Mongolian Democracy Is Struggling

Please take the time to read this statement letter, written by Elbegdorj, the leader of the democratic party. Also please read the thoughts of Tom Terry, our friend and director of Eagle TV in Ulaan Baatar.

This 4th of July, as America celebrates its independence, please remember a struggling Mongolia in your prayers. And please, please pray for Eagle TV and it's vital role in this country.

Thank you and happy Fourth of July!

Things seem to be quieting down now. Darkhan is very quiet and there have been no protests here since Tuesday, as far as I know.

The rioting has not started up again in UB and things are relatively peaceful. There is still a lot of tension in the air and the streets are being patrolled by tanks and soldiers with guns. The government is still in talks to try and resolve the "blunders" that occurred during the elections and the counting of the ballots that followed.

I put the word "blunders" in quotation marks because I don't believe that educated adults who, on any other day of the year were perfectly capable of counting things, could be so dumb as to miscount voting ballots. The MPRP has so many tricks they use to cheat and up their numbers. My favorite one was 4 years ago when over 20,000 registered dead people voted. Figure that one out.

Anyway, the foreigners were advised to lay low, as some of the rioters were from a party known for their racism toward non-Mongolians. I don't know the translation of their party name but they wear black, shave their heads, and use swastikas as their symbol. They hate Americans, especially those who marry Mongolians and make their would-be Mongolian offspring American citizens. They urge their fellow Mongolians to "keep their blood pure" by only marrying within their own race. I'm glad nobody listens to those wacky fools.

Anyway, the other day we were watching the rioting on TV and Nate said, "These people are definitely going to hell." He caught us off guard but I told him that if they repented and helped to make restitution, that God would forgive them. Abi, who was sitting next to him, shook her head and said, "Oh no, I hope they don't repent! I think they should go straight to hell!"

It was not like Abi to say something like that and, after some probing I found out why she felt so strongly about it. With tears in her eyes she confessed that she was worried about her "Emee and Uvuu", her Mongolian grandparents, who live in UB. I assured her that they were ok, that we could call and talk to them if she wanted to. Then we prayed for them and the rest of our relatives and she began to relax. These kids keep me on my toes!

Thank you for all your prayers for Mongolia. Please continue to pray for our safety and that of the citizens and government officials in UB.

God bless you!

Links About The Riots, Etc

UPDATE (12:30 am): President Enkhbayar has declared a state of emergency for the next 4 days.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7483286.stm

http://www.thomasterry.com/blog/

Urgent Prayer Request

Please join us in praying for Mongolia. As of last night around midnight until now there has been rioting in the streets due to the unfavorable outcome of the Parliamentary elections. Basically, the Communist Party (MPRP) has won more seats than the Democratic Party and the people are rioting. We've been following on the news and are speechless to see this happening in our midsts. They have injured several police and reporters and have set the Communist Party building on fire. We just saw on the news that at least 2 college students died. One Japanese reporter is in the hospital in a coma.

My heart is so heavy; I have never seen such violence in Mongolia, ever. Right now, (11:30 pm) the rioting is continuing, and the people, mostly young men, have begun to terrorize passing cars by throwing rocks and setting the parked ones on fire. They are looting nearby stores and destroying buildings. I have NEVER seen anything like it.

Please pray and pray again. Pray that our relatives and friends are safe. Pray that it will stop!

We heard threats that "something" is going to happen in Darkhan tomorrow. Please pray for our safety and that of our friends and church members. We are holding our breath, afraid of what will happen next.

The level of corruption in the Mongolian government is astounding. The Communists are being accused of many things, including "fixing" the election and staging the riots. I wouldn't put it past them.

Mongolia urgently needs your prayers!

How To Bless A Missionary

Having grown up on the mission field I have witnessed firsthand the blessings and provision of God for His servants. And now, living in Mongolia and married to a Pastor, our family is always amazed at the ways God takes care of us. Of course, to do this He uses people.

We are missionaries/pastors but we also support other missionaries, both personally and as a church. I find it fascinating how the Body of Christ is such a complex network, connecting the supporters with the laborers. We are just a small part but we help them, because you help us.

Anyway, I thought I'd post a few ideas here. Please take a moment and as you read them pray for an opportunity to bless the missionaries in your life.

1. Care packages are probably the first thing that comes to mind. We LOVE care packages! They seem to magically lift the burdens that often accompany ministry life and they put a smile on our faces for days! I think all missionaries would agree. =) There's just something special about getting something (anything!) from overseas and sharing it with our friends.
   
2. Visit them! Get a passport, buy a plane ticket and VISIT them. It's better than "just sending the money". Trust me.
   
3. Honor your financial commitments to them. Resist the urge to make a financial promise on a whim. We plan our lives and ministry around the amount of money we receive each month and that's very difficult to do if the money is not somewhat dependable. If for some unforeseen reason you are not able to honor your financial agreement, tell them. It's OK. Don't avoid them and pretend like nothing happened. When possible go above and beyond what you promise, like one of our supporters often does.
4. Remember them at Christmas time. I don't know if this is a universal thing or not but our support is lowest at Christmas.
   
5. Be hospitable. Open up your house to them and let it be their home away from home during furlough. Furlough is often accompanied with fund-raising, which can be stressful at times (especially for children, with all the travel, etc). Let your home be a haven where they can relax and be themselves. Missionaries are people, too.
   

That's all I can think of for now but I may do a follow-up post later on.

Do you have any ideas? I'd love to hear them!