News from Mongolia

I had a good talk with Jason Ritchie on Thursday. He had some good news about Mongolia.

Jason has been working to establish another independent Baptist church on the south side of Ulaanbaatar. It is been slow for him. People who have told him they will come to the service have not come. So he and his family have begun to go out just before the service starts and grab whomever they can find and bring them in. It reminds me of the verse, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in." In an unusual twist, God has used the slow start to Jason's church planting efforts to encourage Pastor Ganpurev that it is not just Mongolians that have difficulties making disciples.

Togsoo has struggled recently. He has not been attending church services regularly. When his company recently laid him off along with dozens of other workers, he started a restaurant to support his family. Now he is considering the possibility of leaving his family to work in Japan. Another church member, Bysaa, recently took him aside to exhort him to consider the impact on his family if you were to work in Japan. I was encouraged to see a Mongolian Christian internalizing biblical principles that we have taught and passing them on to other Mongolians.

The men have stayed busy in the carpenter shop. This is welcome news. It allows Pastor Ganpurev and Bysaa to minister to Mongolians at the same time that they support their families. The carpenter shop will soon need new wood. Pray for wisdom about where to find that wood. Last time, I flew to Shanghai to buy wood for the shop.