_____________________Wednesday, January 31, 2007__________________
Mongolia - Fellowship of Christian Students (FCS)
Sain Bainuu! (Hello!)
Mongolia is sandwiched between China and Russia. It is surrounded by mountain ranges and barren land.
Religions in Mongolia:
Shamanism: 32%
Tibetan Buddhism: 25%
Islam: 4%
Christianity: 0.7%
However, most of the people in younger generation are not
strong believers of Buddhism or Shamanism.
They simply follow the traditions and culture of their families.
Christianity in Mongolia:
- Christianity is not entirely new in Mongolia. Back in 0- 1600 AD, Chinggis Khan (known to us as Genghis Khan) invited several Christian missionaries into the country.
- However, the take-over by the Chinese and the Communist influence eliminated Christianity.
- Only 16 years ago did the country break free from Communism and turned democratic.
- In this short period of time, the number of Christians grew from 0 to 35,000.
However, as the Mongolians are of nomadic background, they are generally non-committal and enjoy trying out new things. Many who profess to be Christians do not stay in the faith for a long time.
Some news about Mongolia:
1) Post-communist struggle for Mongolia: Sixteen years ago, thousands of Mongolians gathered to demand an end to decades of communist rule. However, democracy has not brought the better life that many people hoped for. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6252741.stm)
2) Dalai Lama welcomed in Mongolia: Thousands of people have turned out to greet the Dalai Lama on his first visit to Mongolia since 2002, despite Chinese government protests. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5275590.stm)
Haadin Haanig bahdan magtya (Let’s praise the King of Glory)
About FCS (Fellowship of Christian Students – is the IFES student movement in Mongolia):
- Started in 1999 at Ulanbaatar College by a Korean Missionary. By 2002 it grew to about 20 students.
- Today, there are about 60 students who are committed members in 3 different chapters, focusing on three different schools.
- There are about another 20-30 non-Christians involved.
- Currently, there are 7 Mongolian Campus Staff and 1 Campus Coordinator. There are also 4 missionary campus staff (Korean & American) and 1 missionary Director (Korean).
Facilities:
- Each chapter has an office/student center located nearby the target university.
- The office is where most formal ministry takes place.
- Here students can come any time during the day to meet with staff, fellowship with their friends, play games, etc.
Evangelism:
- Evangelism takes place in multiple forms: Spreading the gospel in front of the universities, inviting students to weekly large group, 'Open Large Group' where the gospel is shared, picnics, etc.
- The goal is to get students to sign up for an Evangelical Bible Study, where they will study basic Bible truths 1:1 with another student and staff for a semester.
- If one becomes a believer, they will join a "growth" group where they will learn basics of following Christ.
- If they continue on, they will eventually join a cell group where they will study the Bible inductively with others.
Other activities:
- We have prayer nights, visit orphanages, play sports together, do occasional special training sessions in specific areas, summer mission trips to the countryside, etc.
- There is also a developing book ministry where books and other materials are translated from English or Korean to Mongolian.
Magtan duulya, magtan duulya! (Let’s praise, let’s praise!)
Praises:
1) Praise God for the 2 years of fruitful ministry of short term
Korean missionary, Yu Seung-Jin, who returned to Korea
in early January.
2) Praise God for the recent hiring of a new Mongolian staff,
Munhoo. Munhoo is the second male Mongolian staff.
He will work with the FCS 2 chapter.
3) Praise God for His work in students’ lives at our annual
Leadership Training Conference. Many students attended
and were trained for leadership in the coming semester.
Prayer requests:
1) Our FCS 1 chapter has recently moved to a different part of the city and will be shifting its focus to the National University of Mongolia (NUM). Pray for this transition, that God would be sewing seeds in students at NUM, and for the students and staff of FCS 1 as they seek to reach out to this new school.
2) Korean missionary, David Lee and his family will leave for a 1 year sabbatical in February. Also, a new Korean missionary couple, Barnabus and Sophia Lee are coming as the new country directors for the movement. Pray for this transition of leadership and for them to have a good adjustment to the culture and a quick learning of the language.
3) Please pray for a restful couple of weeks for staff during the Lunar New Year, after a busy few months. Pray for a unified and renewed staff team as we go into the new semester starting in March.
4) Please pray for good leadership in the Mongolian government for they are a young democratic nation. Pray for wisdom for the leaders and for Christians to not be afraid to step up and help in shaping the country.
5) Also pray for God to continue to work in Mongolia, to break the strongholds of Buddhism and for active evangelism. Pray that in times of need and burden faced by many of the Mongolians that they will turn to God and realize that He is their God and Saviour.
Missionaries’ sites:
- Chris Loose: Current staffworker at FCS - http://ivcf_sc.typepad.com/the_land_of_blue_skiesTom and Nancy: Ex-staffworkers at FCS - http://www.tomandnancylin.com