Quote of the week

We show our acceptance of the gospel when we behave in ways that show our submission to God's ordering of the universe and when we reject our view of the world and pursue God's mind in all matters. - Warren Cole Smith

Trip to Arizona

Kristie and I took a trip to Arizona last week to visit with our prayer partners and present Mongolia to some of our supporting churches in that state. But it was not all work.

Since I was a teenager, I have had an interest in fighter planes. The A-10 Warthog has always been particularly fascinating to me because of its clear focus on ground support and good survivability. I had a chance to see some A-10's up close and to sit in the cockpit of one. It was fun.

Weekly update

Wow! Has it really been more than two weeks since I published an update. I must work harder to keep this site updated.

I talked to Ganpurev last night. There do not seem to be any crises in the church currently. I am glad for that. Bill is away with responsibilities that are taking him out of Mongolia for a few weeks. I think he will be gone for a few weeks again in the spring. This means that Ganpurev has leadership responsibility.

Bilgee has gone on another evangelistic trip to the countryside. The weather is extremely cold in Mongolia which is causing great hardship for the herders. Bilgee has asked that we pray for his trip and the Mongolians whom he will meet.

The Mongolian Tsagaan Sar (White Month) celebration will be starting this Sunday. Pray for the Christians to be a good witness during a holiday that is normally marked by excessive drinking.

The Dean family is doing well although we are staying extremely busy. This weekend we will be taking a trip as a family to visit a new church.

I keep saying that I will be more faithful to post updates. I intend to do that but life keeps interfering.

Oops! I forgot something

Last Monday I headed up to Tacoma to attend the Preacher's Delight Conference at Faith Baptist Church. It was my first foray away from Westgate Baptist Church so I was trying to remember all the items that I needed to bring in order to set up my display table. There was a tablecloth, and the blue box with display items, and the board, etc. I packed my clothes in a bag the night before and carefully set aside two suits and appropriate dress shirts in the closet. I was wearing my belt and packed my shoes in my bag.

Monday morning, after rising and spending some time with God I set everything that I would need in one pile (I thought). I borrowed a car, brought it home, brought it home, and quickly packed everything in the car (I thought). I had my display board, my blue box with display items, and my suitcase.

As I drove into Tacoma 2 1/2 hours later, I was looking behind me to switch lanes when I thought to myself, Where are my suits and those shirts I meant to hang up in the hook that hangs down above the passenger doors in the back? I looked on the other side and then realized that I had left my suits and shirts hanging in the closet. In my eagerness to get on the road, I had collected those items that were set in different places in the house but had neglected to pull my suits and shirts out of the closet. Later when I was packing, I swiftly packed the small pile of items that I had previously collected without thinking about those clothes that were hanging in the closet.

I took a deep breath and considered my options: I could return to Portland—the round trip would take about 5 hours and I would be late to the conference. Of course, I could always stay in Portland ... No, I had told Pastor Smith I would be at his conference. I could go shopping, but the thought of buying a new suit that I really did not need was painful to me. Also, I do not like to buy clothes without my wife's valuable opinion. I am terrible at dressing myself.

I set up my booth at the church and headed down Pacific Highway which I knew would take me by a shopping district. I saw a Sears and a Macy's—two stores I usually do not shop at. I briefly considered how much it would cost me to buy a suit at Macy's and realized that it would be cheaper to return to Portland and pick up my suits in my closet.

Then I saw a Goodwill store. When I was in college, I did a lot of shopping at Goodwill and Value Village (another second hand clothes store). I found that if I did not care too much about the fit of the clothes I could buy a decent suit or two for the price of a good pairs of pants. My mother graciously tailored several of the more outrageously ill-fitted clothes for me. It was a good way to find suits.

So I determined to spend a half hour or so in Goodwill and see if I could not find a pair of slacks, sport coat, and dress shirt. After all, I already had everything else. Fifteen minutes later I checked out having purchased everything I needed for a little more than $20. The sport coat did not fit so good but the pants and shirt could have been tailored for me! I thanked the Lord for His provision and avoided a trip back to Portland.

Pray for Dashka's family

Many of you have been praying for Dashka's family and especially for the salvation of his wife Tonga. I have not heard how she is doing recently so I expect that she is doing fine. I was recently sent some pictures of that family. I am posting one so you can see for whom you are praying.

Weekly update

This week I have surprising news: the new U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia, Jonathan Adleton, visited our Sunday evening English service with his entire family. I heard this news from Bill Patterson. I believe from a previous testimony that I heard from a missionary friend that Mr. Adleton is a Christian. He has served in Mongolia before in another capacity. Please pray for the new U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia. It has to be a difficult job.

Continue to pray for our fellow missionaries to Mongolia, the Elliotts. They are currently in the United States because their six year old daughter has cancer. Over the weekend, Lydia Elliott's father went to be with the Lord unexpectedly. Pray that God would grant them grace and comfort and peace during this time of significant suffering.

Happy New Year

I wish all of you a happy new year. May 2010 be a time of great revival and effective ministry for all of us.