What does a missionary do?

Meetings in churches in the U.S. are usually an enjoyable time. One of the things that I enjoy the most about being in churches in the U.S. is question and answer time. I never know what people are going to ask, and they usually do not know how I will answer (otherwise, why would they ask the question?) Sometime a church will want to ask questions for almost the entire time that I am with them.

One of the questions I was commonly asked while in the States on my furlough was: "What does a missionary do with his time?" When I am asked that I am never sure where to start.

Take this last ten days as an example: in this short time I have helped 3 missionary families as they arrived in Ulan Bator. (One was coming for the first time, one was returning from a furlough, and one was coming to the city from the countryside.)

I have been to the airport twice, both times arriving home well after everyone was in bed. I picked up a stray bag from the airport.

I helped unload a truck that included firewood and rough cut lumber (my hands still have those little micro-splinters that you feel sometimes but cannot seem to locate - see picture to the right). I helped unload the truck in my Sunday clothes no less because the missionary arrived Sunday afternoon right after my service dismissed. The fellow missionary said, "I didn't expect you [to come] and help me unload the truck." To which I replied, "We all talk about serving one another in love. This is one way that I can show it."

I picked up my new residency permits from a Mongolian government office after initially experiencing some trouble in obtaining them.

I spent part of two days helping the new missionary family find housing. Sometimes I gave advice, sometimes I worked as a translator. During my time as translator, I was able to be a witness briefly for Jesus Christ to the landlady of the apartment my missionary friend was considering. She even said she would visit my church services sometime (though many Mongolians say that).

I taught Bible lessons - both lessons arranged ahead of time and one where a Mongolian church member came to my door asking for help understanding a passage of Scripture.

I visited the sick. While on that visit, I was bitten by a dog. Rabies in Mongolia, you ask; it's everywhere ... except hopefully not with the dog that bit me.

I spent time cleaning and arranging the rooms used for the services of Faith Baptist Church.

I made a visit to property where a building for a church could be built and investigated various building options.

I prepared Bible lessons and sermons and assisted Ganpurev in preparing his sermon for Sunday.

I had a meeting with fellow missionaries to discuss the Mongolian Bible translation.

My family took care of several children for a different missionary family whose wife had just given birth to their fifth child.

But you know what the most interesting thing about all this is: my next ten days will probably be completely different! Praise the Lord; I am so glad that He called me to Mongolia.

Things are heating up ... but not the weather

Yesterday we had 15 Mongolian adults come to the service and 9 Mongolian children. I think that is the best attendance on a Sunday morning ever. People just kept coming in (the last person arrived about ten minutes before the sermon was over, but we are glad that he came). There were three first time visitors, two of whom were invited by Mongolians. I am excited about the possibilities. Pray for us as we follow up with these new folks.

I was greatly encouraged by the turnout Sunday since some of those who were regular attenders during the winter were still not there (see last Sunday's update). In the past, during the summer our numbers start to fall off as people leave the city for the countryside. So it was encouraging to me to see new visitors and have so many people come. We are just about to outgrow the place where we are meeting - and that is a good thing!

Wow! the weather here has been extreme. Yesterday, the high was 86°; today, it started off snowing in the morning. By 3 PM this afternoon, it was still snowing and the temperature was 41°. That is cold for this time of year.

Quote of the day

"Life is simply a stewardship, and not an ownership; a trust and not a gift. With a gift you may do as you please, but with a trust you must give an account." D.L. Moody

The building boom in Ulan Bator

I came across this article about the building boom and constraints in Mongolia. I have some serious reservations about the truthfulness of some of the article. For example, the article claims that the top five builders only complete about 60 apartments per year. Just in the last twelve months more than that number of units has been added within a long stone's throw of my apartment building. I do not know who the top five builders are but I would say there are hundreds of units every year that are completed. The government talks about adding 40,000 units of housing - they will not get there building 60 units per year.

Still, the price of housing is skyrocketing in Ulan Bator. Poor Mongolians will continue to live in their gers. But foreigners who come to Ulan Bator are paying higher and higher rents. We are very grateful to God that He provided a way for us to purchase our apartment some years ago. It is one way that we are protected for ever higher housing costs.

Updates

Dashgaa said yesterday that Tunga reads the Bible occasionally. She remarked to him that Christianity seems like a "developed" religion. (I am not sure what to make of that). He said to her that she should read the Bible more often. She responded by telling him, "You read it!"

I have been trying for some weeks to meet again with Gustavo's wife Bayarmaa. It seems that there has not been a good time to meet her. But Gustavo told me earlier this week that his wife told him, "I don't want to think about Jesus Christ right now." Please continue to unite with us in prayer for these spouses that are not saved.

Also, Ulzee's mother, Aya has some tumors in her abdomen. The doctor initially recommended surgery to remove them. Several doctors are having a meeting today to determine a course of treatment. Please pray that they would have wisdom about how to treat her. Ganpurev remarked to me that Aya is very calm about all this news. Could it be a mark of the Holy Spirit's influence in her life?

God's Hand in Everything

It is exciting for me to serve a God that oversees even the little things in our lives! This past weekend I went to the airport twice to pick up fellow missionaries. Bill Patterson came in with his family on Friday night. Information at the airport told one fellow that the plane was landing at 9:10, but really the plane did not land until 11:30 which meant we spent several hours waiting at the airport.

Their plane finally landed. It always takes on hour or so for passengers to pass through immigration, get their bags, and pass through their final check. But we waited and waited. We saw Billy Patterson several times as he walked from the luggage belt over to the customs officials. It turns out that he lost a bag. After filling out the report, he finally exited the customs area a little after one in the morning. I took him and his family to a guest apartment, helped him get his things up to the third floor, and arrived home about 2 AM.

But that's not the end of the story. Daniel Elliott who was returning from a furlough arrived two nights later on Sunday night. Bill had checked with the airport about his bag, but it had still not arrived. So Sunday I picked up the claim slip from Bill and told him that I would try to locate his bag while I was at the airport picking up the Elliotts.

Arriving at the airport, I asked a lady who was unlocking a door marked luggage storage if my friend's bag had arrived. She directed me to a security guard who took me within the customs area. He instructed me to wait. I had not waited very long when an older customs lady came over. I explained to her that my friend had lost a bag on Friday's flight and since I was at the airport to pick up someone already was wondering if my friend's missing bag had arrived yet. She informed me that there had not been another Korean Air flight since Bill's flight on Friday. Therefore, there was no possibility that his bag had already arrived. But she gave me permission to go over to the luggage belt and see for myself if his bag came in with this flight. It is a rare thing for a non-passenger to get permission to enter the luggage pick-up area.

Bill's bag was one of the first bags off the belt. It had been headed for Kathmandu when Korean Air realized their mistake and stuck it on the Elliott's flight. Gratefully, I retrieved it and waited for Daniel's family to arrive from immigration. Daniel's family of six had 15 checked bags with them besides hand baggage. Since all of his children are under the age of seven, he was going to have a difficult time managing to get all his luggage through customs without much help.

I was able to help him push one of his four carts through customs. The customs lady who was so helpful to me earlier was also helpful to Daniel and helped to speed us through customs. She even pushed the Elliotts youngest child in his stroller through the airport.

So Bill's missing bag arrived, though a few days late; and it offered me the opportunity to enter the baggage area of the airport and help Daniel and his family with their bags. God is good all the time and directs even the little events in our lives to His glory.

Sunday update

This past Sunday, Dashgaa, Ganaa, Uchgaa, and Buren who had been attending fairly regularly were all absent from the services, yet we still had a dozen Mongolian adults along with some children. The Billy Patterson family, newly arrived in Mongolia - also joined us for the service today. That was a great blessing to Gustavo (who speaks Spanish but little English or Mongolian) since Billy and his wife also speak Spanish. We also had a first time visitor who was saved in Hatgal and came to Ulan Bator recently. Also, Basca was back. He came a few times a year or so ago and then went to another church where the missionary promised to make him a preacher. I guess things did not work out over there. I am glad to see him back.

Ganpurev preached from Psalm 42 & 43. I can definitely see continued improvement. My sermon was "Walking in Christ" from Colossians 2:6-7. I thought the sermon went well and was well-received.

I proposed to Basca, Bilgee, and Jagaa who are all single young men that we meet together weekly to study the Bible and pray. I think it would be good for these three young men to have some accountability and doctrinal teaching. They have all expressed their desire to be followers of Jesus and could grow to be stalwarts of Faith Baptist Church. We agreed to meet this Wednesday to begin. Pray that God would bless my efforts to disciple them.

Residency permission update

Let me begin by saying that I appreciate your prayers so much.

I returned to the immigration office today by myself based on the recommendation of Dashgaa who often deals with the immigration office on behalf of his school's students and the recommendation of Davaajav, my lawyer. Davaajav said, "Go in and ask them, 'What do I need to do? Can I talk to the boss?'"

I arrived just before 11 and stood in line for about half an hour. I prayed, rehearsed what I would say in Mongolian, meditated on Scripture. When I reached the counter, the immigration official recognized me immediately, got out my paperwork, and asked, "Do you speak Mongolian?"

"Yes," I responded.

He then said, "Go to the bank and pay 15,000 togrogs [about $14] per person." That amount is the standard fee to renew one's residency permission.

I went and paid the money, gave him the receipt, and he sent me on my way with a claim check to claim my passports with the new residency permission stamped in them next Tuesday.

Frankly, I cannot explain why they did not just do that yesterday. I could have paid my fees and picked up a claim check yesterday. Perhaps they just wanted to show some bureaucratic muscle.

But the end result is that there is no trouble with my residency permission. Let me say again how grateful I am for your prayers!

Prayer update

Well, I have something to write about this week ... but it's not my choice of topic. With the help of a legal professional, I have spent the last two days gathering my documents together to renew my residency permission, a fairly mundane task. Knowing that I would be finishing up my paperwork and visiting the immigration office today, I prayed for God's blessing on my work before beginning my day.

Everything was in order when my accountant and I visited the immigration office today. However, the first bureaucrat we visited flatly refused to extend my residency permission because my company had not shown enough activity. As far as my lawyer and I know, there is no legal requirement for a certain minimum amount of economic activity which means there is no legal reason for them to refuse me residency permission. Also, my multiple entry and exit visa is valid through May of 2010. All we asked for is an extension of my residency permission, a very typical request at the immigration office.

My accountant called my lawyer and talked for a bit. His advice was to take my request to extend my residency permission to a new window. In other words, seek out another bureaucrat to approve my request. So we did. We stood in line for some time at another window. When we reached the new bureaucrat, he took my paperwork, looked at the same information that the previous bureaucrat had seen, and started to write information on my paperwork as if he were going to accept it. But then the first bureaucrat we visited walked over to a third bureaucrat and had some words with him. The third bureaucrat then came over and talked with the man with whom we were currently dealing. He then began to ask the same questions as the first person.

My accountant patiently explained the situation. The second bureaucrat then took my paperwork, placing it in a separate box, and told us to return the next day at eleven. What he did not say was most significant: he did not say to pay a fee which in previous years was a necessary part of submitting one's paperwork. My accountant reminded him that my residency permission expires tomorrow and asked if everything was going to be fine. He said it would be. But I remain unconvinced.

Suffice it to say, I do not feel good about the situation. It seems odd to me that he accepted my documents, including my family's passports, but did not require me to pay a fee. It may be if they refuse our request to extend our residency permission that we will be forced to leave the country at least temporarily.

Of course, we leave all this in the hands of our Lord and the Lord of all the earth. I am not worried, but I would ask that you would pray with me that God's will would be done. Because I do not think our work here is completed and am not ready to take a break, I am surprised that things did not go more smoothly. But I know that God is in control and am prepared to follow as He leads.

Look for an update tomorrow as I will know more after my visit to the immigration office.

Uyungaa went home today

I called Bayambaa today to get an update on Ermune and see when he might be discharged. When Bayambaa answered the phone she was already at home. She had only just arrived.

So we took Uyungaa home to her parents. Boy, her brother Ermune was glad to see her!