August prayer letter text & photo

We arrived in Mongolia the last day of July and hit the ground running. Our co-workers, the Pattersons, left about a day after we came. They had some work in the United States to accomplish that will keep them away for about a month.

I cannot see the future any better today than I have been able to in the past. However, I have set some goals for the next term of service. The first goal is to train and ordain a Mongolian man who will pastor Faith Baptist Church. A secondary goal is to train, ordain, and send out a second Mongolian man who will plant a church somewhere in Mongolia. These two goals will provide a model for Faith Baptist Church to be self-propagating. I do not want to merely plant a church; I want to plant a church-planting church. To further this goal I intend to spend more of my time and effort involved in Faith Baptist Church’s Bible institute.

A related goal is to complete construction of the building in Ulan Bator. This will allow the church to continue to be self-supporting even if God calls us on to another church plant or ministry. I was grateful to see when I returned that the building is in excellent shape with no signs of settling or cracking. While we may take that for granted in North America, here in Mongolia it is not unusual to see small projects like mine that start square but do not remain square.

Before I left I put the goal before the Mongolians for them to raise the funds to furnish the second floor of the building. God has given us the money to install a heating system, plumbing, and electrical. We also have enough money to finish the interior walls, etc. Much of that money was provided through a generous gift from a donor at one of our supporting churches. Some of the money was provided by love offerings and special gifts given to the project by our churches. The rest of the money has been given little by little over time. If God continues to grant us favor with finding materials inexpensively, we may even have enough money to add a third story.

The original drawing and structural engineering allows for a third floor which could be built without the two interior posts required on the first and second floors. This would allow for a large, open sanctuary on the top floor where the church could meet as it grew larger. The second floor when finished will have seating for approximately 70. An entire floor dedicated to a sanctuary could have seating for almost three times that amount.

That leads me to my prayer requests. Continue to pray for the salvation of Mongolians. Ask God for Mongolian men who will be the leaders needed to sustain this church and to plant other churches. And thank God with me for providing so generously the money needed to complete the building and ask Him for the money to finish a third floor.

Quote of the week

"Success in never final, failure is rarely fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts."—Winston Churchill

Are we having fun yet?

Here are a collection of pictures from church camp. I think the folks had a great time!

Weekly update

Thank you for praying for us.

We had a great time at church camp this past weekend. Look for pictures to be posted soon too. Please pray for the half dozen or so unsaved Mongolian adults who heard the Gospel clearly preached multiple times.

Also, we received our news visas and residency permission today which was an answer to prayer. I have heard from several residents of Mongolia that they are becoming stricter about granting residency permission. The sure answer is to marry a Mongolian, but that is not an option for me. Our residency permission is only through February instead of the usual year-long residency. Be sure to thank the Lord with us for answering our prayers.

Keep praying for our language ability. Kristie and I made a profitable visit last night, and afterward Kristie mentioned how difficult it is to return to using the Mongolian language.

Church camp

One of the methods we use to gain opportunities to preach Jesus Christ to Mongolians is a yearly camp that the church plans. Invitations are extended to family and friends. Eager for an opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and greenery of the countryside, Mongolians join us for two days of camp. There are the expected food, games, and tents; but also the Gospel is preached. Dashka and Ganpurev joined me this year in preaching and spoke better than I did.

Thirty-eight of us traveled about two hours from the city into Terelj National Park. Of those, about a half dozen were unsaved adults and a large number of unsaved children.

The Lord gave us safety as we played games. The weather was pleasant when we arrived Friday evening and stayed comfortable until Saturday afternoon when a thunderstorm rolled in. Rain is rare this late in summer. The rain did not last long, and the teenagers in particular did not let it dampen their fun. They played a game of basketball as the rain tapered off. Later Saturday evening we all sang songs in the ger and Dashka taught us a new song that the Mongolians seem to enjoy.

Saturday night we went to sleep in a hard rain. It was soothing to l

isten to the large rain drops falling against the tent and know that I was warm and dry.

While it was still night, I woke up to the sounds of rock music blaring from the camping spot that was next to us. I figured that they waited until the rain stopped to bring out their music and prayed that God would send another rain storm to drive them back inside. I eventually fell asleep as they lowered the volume of their music.

The next morning I heard from other campers that they had been dancing

in the moonlight. Next year we will have to find another campsite as this is the second year in a row that we have been bombarded with loud music from neighboring campers. I have no idea why Mongolians leave the noise of the city and travel to the countryside to play loud disco music when there are plenty of nightclubs in Ulan Bator.

Sunday morning there was more preaching. I had to leave early to return to the city to preach at the English service on Sunday night.

Let’s pray for those who came to camp who are not yet the children of God. Tonga was there as was Buren and Sonin. Bob came and seemed to enjoy himself. He still

talks ambiguously about his profession of salvation made nearly two years ago. I do not know how to best pray for him.

Prices in Ulan Bator

Prices in Ulan Bator seem to have become significantly more expensive since we left. I will post from time to time examples of the extreme prices that we find. Today's extreme price is garlic powder: I found 284 g (10 oz.) for ₮15,600 or about $12.

Next time that you're in the store, check the price of garlic powder.

Leaving for church camp today

Today marks the beginning of the third church camp that we have held. These summer camps have been a great chance for fellowship and evangelism. While most of those who attend are Christians, some are not. So some of the preaching is directed to the lost and to strengthen the faith and assurance of those who are saved.

And each summer, people who have been on the periphery of the church attend camp, find the fellowship refreshing, and become more committed to the congregation. Last year it was Dashka, who brought his four children with them less than a month after his wife's surgery. Because his wife was recovering from surgery she was unable to attend. However, the four children loved camp. The church pitched in to watch after the kids and gave Dashka the chance to take a break.

This year, we have several first time attenders and are looking forward to integrating them more completely into the church. I know too that some who are attending are not yet Christians. We are eager to see them understand their sin, turn to God, and find forgiveness in Jesus.

Pray for us as we preach the Gospel (Mongolians are doing much of the preaching) and fellowship. The weather report is saying that it might rain on us so pray also for good weather. I'll try to post updates and pictures next week.

Learning the Mongolia Language

Yesterday I ran into an acquaintance who speaks seven languages. She speaks Polish, Russian, Swedish, English, Italian, Spanish, and another one that I cannot remember. Although she has lived in Mongolia for over five years, she has not yet learned to speak the language. It's "too hard" she said.

Just a reminder to pray for our language ability. Some of my language has come back to me quickly, and there are still things that I cannot say. Just today I was trying to explain to Ganpurev that the brakes on my car are locking up so that he could take a look at them. But how do you say that in Mongolian? Between Dashka, Ganpurev, and I (along with a lot of hand gestures) we finally figured it out. By the time Ganpurev got out to the car, the problem was gone. Which is good ... I think.

This weekend I will be preaching in Mongolian on Saturday and English on Sunday. Look back to the blog next week for details of the weekend's activities.

Deans' first weekly update from Mongolia

We are sad to be away from our families and so many that we love whom God has called to stay in the United States. But we are glad to be re-united with those whom we love who live in Mongolia. I wish I could say that my Mongolian language ability has not suffered during my nine months in the U.S.; but unfortunately, it has.

We had an excellent English service on Sunday night. We had people attending from Kenya, England, Germany, Singapore, and Korea. Next week, we expect that our regular attender from Brazil will be with us again. It is a privilege to minister to people from so many different groups. Bill usually does the preaching, and I lead music. But for the next five weeks, the Pattersons will be in the United States on business of their own. That means that I will do the song-leading and preaching.

Please pray for the church camp that is approaching this weekend. The weather forecast calls for temperatures near freezing in the mountains where we are headed. I would prefer warmer weather. There are several unsaved people whom we are praying will be there, including Tonga. So please pray that they would attend, hear the clear presentation of the Gospel with interest, and be saved.

We made it back!

We made it back safely to Mongolia. It's about midnight so I'm going to bed. I'll try to post often the next week as we get up to date.