Sunday, September 30, 2007

Ecyc

It was very loud as we walked in the movie theatre. I was picked up by the pastor, his wife and 16 year old daughter and we drove across the other side of UB to their place of worship. This morning the youth led the service and I will say that I enjoyed worshiping with them despite not understanding very much. They had their words up on power point and I understood one word they sang and repeated often: Ecyc (Yaa-sus or Jesus). At one point I was able to sing with them Blessed be the Name of the Lord, Blessed be His Name, Blessed be the Name of the Lord, Blessed be His holy Name – He gives and takes away, He gives and takes away, He gives and takes away – Blessed be the Name of the Lord …

It was so exciting to be able to sing together in English. At one point while they were singing a rather joyful song I did not recognize, I turned around and out of the corner of my eye, I saw this older man, probably in his 60’s or 70’s, standing, a bit bent over clapping his hands and singing. I just rejoiced at the goodness of God of being part of their celebration of praise, watching them as they rejoiced in the goodness of our Saviour. The striking thing about the older man is he was one of the few older generations in the building. Mongolia became open to Christianity around 1991 and so these are first generation Christians. I was talking to the lady who helped out with the elderly ministry and she mentioned it is a very difficult ministry because many consider themselves to old to change so they stay with their superstitions. That made it all the more amazing to see this elderly man standing before His God and worshiping Him.

I was able to speak from 2 Chronicles 20 when Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord because he was going to be attacked and slaughtered by the Moabites and Ammonites. It is an interesting passage as Jehoshaphat prays: We do not know what to do but our eyes are on you. And so I mentioned how we can trust God with our problems and God will hear our prayers. Finally, when Jehoshaphat and his people go to war, they go out singing: Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever. They were praising God before the victory. Amazing to stand before God’s people and be able to say that whatever our circumstances, we can praise God as His love endures forever. After I spoke there was some more singing and then one of their men got up and spoke for about ten minutes. I did not know what he said but as the people around me opened their Bibles I noticed they turned to Genesis. I pray that the book of Genesis will become a very special book to the people of God in Mongolia!

It was a privilege to be able to be able to worship at this church in Mongolia. There is such an evident passion for the Lord. However, while I was worshiping here it also made me very thankful for Grace Bible Church. Whether in Mongolia or Canada I worship with a people who love God, desire to serve Him and long to bring Him all the glory and honour. So while I was worshiping today, I remembered God’s kindness to me that when I come back home, I come home to a church zealous for the ways of God and I can stand alongside of them to worship and serve. I look forward when I can be with them once again.

After the service, I was taken out to a Korean Restaurant with Chinese food (I know, the food situation gets a little confusing to follow but it seems to all make sense when you are here). It was very good but at one point I bit into a seriously hot pepper and my mouth exploded in complete agony and misery and my nose responded accordingly (OK, so I am a little melodramatic but it was hot!!) Thankfully I learned to recognize the little red enemy and swallowed them whole from that point on in the meal. Following the meal I went with the pastor and his wife to an Irish Coffee place named after one of the Khaans. I wondered if that particular Khaan would be impressed that he was associated with the Irish (that one was for you Nick D.!!) Anyway, this Irish descendent of Khaan made a mean cup of coffee and it was good to be able to talk with the pastor and his wife.

Tonight I hope to look over my Hermeneutics course and prepare myself for the week ahead. If I had to choose which course is more difficult for me to teach, it would be Hermeneutics. I have begun to understand that some of these pastors have had very little training and need some of the basic foundations.

I am also thinking tonight that this time next Sunday I will be in Seoul, Lord willing. That will mean that I am very close to seeing my family who I miss very much. But God has been good to all of us so I thank you for your prayers and practical support for them while I am away.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

"Gers" and Pedicures

It is Saturday today and I had the opportunity to spend the day seeing some more of Mongolia. After marking some of the tests from yesterday, I set out at around 9:00 this morning to walk around the city. It is a very “Russian” city with large imposing buildings and it is also a very dry place so there is very little grass or for that matter, anything green. I walked around the city for about three and a half hours, actually hoping I would find a Starbucks or a Tim Hortons but to no avail. I now know a place on earth where there is not a Tims or Starbucks on every corner.

After I came back, I went with Andrew, Liz and their family for a drive into the country. Mongolian tourism promotes itself as the “Land without Fences” and when you leave the busy city, you understand their slogan. There are massive rolling yet rugged “mountains” jutting in and out or just gentling sloping into one another. We saw cattle, sheep, goats and horses with “gers” dotting the hillside. After about an hour (I think), we found a place to stop and have a campfire so we could boil some water for coffee and tea. We hopped out of the van and settled between two mountains, seeing first hand what a jagged and harsh existence it is to live out on the hills.

On our way back to the main road Andrew and Liz wanted to buy some hay from one of the “gers” and so we stopped at one as an older lady came out. She invited us in and I was able to take some pictures of what the inside of a “ger” looks like. This particular “ger” was a smaller version and it was explained to me that one side is for the man and the other for the woman (I don’t think they were fighting, I think that is just the way it is in this area). The older man was in his bed sleeping and did not wake up as 7 of us entered his small dwelling. There were single beds on either side with cooking and storage spaces surrounding the stove in the middle. The only place for light to enter is through the roof and Liz mentioned that during the winter there can be a lot of depression as they would see very little light in their “gers”. All in all, it was a very interesting experience.

(I wish I could include pictures on my blog but I forgot the cord that connects my camera to my computer. Also, Andrew and Liz have dial-up and it would take forever to download.)

Tomorrow I am going to preach at a church in the city. A pastor who attended this past week invited me to speak and I am thankful for the opportunity. The service is at 12:00 noon on the other side of the city so he will come and pick me up at 11:35-40. The Mongolian time context is a little different from ours as I imagine we will arrive at the church precisely at 12:00 or maybe even a little later. I am also thankful to be speaking at his church as this particular pastor speaks English. One of the very frustrating parts of being here is not being able to communicate to the other pastors who speak Mongul without an interpreter present.

One quick story before I pack it in for the evening. We went out to a typical Mongolian restaurant tonight for supper. A plate of eggs, noodles, mutton (sheep meat – fat included) and salt (with a bit more salt added to the salt) is about $1.50 Cndn. While I am eating, I look up at the TV in the corner and I see a lady giving a pedicure with close up detail of nails being filed and the sole of the foot being scraped (or whatever you call it). You could even see the skin falling off the bottom of the foot onto the ladies sweater. Learning how to give a pedicure with such detail and precision just seemed to make the meal go down that much easier.

Friday, September 28, 2007

The Christian Struggle to Know God's Great Love

Well, this was the final day of Genesis for the class. We finished at around 3:00 noticing that the last verses of the book were words of life in a world filled with sin and death. The curse may have come but God in His mercy provided a means of life. We then went to the book of Revelation and saw how the final chapter ends for us: Behold, I am coming soon. Just like for Joseph and the Israelites, God leaves us with words of hope.

I try to begin each day with a short meditation and this morning we looked at Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3. I mentioned that it will be a struggle in the Christian’s life to understand just how much God loves them – the height, depth and width. In Ephesians 1-2 we looked at how we are loved from eternity past and we are loved in Christ. I was so thankful to tell these men of God’s abundant love for them and how they must “struggle” to know of how great this love is and ever will be.

The Mongolians have had the New Testament from about 1993 and the Old Testament for only 3 years. 3 years! And the OT translation is very weak as they rushed through to translate it. So it was an amazing experience to be able to work through the first book of their OT with them this past week. It felt like there was so much more to teach as we did not even look at the life of Isaac or Jacob. But that is with most of life and ministry opportunities – the task is always bigger than our time or strength. So I am also thankful for a sovereign God who, like Ephesians 3 reminds us, loves the Mongolian church with an everlasting love.

We have two breaks during the day and I have taken to drink their “coffee”, a mixture of coffee, powdered milk and sugar poured into boiling water. Believe it or not it is called Mac Coffee. The drink of choice for lunch is a mixture of water, milk and salt and this I have not been able to get used to yet. The man sitting across from me at lunch poured a huge portion into his bowl and began to drink it like soup. Needless to say, I was duly impressed and now consider him my lunch hero for being able to handle that much WMS mixture at one time.

This afternoon after the test I went for a walk again and nearly got run over. Mongolian driving is absolutely bonkers! There was a slight accident on a three lane road and the two cars could not move until a traffic police came and figured out who was in the wrong. So I saw a traffic police come towards the cars and the traffic was just building behind them. And then all this honking started. No one was going to move because everyone was blocked but they honked anyway. It’s as if the power of the honk will get traffic moving in front of them. Before this accident, I was walking across a laneway for a supermarket and a truck came behind me and nearly cracked me. I moved aside and he pulled up and stopped, only to start going in reverse. I think he started to go in reverse because he did not hit me the first time. So with a certain amount of agility (I say this with all humility), I sidestepped him and just missed hitting the front of the truck. That really annoyed me as it was a rather large truck and if I got hit, I would have been a little disturbed. So I turned around to look at the man and he was yelling at me – me! Thankfully Christian grace kicked in and I left the scene of the (almost) accident.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

This One is for my Boys

Do you know how some things strike you as funny when they probably shouldn’t? Or there are maybe certain subjects that would be better left unsaid? Well, instead of following my gut on this one, I am going to write about it anyway. At the church, there are outhouses which as about 75 feet away from the building. The other day I went to visit and noticed that they were only a hole in the wood – no seat, just a large hole. There were spaces between the boards so if any broke, you would be in trouble. So why do I tell the story? Because this morning when I went to visit, I noticed that there was reading material. It just really struck me as funny.


Anyway … (I thought my boys would like the above paragraph so if it grosses you out, just skip it) … the day went well. Actually, I have to go back to the previous paragraph. I mentioned to Andrew and Liz the bathroom situation at the church the other day and they told a story of a foreigner (I forget what nationality but I am thankful to report it was not Canadian) who used similar outhouses. The Mongolians looked over and instead of seeing a closed door they saw feet sticking out the door. He had sat down on the floor. The Mongolians could not stop laughing as they saw his feet sticking out the door, knowing what he was doing.

OK, I promise I will move on.

The day did go well for the most part. The time after lunch can be a real struggle and I have noticed that as the week has gone on, the men seem to be getting more and more tired. From 2:40-4:00 we looked at Genesis 21 and we worked through how to put a sermon together from an historical book. We talked about finding joy in the Lord as Abraham and Sarah rejoiced in the birth of their son. It was all a good reminder that your joy does not depend on our circumstances but on God’s grace and promises. I try and end each day by saying: Our God is a good God – He is good. And He is good.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Wednesday

There is one man who sits in the classes who I talked to on the first day. He speaks no English and when I tried to pronounce his name, I failed miserably. And I really tried – a number of times. So I told him my name was David, hoping he would also have trouble, but he got it the first time. In fairness to me (I really feel the need to defend myself), Mongolian names are extremely difficult to pronounce because they are long and the ones I have met demand the exact pronunciation with no room for err. They usually shorten them but this particular man did not give me a break.

Anyway, I think he is a more simple man. He just sits and does not participate and I do not see him talking much with the other men. But after the class today, he was the last to leave and he came and give me a big hug (he is a bigger man). And then I met him again in the parking lot and he said one word: Go. And I said “Go” and we walked part way home, not saying a word. As I walked, I just wished I knew the language and could hear his story but his story remains silent to me. At the same time I was thankful just to walk part way home with this man. He would take the time to walk with me and in that short time of silence, there was an unspeakable “enjoyment” of just walking.

I had to wait at the church a little later on and I met a boy whose name is “Tuksa”. He walks with one straight leg and is a little slow mentally. I pointed at myself and said “David” and then pointed at him. “Tuksa”, he said. Tuksa. David. David. Tuksa. And then he would play games with me, standing straight in my face until I looked at him and then he would step back as if nothing happened. It was good just to see him laugh and I was extremely proud that someone accepted my pronunciation of their name. It was a win - win all around.

Today we covered Genesis 3-9 and in so doing, we covered all sorts of topics. Someone asked about 2 Timothy 2.15 (women being saved in childbirth) and someone else asked about whom Cain married. Many questions posed where questions that went beyond the Bible and so at one point I simply said: if the Bible is silent, then we should be silent on the matter. So it will be interesting to hear what questions are asked tomorrow and if I’ll have the opportunity to say that again.

After teaching, Andrew invited me to go along with the team from Canada to a cultural play put on in the city. So we fought traffic and arrived at around 6:30 to pay an equivalent to $6.00 Cndn to see Mongolian culture on the stage. After starting off with a Buddhist ritual with masks filled with skulls, there were various dances, singers and musicians. Probably the two most interesting features were the throat singer and the contortionists. The throat singer sings, yes, from the throat and makes various noises that sound, this is hard to describe, like a noise coming from the throat. He played an instrument and at times it sounded exactly like the note he was playing on his Mongolian “guitar”. The contortionists were younger girls who bend their bodies in unnatural (and even unreasonable) positions. The three girls would bend and fold and twist and fold into many different postures.

Afterwards we went to a … Chinese restaurant. Part of the reason for the choices of restaurants is the cleanliness and knowing that one will probably not get food poisoning or something else.

I continue to be thankful for the opportunity to teach these men. They are starting to call me their “teacher” when I walk past them and some are coming up and asking more detailed questions during the break and at lunch. Here’s one: a man asked what to do when he gave someone money (quite a large sum) to fix his churches’ “ger” and the man never finished the work. This man who did not finish the work is in another church and when he spoke to the pastor about it, nothing happened. What should he do? And part of the difficulty is not only knowing how to properly respond as a Christian but as a Mongolian Christian.

During the afternoon I answered questions during our ten minute break so I taught for three hours straight. If you would remember to pray that God would give physical, mental and spiritual strength during this time. These men (and some women) are eager to hear God’s Word so I am eager to speak. I just pray that God would strengthen me so I can teach with enthusiasm and the energy required.

One final “brain picture” I have from the day. I had to wait for the Canadian team to finish their meeting, so I walked into the church and I saw a young girl sitting near the front. I walked to the back to spend some time praying and as I was sitting, the young girl began to hum. It was beautiful. She was in a “church” building, alone, just spending time with God. The Lord placed that young girl to teach me again of the importance of being with God and being silent in his presence. It is a picture that will linger for a while on my brain … and my conscience.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Headed to Mongolian Grill or This One Is For You Dad

We seem to split the day up into four parts of teaching: 9-10:30; 10:40-12; 1-2:30; 2:40-4:00. A little bell rings at the end of the session and the first day when I went a little past, the bell rang again – 10:30 means 10:30. And so I have learned that when the bell tolls, I stop. Anyway, in our last session, I finished with Genesis 3 when God came to Adam and Eve. And we talked about how God comes to us when we have sinned against him. God came to Abraham, God came to Moses, God came to Israel, God came to us – and this is an act of grace on the part of God. The Lord was able to take the truth and give us an opportunity to respond with singing. I told the men and women that our knowledge is not to be just head knowledge but heart knowledge and an expression of thanksgiving to God. There is this one particular lady who does an excellent job leading songs and I asked if she would come up and if we could sing a song of response to God – I asked her if we could sing You Are My All In All. I wanted to sing that because it is the only song I can sing along with in English.

In the context, the chorus is powerful: Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy is YOUR NAME. I rejoiced with a hand full of believers in Mongolia that God came to us and brought us salvation through Jesus Christ. It was a real moment of rejoicing in God’s mercy, grace, and kindness.

I need to mention lunch for a moment. If you were to sit down around our family table and we were to have meat and there was a bit of fat on it, you would notice that sometimes subtly and not so subtly my dad would cut away the fat. He would cut his meat well away from the fat so that no part of his body, fingers or mouth, would ever touch a piece of fat. So, this mention of lunch is for my dad. The main meal in Mongolia is lunch so they first brought out a bowl of soup with noodles, meat and yes – fat. Clumps of fat mixed in with the broth, sitting in all their white glory. (How are you feeling dad?) That was the first course. The second course was rice with a stir fry of what they called black mushrooms (Eva would be proud that I did not even make a facial grimace at the sound of black mushroom). As I began eating, I noticed once again mixed into the stir fry is – yes, none other than serious globs of fat. I found it all rather tasty and enjoyed the meal. I am so thankful that it is not extremely spicy because they give you lots of food. So dad, this “fat” paragraph is for you!! I hope you enjoyed.

The men and women today asked more questions throughout the teaching time. I was so thankful for this because it gives me an indication of where they are at and what they are thinking. We were able to talk about the coming glory, the new creation, sovereignty of God, what sin looks like and how we can battle against sin and many times they had questions. So the teaching seemed to go well and I believe it is an answer to prayer. So please continue to pray because the Mongolian leaders need to hear God’s Word so they can bring it to their people.

Well, I am off to BD’s with Andrew and Liz, their family and a group of Canadians Chartwell Baptist Church in Toronto. BD’s is apparently an American chain that calls itself Mongolian BBQ. When Chinggis and his troops would go off to fight, they would fry their food on their shields. It is like our Mongolian Grill. Some of you joked if I went to Mongolia, would I go to the Mongolian Grill and the answer apparently is YES – tonight I am going to an American Chain like our Mongolian Grill in Mongolia. It is a strange world, is it not?

Monday, September 24, 2007

Moday In Mongolia

Monday morning we met at the church after a 10 minute walk from the apartment. It was a little chilly and windy so the sand and dirt would swirl around causing your eyes to fill up with sand every once and a while. We passed the infectious disease hospital on one side and empty construction lots on the other. We then turned the corner were numerous “gers” or tent houses were which led to the church.

The day began at 9:00 with singing. There is one song that I recognized – You Are My All In All. So while they stood and sang in Mongul, I stood and sang in English. 2 languages, one God, one faith. It was, I think, a glimpse of glory when people from all tribes, nations and languages (Rev 5) will gather before the throne of God and praise him together. I sometimes wonder if we will all be singing in our own languages but somehow be able to understand one another. Then we can look around and say – he is from Mongolia and she is from Canada – and we would be reminded that God saved His people from all tribes and languages.

After the singing, they introduced me and I only know this because I heard “David Robinson” and “Grace Bible Church”. I was then invited up but sat there because I did not understand that part at all. Someone then motioned for me to come up and I took that as the universal invitation to get off my seat and start.

I prayed for the men and women who came – there are around 20-24 – and I began teaching from the book of Genesis. One of the things I wanted to show is that you can preach through the Bible and a book like Genesis and it is not only truth but it is relevant, Biblical truth. So we talked a lot about context and how to take a message from the context of the Bible, the book and then the passage. I had one young man talk to me at lunch and he mentioned that there are different philosophies of doing ministry and preaching is not always necessary or relevant. I appreciated his honesty as he talked more about building relationships, etc. As I listened to him, while agreeing that “church” can be done a variety of ways in a variety of cultures, there is the absolute importance of preaching the Word of God faithfully and relevantly.

We finished at 4:00 and I walked back the apartment with Andrew. I had been inside all day so I mentioned to them that I would go for a walk and set out for about hour and a half to explore part of the city. One of the things about Mongolia is the traffic and the driving, In Canada there is a walk sign at the lights and the pedestrian has the right of way. In Mongolia, the walk sign really means nothing at all. Actually, I think it means: Good luck as you try to dodge the cars that are coming at you full speed. I successfully avoided traffic and at times found a crowd of people and followed them. The other interesting thing is how much people honk there horns. There is wall to wall traffic and nobody can move but people are honking their horns as if someone could move. All very interesting.

Now it is 8:15 and I have finished a stir fry meal – my second big meal of the day. Mongolians have their big meal at lunch and I was served a delicious bowl of soup (would compete with the proud Dutch tradition of soup making) and then a plate of rice and I called them hamburger balls but that is probably not what the Mongolians call them. I am tired and plan to head to bed after I email my family and see how they are doing.

Thanks for your prayers and also for looking after my family yesterday. It still takes a while to get used to the thought that I will be going to bed and you will be beginning your day – a day I have already completed! Anyway – have a good sleep – I mean a good day.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

First Full Day in Mongolia

The trip from Seoul to Ulaan Baatar went very well. The flight took about 3 hours (a sprint compared to the first trip) and I landed comfortably around 10:30 at night. I am staying with a very nice New Zealand couple (Andrew and Liz – with three children) and Andrew was waiting to pick me up. After going through customs and picking up my luggage, I walked out and within 25 feet I was asked twice if I would be taking a taxi. Apparently they like foreigners.

I was in bed about 1:00 a.m. and slept until 7:30. This morning I went to a Mongolian church in the heart of the city – the political district. We arrived 20 minutes late and walked into very enthusiastic singing. They have a passion for celebrating the goodness of the Lord. After this, the pastor invited the S.S. children up and the congregation stretched forward their hands in prayer for the “next generation” of believers in Mongolia. There were a few testimonies of men who lived in the sewers who had been saved. One man’s kidneys were almost destroyed and the congregation prayed for healing.

A lady from Korea preached – the whole service was in Mongolian and Liz translated a bit for me. It is amazing to travel half way around the world and watch as people bring glory to God in their language.

Following the service, I walked back the two Kilo’s with Liz and we stopped at the Ghinggis Khaan Mausoleum - facing a big square (public place). We traveled through some markets to pick up lunch. Following lunch we went up one of the surrounding mountains and looked out over the city.

I just finished meeting with two ladies who are setting up the conference. There will be 24 pastors and the leaders will be coming from various parts of Mongolia. I will start to teach Genesis tomorrow morning beginning at 9:00 a.m. I did not know this but they have only had the entire Bible since 2000. Also, the OT translation is not the greatest and the Bible Society is seeking to complete it with a more accurate translation. They seem very enthusiastic to take the two courses and are looking forward to learning more from Scripture. There is and enthusiasm to learn the deeper truths of God’s Word.

Please pray as we begin the classes tomorrow – that God would be honoured and His Name would shine in all glory.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

First Night In Seoul

I am just glad I was able to remember how to get to this part of my blog as the computer I am using is all Korean. Needless to say, I am a little rusty with the language!

Anyway, I flew out of Toronto at around 12:15 a.m. Friday morning and arrived in Seoul at 2:09 a.m. - yes exactly 2:09 a.m. because on a 13 hour flight you seem to remember details. The flight was really uneventful. As we took off over Toronto, I could see the massive city - and then darkness. Around 4-5 in the morning I opened my window (I had to do this discreetly because they asked you to shut them - but I just needed to know we were still in the air!!) and I could see the red sky in the horizon. At one point I could see we were flying over the clouds - a beautiful sight! But for most of the 13 hours, we just followed the darkness around the world.

Two things preoccupied my mind. One was every few hours I would think - how is it possible for this huge machine to stay in the air for so long? Amazing - and thankful!. The second- I talked to my dad before I left and he told me to remember Psalm 121 - the Lord does not slumber or sleep. That was a great comfort as I left my family knowing God will watch over my wife and children and ... the plane. What a comfort to know God ... and find our rest in Him.

So after two movies, three meals, 2 hours sleep, approx 5 glasses of orange juice, 5-7 trips to teh bathroom (it is more for the exercise really), and dozens of nodding off moments we landed safely in South Korea. I went to a hotel room (you can get them for 12 hours) and slept for a few hours. It is now 1.24 in the afternoon and I have my ticket ready to fly to Mongolia at 7:30 tonight - at least that is when I board the plane (there is a 12 hour time difference between Mongolia and Ontario). After I am done here, I hope to take a short nap and then I will have to leave my room.

Thank you for your prayers - God has provided abundantly. The only tragedy that has struck is that I had to surrender my MASSIVE (according to them) tube of Crest toothpaste - apparently that offends them and I had to put it in the no allowed items in TO. Sacrifices!!!

Please pray for the Mongolian men. As I walk around the airport, I wonder how many know the Lord Jesus Christ? It is quite a striking feeling to be the minority and to not understand the language and signs posted around the airport. And so as I head to Mongolia, my heart becomes burdened once again for the people of God and the need for the gospel to be proclaimed and spread. My prayer for the mission to Mongolia is 1 Thessalonians 3.10: Night and day we pray most eaarnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. But if I have learned anything in the years the Lord has been working in my life, I imagine the brothers and sisters will bring an ample supply and show me what is lacking in my life and walk with the Lord. God seems to humble us in the most amazing ways so we may experience an abundance of grace.

Now I have to guess if it is the orange or blue button below that will post this update ...

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Teaching Trip to Mongolia

Purpose
As a church, we have the opportunity to teach the church leaders of Mongolia. Mongolia has recently been opened to the gospel and has a great number of new Christians but with very little theological training. Pastor David will take two weeks to train church leaders so they can go back to their churches and instruct their people.

Description
September 24-28, Pastor David will be teaching a course in Hermeneutics (Interpretation of Scripture) and October 1-5 he will be teaching Genesis. This will be for about 8 hours a day. There will also be opportunity to preach in the churches of Mongolia.

Place of Residence
Pastor David will be staying with a New Zealand couple who are missionaries in Mongolia

Flight Plans

September 20 Depart from Toronto 11.50 PM
September 22 Arrive at Seoul 2.50 AM
Depart Seoul 8.50 PM
Arrive Ulan Bator 10.35 PM

October 7 Depart Ulan Bator 12.20 AM
Arrive at Seoul 4.15 AM
Depart Seoul 9.05 PM
Arrive at Toronto 9.05 PM

Prayer
· Pray for the spread of the gospel in Mongolia. Teaching theology is simply telling people more about the God they love and what He has done. Pray that the people of Mongolia would understand how great God’s love is as they learn His Word.
· Pray for those who will minister at GBC. Roger Fellows will preach September 23; Noel Musket and Haniel Davy will preach September 30th; and Paul Martin will preach October 7th
· Pray for Pastor David’s family as he is away
· Pray for Pastor David as he teaches and preaches. Pray that he may effectively communicate the Word of God with passion and clarity.
· Pray for one another that we may all have opportunities to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.