Quote of the week

"It will be an ill day when our brethren take to bragging and boasting and call it 'testimony to the victorious Christian life.' We trust that holiness will be more than ever the aim of believers, but not the boastful holiness which has deluded some of the excellent of the earth into vain glory, and under which their firmest friends shudder for them." —C. H. Spurgeon

Another Thursday in Mongolia

We have been without water, hot or cold, for the past two days. It's not been a problem. We had adequate notice and stocked up for the first day. When the water came on this morning, we rejoiced and used up the last of our reserves. Then the water went off again. It did not return until about 9 PM. But no water isn't too much of a problem.

The person that  needs your prayers because he has problems is Dashka. On Monday about a six foot section of his ger was affected by a fire burning outside. That part will need to be replaced. It's very cold outside, well below freezing at night. Snow flurries have whitened the hills. It looks pretty but it's cold. He's also trying to build a small house (minor electricity, no running water) for his family to live in. But he's waited perhaps too long. He may not be able to finish it before winter.

But if Dashka has problems that need our prayers, then the Elliott family has some serious needs that need our intercession. They abruptly left Mongolia least night to travel to Korea. Lydia has been admitted to a Korean hospital for 14 days for treatment for deep vein thrombosis. The whole family was able to travel to Korea for which we all are grateful. They have friends there who are assisting them with housing and adjusting.

Dashka needs our prayers; the Elliotts need our prayers. But the person most on my heart tonight is Ganpurev's sister Buynaa (pronounced Boy•nuh). She was told earlier this week that she should have tomography done to determine if she has a brain tumor. She lives in the countryside but came to town to seek treatment for what she thought was another ailment. The doctors ruled out the ailment she suspected and asked enough questions to cause concern about a brain tumor. She will be going tomorrow to see if she can get a test done sooner rather than later. Buynaa and her husband Bold are not Christians although they have heard the Gospel from Ganpurev and me in the past. Please pray that God would use the difficulties of her medical situation to draw the entire family to Himself.

First snow of the fall

We had our first snow fall of autumn today. It was only a couple of inches and didn't stick very well. It's a little late too. I looked at the data from old pictures. The first snow of 2009 was Sept. 19; the first snow last year Sept. 25. So Sept. 28 doesn't seem too bad.

Deans' weekly update: Aya

Our God is good, all the time. However, as finite humans we do not always understand His goodness, mercy, and grace to us. Recently, we have experienced God's goodness in a particular way and wish to thank Him.

Kristie and I visited Aya last week. At the beginning of August, I doubted whether she would still be with us. Sleeping, eating, talking—she had cut back to nearly nothing on all three. Her cancer had caused a blockage that prevented normal bodily function. Since a doctor inserted a catheter to provide relief she has been noticeably better. When we visited last week, she was talking and smiling just as she used to do. She praised the Lord for her health.

As a Christian, it is so refreshing to see God give peace to His children. Despite a poor prognosis, Aya has maintained a good spirit and even has been telling her other daughter Tonga that she needs to pray because God answers prayer.

Yes, the doctors have provided some relief. But the Lord has given emotional and spiritual relief. We had been praying that Aya would be with us until her newest granddaughter was born. Nandinbileg is now over a month old and healthy, and Aya shows no signs of leaving us anytime soon. We praise the Lord for His goodness and His wonderful works to the children of men.

10th anniversary

Today marks the 10th anniversary of our arrival in Mongolia as a family. Kristie and I visited in July 1997. I made a trip in the spring of 2001 to arrange for housing and visas. But it was not until September 24, 2011 that we arrived in Mongolia as a family.

At that time, we only had three children. Emily was not yet three and probably does not remember our arrival.

It was less than two weeks after the tragic events of September 11, and there was still significant uncertainty about more attacks or the United States's response to the attacks. Some American friends of ours had placed a U.S. flag in a prominent position in their home. The U.S. Embassy in Mongolia had extra security.

Two pictures give you an idea how much our family has changed. In the first picture, Kristie and three kids (Elsie was not yet born) are sitting with our Mongolian friends and Kristie's mother. One of the young ladies in the picture has her own child now. And we've added Elsie as you can see in the picture at the bottom.

A lot has changed in the world, in the U.S., in Mongolia, and in our family since that day that we arrived.

Will this affect US-Mongolian relations?

In a photo opportunity at the United Nations recently, President Obama accidentally blocked the face of the Mongolian president, Elbegdorj. Oops! http://yhoo.it/nKlZCb

Quote of the week

Job's "strange experience is one from which no believer is exempt. All of us share in the maddening paradox that we are the loved and redeemed children of God … and yet still being compelled to experience firsthand the cruelty and injustice of a world in which the righteous are unwelcome intruders, and in which all too often the strength of evildoers goes wildly unchecked." —Mike Mason

"Can I have two religions?"

Kristie was recently passing out a tract to one of the salesladies from whom we buy produce. We hand them a new tract as often as we can get our hands on one. As Kristie handed this lady a tract she asked if the lady was religious.

The lady was replied that she was religious, but asked sincerely, "Can I have two religions?" Mongolians are nothing if not pragmatic when it comes to religion.

Money corrupts part one

A few years ago, the government of Mongolia experienced a small windfall from mining operations in Mongolia. That year’s election campaign issue became how to best spend that extra money. Some politicians promised one thing, other politicians promised another. After the election was done and the votes were taken, the government passed a bill giving about $400 to each newly married couple. At the time, that amount of money was equivalent to about two months wages in Mongolia.

I am certain that the government had the best intentions. For example, second marriages were not allowed to obtain the bonus which was reserved only for first marriages. The thought was that the money would provide newly married couples with new opportunities. The marriages were required to be properly registered.

Despite the government’s best intentions the program was severely abused. The number of marriages in the first year of the program were three times as many as the previous year. We had Mongolian friends who had been living together for years—had two children together—who “got married” and asked the government for their $400.

A few years after this government program, a lady began coming to my church. She surprised me one day with the question: “Can I divorce my husband?” As I probed as to her marital status and problems, she told me that her and her husband had never loved each other.

“Then why did you get married?” I asked.

“To collect the $400,” she responded without any hint of regret. “We split the money $200 a piece.”

My point is this: any time the government offers to give away money, it will affect people’s behavior. Someone might say, “But don’t we want to see young people married to each other rather than living together?”

Yes, we do. However, in too many cases in Mongolia, young people were “getting married” merely to collect $200 each. Such is not a Biblical purpose for marriage. Rather than strengthen the institution of marriage in Mongolia, the offer of money only encouraged frivolous marriage. The overall effect was to weaken the institution of marriage in Mongolia.

When God Teaches a Lesson

“Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.” (Ps. 129:2)

This particular story comes from a tear-filled testimony given on Sunday to the church. I do not feel at liberty to reveal the member’s name, but hers is a classic Cinderella story—except true. And this story does not take place in Europe but in Mongolia. Every part of this story is true and without exaggeration. The stories of God’s work in a believer’s life stand without embellishment.

Her father died not long after she was born. Her mother remarried and had more children. But her step-siblings, a brother and several sisters, refused to fully accept her as a member of the family. They would constantly criticize and belittle her, reminding her that she was only a half-sister. Her stepfather failed to protect her because he said she was not his daughter. She grew up as if she were fatherless.

Rejection by her family made her naturally independent character fiercely self-sufficient. She determined to be her own person; she would not ask her family for any help and she would not expect any help from them.

It must have been some relief when she won a scholarship to study in Russia. Even in the beginning of the new millennium for Mongolians to study in Russia was the pinnacle of scholastic achievement. The rich spoiled children might study in the United States or Japan or Singapore; the poor but academically successful studied in Russia.

Sometime before she left for Russia, a friend had brought her to church. It was there that she became a Christian. I do not doubt the sincerity of her commitment to Jesus Christ or that she is truly born again; however, it seems that she did not grow much during the few years that she attended church meetings in Ulaanbaatar.

Her study in Russia lasted for seven years. During that time she attended an independent (not Orthodox) Russian church. They were a tremendous encouragement and help to her. She still remembers fondly how they treated her as family and reached out to her despite the fact that she was not Russian. American churches could learn from this example to reach out to immigrants to the United States in an effort to win them to Jesus Christ.

It was also while she was in Russia studying that she met her husband (also a Mongolian) and married. Sadly, they married without obtaining permission from either set of parents. Far from home and deeply in love, they must have thought that they would marry first and explain it all later. Tragically this is all too common in Mongolia. After their first child was born her husband returned to Mongolia to announce his marriage and the arrival of their first child.

Rather than accept them as married, the parents were angry. They had larger plans for their son to be satisfied with this unsanctioned marriage. His parents knew this woman and her family: penniless, low on the social ladder, without connections. They did not approve. The parents gave their son an ultimatum: repudiate his marriage to this woman and return to live with them or they would cut off all his support.

Used to living extravagantly and without boundaries, the son could not imagine life without his parents’ financial support. He chose to abandon his wife and daughter and return to live in Mongolia, leaving them behind in Russia. When she did return to Mongolia she became pregnant with their second child though he still was not living with her.

I once asked another Mongolian if such a situation were common in Mongolia. The Mongolian man agreed that it was common enough for a Mongolian young man and young woman to marry with parental permission. But it was uncommon for the parents to object to the marriage later. And if they did object, they rarely would demand that a young man leave his wife.

The parents of the young man were not without any compassion. Pitying her, the parents finally offered to pay her a small monthly sum to help raise their grandchildren, but only if she would agree to divorce her husband!

The story of God’s work in these two young lives is two long for this update. Suffice it to say that recently he has begun to pay her rent but still does not live with her. With two young children to provide for, she struggles to find work that allows her to be with her children and yet pays enough for them to eat and stay clothed. God has graciously provided many times through translation jobs that she can do at home. But recently, God allowed several pressures to assail her at once.

The first pressure is that she took a translation job to finish a book on a difficult schedule. She has been working too many hours in an effort to complete the job on time and has been tired and missing church services. She received an advance payment when she agreed to translate the book, but that money was received some months ago. In order to receive the remaining payment she must finish the book. She also has a side job that takes some hours each week but usually provides a monthly income. However, that salary had not been paid to her for two months. Then the most recent incident that finally frustrated her to anger was that her husband only paid half of the rent for the apartment where she and her children live despite a promise to pay the rent in full.

“Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.” (Isa. 62:10)

When he neglected to keep his word and pay her rent in full there was an argument, and she dredged up all her old accusations about his neglect, failure to provide, etc. Not long after the argument, she came across this verse in Isaiah. She told the church it was as if God was speaking directly to her: “You need to build a highway, you must gather out the stones of bitterness, anger, and malice that are in your life.”

And so God set her on a new road. She began to say “yes” to God and “no” to self. She went to her husband first to ask him to forgive her. She admitted that she had not truly forgiven him. Last month if you would have asked her, she would have told you that she had forgiven her husband. But the way she immediately brought up old accusations when an argument broke out revealed to her that she was harboring bitterness towards him in her heart. He not only forgave her but admitted that what she had to say was correct, a humbling admission from a Mongolian man.

Then she went back to her family. For years she had struggled to be independent, to never need her family’s help for anything. But in her effort to be unconnected from her family, she had also neglected to meet needs when she had opportunity to do so. Now that God set her on a new road she recognized that her desire to distance herself from her family and her lack of help to her family was thinly disguised bitterness and malice, more rocks that needed to be removed so that she could prepare the road.

“But whoso … seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” (I John 3:17)

So it was that God gave her another assignment. In reaching out to her siblings to express her apology for years of keeping them at a distance, she became aware of a financial need in her sister’s life. Despite her tight finances, she felt compelled by God to reach out to her sister because of this verse in I John 3. So from the meager remainder that she had she gave her sister a gift.

Within a short time, her previous two months salary that had been delayed was in her hands. She told us that the lesson she learned was that you give God what He asks of you whether you have money or not. Another church member who heard her testimony remarked that from hearing this testimony of her sister in the Lord she had determined in the future to give the Lord what he was asking of her. Is it any wonder that Sunday’s offering given by the Mongolians was nearly four times the average amount given? When God teaches a lesson, people learn it.

This lady who gave her testimony on Sunday is still not completely reconciled to her husband nor are her finances entirely satisfactory. But she has yielded to the Spirit based on Scriptures that He has brought to her attention. She has joy and peace, direction and confidence. And her testimony to the church has encouraged them, strengthened their faith, and urged them to trust God even more.

As a pastor, I have shown them these verses, taught these principles, given them similar examples. Yet when God teaches the lesson it is far more powerful and memorable. Praise God for His work in our lives!