversation I asked if I could pray. We were surrounded by Mongolians in a small waiting area, and I fully expected her to decline the offer. But instead you said I could if I wanted to. I did want to so I prayed to God on her behalf.

Let's pray that she will have a successful surgery tomorrow and that God will continue to soften her heart.

Tonga update

Tonga remains in the hospital waiting for surgery. The doctors say that they can perform surgery on Tuesday of this coming week if Dashka can find 2.7 million togrogs to pay for some items needed for the surgery. That is equivalent to just over $1900. When you consider that the gross domestic product per capita for Mongolia is about $700 a year, that becomes a lot of money!

The church will be taking a special offering today and adding to it from the church's general fund to give Dashka some of the money that he needs for surgery. He has already raised a few hundred dollars and believes that his wife's side of the family can find several hundred more.

I can tell that Dashka is under a lot of stress. Let's pray that God provides the money that is needed for this surgery and that Dashka's faith will be strengthened as he watches God provide. Also, pray for Tonga's salvation.

The 500th post

This marks 500 posts for this blog since it began over three years ago. Here are some highlight posts.

Sowing

Uganaa's salvation testimony

By God's grace, I intend to be ministering in Mongolia for at least another 500 posts.

Guests

One thing about Mongolia is that you can never be sure what to expect. Friday morning began as normal with the exception that I received a message informing me that Ganchimeg, a lady who attends the church, was in labor. I took time to pray for her but did not think much about it.

A few hours later, Ganchimeg's husband came by with their son. Ulzeekaa is a little guy about 4 years old. He asked if we would watch him for a few hours while he took some food to his wife. Remember, most hospitals in Mongolia do not provide meals for their patients, rather they rely on family members to bring in food and drink. We agreed to watch Ulzeekaa for a while.

About 6 that evening, the father came back and asked if Ulzeekaa wanted to go to the hospital with him when he went to take an evening meal to his wife. Ulzeekaa politely refused; he was having too much fun playing with Caleb! So dad said he would be back in a few hours to pick up his son.

He never came back.

About 8 o'clock Friday evening Uganaa came by. Uganaa is a young lady who spends most of her time during the summer in the countryside as a guide. If you ever come to Mongolia to see the sights you should have Uganaa take you around. Anyway, she came by our house because she had no place to stay.

So this last Friday night we had Uganaa and Ulzeekaa join our family. As of this morning (Sunday) they are still with us. But it has been a good opportunity to be a blessing to others. Pray that Ulzeekaa's time here would lead to the salvation of his family and that Uganaa's time here would encourage her in the Lord.

Interesting quote

While listening to a secular broadcast recently, I heard this quote, "The church is the ultimate social network." I do not believe the man who made the quote is saved; perhaps he attends a church, I do not know. What was clear is that he perceives churches more for their social implications than for their spiritual importance.