Hello from Mongolia!
We have spent the past two weeks here in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. We do not have a host this month and have been doing a lot of ATL (ask the Lord), and have seen the Holy Spirit move in many hearts here. It’s kinda cool not having a lot of clear direction and just stepping out in faith and allowing the Holy Spirit to show up in unique ways. Our squad has seen several people come to know Jesus since we have been here, which is the best! Please be praying for these new believers!
Tomorrow my team will be traveling to several communities in the Northern region of Mongolia. We will be going “off the grid” as we trek by horse to reach some of the last remaining reindeer herder groups in the world. Be praying for soft and open hearts, safety, clear communication, and the Holy Spirit to show up in huge ways!
This is a story from a few months ago:
After leading English club we went to eat at the local spot with some of the students like we usually did. Except this time at one of the tables some people got into some great gospel conversations. One of the students did not like what was happening and had to excuse himself from the conversation and later when we were leaving he was explaining to me that he becomes “radical” when he gets in conversations about things like that. He was upset because one of the guys with us was sharing his faith and he is a local. Converting your religion is like betraying your country from what it seems like in some of these Muslim cultures. The same guy who talked about becoming radical (we will call him Paul) asked to add me on Facebook. I was very hesitant to add him because he could see everything on here about the world race and what we were doing and I did not want anything “radical” to happen. Reluctantly, I agreed and added him.
The following morning I had a message from Paul asking if we could hangout. Unfortunately, it was during the last week we were there and we were really busy with “other things.” One big thing that I have learned this race is to be interruptible, so I agreed to make some time for Paul. If I am being honest I was kinda nervous about it and had many other things to do. Another guy on my team and I met Paul at a coffee shop close by. When he walked in, he was grinning from ear to ear and was so excited to see us. We got him a coffee to join with us and we began chatting. It soon transitioned into talking about the Bibles we had sitting on the table and getting to share the best news in the world, the gospel! He was very receptive and we had a very good conversation. We talked for well over 2 hours and it was so encouraging to see his “radical” side turn into being interested in what we had to say. After we were done we got up to go get some dinner, and he wasn’t done hanging out with us so he joined us for dinner. After dinner we said goodbyes and he was sad to watch us leave. He could not get enough of hanging out with us. He would probably tell you it was because he was getting to practice his English, but I would strongly argue that He was attracted to the love of the Holy Spirit living inside of us.
After we had left him we went to a Bible study with several workers there. We shared about our time with Paul and they told us we should invite him. So of course we did and he reluctantly came. He sat with us looking very confused while we sang quietly (so the neighbors would not hear us and complain to government officials) and most importantly he got to hear the gospel again!
What a beautiful picture to see of how much God pursues us and how powerful the Holy Spirit is. Here is this guy who one night was saying he couldn’t participate in a “religious” conversation, to then being very open to talking about it, to then being aware and okay with walking into a room full of believers to have a bible study with them. Hmmm so good. I know a seed has been planted in his heart and that God is relentlessly pursing him. Whether if I am tilling the ground, planting seeds, or producing the fruit I am so thankful and blessed to be a small part of what God is doing all around the world! He is good. Please be praying for “Paul.”
