ⓒ 2006 WATV

One year and four months have passed since I came to Mongolia, where the descendants of Genghis Khan live. I arrived in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia? with great enthusiasm for the gospel like that of the Apostle Paul, who said, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me―the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace (Ac 20:24).”

Since the seed of the gospel was sown here in Mongolia, it has grown rapidly by the power of God. I am weak, but nothing is impossible for God who moves the whole universe with His word. I truly give thanks to God, who leads the gospel work in Mongolia with His mighty hand.


A missionary from Solongos, Rainbow Country

Mongolia was a tribal name which means ‘brave.’ Later it became the name of the united country established by Genghis Khan. Ulan Bator in which Zion is located means ‘Red Hero.’ Mongolians value ‘courage’ most, and regardless of age they are full of valor and courage.

They call Korea ‘Solongos.’ In Mongolian solongo means rainbow, and Solongos ‘Rainbow Country.’ When the Mongolians invaded Goryo (an ancient kingdom of Korea) in the 13th century, they saw a beautiful rainbow and called Korea ‘Rainbow Country.’ I don’t know the exact origin of the word, but it is certain that Mongolians feel friendly towards Koreans.

Mongolians look very similar to Koreans, that it is almost impossible to distinguish between them. Mongolian spot, which only Mongolian and Korean people have, also shows the close relationship between the two peoples.

The character of the two peoples is similar; both of them are patient and polite. Mongolians are nomadic tribes who live in the vast plains, so they are simple, honest and warm-hearted. They are also very independent; at the age of approximately eight, most children begin to do housework such as taking care of their younger brothers and sisters, doing laundry, cleaning houses, cooking rice, drawing water from wells, etc. Seeing the children work without any complaint, I think that we should spiritually become mature and please our heavenly Father and Mother.

Ulan Bator is 2.2 times bigger than Seoul. Over 800 thousand people―one third of the whole population of Mongolia―live here in Ulan Bator. In the center of the city flows a river and there are many modern buildings and apartments. However, if we go a little off the downtown, we can see plains, hills, low mountains and many gers―Mongolian traditional houses.

I came here on September 15, 2004, the day before the Feast of Trumpets. At first, I didn’t know what to do in a strange place. I neither knew anyone here nor could speak Mongolian. Moreover, I was sent here so suddenly without any information about the country.

When the 2003 Daegu Summer Universiade was held, I worked as a vice-president of the supporters for the Mongolian team and helped a Mongolian judo player named Munkhbaatar who came to Korea for medical treatment of his leg injury. I eagerly prayed for the gospel to be preached in Mongolia, but actually I never imagined that I myself would be sent to Mongolia so quickly.

As for Mongolian, I couldn’t even tell a consonant from a vowel. However, when God said, “Go,” I did not hesitate and answered, “Yes, I will,” and my heart beat rapidly with thanks and joy. I will never forget my emotions I felt on that day.

When I arrived at Ulan Bator airport, it was snowing. In Mongolia? winter lasts for about 6-7 months, from September to April the next year. Winter just began when I arrived here on September. I could hardly see things because of heavy snowfall, and I absolutely had no idea what to do here. I was confused and afraid in a foreign country.

ⓒ 2006 WATV

Ulan Bator airport was desolate like a bus terminal in a small town. I couldn’t find any house in the vast land on the way to the city. Seeing the endless plain, I realized that I had to fight with myself endlessly, and I made a resolution to do my best to preach the gospel.

‘There must be a great plan when God has chosen me, feeble and weak, and has sent me to Mongolia which is 30 times bigger than Korea. What is His will?’

I could neither know nor do anything, and I depended on God more des-perately. I believed that God chose me to show His power, using me as a tool. I firmly decided to preach the gospel, doing just as God tells me to do.


Overcoming the harsh reality which is like extreme cold

I made a great plan. It was to preach the truth to the Mongolian President. As the Apostle Paul preached the truth of God to King Agrippa, so I would preach to a pagan king, whether he listens or fails to listen, that I could fulfill the prophecy by displaying God’s glory. Since I had such a great plan, I could easily overcome small difficulties.

I kept the Feast of Trumpets for ten days in the house of a couple members, who had received the truth in Korea. From that time, I began to preach the gospel in Mongolia. The brother was a policeman and the sister a kindergarten teacher. At the Feast of Trumpet, the day after I arrived in Mongolia, they led five members of their family to the truth and kept the feast together.

I had a language problem. So I began to learn Mongolian from them. The word order of Mongolian is the same as that of Korean, so I could learn it quickly. Communicating with them using body language, I could feel something much more important than language.

I was not able to preach the gospel as much as I did in Korea. 90% of the Mongolians believe in Buddhism, and many of them do not even know the existence of God. Mongolia can be described as a spiritual wasteland. I can’t explain how distressed I was when I was not able to preach even basic truths. When I was heartbroken because of the people who would not believe, God gave me a great understanding.

When God came to this earth, He couldn’t find anyone with faith because the truth had completely disappeared. I was chocked with tears, thinking of Father’s heartbreak for the children who did not believe nor understand when He testified to the truth through the Bible.

I truly gave thanks to Father and Mother for letting me be born in Korea and easily understand Their words. I was also thankful to Them for giving me an opportunity to more understand Their earnest heart. As I understood Father and Mother’s love a little more, I eagerly prayed for the gospel work in Mongolia. I strived to deliver Their love with all my heart, not merely through language.

On the Day of Atonement, I tried to explain Father’s love to brothers and sisters, expressing how He preached the gospel by making gestures of crossing streams and climbing mountains with a heavy bag just as Father did, because my Mongolian speaking ability was not good enough to describe Father’s life who had suffered on this earth. Then they were moved to tears, giving thanks to Father who had walked the way of sacrifice and love for sinners.

It’s not too much to say that the most important thing for the gospel in Mon-golia is to overcome the intense cold.

Winter lasts for more than six months from September to April, and the average temperature during the daytime is minus 25-30 degrees Celsius and minus 40 degrees Celsius at night. Two pairs of socks, two pairs of underwear and a pair of arctic boots are necessary. If we go outside without wearing warm winter clothes, we catch flu and suffer from it for about two or three weeks.

Most brothers and sisters draw water from a public well and make a fire in the stove by using coal as fuel. In winter, the air becomes foggy due to the coal smoke. And it is dangerous to walk the streets at night because there is no street lamp, and only a few buses run. In some villages buses run at 30-40 minutes or one hour intervals. Usually we go on foot.

Most villages are located up the hills or under the mountains. When snow lies 40-50 centimeter deep, the roads are completely covered. To go to a village up the hills, we have to make our way through the snow. Sometimes we get lost.

If we stay outside for about 30 minutes, we feel as if our ears would be cut off, and frost forms in our hair and eyebrows. When we go inside a warm room, our bodies get warm and sometimes we have a sharp pain on our bodies.

However, we thank God that we have someone to walk with. Father alone preached the gospel, walking through knee-deep snow and climbing high mountains. We are thankful again for God’s love and sacrifice. Severe cold and inconvenient traffic give us so much strength and consolation. It reminds us of the path Father and Mother have walked.


A rapid increase in the members of the Mongolia Church

ⓒ 2006 WATV

The first worship service in Mongolia was held with four people; my wife and me and the brother (policeman) and his wife (kindergarten teacher). After some time, we could hold worship services in a classroom of the kindergarten where the sister worked. However, we couldn’t sing a new song loud enough, because there were some legal restrictions. Kindergarten teachers and neighbors who attended other churches were jealous of our Church because the gospel spread so rapidly. They reported to the police and they warned us several times.

We earnestly prayed God to give us a place for worshiping freely. At last, our prayers were answered. In August 2005, we moved into a larger building that God had prepared for us. The gospel work in Mongolia began with four people, but when we moved to a new place, the number of the Church members attending all worship services reached 100. About three months after we moved, the Church was filled with 160 good fruits.

Until now, over 400 members have received God, but many of them need to study the Bible more, because they have not fully understood the truth yet. Most of Mongolian people receive God because the truth is right, but they do not keep their faith firm because of their poor living conditions. They always long for Zion in their hearts, but they can not often come to worship God because of their hard living.

Since the Church was expanded, the Mongolian brothers and sisters’ faith have become stronger, many of them have become good gospel workers. Some were awarded in the third quarter of 2005 for bearing much fruit by preaching the truth with a heart burning like fire.

Sister Oyunerdene is one of them. She attended the Protestant church with her husband and all her family. However, she was disappointed to find the church fanaticizing people by signs and wonders, without the truth. Then she heard the truth of the Church of God that follows the truth of the Early Church and became God’s true child with her husband.

They have been keeping all the Sabbath worship services and even the early morning services at the feasts. One month after they received the truth, they were given a great understanding and studied God’s words every day, and they led all their family members to God. After another month, they began to teach new members.

Their family is engaged in the art of goldwork, so they are well off. The only hope of the brother was to go to America, where their relatives live, and to make a lot of money there. After receiving the truth, however, he only hopes to become a good worker for the gospel, always giving thanks to God for His grace. The brother and the sister have set a good example of leading their family members to the truth. They always come to Zion after work and study the Bible every day. They are making every effort to serve the Church, looking ahead to their rewards in heaven.

His younger brother received the truth in October and he also has a great fervor for the gospel like his elder brother. He is a cameraman in a broadcasting station that will open soon. He was deeply impressed by the secret of the fig tree and received the truth with joy. After understanding the truth, he preached to his co-workers and led many of them to God: directors, announcers and reporters.They are preparing to display God’s glory by dubbing the Church videos into Mongolian, using their talents.

A sister, who majors in Korean at a university, is eagerly preaching the truth with sure faith in the Holy Spirit and the Bride. She was awarded in the third quarter for bearing much fruit?she led her eleven friends to God only in two months. She always desires to meet Mother, watching videos with tears, and always thinks about Mother’s heart first. With such a beautiful mind, she delivers Her love to brothers and sisters.

There is another university student, who received God in the last autumn. He comes to Zion right after school and studies the Bible every day, giving thanks to God. He has desponded of his future due to his unfavorable conditions, but now he always gives thanks to God for given circumstances and comes to Zion delightfully. It takes about one and a half hours by bus to come to the Church from his house, but he has been keeping the Sabbath every week since he was baptized and has already led his three friends to God. Now he is trying to lead his family to Zion, studying the Bible hard.

By their earnestness and zeal, many brothers and sisters have been found and we are preparing to build a larger church building in March, according to Father and Mother’s will. We also plan to preach in Darhan, the second biggest city in Mongolia, according to God’s leading.


We can do everything in God

The last one year and four months in Mongolia were full of grace of Father and Mother. Whenever brothers and sisters faced troubles because of many idols and festivals in Mongolia, God gave them wisdom so that they could overcome.

There is no other particular way to produce good results for the gospel, except finding what pleases God and putting it into practice.

The success of the gospel has already been guaranteed because God Him-self plans and accomplishes it. We are only God’s fellow workers and His instruments. If we work according to our own thinking, we will fail. But if we work according to our Master’s will, we will never fail to produce good fruits.

No worker can succeed if he only considers outward conditions, saying, “Because it is cold,” “Because it is hot,” “Because it is far,” or “Because it is close.” The Mongolian brothers and sisters and I are tying to be workers like ants, who diligently work for the gospel with a loving and sacrificial heart, following the way God has walked.

Now we need more workers here in Mongolia. Almost 400 members, who have received God, are waiting to be fed with the words. However, workers are not enough to feed them all. Recently a daily news paper here expressed Ulan Bator as a ‘new place for mission.’ Now there are about 300-400 missionaries of various denominations from Korea. We must work even harder.

Overseas mission does not depend on our own preparation or knowledge. It is written in the Bible: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Php 4:13).” The gospel of the kingdom of heaven is accomplished by God Himself, not by our own ability. If we work for the gospel by trusting in God, the world is in our hands.

Genghis Khan conquered almost all countries from east to west in the 13th century. We are warriors of the gospel in this age. All of us shall boldly preach the gospel throughout Mongolia and the whole world.

We can do everything because God is with us. Father and Mother, we give You thanks.