Mongolia Part VII; Last Entry on Mongolia

Our team (the four of us from the US, the leading pastor in that region of Mongolia, and four young Mongolia professionals that served as our interpreters) traveled from Choibalsan to the city of Baganuur. Pastor Amara lives in Baganuur and has one of the strongest churches in Mongolia. For the next part of our trip, Pastor Amara had arranged for pastors from the remote areas of that part of Mongolia to meet us at a camp north of Baganuur.

                                                                                           
The camp is located in the foothills of the mountainous area of Mongolia. It is situated in a beautiful valley beside a large river. The camp is used by various groups. It consists of about 20 gers, which are igloo-like canvas tents. The ger is the typical Mongolia home. We saw them all through the countryside and even in the towns. At the camp, each ger had five beds along the outer edge of ger with a wood-burning stove in the center. The top of the ger is open, like a teepee, and can be covered when raining. In the middle of these gers is a dining hall where we ate our meals. There are three “outhouses” on the outskirts of the camp.

 We arrived late in the evening and it was cold. We got settled in our ger, built a fire, and were very comfortable and tired. About 35 pastors and church leaders had already gathered and were ready for our first session. They quickly warmed up to us and during the five days that we were together we shared wonderful times of teaching and worship together. Each day we met together for meals, for pastoral training, for worship, and fellowship. Our team grew to love the Mongolian pastors and church leaders.

Each day we would get up early and walk around the hills that surround the camp for our quiet time. It was so beautiful to see the vastness of Mongolia from the hills. At the top of many of these hills are piles of rocks with a large stick in the middle and a blue cloth tied to the top of the stick. These are “prayer altars” to the earth and sky gods that many of the Mongolians worship. They reminded us of the “high places” in the Old Testament that were dedicated to the Baals.

Two highlights for me at the camp were the Lord’s Supper we shared together with the pastors, and early one morning as I was awakened by singing. It was still very dark and I could hear singing. A group was singing How Great Thou Art in a language I did not know. It was 5 AM.

I got up and went out to find a South Korean mission team that had arrived at the camp during the night. The South Korean believers are strong about getting up early and praying. About 35 of them had gathered down by the river and were having their prayer time together. I joined them. They did not know me but welcomed me with open arms. They sang and prayed and sang and prayed. Their leader led in a message from 1 Timothy. The brother next to me showed me the Scripture in English from his smart phone. As the sun was coming up they were ready to conclude and asked me what church I was with. I told them and the leader, I found out later was the pastor, asked me to give the blessing. I spoke the blessing from Numbers 6:24-26, “May the LORD bless you and keep you…” It was a highlight for me because the South Korean church has been leading the way in the world in prayer ministry and missions for over 35 years. It was a thrill for me to join in with one of their prayer services.

We left the camp and traveled back to the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and spent four days teaching and encouraging the group of young professionals that David Beckett had led to Christ and discipled while they were going to the university in South Korea. These young people all have jobs in the downtown district and are on fire for the Lord. It was encouraging to be around such strong young believers with such influence in their nation.

While we were in the capital we stayed in a guest house in the downtown district. We were able to share Christ with two German professors who were in Mongolia doing research. I had used the phrase “born again” and one of them overheard me and asked to meet with me to know more about it. That evening, I met with both professors, one a Tibetologist (studies Tibetan history and religion) and the other a linguist studying ancient Mongolian script. We met that evening over tea.

 They both spoke very good English. I complemented them on knowing two languages so well. They corrected me and said that they both speak seven languages fluently.  What an interesting conversation we had as I shared from John 3 on the new birth. Neither man saw the need to be born again, but they listened and were interested in the gospel.

Our trip to Mongolia was amazing. I pray that our Lord will allow me to go back. The Kingdom of God is alive and growing in outer Mongolia! We were glad that God allowed us to receive such a blessing from Him through them there.