Mongolia

Andrew Moselen

We often get asked why we ended up in Mongolia. I've sometimes asked that question myself. I remember trudging through the snow on my way down to the Asian Outreach office one day. Judging by how long it took for the ice to form on my moustache, it was about –15 o C. If you have never experienced what –15 o C is like I'll tell you—it's really cold. I remember thinking that if I were back home in New Zealand right then I could be lying on a beach in the sun. And then I thought, “What am I doing here?” To my surprise God immediately brought to mind Matt 24:14: “This gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” It reminded me that our lives are called to count for something.

What are we doing here on this earth? What is our reason for being? For those of us from developed countries, the advertisers tell us that the primary goal of this life is happiness through the acquisition of material things or, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” According to this philosophy, the purpose of life is personal happiness, though having no dandruff is also extremely important.

Regrettably, it's possible for us to buy into this: God blesses us on earth to make us happy, and then we go to heaven to be happy forever. However, the prime purpose of such thinking is still personal happiness. But as followers of Jesus, we are called to much more than that. We are called to take the gospel into the entire world and hasten the return of the King. We are living in a time when we can see that scripture being fulfilled, and the gospel going to all nations.

We've seen that in Mongolia, which 15 years ago was one of the last totally unreached countries on earth, with only a handful of believers and no churches. Now there are over 20,000 Christians and over a hundred churches, and God is working in most amazing ways to bring people to Himself. I recall a friend of ours called Naraa, who was in prison before he became a Christian. He had a devoutly Buddhist mother who was extremely distressed to find her son in prison and to think he'd turned out so bad. She tried all sorts of Buddhist remedies, prayers and food to make him better, but to no avail.Eventually she came to visit him one day and gave him a book, saying, “Read this. It makes bad people good.” It was the Gospel of Luke. She forced him to read it, and when he read the passage where Jesus came to save sinners, he got convicted and gave his heart to the Lord. I love it when Buddhists lead people to the Lord, as it makes our job so much easier. It also shows that God will use any and all means to see the gospel preached. This is what He wants to see done in the world, and He's calling for His people to be a part of it.

But, as everyone knows, there is a real cost in missions. While few of us face death or imprisonment, many on the mission field face the hardship of separation from families, the choice of serving the Lord full-time or having a high income, health problems, and having to eat boiled horse entrails while looking like we enjoy them. Coupled with that is opposition from and frustrations with the very people we are trying to minister to. While often I think Mongolians are the most wonderful people in the world, other times I think if God wanted me to love these people He could at least have made them more loveable.

However, while we sometimes get short-term teams who come to Mongolia to “suffer for Jesus,” (and we try not to disappoint them, especially if they don't like boiled mutton), there is more to missions than suffering. There is the privilege of knowing we are part of what the Holy Spirit is doing in the world. Now, after five years, I can say, “It is worth it.” God is at work and the gospel is going out. And the longer I stay here, the greater sense of eternity I get. We live in exciting times, and it's a privilege to be part of what God is doing.