Persevering Leadership
—- PERSEVERANCE IN MONGOLIA —-
“…I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24)
This November, we again are faced with blistering cold and the difficulty of raising a baby in this isolating environment. Our new Mongolian staff face new persecution from their families, and our senior staff have become discouraged, as fruit from their ministry seems harder and harder to find. Numbers of core students attending weekly Bible studies and worship meetings have decreased by 20% in two chapters, FCS2 and FCS3. Added to the fact that everyone is very tired, and it’s easy to give up the calling and task that the Lord has given us!
However, Paul’s words have been a source of encouragement to both our family and our Mongolian staff. Tom led a Bible study on Acts 20 during this week’s staff meeting, and it resonated tremendously with our team. We want to finish this semester and 2005 with perseverance, sharing the gospel with as many students as possible, and leading those students to follow Jesus wholeheartedly!
—- “BEGINNING AND FINISHING THE RACE” —-
We praise God for effective evangelistic efforts by the FCS1 chapter to reach students in nearby universities. For several consecutive weeks, student leaders and staff went to the streets to share the gospel with students and invite them to an “Open” meeting in early October. Over 25 students signed up for evangelistic bible studies (EBS), and many continue to attend the FCS1 weekly worship meetings. Please pray for these non-Christians, as they begin their journey of faith.
In October, Tom also took our 3 new intern staff downtown to do street evangelism, as part of our “evangelism training” unit. We also took surveys about student life, asking questions ranging from “Have you ever heard about Jesus before?” to “To what degree do you drink alcohol?” Several students were quite open to the gospel, and began their journey of faith.
Perhaps more difficult than helping students begin their faith journey is helping students finish or persevere during their faith journey. “My parents made me write down a promise that I would never go to church in my life,” said Tuul, who acquiesced under pressure. So to help students like Tuul persevere under such difficult situations, Tom spoke at a FCS2 meeting on Nov. 1st, on the topic “Honoring Your Parents and Persevering in Your Faith.”
—- GLOBAL LEADERS FORMACION —-
On Oct. 17-26, Tom traveled to Hong Kong to meet with over 50 other leaders from IFES movements all over the world for an “Emerging Leaders Formacion.” It was a time where leaders gathered to share ideas, reflect on our own leadership journey, and learn from very senior leaders through informal interaction. A personal take-away for Tom was to persevere in leadership, not shying away from challenging tasks nor challenging times.
Meanwhile, Nancy and Abby traveled to Beijing to spend a week holiday with her parents and sister Judy. Nancy’s parents then came to Mongolia for another few weeks. It was a wonderful time with family, and we appreciated all of your prayers. Nancy’s family was so helpful, and Abby already misses them!
—- ABBY’S FIRST BIRTHDAY —-
According to Korean tradition, the 1st birthday is the most significant bday. So we decided to throw 2 parties - one upscale party for our missionary friends, and one casual party for our FCS student community. The first party was held in Seoul Restaurant, arguably the best restaurant in Mongolia (how many times can one say that they ate at the best restaurant in any country?). Abby decked out in traditional Korean costume (”hambok”) and had traditional bday foods. The student party was held in our FCS2 office, and over 20 students and staff came to celebrate with Abby. The office was wonderfully decorated, and we appreciated the many gifts that our Mongolian friends sacrificially gave to Abby.
**Please check out NEW PHOTOS of Abby’s birthday parties, our trips to Hong Kong and Beijing, and ministry to staff and students. There are also pics of our new FCS Staff Training Center. Go to: http://www.tomandnancylin.com/photos/ .
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1. UPCOMING STUDENT CAMPS. This weekend, Nov. 18-20, FCS1 will hold an evangelistic camp for all non-believers in their area of Ulaanbaatar. Then Dec. 9-12, all 3 FCS chapters will jointly hold an “EBS Seminar”, a very significant end-of-the-semester retreat which gathers all students involved in Evangelistic Bible Studies. Please pray for both of these evangelistic events, where we hope some students will become Christians. Pray for Chuka, who will be the main speaker for the EBS Seminar, and for Nyamaa, who will serve as Director.
2. MALE LEADERSHIP. All our staff are still women, and even our male student leaders are diminishing. In FCS2, there are no male student leaders nor any male core members, but up to 10 non-Christian males. In FCS3, there is one male student leader and a handful of male core members. In FCS1, there have been recent conflicts between the male core members and the female staff. Although this problem also exists in the wider Mongolian Church, we are praying about proactive steps we can take to develop more male leaders. Next semester, we plan to re-position Noh Dong-Uk (Korean male missionary) from FCS3 to FCS2. Tom will also try to spend more time in FCS1, until our teammate Chris Loose can become more fluent in Mongolian. Please pray with us, as we seek to develop male leadership within FCS.
3. TOM’S URBANA 2006 ROLE. Tom has accepted an assignment to teach Ephesians at the Urbana 2006 Missions Conference (www.urbana.org). To prepare, Tom will attend an Urbana Teacher’s Retreat on Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in New York, where all teachers will study Ephesians together. But because of Tom’s responsibilities in Mongolia, he will need to arrive the same day it begins. Because the time difference is 12 hours, please pray for Tom’s body and ability to learn during the meeting! Also pray for Nancy and Abby’s well being, as they stay in Mongolia during that week.
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