Upcoming trip to Mongolia

It has been about five years since we returned from Mongolia to the United States. Kristie's health remains about the same, stable but little energy. For the last five years I have served as assistant pastor at Westgate Baptist Church and principal of its Christian school.

In the past five years, I have visited Mongolia three times. My fourth visit is coming up this July. I beg for your intercessory prayers on our behalf as Kristie, Caleb, and I travel to Mongolia. During our trip I will be updating this blog. Please follow the details of our trip from July 1-14 here.

On Wednesday, July 5, we will be holding a dedication service for the Mongolian New Testament. I had a small part in the translation of the text but a much larger part in praying for and supporting the translation work. This is the culmination of our work over a period of more than 10 years! When we bought our tickets months ago to travel to Mongolia in July, I did not know about the dedication service. In fact, I once considered traveling to Mongolia in June. The Lord intervened and caused me to buy tickets for July instead. After I purchased tickets Bill Patterson informed me about the dedication service. I thank the Lord for arranging the dates of our trip providentially.

The church we planted in Mongolia has struggled. Pastor Ganpurev has had some difficult things happen in the church and in his own family that he has allowed to discourage him. We hope this trip will be a reminder to Pastor Ganpurev that God is faithful! And that from this visit, he will take courage and press on.

The carpenter shop that my father and I founded in Mongolia has also seen hard times. Despite difficulties, the company is still a going concern after 10 years. Recently, the shop heard about an opportunity to build ger furniture for six months and send it to the United States. This would be an excellent job for the Mongolian craftsmen. Please pray that they would be able to obtain this work and do it well.

During our time in Mongolia, the company provided a visa and residency permission for my family. Since our departure the company has provided a visa and residency permission for another independent Baptist missionary family. My father and I are glad that the work God gave us a vision to start 10 years ago continues today and still makes it possible for missionary work to continue in Mongolia.

This has become critical recently for the family whose residency is through the company we founded. The government has made it harder for foreigners (including missionaries) to reside in Mongolia. They are happy for foreigners to visit; they just do not want foreigners to live in Mongolia. Recently, the missionary who has his visa and residency permission through our company told me that he knows of two missionary families whose residency permissions were not renewed. Both were forced to leave Mongolia and have not yet returned. A third missionary family who arrived in Mongolia before we did using another means may also lose their residency permission soon. He has approached my friend about using our company to obtain residency permission. As you can see, the company's provision of residency permission has increased in value since we left.

This trip has several goals. First and foremost, we wish to encourage Faith Baptist Church, its pastor, and evangelize the lost nearby. My wife and I have a particular burden to strengthen Pastor Ganpurev and his family. Second, the business we started may be even more profitable if we make some changes to its structure. Those changes require my physical presence in Mongolia. I will be taking some time during our visit to make those adjustments to the company's structure and enable it to provide residency permission to more independent Baptist missionaries. Third, our son Caleb is eager to renew old acquaintances, practice his Mongolian, and eat some genuine Mongolian food. Finally, it is an incredible privilege to be even a small part of the translation of the Bible. I am grateful to God and to Westgate Baptist Church for making it possible for us to travel to Mongolia and be a part of the New Testament dedication service. We will enjoy the opportunity to see many old friends.

Please intercede for us, for Faith Baptist Church, and for the Mongolian New Testament to be used powerfully in Mongolia. We have seen the Lord work mightily before and look to Him to work mightily on behalf of His people in Mongolia again. Through the middle of July please check the blog daily for more information. I can be reached by email at sdean@wbc-wcs.org. Thank you for your prayers.