It’s July 4th in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. I was walking to the market today and I saw a Mongolian lady wearing a red shirt with blue jeans. I gave her the biggest smile full of excitement and American pride and she looked at me like I was the goofy foreigner that I am.
It’s the second year in a row that I am spending the 4th of July out of the States and I definitely feel like I’m losing some patriotism points. But then again after thinking about it, maybe I’ve gained some.
Over the last year, I’ve lived in ten countries and experienced many different forms of government. I’ve lived in two nations that have experienced the collapse of communism within the last thirty years. I’ve seen corruption, religious persecution, restricted speech, and devastating forms of poverty. I’ve had too many conversations with people who are desperate to leave their own country.
I’ve been schooled on what freedom really means this year. But after all, freedom was the purpose of this trip. The freedom that I’m talking about has no correlation with the actions of a political leader. It’s a state of being freely given through a relationship with Christ and it isn’t defined by any circumstances.
We celebrated in that freedom today in Mongolia as my team participated in a local outreach. We broke up into groups and walked throughout a community in Ulaanbaatar. We went around for one hour and invited anyone we saw to come to the church for a party and program. At the end of the hour, about thirty people showed up at the church! For the next 3 hours, we sang, ate, danced and talked about the abundant life Jesus has given us.
And chains were broken when 20 people proclaimed that Jesus is Lord for the very first time and gave their lives to Christ!!
I can’t think of a better celebration.
So despite the suffering, laws, and restrictions many people are still experiencing, I want you to know that freedom is ringing in Mongolia today and all around the world.
San Andres, Guatemala
Bol, Croatia
Lira, Uganda
Fier, Albania
Antigua, Guatemala
