Deans' weekly update

Some weeks just seem to have more things that "happen" than others. God has been teaching me that He is in charge, He has a plan, and His plan is always best.

I begin by asking you to pray for Ganpurev, Ulzee, Aya, and the rest of the family. Aya is slowly losing her strength. Ganpurev and his family have been such a good support to her. I pray that God will bless them with grace and peace for the days ahead. I recall last summer that I doubted whether she would make it a month. And yet, she still holds on.

My family's problems do not seem like anything at all when compared to Aya's poor health. However, last week flu symptoms ripped through our family and laid many of us low. It started with Charissa and then began to afflict the rest of the family. Charissa, Emily, and Kristie were all down last week. Kristie is still not feeling well at the start of this new week. Of course, when mom is sick, it seems to slow the whole family down. And yet, despite being slowed by personal sickness and the sickness of my family, the peace of God ruled in my heart. I do not recall feeling anxious or hurried or harried. Isn't our God good?

I visited Togsoo and Gantoya in their new home this past week and rejoiced when I heard that they want to re-start their home Bible studies. Togsoo lost his mother and an older brother in a few short months. He has not been reading his Bible; has not been coming to church; has not been his normal, exuberant self. I also had a chance to visit Dashka's mother and introduce her to the person of salvation: Jesus Christ. Please pray for the seed that was planted to grow into saving faith.

Quote of the week

"Whatever form it may take, the theology of hyper-faith causes Christian compassion to deteriorate into an obsessive fix-it mentality. People and their problems cannot be tolerated, but must be instantly remedied. Why? Because the self-esteem and the emotional equilibrium of the supposed helper are at stake. In the hands of such “care-givers,” the one being cared for cannot be allowed simply to work through a problem in his own way and at his own speed. No, there is no room for that. Instead the thing has to be fixed immediately." —Mike Mason

Deans' weekly update

Last week I mentioned to you my plan to teach Mongolians how to use a evangelistic booklet as a tool to teach about the Christian faith to their family and friends. I have been burdened for some time to write an evangelism tool that Mongolian Christians can carry with them. The tool should be easy to use but thorough in its presentation of the Good News that Jesus is the Savior of the world.

I had some ideas from a missionary to Cambodia who ministers to people who have some of the some cultural obstacles to the Gospel that Mongolians have. For example, to Buddhists, sin is not considered to be a problem; suffering is the problem. Many tracts from the United States discuss sin as a bad thing. The Buddhist mind does not comprehend that and wonders why the religious material leaves out the important information. Last year I taught a class on the doctrine of salvation to several men in the church. This evangelism tool incorporates some of those ideas as well.

It will be a booklet with pictures and some major points. I have already begun on Sundays to teach the Mongolians how to use this tract. They will need to give an oral presentation of the Gospel but can leave the booklet with their Mongolian family member or friend after they leave. I am eager to see Mongolians leading other Mongolians to the Savior.

Dashka and I are planning to go to visit his mother this week. Part of our plan is to take some of this Gospel material when we go and use it to witness to his mother who is a Buddhist. Please pray for us as we go. Some of you know how difficult it is to witness to family. In addition, witnessing to a person who is older than me takes tact and patience, both of which are often in short supply when I am speaking the Mongolian language.

Very cold!

Every time I think it's not going to get colder, it does. Today's temperature when I went out:

Deans' weekly update

We had a great turnout this past Sunday despite the bitterly cold weather. Temperatures outside were well below zero Fahrenheit, but inside we had over fifty people attending the services. Not all of those were Mongolians because my family was attending along with my parents, etc. After teaching briefly about the ordination of elders in the New Testament, I announced to them that Faith Baptist Church would be ordaining Ganpurev pastor in March. The people seemed to receive that news calmly. I was expecting more reaction.

I also began teaching through an evangelism tract. The plan is to teach the Mongolians to use the tract to lead others to Jesus Christ. The tract consists of pictures drawn by a Mongolian along with some main points written by another Mongolian and some applicable Scriptures chosen by me. I will teach them how to use that tract and then give them copies to take to their relatives, friends, and neighbors to tell them the good news that Jesus is the Savior of the world. It is my earnest desire and my prayer to see these Mongolians leading other Mongolians to the Savior. Pray with me for these Mongolians to be excited about the possibilities and confident of their ability when empowered by the Holy Spirit to tell others about their Lord.

My parents left on Monday to return to the United States. All of us wish that they could have stayed longer. During their time with us they were so helpful. Everyone enjoyed their presence, and it was strengthening to have their counsel and advice. Now we eagerly await the arrival of Kristie's parents next month.

Bitter cold

Here are the temperatures for this week. Cold enough for me. The church has been planning a snow day activity on January 19, the coldest day of the week.

Quote of the week

"Left to ourselves we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms. We want to get Him where we can use Him, or at least know where He is when we need Him. We want a God we can in some measure control." —A. W. Tozer

Deans' weekly update

We are into the icy heart of the Mongolian winter. On Saturday the low was −35 and the high only −8. Despite the brutal weather, we had 32 Mongolians out on Sunday. Our attendance continues to increase each week!

Bob has been coming to our church services regularly recently. He even responded to an invitation I gave at the end of the sermon on January 1. I have prayed for him for years and believe that God could still work in his heart. Pray with me that this winter and spring will be a time of spiritual growth for him. It will take a miracle, but we serve a God who does miracles!

Jason Ritchie and I are working on a tract that can be used as a tool for evangelism. I plan to teach the folks how to use it over the next few weeks and then challenge the folks to get out and use them. I have been particularly burdened to see the Mongolians leading Mongolians to Jesus Christ. So I ask you to pray for these Mongolians.

Reading the Christmas story in Mongolian and English

This is Ganpurev reading the Christmas story in English followed by Jason Ritchie reading it in English.

Musing on attendance

This blog serves as a journal of sorts for my ministry in Mongolia. As such I want to record some thoughts on the attendance records from the last four weeks. I'm not usually big on numbers; for one thing, I have nothing to be excited about when it comes to church attendance. On the other hand, church attendance must have some bearing on my influence in Mongolia.

Looking purely at ministry opportunities, we have had a rough fall and early winter. Attendance has been down during a time when it is normally higher. Those who have been attending don't seem to be growing as quickly as I would like. And it definitely seems as if there is a slackening of fervor in the church.

So I have been fascinated to watch the attendance grow the last four weeks. Four weeks ago, we hit an all-time low: only nine Mongolians in attendance. The next Sunday we had 25 (of those only five had attended the previous week). The next Sunday was Christmas Sunday. Unlike in the United States we do not normally experience a spike in attendance on Christmas Sunday since most Mongolians don't give any significance to Christmas. We had a combined service with both Mongolian & English speakers attending. The total attendance that Sunday was 51. I don't know the breakdown of Mongolians and expatriates but it seemed evenly balanced to me. This past Sunday was New Year's Day. I expected decreased attendance among the Mongolians because many of them spent the previous day celebrating. Still, we had 31 in attendance.

I can only rejoice that God has blessed us with increased attendance and am eager to see what He will do in 2012.

Deans' weekly update

We've had a little bit of a "heat wave" in Mongolia over the weekend; Sunday the temperature was 9 above zero (-13 for those of you not in the United States). That feels warm compared to some temperatures that we saw in December. My parents took a break from Mongolia to travel to Hong Kong. When they left Hong Kong in the afternoon, it was 70〫. When they arrived in Mongolia a little after midnight, the temperature was -30〫. They said, "We're not suffering from culture shock, we're suffering from temperature shock."

We had a strong crowd out on Sunday morning. I preached on giving our firstfruits to God. Many of us have a difficult time setting priorities that please God because we are focused on setting priorities that please ourselves. I wanted to challenge the church to put God first. At the end I gave them an opportunity to respond. Nearly every adult listening to my sermon stood to say that they would work to put God first in 2012. It is gratifying as a pastor to see so much positive response to a sermon. As they were standing, I told them that their public decision was an agreement to which I would hold them accountable. But a single day's response is not enough. Pray for these Mongolians to follow through with their decision. For example, as part of putting God first, I gave everyone that stood a Bible reading schedule and told them I would be asking them if they were reading their Bible daily.

My family and I are all healthy and well except for Kristie's painful tooth. We called the dentist that we trust for an appointment and found out that he is on vacation until next Monday. Rather than find another unfamiliar dentist, we've decided to try to wait until next week to see Dr. Cruz. The entire family are enjoying my parents visit. They leave in less than two weeks, and we are sure that the time will seem to go by too quickly.

Happy New Year!

Brief update

Aya went into the hospital yesterday. She had resisted going into the hospital for a long time. It's a hospice hospital that provides end-of-life care. But it is run by Christians who believe that there is hope in Jesus Christ. So that's a positive.

This week is marks one year since Dashka's wife Tonga passed away. I met with him yesterday to pray. He's certainly feeling her absence.

Please pray for both of these people that God would comfort and sustain them in their weakness.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! As I look back at 2011 I am amazed at how God has provided and how He is currently at work. As I look forward to 2012 I am excited about all that God will do. Thank you all for praying, and praise the Lord with me for His mercy in grace in 2011 and on into the future.