We went to the Mongolian countryside this past weekend, through a connection made with our air bnb host, who is a sweet 14 year old girl that we will call Grace. Her family knew a couple who lives on a farm not far from the capital and has hosted a few foreigners. Grace’s sister who we now call Esther, a 10 year old full of energy and sass joined us. We stayed in a cabin next to a ger with an outdoor makeshift drop dunny. We also had a fire fueled by cow poo and they graciously gave us a generator for some light.
The family gave us our 1st meal free and we helped make traditional dumplings called ‘buuz’. We were not very good at making them like the locals but we had fun putting our unique touch to them. As we were preparing and waiting for the food, we watched somewhat typical for that age but also unhealthy sibling dynamics between the two girls. Some nasty comments were thrown at each other and we all made it our mission to love on them for the weekend. Both girls spoke fluent English and the younger one probably has a better vocab than me. However, I so enjoyed listening to her pronounce her ‘V’s’ as ‘W’s’. She would say ‘wegetables’ and called us ‘wizitors’.
Due to some miscommunication we were not expecting to pay for further meals and so we decided to cook for ourselves with the food that we brought (though mostly snacks). However, the Lord provided abundantly for us from potatoes they were throwing out because they had sprouts, to being supplied with meat, carrots and a continual supply of milk products and fried bread by our hosts. We had more than we were able to eat. Traditional Mongolian diets generally consist of meat, milk and bread.
Over the weekend we immersed ourselves in the country life and enjoyed milking a cow, riding horses, watching stunning sunsets overs the hills and starting fires. The Dad even took some of us to visit their national hero ‘Genghis Chan’s’ massive statue. It was there I saw their famous eagles and 2 humped camels.
Yet, the best part of the weekend was spending time with the sisters. Esther wanted to spend everyday with us and ran a million miles an hour. She kept us all busy and was very entertaining. On Sunday morning she entered our cabin and most of us were having quiet time in our beds, reading our bibles. She joined Emily and and together they read the whole book of Esther (hence why we call her that)! We all jumped on board and followed along as she read beautifully. At the end of the book, Kelly felt prompted to give Esther her Bible. She was so excited to receive a Bible and said she would always treasure it. She wrote in the front of the Bible her name, date and that this was the first time she read the Bible. The girls prayed for her and everyone poured truth over her throughout the day, answering questions and encouraging her. Landry read part of Psalm 23 to Esther in relation to not having to fear. Esther has been brought up in a culture heavy with traditional practices and Shamanism and was used to being afraid of evil spirits. Esther was just eating up the Word and is a very smart girl.
Throughout the day both sisters engaged with our team on the topic of faith. We learned that their Grandmother is a Christian and we were stoked to hear that they had someone who has been planting the seeds for a long time and will be able to disciple these girls ongoing.
That night we had more traditional dumplings but they were fried and it was called ‘Khuushuur’. We ate and spoke with the family in the ger. It was a sweet time and after dinner we sang worship songs for the family. Haley shared a little from the Bible and spoke a blessing over the family for their kindness towards us. On our way back to our cabin for the night, I stopped at the drop dunny and on my return to the house I heard that we gained a sister in Christ. What?! Haley had asked Grace if she wanted to accept Jesus into her heart and she said yes! Gina also gave Grace her Bible and they prayed for her and encouraged her to reach out to her grandmother. She said her grandmother had shared with her about Jesus but it didn’t click until now. We went to bed that night rejoicing at all the Lord had done.
The next morning we awoke to the owner and the Dad of the girls planting memory trees for us of sea buckthorns. It was so sweet. We headed back to the city and in the car on the way back, some of the team was with Esther and they asked her if she wanted to accept Jesus as well. She said ‘well obviously I’ve already done that’. She is a little pocket rocket! Those in the car prayed for her to receive the Holy Spirit and over things that she was struggling with, for example friends at school. Esther then starts reciting Psalm 23 to them. She memorized the whole thing within a day!
It was a powerful weekend of seeing the harvest of seeds that have been planted for many years and the Lords constant pursuit of these girls hearts. We are so thankful we were able to be a small part of their story and to see them come to salvation. Friends, the harvest is plentiful.
We praise God for all He has done and continues to do in Mongolia and the connections that were made during our time there. We all shared Christ boldly, prayed for many people, saw the body working to build up the church and were so encouraged by the growing number of Christians in this country.
Our team name for the remainder of this journey is ‘Harvest’. Our team leader Kelly was praying into our team and got the scripture John 4:35-38:
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
We are so excited to see what else the Lord has in store this last month as we approach China and then make our way home to our respective countries.
Thank you for your prayers and for following this crazy journey that the Lord has taken me on over the last 10 months!
