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APPENDIX #2 — “We Learn to Worship God!” My name is Oyungerel
Bat-Ochir. I was born in
Sainshand, a town in Dornogobi (Eastern Gobi) of Mongolia as a fifth child
to my parents. My birth
bestowed my mother with a medal for the contribution in the growth of the
Mongolian population. Then,
it was a common practice implemented by the Mongolian government as an
endeavor to boost the population of Mongolia.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, it was a crucial issue
for the country with the population of only slightly over half a million.
Within a century the population quadrupled to 2.4 million,
according to 2001 census. Ironically, from
geopolitical stand, Mongolia, once the largest empire in the world, was
brought down by disunity and discord to the size of sandwich meat between
the two great nations. Now it
stands in the middle of heavy wheat consumers, the Russians, on the north
and heavy rice consumers, the Chinese, on the south.
The Mongols happen to be heavy meat eaters. Both my parents were
well educated and tried to bring us up consistent with the times.
My father, an engineer by his profession, worked for the Ministry
of National Defense; and my mother was a lawyer, a defense attorney.
As both of my parents were in a full-time work force, my siblings
and I looked after each other. Nevertheless,
I grew up in a caring and loving environment. The life and the future
seemed to be promising and secure. The
government, to eradicate illiteracy and promote healthy society, provided
free education and free medical care.
Compulsory education was based on the Russian system: elementary
school, secondary and high schools. It
even paid stipends to all University and college students, although
Universities were very competitive. In
the thirties, during purges, religion was destroyed; and the monks were in
the best scenario, severely punished, and in the worst scenario executed,
just like other nonconformists. The common belief of
our society was that one could be a better person and could build society
of justice and equality. Thus,
Communism was a utopian kingdom that we strove to bring down on our own
efforts, without God. However,
the Godless kingdom proved itself to be a utopian illusion.
Without higher standards, a person becomes a subjective judge of
his own action and beliefs, and human idealism turns to human idolatry. When communism
collapsed in 1990, many saw that the kingdom built on illusion was ever
fragile and far from reality. The
economic went sour: food shortage and unemployment were rampant.
Even the medals that decorated mothers who had many children lost
their value and significance. Some
families sold the alloy in the medals for mere “pennies”. The false sense of security was rapidly crumbling.
So, did the world built around me.
My parents decided that marriage did not work for them and it was
better for them to live apart. As
a teenager, I was left to my thoughts alone: I was thirsty for truth and
angry at the world for all the evils of society. Many questions were
racing through my mind on the meaning of the lost world. Chaos, confusion, and disappointment with inability to bring
the just kingdom into this world disturbed me.
Buddhism was slowly reviving.
My friend’s student-monks were offering an alternative to the
world deprived of its Essence, others were offering pure materialism. Some of my teachers, especially of history, were uncertain
about the subjects they taught. We
openly discussed the events and issued that were rolling the world in the
beginning of 90s. Among these many
voices, the voice of God was reaching my heart.
His message of love, of love to death on the cross to redeem the
sins of men and reconciliation to Him; brought me a meaning to live for.
My story of coming to know Jesus Christ begins with the days, when
students began to rebel and were unwilling to listen to their teachers. Then, there was an
experiment to divide classes in my high school according to the subjects
students were interested in pursuing further, to prepare them for their
future education. Thus, my
friends and I happen to fall into different classes, as I chose to pursue
a medical degree. One day, I
decided to go with my friends to a gathering, at the expense of my
chemistry examination. However,
to my relief on the next day, I learned that no one showed up for the
examination and, therefore, it was postponed until later. At the meeting, one
Nepalese evangelist was sharing the Gospel through a translator; I was
excited to hear the message of redemption and wanted to hear more. So, I came to the church-theater, where the first handful of
Christians were gathering. There
I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord for His truth was simple. In 1992, at the year of
my graduation from high school, I decided to study at the Bible School in
Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, where I spent most of my life.
The Bible School was opened in April of 1992 to train national
evangelists and leaders. Gaining
momentum, Christianity was spreading like a wild fire and many were coming
to Christ. After completing my
3-year program, I worked at the Union Bible Training Center and also
assisted East West Foundation, a NGO that helped to open the first Bible
School in Mongolia. After
another three years of work, I wanted to do something else, to go into
some development work. However,
I felt that my education was not enough.
So, after several inquiries, I had an option to study either in
Australia for two years or in Singapore.
I hesitated. Although, I did not have any options to study in America, I
really wanted to come to America. Then
one day an opportunity came. My
friends told me about Trinity Lutheran College in Issaquah, Washington,
and put me in touch with Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I have studied now for
two years at Trinity Lutheran College, and am now studying business
administration at Susquehanna University, Pennsylvania with the help of a
scholarship from ELCA and a Green’s merit scholarship from the
University. Through all that has
happened and is happening in my life, I can now see God’s faithful hand
leading me, even at times of my rebellion. |