BUSY SPRING/PRIMAVERA LLENA

Hello friends, brothers and sisters, this newsletter includes what we did in March, April, and May. We usually send the newsletter every two months, but we decided to postpone it to include all the spring activities and avoid splitting the summer school into two newsletters.

The cold weather is now gone. May has been quite rainy, so we're expecting a very green summer. At least here near the capital; that always varies from region to region.

In this newsletter, we want to tell you about several events that happened this spring.

At the end of February, we celebrated Tsaagan Sar. This is the Lunar New Year in Mongolia. A little different from the Chinese New Year, it's a more traditional and family-oriented event. For three days, everyone in Mongolia visits their relatives and eats meat dumplings. Every year, some families invite us to celebrate this tradition; each visit usually lasts about an hour.

After Tsaagan Sar, we held another conference for pastors and church leaders. People came from almost every province in Mongolia. This time, just like last November, we offered the New Testament course developed by our organization, ABWE. This course has been very well received because it's at the theological level of Mongolia and because it's very interactive. I taught several lessons, and this time I was especially happy because several members of our VETNet staff also gave lessons. Around 40 people attended this time.

Generally, Aemilii and I know most of the people who come to these conferences because we're the ones who travel to most of the provinces. But sometimes we don't recognize or remember someone. This time there was a woman who kept looking at us, but I didn't recognize her face. Finally, one day she approached me and told me she was from the Altai county in Khovd province. That's when I remembered who she was. We met her and her husband last summer in a nomadic valley where we ran a preschool. She was there the night six other people received their salvation. In that valley, there are now about 12 Christians, and she and her husband are now leading the rest.

This spring, we continued with the Summer Bible Study for teachers and the Young Men Bible Study. It's sometimes difficult to be consistent, but we've seen the fruit of meeting with them week after week, or whenever possible.

Aemilii has been focused caring for Azka and taking him to therapy. Since we got Azka, we noticed that he didn't move his right side as much as his left side. He has improved a lot, so we thought that part of his physical condition was a result of the neglect he suffered before coming to us. But we still knew there was something more. This year we took him to the doctor and a neurologist, and they did an MRI. And they confirmed something we suspected: Azka has mild cerebral palsy, which was probably caused by brain damage during pregnancy due to his mother's alcoholism. The only thing we can do is take Azka to therapy so that his body can eventually get as close as possible to having normal movement. We have found some public and private therapy centers, some near and others farther from our house. So Aemilii takes turns taking him to different places on certain days of the week.

In April, I went on a trip to the countryside. Honestly, trips to the countryside aren't the same without Aemilii and Azka, and I hope this was the last one. But my team needed my help to go and give training sessions in the schools of this area. And the main reason I went was because I had promised a friend and young man from the Bible study that I would go and find his parents to share the gospel with them.

Months ago, Khainaa had told me that it was very difficult for him to share the gospel with his parents and that he needed someone else to go and share it with them. So I told him that the next time I went to his province, I would share the gospel with them. A few days before the trip, we sat down together to look at maps and satellite images so he could explain where his parents might be, because they are nomadic herders. During the trip to Gobi Altai, which is 1,000 km from the city, we first visited the county of Jargalan, where Khainaa's family lives.

We managed to find his parents and talked with them. They were very kind and hospitable to us. Khainaa's mother kept bringing out food to give us. Types of food I never imagined receiving in a nomadic home in the middle of nowhere. Then I was able to share the gospel with them. I didn't share my testimony, I shared their son's testimony—how God has transformed him into a leader, a professional, and someone who seeks God. After sharing, I didn't ask if they wanted to eat because the food was waiting, and there were many arms and plates moving. But one of our travel companions asked, "What do you think? Are you ready? Do you want to pray for your salvation?" And they both said yes. As soon as we arrived in the village and had phone service, I messaged Khainaa and told him about his parents. I also told him that now it's his job to guide and teach his parents to live a life in Christ.

That happened at the beginning of April, and right now Khainaa is with her parents in the Gobi Altai. Her father's health worsened a few weeks ago, and Khainaa had to go back to helping them with their animals. I know this time together will be very important for their lives, so I ask that you pray for them.

The trip lasted 12 days. In total, we visited four counties and spent a significant amount of time in the provincial capital. There, we visited two churches, and in the villages, we provided training, visited Christians, and shared the gospel. As the trip was nearing its end, we were told that another team on a different trip had a serious problem with their Russian van. The engine broke down. We were relatively close and almost at the end of our journey. They still had two weeks of travel ahead of them, and the roads were very rough.

As a team, we decided to help them. Our driver took our Russian van to help them, and another young veterinarian from my Bible study, Shagai, brought my car from the capital to visit the last county and finish the trip. In Mongolia, unexpected events and problems can happen on trips, and you always have to be prepared to be flexible and see what God's plans are. In the end, the car problem was a blessing for me because it forced us to hurry, and we agreed to shorten the trip by two days.

One day, Aemilii, Azka, and I went to the orphanage where Azka had been more than once after being abandoned. Aemilii has been going there regularly, once a month, to teach the children. But it was the first time Azka had returned, or that I had gone. So we were a little nervous and prepared to leave if Azka didn't like it or felt uncomfortable. But no, Azka loved the children. I mostly stayed to look after Azka while Aemilii taught. It's very sad because these children are there for serious reasons, which can include abuse, alcoholism, or abandonment. There was a one-year-old girl in particular. We wanted to bring her home with us.

In May, we had another training session for our summer teachers. Much like in January, we went for three days to a hotel where we gave various training sessions on evangelistic tools. Each province also planned its strategy for its counties, outlining how they want to teach and reach those communities for Christ. This year we see a significant difference in the preparation we've given our teachers, and we're excited about what God will do through them. Another difference was that we went to the same hotel as in January, but this time the weather was warm, there was no snow, and the grass was starting to turn green. In January, Aemilii and Azka couldn't come because Azka was recovering from pneumonia, but this time they were able to attend. Aemilii gave several lessons on the English curriculum, and this year we prepared a new book.

I, Dani, just returned from Hong Kong. For a few days, I was at an ABWE leadership conference in Asia. It was a great time where I learned a lot about leading and interacting with multicultural teams. I was able to talk with other leaders about the situation in their fields, what they're doing, and share ideas. I particularly spent time with my friend Spencer from the Philippines. I met him there three years ago, and we came to Mongolia for two years to give training sessions. I also shared a lot with the leaders from Thailand, China, and Papua New Guinea. It was inspiring and challenging, and we shared many ideas.

Now we're preparing for summer, our favorite part of the year. We're going to Zavkhan Province once again, the province that holds the closest to our hearts. Besides summer school, we're planning some special activities with churches in other counties. This will be in June. Then we'll return to the city at the beginning of July because Aemilii's parents are coming to Mongolia, and together we'll go to Khuvsgul, in the northernmost part of Mongolia, to counties that are new to us. We ask for your prayers for this trip, especially for the time we'll spend with the Melbys, and for the roads and the weather; I've heard this area isn't easy to access.

Psalm 115:1

“Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”