We went to Mongolia to participate in the dedication of the Mongolian New Testament. I was thrilled to see years of prayer and effort become reality. We all praise God for enabling us to have a small part in putting God's word into people's hands. The Mongolians were impressed with the quality of the printing. Several of them remarked positively to me about the readability of the text. All of which encouraged me and other members of the translation team. I was also able to participate in several meetings to chart the course for the translation of the Old Testament into Mongolian.

In order to enable more missionaries to use the company as a pathway into Mongolia, I needed to take some legal steps that required my presence in Mongolia. In a nutshell, I signed over my company to Jason Ritchie. That action opens up the possibility of another missionary taking his spot in the company. Pray that God will continue to use the company I founded to enable his work in the country.

We also wanted to encourage Mongolians. Before our trip, Jason mentioned that Ganpurev seemed very discouraged. A combination of church apathy, lack of work, health issues, and family stresses have been avenues for Satan's attacks on Ganpurev and his ministry. by the end of our visit, we noticed a new spirit of joy and peace. Jason remarked that Ganpurev seemed to be ready to continue the work both in the shop and in the church. Pray for God's power to be evident in his life.

Finally, Caleb returned to Mongolia for the first time since 2012. Before the trip he was excited about the chance to use his language skills and reacquaint himself with Mongolian food which he claimed to really enjoy.  I knew that after five years of pizza, hamburgers, tater chips, and soda pop – those staples of the American diet – his tastebuds would have changed. I anticipated that a few Mongolian meals would satisfy his desire for buuz, khuushuur, and aaruul.

But I was wrong! Caleb ate every Mongolia meal put before him with gusto. A meal was provided at the Mongolian New Testament dedication ceremony. However, there was no Mongolian food. Caleb was annoyed. "If we are in Mongolia, we should be eating Mongolian food," he said as if eating Mongolian food were as appetizing to the foreigners in attendance as it was to him.

Because of the intricate  nature of the Mongolian language, I expected that Caleb would find it hard to communicate. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. Caleb understood much of the conversations between me and other Mongolians. He also used his own language ability to good effect. By the end of the trip, Caleb and I were conspiring about ways that he could visit Mongolia and stay for months instead of weeks.

In short, God was good to bless us and fulfill the desires of our heart on this trip. Continue to pray for the Christians in Mongolia, the ongoing translation work in the Old Testament, and direction for Caleb as he considers what God has for his life.