Trains, Planes & Automobiles

The train arrived in Ulaan Baatar bringing the students home from camp and they appeared none the worse for wear. Mongolian passenger trains can be seen coming from miles away. One of the old Russian engines is usually billowing black smoke to the degree that you think that there is a fire burning in the distance.

Smoking train

Mongolian freight trains though are different. They have modern diesel engines and, from what I understand, they are Chinese-made and are of good quality because of the economic need.
Mongolia is a lot like those two engines. Some of Mongolia is modern, like the Nomin supermarket we shopped in today, and other parts, maybe most, are old and worn but the people are vibrant. The capital city is filled with cars, some nice, others not so. There seem to be few traffic laws and it has been fascinating watching Jargal drive us around. He offered me a chance to drive but I was only willing to do it in rural parts of the country, particularly as the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car although driving is (predominately) done on the correct side. If he did not have an SUV, I don’t know how we would have gotten anywhere.  Mongolia also places reminders all over of the dangers of driving there.

Watch your speed!

Today we leave for Beijing. It has been a great week here in Mongolia. Duya and Jargal have been wonderful hosts and they served food that even a wimp like me could eat. As I prepare to leave I am thinking of the wonderful privilege it has been for me to visit with the Believers here. I asked Jargal today how he came up with the name “Transformation Mongolia” and he explained the story. In his youth, he was a wild man and those in town knew him to be that way. On his arm is a scar from the knife wound he received when he tried to keep someone from stabbing him in the heart. After Duya led him Christ, he became a totally new man. The people in the town could not believe the changes that took place. It was the mayor of that town who said to Jargal, “You have been totally transformed.” As time went forward and Jargal felt the call of God for planting churches he realized “I want all of Mongolia to be transformed like I was” and “Transformation Mongolia” was born.

A Vision for a Nation

The good news is, as I board my plane, that is exactly what is happening – people are being transformed. At the church I preached in yesterday, 99% of the men have been delivered from alcohol. Young people are being empowered by vision, churches are being planted, the Good News is being preached to the poor. It has been a good trip. Yes, I look forward to some good old American fast food and dinner at “On the Border” (not a lot of Mexican food here) but the trip has been worth it. That smelly old Russian train pulls a precious cargo of Mongolian people – more and more of whom are meeting Jesus.

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