Picture of the week

Mongolians like to use a styrofoam-type product as insulation. If you want to buy it, you can stop at one of these roadside suppliers.

After purchasing it, you can load it up on a truck and take it wherever you want to go. It's light so load it up!

Good turnout on Sunday

They all came out of the woodwork on Sunday: we had 54 on Sunday morning, including some folks that hadn't attended in a long time. Thirty-seven of those were Mongolians along with 17 Americans.

Quote of the week

"Mongolian archery today is not what it was, having been robbed of its power by three centuries of Chinese rule. Though archery is still one of the three 'manly sport', today's bows are sloppy things, with pathetic range and arrows tipped by fat pads that are fired at, would you believe, nothing more than rows of wickerwork baskets a few down metres away. The bows I have tried send their arrows wobbling like a reed in a gale for not much more than 50 metres. I have not heard of anyone in Mongolia making bows in the old style, or of anyone backing a revival of old-style archery." —from a modern writer

Deans' weekly update

We had some good services on Sunday both in the morning and evening.

The Pattersons returned to Mongolia last Thursday. I picked them up at the airport with their 18 bags. You have to carry a lot with you when you come to Mongolia to stay. They were able to move back into the apartment that they occupied when they were here before. They are buried in obtaining residency permission, getting phones set up, and all the details of moving to a new country.

We had a good group Sunday morning and Sunday night was even better. We had twenty first time visitors. Sixteen of those were a group of Ukrainians who came to visit our services. Though they did not speak English Enkhtuul did an excellent job of translating from English to Russian/Ukrainian even though her native speech is Mongolian. The group from the Ukraine also blessed us with a set of songs and a short challenge which was translated from Russian/Ukrainian into English again by the faithful Enkhtuul.

Please pray for us as we continue to prepare to leave Mongolia. There are many things that we need to do and it’s not always clear the best way to accomplish them. Our neighbors all pitched in and helped us dispose of much of the little items that we were looking to get rid of: books, clothes, small furniture pieces, some children’s bikes. Now we need to sell the bigger pieces of furniture in our home. Update: everything large in the house is sold!

Great Sunday night service

We don't usually have a crowd this large on Sunday night. They must have heard that Bill was back to preach. Many of these folks are from the Ukraine. They were traveling through and wanted to join our service.

Baysaa's bad news

On Wednesday Baysaa received a phone call about 7 AM. It was an acquaintance from his home area calling to tell him that he should call to the border and talk to a Mongolian whom he had never met. He called and found out that his father had passed away.

I did not even know that Baysaa’s father was still living. Baysaa never talked about his father; I knew that he had grown up without a father present but didn’t know the details. Had his father died? Evidently he did not die when Baysaa was young; indeed, he just abandoned his wife and children when they were young.

People in Baysaa’s hometown knew both Baysaa and his father though he father had moved to the Gobi many years before. Baysaa anticipated meeting his father someday. Like many dreams that we have, he did not have a clear plan to meet his father; he just expected that one day it would happen. And then Wednesday morning he called a stranger in the southern Mongolian town of Zamyn Ud and heard that his father had passed away. His father had been sick for some time, but no one ever thought to call Baysaa.

Baysaa took the news very hard. Without telling his wife the news he had heard, he left home and was gone all day in the rain. He didn’t report to work and didn’t take his phone with him. People tried to call, but his phone was unreachable was the only message that they heard. He returned home late in the evening soaked from the rain and his tears reflecting his sorrows. If only he had tried to see his father earlier! If only someone had called to tell him his father was sick! If only … if only …

Wednesday night after the prayer service and Bible institute class, Ganpurev, Dashka, and I visited Baysaa’s home to comfort him. He had a wracking cough and was quite hoarse. I watched with a mixture of admiration and joy as Ganpurev and Dashka comforted their brother in Christ and gave him verses and promises to encourage his heart. I almost felt as an unnecessary appendage to the visit. I said a few things myself but let the others do a majority of the talking.

Pray for Baysaa. He has so much to learn, so much growing up to do. And God is trying to teach him so many things. Pray that he would learn to rest in the sovereignty of God, not put off doing those things that he knows he ought to do, and be the father to his children that he never had.

Quote of the week

"The most pathetic thing in the world is one who has sight, but has no vision." —Helen Keller

Dean family personal update

Many of you have been praying for our apartment to sell. The Lord has heard your prayers and arranged for our neighbor to buy our apartment. They have already given us a considerable amount of earnest money and signed a contract that obligates them to pay us the rest at the end of July. The good news is the contract that they signed allows us to stay in our apartment until we leave. This is an excellent situation for us. We will use the money from the sale of the apartment here as a down payment on a place in Oregon.

There are some things we wish to ship back to Mongolia: mainly books and things of sentimental value. Our piano is an example of one of those household items that hold sentimental value. Many years ago we prayed for a piano, and the Lord answered our prayers by providing the exact amount of money needed at an opportune time. Every time that I hear it played I am reminded that the Lord will supply all that we need to serve Him.

Our friend Darryl Pape has already been a help to us; but frankly, on the Mongolian end, we seem to be having some unexpected obstacles. Because I don't do this often I'm not even sure what all the steps are. Pray for the right company to come along who will be able to ship our things back to the United States.

Pray for Faith Baptist Church. They need a long-term vision for what God wants to do through them. Usually, when they talk about what the church should do, they mean what Scott & Kristie should do. This is one reason for our decision to leave our ministry at Faith Baptist Church in Mongolia at this time. We know that God will do mighty works through all of His servants and desire that the Mongolians will catch a vision of what God will do through them!

Dean's weekly update

Summer is an interesting time of year for us missionaries who live in the capital city. June and July are usually busy as missionaries pass through the city either entering or leaving Mongolia. Last week, the Cofers returned to Mongolia. This week, the Pattersons return. Next week, the Owenbys depart. In two weeks, the Siekberts will return. Later in July the Tillmans will leave for a trip back to the United States. And finally, in August our family will be traveling back to Oregon. That means lots of trips to the airport for me. Fortunately, our guests usually exit the airport a little before midnight so traffic is not a problem.

We are glad to be a help but this summer have been hard-pressed to make arrangements for all the missionaries as they came through. Many of the places that once were available for guests are filled or no longer available. But the Lord has been good to us, and so far everyone has found a place.

The Pattersons’ return in particular is a welcome one because they have been such a help to us in our ministry at Faith Baptist Church. The Pattersons will continue their ministry in the English-speaking service after our departure. Pray for the Pattersons as they look for an apartment to rent. They anticipate moving back into the same apartment they occupied the last time that they were here. But in Mongolia, one never knows.

Quote of the week

"We are often unable to tell people what they need to know, because they want to know something else." —George MacDonald