Darkhan, Mongoli
I finally had the opportunity this past month to return to Darkhan to continue my course on the Pentateuch (First five books of the Old Testament). It had been almost a year since the opening of the first Lutheran Bible School in Mongolia, but other duties had kept me from returning to finish the course. The phenomenon of a Bible school is actually a traditional means for educating laypeople in the Scandinavian countries. In Norway, students will often take one year after high school to study somewhere, at a cooking, sports or dancing school, whatever your fancy. But others will explore their faith more seriously and thus Lutheran Bible schools have become a means for strengthening the faith of young Christians. Oddly enough, out of its education budget, the state will give the taxpayer money for this! (One of the pluses of having a state church that I had never considered before).
In Mongolia, our friends from the Norwegian Lutheran Mission (NLM) and the Finnish Lutheran Overseas Mission (FLOM) have utilized this Scandinavian tradition to elevate the biblical knowledge of new believers in Mongolia. In addition, this is an excellent opportunity for Mongolians to understand a little more clearly what it is that makes Lutheran theology so special.
The students are primarily but not exclusively young. Some are working in the church as deacons or deaconesses. Most, though, have completed university and are now looking for work. Still, they take their Christian faith very seriously and want to learn more. It doesn’t often occur that I have a class respond negatively to my request to take a break. But they frequently asked to keep going when I was ready for a break! If I can keep myself from taking breaks J, I plan on concluding my course when I return to Darkhan in November.
A Milestone for Christianity in Mongolia
While walking to the city center in Darkhan, I noticed that a Buddhist statue was still the main attraction in the city. But even here in northern Mongolia, one couldn’t miss the fact that Mongolians were celebrating 20 years of Christianity this past month. In the capital of Ulaanbaatar, a major civic center was rented as a large number of Christians reflected with joy upon the explosive growth of the faith in this predominantly Buddhist country. When the communist system fell near the end of 1990, it was said that there were all of four Christians in the entire country. As Christian leaders came together during the weekend of September 16-18, estimates of the current number of Christians ranged anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000. All of this in just twenty years! The uncertainty surrounding the number of Christians reflects the fact that many Buddhist fathers in this patriarchal society answer census takers on behalf of the entire family. Highlighting a developing conflict between generations, a father will often claim that his whole family is Buddhist when in fact many of them are Christian, especially the young. Whatever the actual number of Christians in Mongolia today, I am reminded of Luke’s account of the Early Church in Acts 2:48 “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Changing of the Culture
On a free Saturday afternoon, Norwegian professor Knut Kirkholm and I wandered off to the outskirts of Darkhan. There we spied a sprawling cemetery in the distance, encompassing what my Western mind would conceive as quite a few football fields. As I inspected the tombstones, I noticed that virtually all of them seemed to have emblems of little flames. Others were wrapped with blue ribbons, symbolizing the blue sky. As I calculated the birth and death dates, I also observed that people died quite young. The life expectancy rate in Mongolia is 68 (compared to 78 in the U.S.), but it seemed that the overwhelming majority of those buried here were in their forties. Alcoholism is one of the reasons, a scourge in Mongolia that cuts short potentially productive lives and depletes the male population.
Nevertheless the culture of Mongolia is changing as this isolated country, now freed from an oppressive communist system, makes its way into the 21st century. Most importantly, though, Mongolians are coming to faith as the Holy Spirit fills their hearts with joy to lead lives worth living and confess that Jesus is Lord. Just before we left the cemetery, I found the gravesite of one named Zh. Enkbayer. I assume from the first letter that this was most likely a woman, but whoever it was, the cross on her tombstone proclaimed a believer now resting with our Lord. Our prayer is that the Lord will use the witness of these new believers to add to the number of saints in Mongolia. Soli Deo Gloria! (Glory to God alone!).
Prayer Requests:
Please continue to pray for my cousin Shawn Nunnink, battling cancer.
Thank the Lord with me for safe travels and pray for continued safety and blessings in teaching as I travel to Russia (October 12), Kyrgyzstan (October 25) and Mongolia in early November.
Please pray for the students at the Mongolian Lutheran Bible School. Pray that the Lord will bless them with deeper spiritual understanding, courage to witness to their faith, and suitable employment for those seeking work.
E-mail: matveih@yahoo.com—mailing address- 26650 Woodshire, Dearborn Heights, MI., 48127.
To support my work financially, you can send a tax-deductible gift to:
LCMS World Mission; Missionary Support; PO Box 790089; St. Louis, MO 63179-0089 —–Make checks payable to LCMS World Mission. Mark checks “Support of Matthew Heise.”
If you would like to partner with me in my ministry with ongoing support as an individual or congregation, please contact Debra Feenstra for information on Together in Mission or Mission Senders at 1-800-248-1930 Ext. 1651 or Debra.Feenstra@lcms.org Thank you, and may God bless you!























