This pretty much sums up the past
few years of our lives. Sometimes God has spoken to us about exciting and fun
things, like going to Thailand and showing us more of what He has called us to,
and sometimes God has spoken to us about, well, less exciting things. For
example, for me (Steven), cooking lunch and dinner for 40 people, day after day
after day, and for Annita getting up and going to class to come home and study
all evening. But this is what God is interested in: He is interested in us following
where He leads rather than us going where we want. So, for the past few years
we have learned to be content to wait on Him, and as we waited on Him and
learned more of what it means to follow Jesus we have had many opportunities to
help guide those around us to a better understanding of what it means to follow
the Lord in their lives.
But then, about four months ago,
God began to speak to Annita and I again about traveling to those that have
never had the chance to hear the Gospel. Naturally, I considered whether this
was me or God beginning to direct us to look towards missions in Asia, and God
reminded me what He had spoken to both of us about a year and a half ago as we
walked along a street in Bangkok, Thailand. What the Lord had spoken to us then
was “Long term missions, short term mission trips.” And as I began to reflect
on what that entails it all began to make sense. The Lord has called Annita and
I to go to the remote areas of Asia where people have never heard the name of
Jesus, and as we began to seek Him for what this means for us right now, we
felt the Lord put northern Mongolia on our hearts, just like He had spoken to
me about 10 years ago.
So we researched and prayed about
exactly where we should go and what we should do when we get there, and we feel
the Lord has put a specific completely unreached area of northern Mongolia on
our hearts. Because of the remoteness of northern Mongolia we have had to step
back and ask the Lord for a strategy in reaching those we will meet along our
way and again, we feel the Lord reminded us of what He spoke in Thailand: long
term missions, short term mission trips. Because this area of the world is only
accessible for about 3-4 months out of each year it is not feasible to live
there long-term. Therefore, our goal is to visit the same groups of people for
the next several summers in order to share the Gospel and help disciple those
who may choose to accept Christ.
Now to the specifics! The valley
and mountains around our focus area is called the Darhad Valley (go to Google
earth or Google maps and type in Khovsgol Lake; the Darhad Valley is to the
left of that lake). There is only one very rough dirt road up into this valley,
so we plan on also taking time to stop and talk with those along our rout up
into the valley. This is an area of Mongolia where there have never been any
known Christians or churches. Yet despite this fact, the area is very open to
missions. In my previous experiences of having been near this area I have met
very friendly and open people who, in some cases, are desperate to hear about a
loving God but have never had anyone come and tell them. And that, along with
God speaking, is our main motivation for going. For how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And
how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can
they hear about him unless someone tells them? Romans 10:14 And this is
what God has called Annita and I to. To go and tell those who have never heard
about a loving God…
Please pray for us as we continue to plan this trip. Pray that the Lord will continue to bless us with wisdom in regards to the planning, that we will always remember to depend on Him and never on ourselves, that we will have sufficient funds to pay for the trip, and that the Lord will bring along 2-3 other people to join us. We will continue to keep you guys updated on our Mongolia trip, and we really appreciate your prayers!