The view on exiting the airport. March is early spring for Mongolia and people are thrilled the snow is beginning to melt. But this is more snow than I’ve seen in multiple years combined!
When I knew I would be making this trip, I knew Gena had to come with me. She’s talked about wanting to see Mongolia for as long as we’ve been married. And while this wouldn’t be a horseback trek to the Gobi and camping in yurts kind of trip, I still couldn’t leave her behind. So we paid out of pocket for her airfare.
It’s an hour drive from the airport to our hotel in the center of Ulaanbaatar, the capital and really *only* city in Mongolia. Built for a population of 700,000, there are now over 1.5 million people in the city, out of a national population of about 3.4 million. Much of the time needed to get from the airport to our hotel was spent gridlocked in the interminable traffic that is a hallmark of the capital city.
On Saturday (the day after our arrival) we were picked up at the airport by the student I had come in part to visit. Nomin and his wife Oyani met each other at university, where she was studying chemical engineering and he was studying civil engineering. Today they are taking us to one of the home Bible studies Nomin conducts as part of his vicarage work. We were very excited to glimpse a typical Mongolian home.
This home was built by the young man with his back to the camera on the couch next to Gena. He’s a carpenter, among other skills, including the guitar, which he played to lead us in a couple of worship songs before Bible study began.
Although we couldn’t understand anything, a Bible study is a Bible study regardless of the language, and Nomin did a good job in moving through material, answering questions and moving things forward.
Afterwards there was some conversation among the four of them. The man wants to donate part of the small parcel of property he owns to the church, so they can build a small worship building there. Christians comprise at best 1% of the population in Mongolia, which otherwise is mostly made up of Buddhists or atheists (a carryover from years of Soviet control).
It was a privilege to witness this time of sharing and growing in the faith. Pray for Nomin, who graduates at the completion of his vicarage. I met him at the seminary in the Philippines where I teach annually. He’s excited for the next steps of becoming a minister in Mongolia as part of the Mongolian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Pray the Holy Spirit continues to grow faith in this wild and beautiful country!
The Nelson Family Indonesia 