Tom Lin

The next 48 hours is a crucial time for us. (1) Last month, we were finally approved by the Mongolian Parliament as a registered group. However, THIS MORNING, a gov. official and policeman visited our FCS student center/apartment and claimed that we were improperly registered. They complained about the “religious” songs being sung and so many students coming to study the word. They said that our group must immediately leave the premises until we had permission to meet as a “church” (which FCS is not). They also threatened to take our U.S. passports. Our Mongolian lawyer then came to our defense, and argued for the students’ freedom to express religious rights within the confines of our FCS apartment.

After our lawyer quoted the Mongolian laws, they left. However, this evening, 2 police officers returned, ordering FCS to vacate the premises tomorrow. They also asked to meet with the two of us “foreigners” again tomorrow. We don’t know what they want from us (passports, money, etc.), but we recognize that we and the students must walk boldly in the midst of persecution, yet also do our best to respect these officials.

**PLEASE LIFT UP THIS GOV. OFFICIAL AND POLICEMEN, granting us favor in their eyes and a quick resolution to this matter. Ask for His peace and wisdom to cover us. Ask for a softening of their hearts toward our students.

(2) Our Korean co-worker, David, and his family are having difficulty returning to Mongolia after a one-month break in Korea. Although they require a visa, permission was already granted weeks ago from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. David is waiting for the official visa invitation letter (which has already been written) to be faxed to the Mongolian Embassy in Korea. However, more and more excuses seem to be coming up for this letter NOT to be faxed. To make matters worse, David has plane tickets back to Mongolia next Monday, which looks almost impossible to make at this point. If David is significantly delayed, it would severely affect our work here.

**Part of this may be due to Mongolian culture, but we wonder if other forces are at work here. PLEASE LIFT UP THIS PROCESS AND FOR A QUICK VISA TO BE GRANTED. Ask for peace for David and his family, as they may need to rearrange travel plans.

—————— OTHER NEWS ——————–

We are pleased to share a SPECIAL VIDEO UPDATE from our last 6 months in Mongolia! You can download it online at: http://www.tomandnancylin.com/multimedia/

Our worldwide association of student movements, IFES (which InterVarsity is part of), recently featured our work in Mongolia in a recent publication. To view it and to learn more about IFES, click on: http://www.ifesworld.org/prayer/prayerview.asp?Country=Mongolia

In the midst of all the happenings, we miss you all. We also miss the month of May in the States (here, it snowed yesterday and today!)

Blessings,
Tom and Nancy
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