From:
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 7:57 PM
To:
Subject: Prayer Update 2/1/05 Happy reunion
Tuesday, February 1st, 2005
Dear Family
and Friends,
I had
intended to send one more update just before leaving
On Wednesday
evening, Tim and Angie went out to the airport to welcome George Mattix on his very first visit to
The next
morning I started the Teacher Training Course in our
classroom while Mr. Mattix, Tim, and Angie went
to the government office for meeting with Naran, one
of the city leaders that is over all the social work in
Hearing
reports of what is happening with the orphan ministry in the
They
arrived back at the apartment just in time for the Thursday evening
Character-English classes. The next morning started off with the Teacher
Training Course again in the morning, and that evening we had a dinner with our
pastors and several other Mongolian coworkers and friends, concluding with a
hymn sing.
Saturday
morning Character-English classes began the weekend, and in the afternoon we
visited the Mongolian ger where Dumaa, Sahiaa, and their
family live, and then we toured the New Tribes Mission headquarters
building.
It was
quite fascinating to see how they heated the 10,000 sqr.
foot building. They have a special furnace that burns
used oil from the old locomotive trains. A very inexpensive alternative to
coal, they are able to heat the entire facility for about $1,000 a year! A
sudden power outage there in the basement made me again grateful for my key
chain flashlight as we found our way out of the darkness into the light.
Mr. Mattix taught a Sunday school lesson, then
preached for the main service at
All in all,
I think that Mr. Mattix was able to get a very good
taste of the work here in
The next
few days went by very quickly as I tried to wrap up some final things before my
departure on the 26th. Among these projects, I thought it might be nice to add
some more memory to one of our main computers. This is typically just a five
minute job of turning the computer off, plugging in the memory, then starting back up.
Well, shall
we say that this time it was not a five minute job.
:-) I tried plugging in the memory but the main computer did not
like it. (I had purchased 133mhz speed memory instead
of the 100mhz type.) I thought it might work in one of the other computers
instead, so I tried it in one of the workstations. Instead of beeping with a
message about the wrong type of memory, this computer stopped responding
completely.
In the
hours that followed, it became clear that the main circuit board in this other
computer had taken a fatal memory lapse, so to speak. I got to make one more
trip to the computer store for a new main board, and the evening before I left
the Lord allowed me to finish getting that computer up and running again. The
failed hard drive in Tim's laptop made it all the more important to have the
five other computers in running order when I left.
Even with
the busy schedule and projects to finish, the Lord still allowed for some good
opportunities to spend time with people before I left. That Sunday afternoon, a
young man from our church invited the three of us young men to come over to his
apartment and join him for lunch. Having spent several weeks working with a
Christian ministry here in
Sharing
some simple sandwiches, we had a most profitable discussion on spiritual
things. How do we study the Bible? How does a person find God's direction in
life? It was neat to be able to share from our lives some of the things that
God has been teaching us over the past several years.
On the
mission field it is often easy to forget that the missionaries themselves are
sometimes are just as much in need of encouragement and good Christian
fellowship as the nationals. Rather than jealous competition with one another,
there is a great blessing in working together as a unified body.
Of my
flights back to
As I was
sitting there in a quiet terminal, I noticed a couple young men across from me,
talking on the phone. They looked clean cut and well dressed, and then I
noticed their little name badges. We had seen some Mormons in
Looking at
my watch, I prayed that the Lord might work out an opportunity to talk with
them, and possibly be able to share some truth from the Word of God. About 45
minutes later, my flight was scheduled to start boarding, and the guys were
still talking on the phone. I decided that the Lord must have had another plan
for them, and gathered my bags, I started walking to
the gate.
Arriving at
the gate, I discovered that the plane still had not come in yet, and the flight
was delayed an hour or so. That is interesting, I thought, and walked back to
where the Mormon guys were still talking on the phone. A little later one of
them finished, so I went over and introduced myself. He was on his way to
I asked him
a little about his family, and told him what I had been doing in
The Lord
really seemed to guide the conversation as I shared about Christ being the full
atonement for our sin. All the religions of the world are based on man trying
to be good enough to have a relationship with God, while Christianity reveals a
God who so loved the world that He gave His Son to reconcile us to Himself.
As well as
they could, the two Mormon guys tried to explain how we need to prove our faith
by our good works, and try to earn back a fellowship with God. It was a little
more difficult for them as I continued gently probing them to show me from the
Scriptures where we need to do something to earn our salvation.
Again,
there was such a neat spirit about the whole conversation. There was no arguing
or defending opinions, no taking up offenses, just a genuine interest in
revealing the truth. "Where are you basing your faith?" I asked
again, "Is it in what some man said, or is it in the timeless and changeless
perfect Word of God?"
More than
just feeling or impression, I want my faith to be based upon the Word of God
alone. All around us we see groups that have added or taken away from the Word
of God, and have been led astray by the enemy. "My greatest desire for
you," I shared with them, "is that your faith would rest not in the
wisdom of men, but in the eternal power of God's Word."
Their
flight was about to begin boarding, so we shared a few more final thoughts
before they had to go. It was so neat to see how the Lord brought Scriptures to
mind that revealed the deception in what they believed. Isn't that why we are
exhorted to study to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that need not to
be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth?
I trust
that God will use this conversation, and while I may never know the outcome, I
don't believe that our talk will be quickly forgotten. They allowed me to pray
for them at the end of our talk, and I continue to pray that God will open
their eyes to the truth of His Word.
There will
always be people who can win a debate, or defend an opinion, but it is not so
easy to silence a conscience that bears witness to the truths of God's Word.
Praise
Points:
- I am
grateful for how the Lord allowed me to wrap up some complicated computer
issues before I left
- I praise
the Lord for a very fruitful and special time in
Prayer
Requests:
- On Monday
evening, February 7th, I have the opportunity to share a report of my time in
- Here in
Pictures:
Snow
removal is a little different in
On the shores of
Mr. Mattix had his first opportunity to visit a ger on his four-day visit. Dumaa
and Sahiaa's mother made some fried bread and a hot
yogurt type drink for us.
This is how
running water works in most gers. Conservation and
recycling are learned by those that frequently carry water.
A Chinese
catering company loads the meals onto a jet for an International flight.
A happy reunion in
Thank you
so much for praying for me over these months!
In Christ,
- Adam
"And
let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if
we faint not." - Galatians 6:9